How to mod a 21 pin Saturn

[fistandantilus]

Have you tried adjusting the laser adjuster (orange dial behind the laser head). I had problems with CDr's at first and it seemed all that was wrong was the laser strength. I adjust this and now everything works great.

Symptoms before was continual noises from the cd unit as it kept re-adjusting itself to try and focus on the disc. After about 10 seconds it stopped and went to the audio cd menu. or it didn't see the disc at all.

After fixing this , there was no longer the cd unit noises, practically instant boot into the game.

The mod sounds like it is correctly installed if the Cd unit is spinning up and working ok with originals.

I haven't touched the 0014/0019 bridges yet

how do you mean? one of them should be selected, i definately make sure the 14 bridge is connected first try.

 

[kuroiryu]

Have you tried adjusting the laser adjuster (orange dial behind the laser head). I had problems with CDr's at first and it seemed all that was wrong was the laser strength. I adjust this and now everything works great.

I'm afraid I'll damage something by overadjusting it. Before you adjusted yours, would CD-Rs work with the swap trick? I took a shot at unbridging 0014 and bridging 0019. That seems to have made originals work a little more reliably, though backups still don't work.

The swap trick still works, which means CD-Rs are readable (and run just fine once they've been booted), the system is still looking for the security ring, and that step in the boot process is what hangs up the system on backups, which means the mod isn't doing its job. The laser keeps reseating itself trying to find a good alignment point to read the ring. It's always done that, even without a mod chip.

It's like my mod is nothing more than a pass-through... also, I noticed some places on the board where components could go, and some are marked, like a place for a crystal (my Saturn's CD board does have one of its own, though). I assume it's a sort of generic board that had different components for testing and what-not, and the factory version uses the same board, just without all the extra stuff.

Looks like I'll probably have to exchange with Jandaman...

 

[fistandantilus]

I have never used the swap trick, restricting the movement while its trying to turn is not a good thing, and will certainly take its toll on the motor over time. On a system that is already probably 5-8 years old I want to go easy on it.

I modded my system just last week and when i first went to try a backup it wouldn't work, i could just hear the laser head moving back and forth and the drive spining up before finally giving up and going to the selection screen. I thought at first is was the mod incorrectly installed but thinking about the symtoms i knew it was more likely that the laser couldn't focus properly on the lesser reflective cdr. I have seen this many times with older standalone dvd players and dvdr's.

The saturn laser adjuster has stops so you can't turn it through more than an angle of about 180 degrees. So if you mark where it was originally you have no trouble putting it back as it was. Cd units are a bit more forgiving than the sensitive dvd units so you can alter the laser without having to be really accurate.

I turned the dial about 10 degrees clockwise first attempt and it read the cdr but not very well. The stops wouldn't allow me to turn it any more so i thought that was a good as it gets, but later i went back and simply just turned it about 90 degrees anti clockwise. Contry to popular belief it doesn't actually increase the power of the laser, just alters the wavelength. Different media seems to have different ideal wavelengths so just adjust it either way until it seems to perform as you want it to.

I turned my saturn on which turns the tv to the av channel automatically. In the half a second it takes the telly to do this the game was already well into the sega logo and loaded in no time. As fast as any original cd. I tried it with a few more games and everyone performed flawlessly, fast loading, even on games like mortal kombat trilogy where the laser head moves all over the place. With it working as i wanted i sealed the saturn up again and congratulated myself on a job well done. It took two attempts to get it perfect. Originals cd's just play the same as they had before, they have a higher reflectivity and would probably work fine on any adjustment of the dial.

I get no skipping, although sometimes, very seldom, upon loading it detects the disc as an audio cd. But i have known it do this with originals too, a quick reset with the power button fixes it.

 

[kuroiryu]

No go. The laser is already set to optimum frequency. Like you said, it'll only go about 10 degrees clockwise (maximum frequency), and more than a couple of degrees back from the original position, and it can't even see the disc ("Drive empty"). I tried several positions for the pot, but nothing worked below a certain point, and nothing helped the CD-R situation. Like I said, it's still looking for the security ring, and failing there on backups, so I think the problem is entirely in the mod. Thanks for the ideas, though. I appreciate it.

EDIT: Also, I should specify that booting of originals is pretty hit-and-miss. Today, I managed to get the Saturn to boot an original twice, and then tried a backup. The security ring check failed more quickly than usual (the laser moved out, fired for less than a second, and moved back). After a couple more tries, it wouldn't boot originals anymore. The connector on the chip is way too hard to get lined up properly, and it's also very thin. I think it may ALSO be slightly warped, which could cause some problems.

 

[fistandantilus]

The way to test if it reads cdr's ok without worrying about if the mod is working or not is to play the audio tracks on the cdr. If the saturn is reading the disc ok these will play modded or not. Its also much easier to detect skipping with audio. If the audio plays fine then your mod is at fault, if they don't i suggest trying out different brands of media. I use only tdk's and they work fine at the 90 degrees anti clockwise of the default position. I burn them at 16x, but thats only because thats the speed limit of the dvd-rw i burn them in, the old burn at single speed rubbish was always nonsense.

For anyone trying to adjust the dial, - I tried using a screw driver to turn the dial but it was difficult to turn because it seems the slot is made of rubber. I got around this by moving the laser head right to the top so its was easiest to get to the dial and by placing my finger on the square bit that pokes out to act as a stop i was able to turn it about 90 degrees anti clockwise quite easily. My cdr's worked much better turning the adjuster anti clockwise.

 

[IBarracudaI]

Humm, when a modboard is (correctly) installed the saturn won't even try to read the protection ring, if the laser is still going to the ring's zone the modboard isn't doing anything...

When you boot those original games is the ring read ?

Edit: Just read your posts again ... I'm almost sure it is a modboard problem ... Try booting the games with your saturn opened, and push the modboard to the right with your hand, sometimes the ribbon cable pushes the modboard towards the cdboard and proper contact between it and the mainboard cant be established. Then again, if it is a bad contact problem, i think you couldn't even boot originals.

 

[Dragonlordfrodo]

Mal You got a PM.

 

[malty]

just to add to the thread, ive tried 3 different mods on 3 different 21/64 pin uk pal saturns and none of them work. Just go to audio cd mode with backups and originals.

Soldered a to b, soldered 5v supply, mod components facing the outside of the console.

Ive cleaned all the ribbon ends, checked the sockets, pulled the mods halfout, leant them in different directions etc etc.

Saturn works fine with the mod out..

none of my saturns have pc trap boards, also I have tried the supposed "v2 64 pin mod" mentioned in the other thread, with no success.

Are my saturns unmoddable ?

thanks,

malty.

 

[kuroiryu]

fistandantilus: Yeah, it plays audio tracks on CD-Rs fine, with no skipping or any other problems. And when I do the swap trick, backups will run, so I know the Saturn is able to read the discs with no problem. Also, my Saturn couldn't even see originals when I played with the laser pot.

IBarracudaI: Yeah, when booting originals, the security ring is still read. I have tried pushing the board to the right, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. And the board has to be placed just right for the originals to boot. That'd be because with the board in a little wrong, the data moving through the ribbon cable comes out on the wrong pins and what-not. So if all the right pins are making correct contact, originals will boot, and backups won't.

And finally, malty: You and I are in the same boat. It's been proven that the A-B bridge accomplishes exactly what any other "technique" does by mal. These 64-pin Saturns are nasty beasts, and most of the mods out there just don't seem to work correctly with them. I'd have been more willing to just send my mod back to Jandaman, but he had to send two mods, and send the second one twice, before one made it to my house. It's looking like I'll have to try again with him, though.

 

[IBarracudaI]

humm, so the security ring is still being read when the modboard is inserted... Looks like the modboard don't get "the signal", maybe those 64pin saturn have a different timing/clock system ...

