Rick Dangerous Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Have been looking for one of these forever! Best picture and sound I have ever seen/heard out of a Model 2. Better than my model 1 in some ways. Based on the model number I believe it is a Majesco For those of you who have no idea what i'm talking about....: http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?7796-GUIDE-Telling-apart-good-Genesis-1s-and-Genesis-2s-from-bad-ones 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdStrikeMike Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 (edited) Congrats!! I still need to check mine. I snagged a model 2 from eBay new in the original box for super cheap. Original bags are still taped shut although the box is a bit beat. I put it in my closet since I got it. Waiting to get a new Sega CD 2 and but them out. I'm a little iffy on using the brand new controller. Might just snag a used one and keep the new one as back up. Fingers crossed as to which model 2 version it is. Edited March 26, 2016 by 3rdStrikeMike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdStrikeMike Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 It was a no-go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dangerous Posted March 28, 2016 Author Share Posted March 28, 2016 It was a no-go That's not uncommon, very few are 3/4 motherboard, and I think only 1 in 50 Genesis model 2's are the 3/4 mobo variation 4, so yeah....you won't see them too often. It's nice that you have a solid mint model II though!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdStrikeMike Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 That's not uncommon, very few are 3/4 motherboard, and I think only 1 in 50 Genesis model 2's are the 3/4 mobo variation 4, so yeah....you won't see them too often. It's nice that you have a solid mint model II though!! Yeah, I definitely can't complain. I got everything brand new in box for 55 shipped. One of the very few great deals for anything new and retro I've found on eBay. If you don't mind me asking, where did you find it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dangerous Posted March 28, 2016 Author Share Posted March 28, 2016 (edited) Yeah, I definitely can't complain. I got everything brand new in box for 55 shipped. One of the very few great deals for anything new and retro I've found on eBay. If you don't mind me asking, where did you find it? Gamers Grotto in Bennington Vermont. A tiny town with one of the better Play n' Trades in the state...(Vermont.) They had about 30 model II's kicking around the basement and I checked them out 1 by 1 until I found this gem! Any time you are in a used game shop, check the model II's out (flip em' over.) The people who run the shops NEVER know about the motherboard variations, and sooner or later you will stumble upon a 3/4 motherboard. Look for one with the two tabs cut out, and you will have yourself a Sega (or Majesco) Variation 4 3/4 motherboard! Its so sought after because of the the high quality video AND sound, one of which is almost always messed up on a model II. Edited March 28, 2016 by travistouchdown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdStrikeMike Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Gamers Grotto in Bennington Vermont. A tiny town with one of the better Play n' Trades in the state...(Vermont.) They had about 30 model II's kicking around the basement and I checked them out 1 by 1 until I found this gem! Any time you are in a used game shop, check the model II's out (flip em' over.) The people who run the shops NEVER know about the motherboard variations, and sooner or later you will stumble upon a 3/4 motherboard. Look for one with the two tabs cut out, and you will have yourself a Sega (or Majesco) Variation 4 3/4 motherboard! Its so sought after because of the the high quality video AND sound, one of which is almost always messed up on a model II. Awesome. I greatly appreciate the info. I have that post on the different mobo revisions printed in color (thanks work lol), but I wasn't sure what the best version of the II was. Let the search begin! P.S. I'm super new on here and I really enjoy how nice and helpful everyone has been. Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teh_lurv Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 Nice find Travis! I have a VA4 3/4s Model 2 myself and it is a great revision. One thing I noticed when I opened mine up was the quality of the capacitors. SEGA used Rubicon (supposedly a good brand) caps for the early Model 1s, then switched to cheaper brands for the later Model 1s & 2s. My Majesco VA4 Genny (and I assume all other VA4s) went back to using the higher quality caps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted September 4, 2016 Share Posted September 4, 2016 Bumping this old thread because I found one too! While I love my original model 1, I wanted something a little smaller in order to accommodate my other stuff. The model 3 is a great console and I had one (awesome picture on these) but it has no stereo sound and no ability to play SMS games, Virtua Racing, etc. So the solution is a model 2 for me. I have known of the quality of the VA4 board for years, but it is pretty hard to obtain. This Majesco Genesis is even harder.....MUCH harder. It took me months and checking the bottoms of what must be thousands of model 2 Genesis consoles before I *finally* found one! Was it worth it? HELL YES. The quality of the video and sound are right on par with the original model 1 console as far as I can tell. The package I received had the controller and the PSU that was sold with it. The PSU is a different model than the standard PSU that comes with "normal" model 2 machines, and the controller is definitely made of some different stuff (like the D-Pad is not glossy and seems to be made of the same matt plastic that the six button controllers use). All in all, really glad I found one of these. