Sega Saturn Mod Chip

From WikiTechia

Sega Saturn Mod-chip installation (Source: http://www.racketboy.com/retro/2005/01/sega-saturn-mod-chip-installation.html)

I’ve had a handful of people asking me for a good set of intstruction on how to install the Sega Saturn mod chips that I sell.

I’m not responsible for any damage you may do to your Saturn by performing this modification. There isn’t much to worry about, but I just don’t want anybody mad at me :) Thanks to Jess Ragan for his help in creating this guide!

What You Need

   * A model 2 (32-pin - usually round-buttoned) Saturn
   * One Saturn mod chip
   * A soldering iron (here’s a new-to-soldering guide)
   * Possibly some extra wire (see step #2)
   * Transparent tape/Scotch tape
   * Scissors
   * Phillips head screwdriver with a long thin neck that can reach the Saturn’s case screws.
   * A copy of a Saturn game for testing purposes.
   * A nail file or something similar (may only need this if chip does not fit snugly)

Step 1 - Preparation

   * Keep your chip safe by leaving it in the anti-static bag that I ship them in.
   * Unplug your Saturn
   * Turn your Saturn upside down on a table
   * Remove the Saturn’s case screws
   * Put the screws in a safe place
   * Turn the Saturn right side up.

Step 2 - Install Chip and Hook-up Lens Cable

   * Look at the twisted white ribbon cable running from the center of the system to the shiny metal box on the right hand side.
   * Part of the ribbon will be taped to this metal box.
   * First peel the tape off the metal box, then gently unplug the right end of the ribbon cable.
   * Take this end of the cable and plug it into the connector on the modchip as pointed out below.
   * Plug the chip itself into the plug where the lens cable was.
   * If the chip does not plug in easily, you may need to file down the side edges of the plug in order to give it a better fit.

Step 3 - Getting Link Cables Layed Out

   * Below you can see the linking (soldering) points of the two cables from the IC chip towards the motherboad.
   * You can also see how the lens cable is to hooked up to the chip.
   * A close-up shot of both solder points follows in the next steps.
   * You may need to add some extra wire to extend the link cables’ reach across the machine.

Step 4 - Connect the Power Link Cable

   * The small wire soldered into the left side of the mod chip is called a jumper cable
   * Attach this jumper cable to the Saturn to power the chip
   * On the left side of the Saturn, there are four metal pins in a vertical row
   * Take the end of the jumper cable and plug it into the second pin from the top (on the back of the unit) even if you see 5 pins instead of 4. (It’s the one marked 5VA — if one does not work, try the other).
   * Below is a close-up of where to solder the power cable (red)
   * Please note the power wire MUST solder to the power socket directly!

Step 5 - Connect the Signal Link Cable There are two ways to do this step:

   * The original way was to solder the signal (blue) wire to pin 14 of the 32-pin chip.
   * To make this easier, put 2 pieces of thin cardboard surrounding and isolated the 14th pin
   * Then you soldered to the 14th pin very easily, ignoring the other pins
   * Below is close-up of where to solder the Signal cable (blue)

OR

   * You can get rid of the signal cable altogether and link the signal point to point B with a bit of solder instead of linking to pin 14 of the 32-pin chip.
   * This experiment has been detailed at this thread at SegaXtreme

Step 6: Finishing Up

   * Take a few pieces of tape and lay them over the ribbon that’s hanging over the chip
   * Tape it down onto the shiny metal box so the ribbon and tape hold the chip in place.
   * Secure the ribbon with a few more pieces of tape, because you never can be too sure.
   * Before you put the case back onto the Saturn, make sure everything is ready to run.
   * Are the connections tight?
   * Is the mod chip taped down well?
   * Once everything looks good, re-assemble your Saturn case.

Testing

   * Set your Saturn back up, plug in the controllers
   * hook it up to your television set
   * Put a burned backup CD into the Saturn and turn the system on
   * The disc should play just like a real Saturn game.
   * If not, you’ll need to open the Saturn again and see what you did wrong.

Additional Links: Saturn Modchip Troubleshooting Guide Soldering Guide