 

[Dragonlordfrodo]

I got my chip today. Followed Mal's method, and it works! However, Mal rewrote the book on modding, now I am writing a new chapter. I found that you don't even need to solder the wires. All you do is get some electrical tape and tape them into the appropriate places. However electrical tape is not really that sticky, so you need to wrap it around the mod a few times. It is much easier than soldering, but with solder you know you are getting a nice connection that won't come loose. I am still going to try to solder it down when I get the solder iron. This method is for people clumsy with tools (Like me)

 

[mal]

I really wouldn't recommend using any sort of tape as a long term solution, but each to their own. *shrug*

 

[Dragonlordfrodo]

Okay I am going to solder it in tomorrow, one thing through, do I need any flux for this?

 

[fistandantilus]

Just about every brand of solder I know off has flux inside a hollow core of the solder already, so you shouldn't need any extra. The only big mistake many amateur solderers make is not holding the iron to the joining long enough., ending up with whats called a dry solder, losing most of the electrical conductivity between the two joints

The temperture for a good weld is when the metal been soldered to, the wire been soldered and the solder are all the same temperture, ideally just hot enough to melt the solder. The best way to do this is to add the soldering iron tip to the board first as this often takes the longest to heat up with having more surface area, then place the wire in postition, then add the solder. Once you get good at this is can be done very quickly, just be careful with the amount of time you leave the soldering iron on if your soldering directly to a componant and not a track. Some componants can be very heat sensitive

 

[Dragonlordfrodo]

Well I soldered up the modchip today, without burning the house down Which is always a good thing. I booted up a burned game and it worked!

 

[resir]

Well, I inherited a Sega Saturn, and just received my modchip from Jandaman. Fast service, great price. I opened my Saturn earlier to determine if it was a 21 pin, and it does appear to be so. Unfortunately, in preparation for installing the chip, I opened my Saturn today and note that it has the 64 pin chip.



Nevertheless, I am going to be hopefully optimistic that it will work.

I have read this entire thread (and every other one I could find!) on installing modchips and I am hopeful that this chip and this particular 64 pin IC Saturn will work.

I have little to no experience soldering, so I'm hoping to try the method that requires me to do the least soldering - bridging on the chip so that I don't have to solder to the 64 pin IC. Unfortunately everything I've read in this thread and everything Mal has said (and I try to read everything he says, since he seems to be very knowledgeable about these things!!) seems to lead me to believe that it's unlikely this chip will even work, no matter how I solder it.

I have access to a few soldering irons which came in computer repair kits. I am hoping one of them will do!

Thanks to everyone who posts to this list. Every bit of extra information I can find helps.

 

[fistandantilus]

I have been having trouble with the liksang similar type of mod on a model 2 21 pin 32pin ic saturn.

I have tried every possible combination (ab joined and a joined to pin 14, joining 0014 & 0019 on the back, every combination of inserting the mod and the cable) but the best results i get are the way it should be the installation instructions, the cd spins but it either freezes or goes to the cd manager and there either pauses or just says verifying disc, the laser moves around then stops. Occasionally it flases between verifying disc and drive emtpy (this is not due to the cd close switch). One or twice it played audio but played it back at what seemed double speed. I am 99% the mod is faulty as I have had no problems modding this perticular model of saturn before. The saturn works fine with the mod removed.

I am awaiting the site I bought it off to get back to me, hopefully they will exchange it without too much trouble.

I bought it here http://www.robwebb.clara.co.uk/shop/saturn/saturn.htm . Its the upper of the two mods, as the lower one was out of stock when i purchased it.

I have people having success with this mod if you insert it back to front but this is not possible with this saturn due to having connector pins on the inside only.

anyone have any other ideas to what is wrong or has tried this particular mod?

update - the modboard was faulty but the seller replaced it swiftly. Recommended seller for uk people

 

[attilathehun]

Show picture of this soldering 64pin/pad trick that on da pad vs. the damn 8th pin! :thumbs-up:

 

[mal]

You haven't said the magic word.

 

[attilathehun]

Please