Ace_1

Stick with a white unit if you do. I personally prefer that one. The only negative I have against it is that its casing looks so damn UGLY! Seriously, to me, it just looks like a flattened cylinder. Eww. I wouldn't want to own one of those, hell, I prefer to stick with an FC Twin, has the look of the SNES Mini(of which I owned a defective one for 1 day until I got the FC Twin in exchange) and combines a top-loader NES, so it was a win-win for me, but I can't play Castlevania III, Duck Hunt or Rad Racer II(no biggie, I've got a front-loader NES as backup). Sure beats a SNES Mini with permanently buzzing audio through the speakers and a top-loader NES with crappy RF video littered with noise(yuck!).

Cleaning your laser is the first step in solving your problem. If it still persists afterwards, you might need to adjust the POTs(don't ask me how) or replace your laser as a last resort.

I have seen this video showing Virtua Racing working on a Genesis 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs5WDBp4YOw. I want to buy myself one(I collect this stuff, I already have a Model 2 and a dead Model 1(failed region mod, but I can get another one to replace it. Doesn't look like I have to, I fixed it)), but I want to modify it to make it work with Virtua Racing, although I can't find instructions on how to get the damn game working on a Genesis 3. Who performed the mod here? Where are the instructions located? Underground Console Mods is supposed to have instructions, but their damn forums are down. Ugh!

I heard that it does, which kept me from upgrading my Gen2's RF connection to my LCD TV. I figured if it didnt matter, why bother? Little tip: if you open up your Genesis and it contains any of the Sony CXA video encoders, upgrade to S-Video ASAP. It's SO MUCH BETTER than composite or RF, let me tell ya. All blurring is gone. If you have that Samsung crap, and have some experience soldering and de-soldering surface-mount ICs, you can swap out the Samsung chip for a Sony CXA1145(the Samsung is a direct clone of the CXA1145 without Chroma or Luminance lines on the encoder).

Not so fast, Atariboy, the newer model FC Twin with the Yobo jewel in the back fixes the discoloration in StarFox. As for the NES side, the sound glitches with other clones are gone and everything sounds like it should. The newer ones are much more durable, too(I've had mine for almost a month, and as far as I know, some units would crap out after 2 weeks). I was wondering, though, whether the NOAC in the FC Twin has a CIRAM/CE line somewhere so that I can rewire the cartridge port and get Castlevania III to work properly and make Rad Racer II display the right graphics. What pin is CIRAM/CE on the NES cartridge connector? Also, how would I go about making a converter cable to connect my NES dog-bone controller to the FC Twin? It feels weird to use a SNES controller to play NES games(I'm sure this is how it worked if you had a Tri-Star attached to an original SNES).

I'm pretty sure the NES side is an NES-on-a-chip with a properly wired cartridge slot(this is what causes Castlevania 3 to crash when entering the first stage and Rad Racer II to display corrupt graphics(this is from personal experience on the FC Twin)) and the SNES side is the same as the FC Twin except with a *possibly* reverse-engineered lockout chip(I think you can also add one from a crappy game to the FC Twin because I discovered an empty solder area where a lockout chip could be fitted. I'll keep you posted if I get any SA-1 games that don't work without the chip added if that's the case). By the way, if anyone has a Gen-X or Retro Duo, could you please take apart your systems? I'd like to see their internals.

The only combo units I know of are ones that combine 2 consoles: FC Twin(SNES & NES), Retro Duo(an updated FC Twin with an uglier casing, S-Video and the lockout tabs for import cartridges removed) and Gen-X(Genesis and NES). What I'd like to see is a combo unit that plays Sega Master System, Genesis(with Sega CD), TurboGrafx 16(HU Card and CD-ROM), NES and SNES.

