More Philips CDI stuff arrived this week: The twins CDI 450/00 and CDI 550/00. While the 450 is a very common low-cost model, I’ve never seen a 550 before (actually the 450 + DVC was sold as 550).
Philips CDI 450 & 550 and Mad Dog McCree
Yearly Archives: 2014
Philips CDI 220 Service Software / Self-Test
Chapter 5 of the Philips CDI 220 service manual (the manual that helped finding the right spots for the 60 Hz modification) deals with the built-in service software:
5 SERVICE SOFTWARE
In the set there are 3 different testsoftware available:
1. FTD-display/keyboard test
2. Low Level test
3. Service Shell
I’m going to cite the instructions for 1. and 3. and add pictures or comments if needed (I’m not going to cover 2. as it requires an extra service pcb and/or terminal).
Note: The service manual is valid for the Philips CD-i players CDI 220/20 220/25 220/39 (PAL) and CDI 220/31 220/37 (NTSC). On other players/models the test instructions should be similar if not the same. Continue reading Philips CDI 220 Service Software / Self-Test
View LaserDisc Subtitles with TVGuardian 101
Most US LaserDiscs have CC (closed captioning) subtitles. To view them outside the US, you’ll need a CC decoder.
The TVGuardian 101 is a terrible device for uptight people that detects and censors words like “hell” in the CC subtitles. It is also supposed to mute the audio when an offending word or sentence is detected. For more details, see the manual that is available here: .
When the filter is turned off, this device is a very cheap alternative to CC decoders and can be used to superimpose CC subtitles on the LaserDisc video signal.
Continue reading View LaserDisc Subtitles with TVGuardian 101
Samsung DVD-N505 NUON Enhanced DVD Player
I finally received a NUON Enhanced DVD Player, the missing VLM link between Atari Jaguar CD and Microsoft Xbox 360. It’s in very bad shape and came without a remote control, but it works like a charm and even plays games on DVD+/-R and homebrew games on CD-R.
These players are quite rare and show up only once or twice a year on eBay. The model I got is Samsung’s last European NUON DVD player, the DVD-N505 without controller ports. There are two hacks to add controller ports though. I’m going for the latter hack and will add mini-DIN connectors to the Logitech Gamepads soon.
Sega Mission Stick – Continued
While removing the throttle wheel from the stick, unit I noticed two small plastic rings connected by a spring jumping away. It took me quite some time to figure out the correct position when assembling the stick. In case you encounter this problem too, this is how the rings have to sit on the throttle wheel:
Sega Mission Stick / Analog Mission Stick
The next Saturn peripheral on my list is the Sega Mission Stick (Analog Mission Stick). This is the black US model MK-80104:
It has been used before but is still in a very good shape. Unfortunately, it smells rather strange. Better take it apart to give it a good cleaning.
Continue reading Sega Mission Stick / Analog Mission StickSegaSaturn Twin-Stick
Even though I’m trying to collect as many different SegaSaturn peripherals as I can find, I successfully avoided the Twin-Stick until last week. Mainly because of its huge size and small library of supported games. Well, here it is:
Bandai Datach Barcodes for MESS
The Bandai Datach Joint ROM System is now emulated in MESS SVN and accepts scanned barcodes. Details can be found on etabeta’s playground.
These are the 40 cards (unsorted) for the first Datach game, Dragon Ball Z: Gekitō Tenkaichi Budokai. The barcodes (EAN-13) were read with Bytescout BarCode Reader and can be used with the MESS emulator. I haven’t verified the codes yet. If you find any errors then please let me know.
Continue reading Bandai Datach Barcodes for MESS
Akazukin Cha-Cha and PC Engine Fan Special CD-ROM Vol.2 for PC-FX
Two more items for my PC-FX collection:
Akazukin Cha-Cha: Osawagase! Panic Race! and PC Engine Fan Special CD-ROM Vol.2.
Ultraman Club: Spokon Fight!! for Datach
Today the second game for the Datach Joint ROM System was waiting for me at the post office. I’m glad to have found it for a decent price as these mini cartridges and barcode cards are quite rare and/or pricey.
Ultraman Club: Spokon Fight!! (ウルトラマン倶楽部 スポ根ファイト!!) is a track and field / Olympics game with characters from the Ultraman universe. It contains a Datach mini cartridge and 40 barcode cards (including two blanks).