MAKE A SEGASATURN BUILT-IN MEMORY CART

[RubyRoid]

I was able to make a working board with a TSOP chip from Aliexpress. Unfortunately, out of 5 chips I ordered only one worked which is a shame. I will probably buy a programmer and try to flash the rest of the chips with it just to make sure.

Also the testing tool did not detect the chip and didn't give me an unlock option. Instead, I was able to just clear the memory in BIOS and it works just fine.

What is the disadvantage of having the board in always-on manual mode? Are there any accessories or games that I'm going to have issues with?

 

[tzmwx]

I was able to make a working board with a TSOP chip from Aliexpress. Unfortunately, out of 5 chips I ordered only one worked which is a shame. I will probably buy a programmer and try to flash the rest of the chips with it just to make sure.

Also the testing tool did not detect the chip and didn't give me an unlock option. Instead, I was able to just clear the memory in BIOS and it works just fine.

What is the disadvantage of having the board in always-on manual mode? Are there any accessories or games that I'm going to have issues with?

1. This solution only supports ATMEL AT29C040A or ATMEL AT29C040
2. Use the programmer to read the chip ID and confirm whether it is an ATMEL chip. There are many winboand chips pretending to be it.
3. Eliminate the problem of poor welding.

In manual mode, it will conflict with other cassettes you insert, resulting in data errors. You cannot insert other cassettes at the same time

 

[RubyRoid]

In manual mode, it will conflict with other cassettes you insert, resulting in data errors. You cannot insert other cassettes at the same time

Thanks for your reply! Could this be the reason why I don’t see the chip in the testing tool? I use a PSKai cart to boot into it.

Will the testing tool detect the chip if I use automatic mode?

Update: I tried automatic mode and the testing tool is detecting the chip but only after I eject the PSKai cart and press A in the menu.

Didn’t expect this as I have the PSK cart inserted most of the time and it kind of limits the usage of the internal memory card for me.

 

[tzmwx]

Thanks for your reply! Could this be the reason why I don’t see the chip in the testing tool? I use a PSKai cart to boot into it.

Will the testing tool detect the chip if I use automatic mode?

Update: I tried automatic mode and the testing tool is detecting the chip but only after I eject the PSKai cart and press A in the menu.

Didn’t expect this as I have the PSK cart inserted most of the time and it kind of limits the usage of the internal memory card for me.

They cannot coexist. This is the meaning of manual and automatic.
When you insert other cards into the card slot, they will conflict when set to manual and will not work. When set to automatic, the memory module will be turned off to ensure the normal operation of the inserted card.

 

[RangerLunis]

Hello, I was planning on installing this mod myself soon and was hoping someone can explain the automatic/manual switching feature more to me. Is the mod able to switch between being a 1MB cart and 4MB using the automatic switch feature? Is it able to act as a save cart as well? Or is this feature just for switching in between a physical cart and the internal?

Also to enable the automatic switching, pin c must be de-soldered from the motherboard? Is the B board going to the top of the motherboard? Thanks for any help.

 

[RubyRoid]

Hello, I was planning on installing this mod myself soon and was hoping someone can explain the automatic/manual switching feature more to me. Is the mod able to switch between being a 1MB cart and 4MB using the automatic switch feature? Is it able to act as a save cart as well? Or is this feature just for switching in between a physical cart and the internal?

Also to enable the automatic switching, pin c must be de-soldered from the motherboard? Is the B board going to the top of the motherboard? Thanks for any help.

Hi, the automatic switch feature is needed to simply enable or disable the mod depending on whether or not another cart is inserted into the cartridge slot.

To make it work you need to cut the cartridge slot pin, coming to point C, disconnecting it from the Saturn motherboard, and then wire it to point A on the mod PCB.

 

[RubyRoid]

Hello, in case anybody needs one, I've made a small batch of modules, available at my store on Etsy:

https://ewasteboutique.etsy.com/listing/1785535104/sega-saturn-built-in-memory-card-module