List of SD card hack, carts, alternative replacements to CD drive.

[Titchgamer]

Thats very kind of you thanks

No problem, at time friends and family just give to me their old video game systems. I just like doing the mods and don't want them to be trashed. At the moment I have a few original xboxes. Would rather they end up in homes of collectors then a trash bin.

Absolutely!

Makes me sad when I see people trash them, I have rescued a few systems from the bins.

Some were even perfectly fine just people either couldn’t or didn’t know how to connect them to the TV correctly!

[Titchgamer]

Had my NGCD back yesterday after sending it out to get the SD loader installed and got some play time in today

Works great and the load times are at least half usually less than the original CD drive, Plus you obv dont have the drive noise etc even though I opted to keep my drive in so the system stays original.
Also much the same as a Unibios it allows you to switch regions before booting the game to JP, US or EU.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y3eR0TLd7rcxGQmwPAgUmP5y3COAtK6D/view?usp=sharing

[pbj]

Got my Fenrir today.  Finally.  Took 3-4 weeks to arrive because it sat in an LA mail center forever.  They got it “despatched” from England quick, though.

It got my “tested, working guaranteed” Japanese Saturn with the dead drive that’s been teasing me since June playable.  Installs in about 5 minutes.

Works really well with the Action Replay.  You boot into the replay, do your thing, then tell it to start a game.  Then it boots to the Fenrir menu.  You select a game and it loads almost instantly.  Tested a few ram cart games and no issues.

I don’t remember the Saturn ever really having obnoxious load times, but it sure is quick on the Fenrir.  ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- I could never get working on CDRs in the 90s fired right up. 

Contemplating buying that 3D printed mount that plugs up the holes from the removed CD drive.  Price seems high but it looks nice ($25 shipped).

Anyway, this was truly a needless purchase but I wanted to recapture my childhood and celebrate a new job so here we are.

 

[Howard_Casto]

If you aren't in any hurry I'll print you one.  Everything is in a holding pattern right now as I'm moving all my stuff into the house but once I get my printer moved in and properly calibrated I have a few things I need to print.  One more isn't going to make any difference.  The goal is to have my stuff over there by the end of the month.... more likely it'll be the middle of next month at the rate I'm going. 

[Locke141]

Nice,

I have a rhea and love it. It seems that power supply’s on Saturns are worth replacing with moderns replacements. I have a Dream cast that had a dead power supply that is now SD and the AC to DC conversation is now External using a cheep PC power supply and a simple internal board. I haven’t done this on my Saturn yet but it’s on my list.

Here is one: 
US $34.93  30％ Off | Bitfunx SaturnPSU Power-Supply 12V for SEGA Saturn game Console
https://a.aliexpress.com/_dUtNKsr

Also,
I will update the list on the first page. Any other options I should add?

[Howard_Casto]

Do they really go bad that much?  I tested mine when I got it... all the voltages seemed good. 

I love this thread btw....I'd love to do a companion thread sometime that shows how to do soft mods for all the consoles that already support hard drives but I barely have time to chat in here anymore. 

[Titchgamer]

Do they really go bad that much?  I tested mine when I got it... all the voltages seemed good. 

I love this thread btw....I'd love to do a companion thread sometime that shows how to do soft mods for all the consoles that already support hard drives but I barely have time to chat in here anymore.

I dont think the Saturn ones are to bad tbh but they do build up heat.
So the PICO PSU's are great for that, Also allowed me to convert mine to a UK plug as its a Japanese console

Now the Dreamcast PSU's on the other hand are junk IMO and defo want replacing with a PICO.
Again heat build up is significantly reduced to

[opt2not]

No, the Dreamcast and Saturn PSU’s are solid. They might just need a recap but they should never be replaced with off the shelf PSU solutions. There have been extensive research (Down to wave length analysis)  lately by guys like Voultar and DB_Electronics, who are well known EE’s In the modding hobby scene that have been putting out PSA’s recently to not replace the Sega PSU’s.

I have my my DC and Saturn on stock, recapped PSU’s, and I even use an additional DC PSU to power a Naomi arcade system, replacing the bigger bulky Sun PSU. It puts out the same voltages and can handle the load of the Naomi.

I’ll try to track down some of the articles and PSA posts about them, but the consensus is people should not be replacing these PSU’s. They’re built solid. Just needs some servicing by this time in their age.

[Locke141]

No, the Dreamcast and Saturn PSU’s are solid. They might just need a recap but they should never be replaced with off the shelf PSU solutions. There have been extensive research (Down to wave length analysis)  lately by guys like Voultar and DB_Electronics, who are well known EE’s In the modding hobby scene that have been putting out PSA’s recently to not replace the Sega PSU’s.

I have my my DC and Saturn on stock, recapped PSU’s, and I even use an additional DC PSU to power a Naomi arcade system, replacing the bigger bulky Sun PSU. It puts out the same voltages and can handle the load of the Naomi.

I’ll try to track down some of the articles and PSA posts about them, but the consensus is people should not be replacing these PSU’s. They’re built solid. Just needs some servicing by this time in their age.

Good to know. I have one Saturn (my childhood one) with a dead power supply. I now have two working ones with the original power supply’s. The DC I modded with SD has a replacement and seems to be great for that system.

[opt2not]

The DC I modded with SD has a replacement and seems to be great for that system

Yeah the brain dudes I mentioned also say that if you’re using an ODE and want to reduce the heat caused by lack of load on the 12v rail, to do the simple resistor mod on the original PSU. That way you keep the OG PSU but adjust it for the lack of Optical Drive.

[Titchgamer]

The DC I modded with SD has a replacement and seems to be great for that system

Yeah the brain dudes I mentioned also say that if you’re using an ODE and want to reduce the heat caused by lack of load on the 12v rail, to do the simple resistor mod on the original PSU. That way you keep the OG PSU but adjust it for the lack of Optical Drive.

My personal issue with the DC PSU is the rails on it.
The Saturn PSU is solid though IMO.

As a side note I would be interested to see their findings with PICO PSU's, The one thing you got to remember about them though is that they are only as good as the PSU's you plug into them.
Mine are both running high quality Leicke PSU's.
Both run very well, Cool and with 0 issues.

[pbj]

I left my Saturn on for 12 hours yesterday and it was barely warm.  I can’t see replacing a working power supply.

Been having a lot of fun with my Fenrir.  Playing stuff that didn’t even have good rips back in my Saturn heyday.  Lot of games holding up surprisingly well.

 

[Howard_Casto]

I cant wait to get my stuff set back up.  I've got a stack of blank cds so i'm just going to take a day and go nuts.

[Titchgamer]

I left my Saturn on for 12 hours yesterday and it was barely warm.  I can’t see replacing a working power supply.

Been having a lot of fun with my Fenrir.  Playing stuff that didn’t even have good rips back in my Saturn heyday.  Lot of games holding up surprisingly well.

 

Nah if its staying cool and the caps are good leave it be

My DC was the biggest heater tbh, that thing got unnecessarily warm even with the resistor mod done, But Like I said previous I dont like the DC PSU's.

I only really changed my Saturn one because:
A) I was really impressed with the DC pico.
B) It was a Japanese console so I had to run it via a transformer, Now I dont.

It did get warm like but nowhere near as warm as the DC used to.

[Locke141]

I generally agree that if it work it works. For my DC that had a dead power supply anyway, they replacement seems to have fixed all issues and I like it.

I have a working Saturn with a Rhea and a original power supply. I'll try the cheep DC supply on my childhood one with the dead power. I already have a working one, why not?

[Titchgamer]

Just incase anyone has been living under a rock there is finally another ODE option for PSX to rival the PSIO:

https://castlemaniagames.com/collections/frontpage/products/xstation

[KenToad]

The xstation looks very promising, especially in comparison to the PSIO, which seems to have panned out to be a disappointment.

I still use the old swap disc and a GameShark with custom firmware. They run everything except multi disc games, but I don't have time for that anyway.

[Locke141]

I have a PSIO I need to install. This new one looks simple to install.

[Titchgamer]

I have a PSIO I need to install. This new one looks simple to install.

Its classed as a advanced install actually, looks can be deceiving lol

[Howard_Casto]

Neither are great options due to the install.  For right now a simple mod chip and a stack of CDs might be the best option.  I'm sure eventually there will be a drop in replacement though. 

[Titchgamer]

Neither are great options due to the install.  For right now a simple mod chip and a stack of CDs might be the best option.  I'm sure eventually there will be a drop in replacement though.

It would be nice to have a drop in someone like me could install.
Unlikely any time soon though from what I have read.

I believe the Architecture used on the PS1 plus the copy protection makes it very awkward.

I have a PSIO but it certainly has some issues, I know the team behind it are constantly working on it to try and make it perfect and I really hope they nail it soon.

I have brought a xstation to, Obv not shipped yet but once it does I will get one of my known installers to put it in for me then I can compare the 2.

If it works as described it should be a much smoother experience than the PSIO.

But we shall see

[Howard_Casto]

Yeah but they said that about the Saturn too and eventually we got one, so I remain hopeful.  Typically any security system... hardware or software has at least one stupid flaw... it's just a matter of finding it. 

[Titchgamer]

Yeah but they said that about the Saturn too and eventually we got one, so I remain hopeful.  Typically any security system... hardware or software has at least one stupid flaw... it's just a matter of finding it.

Oh no doubt.

But yeah may be a while yet lol

[Locke141]

I have every faith that I can do the PSIO mod , but I just need to do it.  Did an alternative ever appear for sale for the Saturn? I love the Rhea but the back of the console device software hack looked like a cool options.

Also, I need to update the list in this threads first post. If there is anything I should add please let me know in a reply.

[Titchgamer]

I have every faith that I can do the PSIO mod , but I just need to do it.  Did an alternative ever appear for sale for the Saturn? I love the Rhea but the back of the console device software hack looked like a cool options.

Also, I need to update the list in this threads first post. If there is anything I should add please let me know in a reply.

I meant the xstation mod, PSIO install aint to bad if you can solder heh.

The only other real option for the Saturn other than Rhea/Phoebe is the MODE from TO.

[Locke141]

Yea, I can do the install techich bits, but just need the time. The kids (3 & 6) take up a lot of time. more so in these C-19 days.

[gamepimp]

The only other real option for the Saturn other than Rhea/Phoebe is the MODE from TO.

There is another device for the Saturn called the "Satiator" which is supposed to be released next month. It's a card that plugs into the back of the console where the video CD decoder card would normally go. Unfortunately it's going to be $260 which would make it the most expensive option. I think it will let you continue to use actual CDs in the console unlike the other ODE options though. Maybe that's why it is so pricey.

https://www.retrorgb.com/satiator-price-availability-revealed.html

[Locke141]

The only other real option for the Saturn other than Rhea/Phoebe is the MODE from TO.

There is another device for the Saturn called the "Satiator" which is supposed to be released next month. It's a card that plugs into the back of the console where the video CD decoder card would normally go. Unfortunately it's going to be $260 which would make it the most expensive option. I think it will let you continue to use actual CDs in the console unlike the other ODE options though. Maybe that's why it is so pricey.

https://www.retrorgb.com/satiator-price-availability-revealed.html

That's the other options I was thinking of.

[Titchgamer]

The only other real option for the Saturn other than Rhea/Phoebe is the MODE from TO.

There is another device for the Saturn called the "Satiator" which is supposed to be released next month. It's a card that plugs into the back of the console where the video CD decoder card would normally go. Unfortunately it's going to be $260 which would make it the most expensive option. I think it will let you continue to use actual CDs in the console unlike the other ODE options though. Maybe that's why it is so pricey.

https://www.retrorgb.com/satiator-price-availability-revealed.html

Yeah I know about it but was not going to mention it.
I have not seen any real world videos etc of it working or anything yet.

But also I think the price is ridiculous for what it is, Especially as he funded his R&D via Patreon and I know they are pissed coz he only offered them a small discount lol

[gamepimp]

Yeah I know about it but was not going to mention it.
I have not seen any real world videos etc of it working or anything yet.

But also I think the price is ridiculous for what it is, Especially as he funded his R&D via Patreon and I know they are pissed coz he only offered them a small discount lol

Bob at RetroRGB did a video on a beta version:



I agree that the price is pretty bonkers compared to the other ODEs. Perhaps making the hardware is way more costly?

[Locke141]

I’m happy with my Rhea. But they are not cheep and not regularly available.

I’m planing on doing my PSIO this week, as this thread makes me kick my self that I got in early and never did the install.

[opt2not]

My GC Loader came in today. I don't see it listed in the first post, but for anyone who hasn't heard it's a plug-n-play ODE for the Gamecube.

https://www.black-dog.tech/gc-loader-pnp.html
 
Yeah yeah, bring on the "just use a Wii" comments.  But for me, I can't stand the Wii. I hate dealing with the Menu and having being forced to use the wiimote. I just want power-up and go.

Anyway, I'll install my GC Loader this weekend and see how it runs. From what I've heard, it's a great device for anyone who still loves the Gamecube.

[pbj]

I feel you in the Wii menu, I really do.  I haven’t looked into it in years but I recall people were working on firmwares to allow wired controller navigation.  My wii hasn’t been turned on in a decade.   

I do not get the point of a PS1 drive emulator, though.  System is 100% emulated and games can be played on more modern playstations...

 

[opt2not]

I do not get the point of a PS1 drive emulator, though.  System is 100% emulated and games can be played on more modern playstations...

And there are some incredible enhancements to the PSX emulators these days:

https://www.libretro.com/index.php/new-vulkan-graphics-enhancements-features-in-beetle-psx-hw/

[pbj]

“Priacy is not condoned and this product shall not be used for this purpose.”

 

[Howard_Casto]

Yeah that's a pretty stupid thing to say.  They do realize that even if "you are running a backup of a valid copy" it's still considered piracy in most places right?

As for the wii it's one of Nintendo's best consoles.... not sure where that hate is coming from unless you hate good games. 

Most of these backup systems are pointless though if you give emulation as an alternative.  I would say it's particularly bad on the Sony side of things since they've been using the same damn controller for 30 years.... it'll literally feel the same regardless of which playstation you play it on. 

[pbj]

I mean, like what you like, but I splashed out on the Fenrir because Saturn is still an emulation train wreck.  I’m still chewing on buying an N64 and one of those multicarts.  Had a Z64 back in the day.   

[Locke141]

I just like having the EXP of using the original consoles to play the games. That said, the PS1 was not high on my list but I used to be more focused on getting all my classic systems playing Multi carts or hard drives collection of old games.

Any way I just finished installing the internal board in my PS1 for the PSIO, not simple but doable. Haven't turned it on yet, I'm sleepy, but I'll try to get the PSIO SD card setup and play this week.

[pbj]

Nothing else to do.  Go for it.

[Howard_Casto]

I mean, like what you like, but I splashed out on the Fenrir because Saturn is still an emulation train wreck.  I’m still chewing on buying an N64 and one of those multicarts.  Had a Z64 back in the day.   

There's really no point in a multicart for the N64.  I got a everdrive clone for it for like 40 bucks.... plays every title.  It's even fancy enough to support thumbnails and stuff.  I didn't mean I preferred emulation... I've got a everdrive (or equivalent) for everything but my NES and 2600 at this point, I just meant putting things in perspective none of what we are doing is at all practical.  Somehow you guys sucked me down this rabbit hole and I'm playing most games on original hardware now.  I'm not complaining, but it's good practice to take a step back every once in a while. 

Been thinking of doing the rgbNES mod, but do I really want to spend all that time and money when I have a NES classic with all the games on it?  It's questions like that which haunt me.