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted September 27, 2016 Share Posted September 27, 2016 Holy crap I found another one. This time the seller said it was "as in for parts not working" and said the games "come out in black and white sometimes". Well, must have been his cable because it is crystal clear and works beautifully 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hecmeister Posted September 27, 2016 Share Posted September 27, 2016 Holy crap I found another one. This time the seller said it was "as in for parts not working" and said the games "come out in black and white sometimes". Well, must have been his cable because it is crystal clear and works beautifully Sweet Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+FujiSkunk Posted September 27, 2016 Share Posted September 27, 2016 Nice snag. A while back, shortly after I read about the differences of all the different... Genesises? Geneses? Genesi? Anyway, after reading I looked discovered I had one of these in my pile. Sadly it didn't work, so I let it go at a swap meet. I've got several of the good Model 1's plus a Japanese converter box that turns the Genesis's RGB into good quality S-video, so I'm still set. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airsoftmodels Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 Hello, I am a new Genesis II owner (less than a year) I read this post and anxiously turned over my Genesis to see which one I had. Its definitely a 3/4 model, but I am unsure if it has cut out tabs. The model is MK-1631. Does that mean it was built by Sega? Thanks for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 (edited) It was built by Sega. Probably a VA3 board as you do not have the cut out tabs on the shielding. The VA4 models have those notches on the shielding like in Travis's original picture of the bottom. The VA3 is good if it has the Sony CXA1645, but it is a grab bag and you would not know unless you open it and look at it. All VA4 models have this video encoder as far as I am aware so you know you have a good one More on the various models here: http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?7796-GUIDE-Telling-apart-good-Genesis-1s-and-Genesis-2s-from-bad-ones Edited October 5, 2016 by eightbit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airsoftmodels Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 Thanks, eightbit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiLic0ne t0aD Posted October 22, 2016 Share Posted October 22, 2016 A friend of mine has what appears to be a VA3 3/4 mobo Genny 2 for sale. It's unknown if it has the desired Sony chip in it until it's opened up. Based on that, what would be a fair price to offer him? I have no clue what any of these go for.. Thanks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airsoftmodels Posted October 22, 2016 Share Posted October 22, 2016 My curiosity got the better of me and I decided to open up my 3/4 genesis model 2... looks like mine has the sony cxa1645m! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiLic0ne t0aD Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Welp, nevermind... he offered to sell it to me for $20 bucks. It's worth the gamble. I'll report back when I get it opened up...fingers crossed. Hopefully it's "the one", especially considering I just ordered a Mega EverDrive x3 a few days ago. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airsoftmodels Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Welp, nevermind... he offered to sell it to me for $20 bucks. It's worth the gamble. I'll report back when I get it opened up...fingers crossed. Hopefully it's "the one", especially considering I just ordered a Mega EverDrive x3 a few days ago. i've got the everdrive for mine and i love it. even plays the sms games too. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dangerous Posted October 24, 2016 Author Share Posted October 24, 2016 Great finds people! I actually have a 3/4 Mobo VA 3 as well, need to open it up to see if it has the sony cxa1645m sometime soon... I use it with a 32x and Sega CD Model II though. I think the 32x takes over a good deal of the video capabilities if used in tandem, so the video chip may be irrelevant for that setup. My 3/4 VA 4 I keep solo for playing with my Mega Everdrive and using the save feature (annoyingly can't be used with 32x for genny games) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy B. Coyote Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 (edited) I finally found one today too! I had been wanting to get a new Genesis to replace the old regular Model 2 that I sold a couple years ago, and today I stumbled on this when I visited my favorite local game store to see what they had on sale for Black Friday. It was a little scratched up on top, but it was the first 3/4 motherboard Model 2 that I have ever seen in the wild and for $29.95 after tax with an official 6 button controller and composite cables included I couldn't pass it up. Edit: I just opened it up to see if it had the super desirable Sony chip in it, but it had the Samsung KA2195D chip sadly. Still, it should be much nicer than my previous Model 2 and I'm definitely looking forward to trying it out tomorrow after I've gotten some much needed sleep. Edited November 25, 2016 by Jin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airsoftmodels Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Its amazing to me that these fantastic machines only go for $30. I've definitely got my $30 worth out of it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zetastrike Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 It's funny, when I was looking to buy my first Genesis in 2009 I went to my game shop and started turning over model 2s to see if there were any short boards, found this on the first one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dangerous Posted December 23, 2016 Author Share Posted December 23, 2016 Its amazing to me that these fantastic machines only go for $30. I've definitely got my $30 worth out of it. It's probably the best bargain in gaming because 99.9999% of people don't know to look out for the short REV 4 MOBO models when looking for a model II. It's really a rare hidden gem and can be had for $20-30 bucks. Amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy B. Coyote Posted March 21, 2019 Share Posted March 21, 2019 VA4 Score! https://www.ebay.com/itm/223456555156 It only took me like a year of searching, but I finally found a VA4 Model 2 that looks to be in good condition and was priced reasonably. I figure after reselling the games and 6-button controllers it came bundled with the system will end up only setting me back $30 or so, which I'm totally cool with. I'll be really excited to see how the graphics and sound compare to my usual VA6 Model 1 High-Def Genesis when it arrives in the mail, and eventually setting up the VA4 Model 2 with a 32X and Sega CD Model 2 later down the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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