I bought a Sega Titan Video (ST-V) mainboard and a Darksoft multi-cart along with a CPS2 in 2018 for use at home. I’ve rarely used it, and everything I’ve done with it hasn’t been documented here. This is about to change as it seems I have opened Pandora’s box after testing a SuperGun with it.
Introduction
The Sega Titan Video, more commonly known as Sega ST-V or STV is an arcade system based on the Sega Saturn. Not only based on, but actually having the same specifications, which makes it a low-cost arcade system (Nicole Express commented on this here). A lot of information about this system can be found in the usual places, such as Sega Retro, System 16, Arcade Otaku Wiki and most importantly the Arcade-Project Forums which turned out to be an invaluable source over the years to get this thing running. You will find many links to threads of this forum in this article.
This is a follow-up on the Terraonion MegaSD Cartridge article from 2019. In the past two years, I managed to find an MSDEXP adapter and a clamshell case for my MegaSD cartridge.
MSDEXP
Thanks to Mobius Strip Tech, I was able to source an MSDEXP. I can now finally play Mega-CD 32X games with the MegaSD.
The housing from Retro Frog is a high-quality print with a matte look. Inside there are two connectors, some passive components and a lot of tracks:
A quick and dirty hack to save a broken Philips CD-i RC6 remote control with a Sega Mega Drive controller.
Most CD-i players come with or are compatible with the 22ER9055 CD-i Commander, an RC6 remote control with a pressure-sensitive thumbpad. There are three known versions of the CD-i Commander:
RV 7701 – standard remote for most CD-i Players.
RV 7704 – with additional stand-by button for CDI660 and 670.
RV 7706 – with additional controls for CDI740.
When buying a used remote control, your first action should be to check the battery compartment for obvious leaking damage and also take it apart to find hidden damage. You never know if there were accidents in the past and previous owners just cleaned out the battery compartment without looking further into it.
After 2,5 years, TeamEurope updated their Sega Pico Flash Cart / Adapter to v2. Previously, I either modified“Assembled in Mexico” Pico cartridges or used the first version of the flash cart / adapter. Version 2 comes with some new features (e.g., added switches for ROM sizes and memory banks) and is split into two PCBs: FULL and REPRO. Additionally, they have released design files for the back covers.
Sega Pico flash cart / adapter v2 kits and back covers
This is a follow-up to the modifications I did to a NTSC VA15 Saturn. In this article, I will implement the following Sega Saturn (PAL VA3) modifications: Region-free BIOS, FRAM, and a 50/60 Hz switch (SW4).
After finishing the last article, I took three broken PAL Saturns that I had lying around apart to see what I could repair and modify next: A Model 1 with VA1 mainboard, a Model 1 with VA3 (aka “PAL VA SD”) mainboard and an almost identical Model 2 (VA5, also “PAL VA SD”). I had only one working Type-B power supply, so I had to make a choice. I went with the VA3 Model 1 because the mainboard was in the best condition and only needed a working disc drive and power cable, reset button stick, power suppy and some cleaning. This is how is looked before:
This article is about implementing the following Sega Saturn modifications: Region-free BIOS, FRAM, and switchless 50/60 Hz.
But first, we’ll need to go back in time a decade or so. Back then, I was modifying my “This is COOL” skeleton SegaSaturn (HST-0021/HST-3220) like crazy, stuffing everything inside that I could find:
Initially, I was planning to replace the P-ADB connector of my AppleJack controller with an ADB plug (Mini-DIN-4). The remaining P-ADB plug attached to a Mini-DIN-4 socket would then become an ADB adapter dongle. But why would I destroy the cable of my only controller? According to the documentation, which can be found here and here (in a very low resolution, unfortunately), a “Hosiden HGC0492-01-010 or equivalent” connector is needed. And that connector is impossible to find.
To get started, I created a new schematic based on the available documentation:
This has just arrived yesterday: The Terraonion MegaSD Cartridge. The makers are known for quality products like the NeoSD and the Super SD System 3. Their recent move of the office from Spain to Andorra has stirred some controversy and caused over-the-top reactions from some buyers. I didn’t experience any trouble and my cartridge arrived safely within a few days. This is what I got:
When I bought a second-hand Sega Pico in 2015, I immediatly noticed that something must be wrong with it. I didn’t expect a lot of interactivity or gameplay, but at least it should let me draw something. It turned out that the pen was registering the position/movement and also made a clicking noise when pressed down, but nothing else happened. The error was quickly found and repaired (broken micro switch), but the photos have been waiting on my hard drive ever since. A short repair instruction was posted on the ASSEMblergames board in the following year, so I didn’t see the need to rush out an article. Well, here we go:
The label of the pen is missing and it seems that somebody tried to open it up before me:
