How to mod a 21 pin Saturn

[DeVante]

Originally posted by A Murder of Crows@Aug 21, 2003 @ 08:56 PM

thanx for the reply, but you must have missed what i was saying

i know how to normally modify the saturn with a mod board...what i need are pix of the A+B method, which it seems no site shows anymore.....the method that started this thread

i also want to see pix of a working Sanyo Saturn unit with the PC Trap board installed

lastly, i'd like info from users about the quality and function of the mod boards from wherever they get them now...Lan Kwei or Jandaman....someone have proof of these boards working with 32 pin saturn cd controller chips?

thank you

I've purchased a modchip from Jandaman and it works perfectly.

I've used the "A/B bridge" method, meaning I just had to bridge points A and B and then solder the red wire to the powerboard.

I originally wanted to order from Lan-Kwei, but their order processing is so horrible, that I COULDN'T order from them.

I tried, but they would just never take an order from me, although I submitted three orders.

Anyway, I'm glad I found jandaman because I doubt Lan-Kwei would be as easy to contact and talk to and helpful as Jandaman. He also has the lowest prices that I've seen on certain things.

 

[NR Pickle]

Quick question. I'll be modding tomorrow. There is some type of label on the square chip of my mod board. It's not in any pictures posted here. Sooo, do they all come like this and you guys are just removing them? Or is my chip possibly a slighty different variety? Not concerned or anything but I thought it was interesting. The label is perfectly square and exactly covers the square chip.

 

[mal]

I've not seen one with a label before, but that probably doesn't mean much.

 

[NR Pickle]

Success!!!

Mod chip from jandaman.com, 64 pin saturn, a+b mod. Works perfectly and I've tested it with 2 backups I just made.

Didn't work at first and I freaked out but after looking closely at the mod board the power wire had frayed and was barely clinging to the contact. Broke it off, stripped the wire, and resoldered it and BAMM!!! As seems to be the norm for 64 pin I also had to slap that bad boy in backwards.

Much thanks to all who have posted here.

 

[IBarracudaI]

So, jandaman's modboards do work with 64pin saturns, way to go jandaman!

 

[NR Pickle]

Yea I want to give jandaman a good plug. His site was easy to order from and I got my chip fast. Ordered on Monday night (so late it was tuesday really) and got it on friday. Shipping was ubercheap to. Highly recommended. Easily one of the better sites I've ordered from. (i've bought a lot of crap online)

 

[originalself]

Well i got my chip from jandaman today. Just wanted to thank him for the service and everyone on this thread for the mod install information. I compleated the a+b mod on my 64pin system with no problem, just had to turn the board around. And now i can play my backups!

Thanks!

***EDIT***

Spoke way to soon, seemed to be booting up but it actually just sticks at the saturn logo for awhile then goes to the cd player, wont load originals or cd-r's. I have a 21pin cable system with round buttons but it has the 64pin chip on the cd board. I'm not sure whats going on. It still does not work. Sorry if i should post this elsewhere.

 

[racketboy]

k guys, please post recommendation in the BST mod-chip post.

This thread is already long enough as it is

 

[NR Pickle]

Originalself: Does it skip the boot animation and just show the saturn logo before going to the cd screen? That's what mine was doing when I had a problem with the power supply wire.

 

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

Make sure your mod board faces the correct direction (read backwards since you have a 64pin), make sure your ribbon cables are inserted properly as well.

 

[originalself]

It actually will do the startup animation, but now the disk wont spin, if i turn the cables it wont even do the animation, i have it on the 0014 jumper right now, im gonna try the 0019 today and see if their is a change. Thanks for the help

****UPDATE***

Ok, i have changed the board to 0019, and the discs spin up now. But all disks, original or backup act like music cd's. So honestly hell if i know.

 

[patters98]

Since pretty much everywhere has run out of modchips, I ended up paying £25 for one from www.videogamecompany.com. I have a round button 21pin PAL Saturn which all the sites that had sold chips cheerfully assured me would be fine. However it's a 64pin version and strangely only boots a CDR about one time in about hundred attempts. So far I've tried:

. resoldering everything

. using the A-B method

. reburning the CD-R at 1X

. cleaning the contacts on the ribbons

. inserting them to different depths

. 014 and 019 solder bridges

with no success. I get the startup animation then get pushed to the CD player with 2 green cubes on the console. Sometimes it takes ages to finally give up on trying to read the disc and enter the CD player bit. The drive always spins up correctly.

Is the Saturn sensitive to different types of media? I used TDK.

The board I got sent looked like it was second hand and had corrosion on it. The solder points had all already been used so I'm not very happy with this. It's the type that has components missing off it with a blue PCB.

