Differences

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--- regionmod [2015/12/08 21:52]
admin
+++ regionmod [2024/03/24 14:04] (current)
admin [The ingredients]
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 ====== Mega Drive Single-Switch Region Mod ======
-There are [[http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/console/sega/md1switches.htm|many]] [[http://djoen.dommel.be/Console/md1/md1.html|excellent]] [[https://web.archive.org/web/20150511051354/http://www.retrocorner.net/index.php?Mods_%2F_repairs:Megadrive_1_50%2F60hz_switch_-_page_1|guides]] on the internet about region modding the Sega Mega Drive. However, these guides all have one thing in common: they describe the installation of two switches on the Mega Drive to control the console's language and TV settings separately. Whilst experimenting with the knowledge gained from these guides, I discovered that you can actually control both settings with a single three-state switch. This makes the assembly much cleaner and simpler, requiring you to solder only three wires, and you end up with one easy-to-use switch that does exactly what you want: switch between American, European and Japanese.
+There are [[http://web.archive.org/web/20150726160005/http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/console/sega/md1switches.htm|many]] [[http://web.archive.org/web/20150925062013/http://djoen.dommel.be/Console/md1/md1.html|excellent]] [[https://web.archive.org/web/20150511051354/http://www.retrocorner.net/index.php?Mods_%2F_repairs:Megadrive_1_50%2F60hz_switch_-_page_1|guides]] on the internet about region modding the Sega Mega Drive. However, these guides all have one thing in common: they describe the installation of two switches on the Mega Drive to control the console's language and TV settings separately. Whilst experimenting with the knowledge gained from these guides, I discovered that you can actually control both settings with a single three-state switch. This makes the assembly much cleaner and simpler, requiring you to solder only three wires, and you end up with one easy-to-use switch that does exactly what you want: switch between American, European and Japanese.
-Before we start, I want to emphasize that I'm in no way an experienced electrical engineer. In fact, I barely know how to hold a soldering iron. All it takes to pull this mod off is a clear head and a bit of common sense. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at [[ndepoel@gmail.com]]. Be sure to mention it's about this guide in the subject header.
+Before we start, I want to emphasize that I'm in no way an experienced electrical engineer. In fact, I barely know how to hold a soldering iron. All it takes to pull this mod off is a clear head and a bit of common sense.
 ===== The theory =====
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 | English | PAL | Europe |
-The fourth combination (Japanese + PAL) does not exist in practice, so it can be ignored. These settings are used by the console to determine what kind of signal it should send out to the TV and by games to determine what language they should display. However, many newer games (from 1992 and later) also use these settings to prevent themselves from being played on consoles from a different region. For example, try to play an American cartridge of Street Fighter II on a European Mega Drive and you'll get a message saying it was not intended to be played on that console.
+The fourth combination (Japanese + PAL) is used in some Asian regions but isn't very relevant, so it can be ignored. These settings are used by the console to determine what kind of signal it should send out to the TV and by games to determine what language they should display. However, many newer games (from 1992 and later) also use these settings to prevent themselves from being played on consoles from a different region. For example, try to play an American cartridge of Street Fighter II on a European Mega Drive and you'll get a message saying it was not intended to be played on that console.
 The language and TV system settings are preset in hardware through a series of jumpers. These are visible on the motherboard as four rows of solder pads, some of which are connected by traces etched on the PCB. The pictures below show these jumpers in their original state on a European Mega Drive, as well as their location on the motherboard.
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   * (Optional) A sharp knife.
   * (Optional) A small drill.
-  * (Optional) Glue. I used polyurethane (PUR) glue for my mod, also known as Gorilla Glue in the US.
+  * (Optional) Glue. I used polyurethane (PUR) glue for my mod, also known as Gorilla Glue.
 {{regionmod:slide_switch.jpg?240|An on/off/on slide switch}}
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 First, open up your Mega Drive and cut the traces on JP2 and JP3. [[https://web.archive.org/web/20150511051354/http://www.retrocorner.net/index.php?Mods_%2F_repairs:Megadrive_1_50%2F60hz_switch_-_page_1|The guide on The RetroCorner]] already explains well how to do all this, so I don't need to repeat it here.
-Remove the capacitor on JP1. Just heat up the solder pads around its legs and you can pull it out. Alternatively, you could cut the legs with a wire cutter, but personally I don't like such destructive methods. This should leave you with the jumpers in the 'blank' state I showed earlier.
+Remove the capacitor on JP1. Heat up the solder pads around its legs and you can simply pull it out. Alternatively, you can just cut the legs with a wire cutter. This should leave you with the jumpers in the 'blank' state I showed earlier.
 Next, you will have to solder the three wires to the motherboard. I used the following color coding for my wires: black for ground, green for Europe, red for Japan. Solder the ground (black) wire to either one of the ground contacts; I used JP3's ground contact, but JP1 will work too. Solder the Europe (green) wire to the left-hand contact point of either JP3 or JP4. Since those contact points are connected with each other, it doesn't really matter which one you choose. Finally, solder the Japan (red) wire to the left-hand contact point of either JP1 or JP2.
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 The following YouTube video shows the single-switch region mod in action. Note that this recording was made using an early prototype implementation that involved a toggle switch, some speaker wire and lots of insulation tape.
-{{youtube>3wNIAnmzgk8?size=large}}
+{{youtube>3wNIAnmzgk8?large}}
 {{regionmod:prototype_mod.jpg?320|Prototype mod}}
-Properly soldering down the wires solved the instability of the Japanese mode when starting up Streets of Rage 2. Also, the delay you see in Sammy/Skate's name change when switching from Japanese to American, was caused by the capacitor on JP1. Now that the capacitor is removed, the change is instantaneous. Overall, the finished mod is a lot more stable and consistent than this early prototype mod.
+Properly soldering down the wires solved the instability of the Japanese mode when starting up Streets of Rage 2. Also, the delay you see in Sammy/Skate's name change when switching from Japanese to American, was caused by the capacitor on JP1. Now that the capacitor is removed, the change is instantaneous. Overall, the finished mod is a lot more stable and consistent than what is shown by this early prototype mod.
 ===== Thanks =====
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   * Tiido Priimägi aka [[http://tmeeco.eu/|TmEE]] from [[http://www.sega-16.com|Sega-16]] for providing me with some much-needed technical details on why this mod works.
   * Ace from [[http://www.sega-16.com|Sega-16]] for writing [[http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7796|an excellent guide]] on the different Mega Drive/Genesis models out there.
-  * Mike from [[https://web.archive.org/web/20150330063107/http://www.retrocorner.net/|The RetroCorner]], [[http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/|mmmonkey]], and [[http://djoen.dommel.be/|DjoeN]] for their outstanding guides on Mega Drive modding. These guides were the basis of my work here, and I couldn't have done it without them.
+  * Mike from [[https://web.archive.org/web/20150330063107/http://www.retrocorner.net/|The RetroCorner]], [[http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/|mmmonkey]], and [[http://web.archive.org/web/20150925062007/http://djoen.dommel.be/|DjoeN]] for their outstanding guides on Mega Drive modding. These guides were the basis of my work here, and I couldn't have done it without them.
   * My father for providing me with soldering tools and some helpful assistance.
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-(c) Copyright 2009-2010, 2015 by Nico de Poel aka Devil N
+(c) Copyright 2009-2010, 2015, 2021 by Nico de Poel aka Devil N aka Astfgl