Lan-Kwei say they will shortly be releasing their own design of modchip that will work with all models so I guess I'll have to wait until then. I'll have to see if I can get a replacement for this one...

 

[DeVante]

Originally posted by patters98@Sep 20, 2003 @ 05:10 AM

Lan-Kwei say they will shortly be releasing their own design of modchip that will work with all models so I guess I'll have to wait until then. I'll have to see if I can get a replacement for this one...

I find it odd that Lan-Kwei is going to make a modchip for a system that doesn't really have a high modchip demand (i.e. is really old).

I also find it odd that the three times I've tried to order something from them, they have never replied to my orders. I wonder how they stay in business when they make it so difficult to order from them.

 

[NR Pickle]

lan kwei has a horrible reputation I would never order from them.

If it is reading your backups occasionly maybe your burns are just bad. Try a different brand of cdr. I've been using memorex and they work great. You might also try using a different process to make the burns. I've made a few burns that were actually so horrid my computer crashed when I tried to put the discs in it and open them in explorer.

 

[kazlivsjy]

(Sorry for posting this as a new topic. I actually wanted it to go HERE)

Ok. I just bought a mod from Jandaman and installed it, but games won't boot.

My saturn is round-buttoned, PAL, 21 pin ribbon twisted cable (chips on mod must face AWAY from the CD board), model number MK-80200A-50

I've tried every combination possible i can think of, but the thing does not seem to be working. Currently I have set it up like this:

- Blue cable connected A to B method

- Red cable soldered into +5V socket

- Solder bridge set to 0019 (I have also tried 0014)

I reckon there is a possibility that the lack of success is due to backups burned at greater speed than 1x (since I had a similar problem when I bought a PSX boot CD and first attemped to load a backup). Mine have been burned at 4x using Nero. Shall I attempt to burn at 1x?

The possibility of static-destroying the mod worries me. How can one know if the mod has been wasted due to a static discharge or something? I handled it carefully and all, but who knows...

Somebody PLEEEEEEZE give me a tip, or I'll go mental (and/or sell me some originals!)

 

[Curtis]

1x or 4x burning shouldn't be a problem - I've only ever burnt at 4x and I've never had a dud game. Lots of people report successful burns right up to 24x or above.

One thing you could try is installing the mod the "correct" way - ie soldering the blue wire to the correct pin of the correct IC. Might work. That said, sometimes you just get a bum deal and a dead mod.

 

[mal]

It could just be that some of Jandaman's mods still don't work with 64 pin Saturns...

 

[kazlivsjy]

I tried soldering (well, the word 'attach' would be more suitable) onto the 8th pin of the 64pin chip on the cd board, and it's the same (I double-checked that, as mal found out, than pin is linked to the A solder point on the mod chip board). I'll try a bit of further 'persuasion' :flamethrower: ... but I think it is not working. Can anyone who has successfully modded a 64pin-chip saturn describe the mod-chip they've used and Saturn model?

 

[patters98]

Originally posted by NR Pickle@Sep 20, 2003 @ 03:26 PM

lan kwei has a horrible reputation I would never order from them.

If it is reading your backups occasionly maybe your burns are just bad. Try a different brand of cdr. I've been using memorex and they work great. You might also try using a different process to make the burns. I've made a few burns that were actually so horrid my computer crashed when I tried to put the discs in it and open them in explorer.

What is so weird is that on the couple of occasions that it did boot my backups the various loads were taking place with no problem, even FMV which would be the first thing to go if disc reading was a problem. I think it must be some sort of timing issue.

As for Lan-Kwei, I got a GBA flash cart from them since they're clearing them and found them to be OK.

So far I think I'm the only person who's had a 64pin modded machine boot intermittently (and I've tried all the connections lots of time and reseating etc.). What I find interesting is that the symptoms match up to Mal's guide to faults for the "no solder bridge present". Since it was already soldered when I got it I'm wondering if the conductivity of that solder is at fault. I'll try scraping it all off and replacing it in case some idiot before me used non-conductive solder (which I was once amazed to discover exists).

 

[patters98]

Originally posted by patters98@Sep 21, 2003 @ 05:55 AM

What I find interesting is that the symptoms match up to Mal's guide to faults for the "no solder bridge present". Since it was already soldered when I got it I'm wondering if the conductivity of that solder is at fault. I'll try scraping it all off and replacing it in case some idiot before me used non-conductive solder (which I was once amazed to discover exists).

No joy. I did get this though from Lan-Kwei:

the one we will release will work with the 64pin quare chip also, yes. In fact the 3rd party one we sold so far did also. There have been problems reported though with the latest SS consoles which had a Sharp motherboard (if I remember corectly, have to ask the engineer about the details), but the new release will fix this problem.