I attempted something like that on my Model 1, but I think I killed it(I also installed 2 region switches). I get no video through S-Video, not even the line that sometimes goes through the screen before the "Produced by or under license by Sega" screen when you turn on the console. The LED doesn't even turn on. The problem is not the power supply because I have another Model 1 which needed its player 1 controller port fixed and the LED was lit. I think there's a short somewhere, either on the CXA1145(highly doubt it) or where I put my region switches(I believe I bridged the connection between all 4 jumpers by accident instead of bridging jumper 1 with jumper 2 and jumper 3 with jumper 4. The trace between jumpers 2 and 4 have been cut, though, which should be what determines the region of an American Genesis, right? Anyways, if all else fails, I'll move over both my S-Video mod(I did it on a project board instead of just straight in between the parts) and my region switches(the board in this one is one of the later boards with a smaller Motorola 68000 and the Sony CXA1145M instead of the Sony CXA1145P, which is the board in the *possibly* dead system, but with the EXT port removed). Otherwise, I'll take one switch to my Model 1 and the other to my CXA1645-equipped Model 2.

See, my newer Model 2 with the Sony CXA1645 removes the noise, but still has some blur in the image(looks A LOT better than the one I had with the Samsung encoder). If you want to upgrade to A/V, PM me and I'll tell you how to make your own cables.

Dude, how the heck can I fry something if I made custom CABLES with male RCA plugs attached to them(they plug inside the Genesis' A/V port)? It doesn't make a difference. Heck, today, when I was testing out the Genesis 2s over at the place that now has about 7 of them, I've seen most of them with noticeable noise on the screen(through RF), except for the ones that have a Sony CXA1645 in them, which my new unit has. I might integrate a 32X in my other one like Longhorn did, keep it in storage with my NES and SNES or sell it.

Shouldn't the same apply to the late-model Genesis 2s with the Sony CXA1645 in it?

I can easily tell you how you can make your own using a wire and a male RCA plug. I have an update on my situation with the Genesis 2. I was able to pick up another Genesis 2(one of those made in China), and was pleasantly surprised. It still has the blurring of my other model 2, but not as bad, and has no noise. Upon opening it, I discovered a Sony CXA1645 in it(nice!). This should be VERY easy to mod with S-Video. Just 2 75 ohm resistors, one on the Chroma line and the other on the Luminance line and that's it(with a ground, obviously). Did I get that right? Off topic, but I still want to ask it, my FC Twin has that same video encoder, so I presume the S-Video mod will be this simple on that system too.

It is, but it's only part of the equation. There's several parts between the video encoder and final output. Edit: Okay, I was double-checking stuff, and it looks like the primary difference IS the video encoder. MOST Genny2s had the Samsung clone, but a few early ones had the Sony part. If I recall, they're completely swappable. I'm not certain, though. If I can't get a Sony CXA-equipped Genesis 2 at that place that has a whole bunch of them, I'll gut my late-model Genesis 1(it doesn't work properly, controller port needs a new EM14 thing, those black box-like things on the board behind the controller port) and take its CXA1145M.

I use extra hardware(all dead) for spare parts in case a working system craps out on me.

What I do notice is a cleaner picture(no column lines and blurred/jagged sprites on the edges) and brighter colors(the coloring isn't much of an issue, but the column lines(visible on Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II, a game with lots of gray) are a real big pain in the butt). I'll see if I can get one with a Sony CXA video encoder in it(what versions of the Sony CXA are in Genesis 2s, more specifically those made in China?).

Are you serious? I thought the Sony CXA chip in there was of better quality than that Samsung crap in my Genesis 2. Anyways, I was wondering if the Samsung chip can be replaced by a Sony CXA1145M like on the later Model 1 Genesis systems, since I believe that Samsung video encoder is a clone of the Sony CXA1145. Where does the video pick up the noise from anyways? FYI, I'm using A/V, not RF, in case it hasn't been mentioned.

I had managed to make normal A/V plugs be used on the Genesis 2 through the A/V port because I didn't have any and didn't want to buy any either. Now, I noticed that compared to my Model 1 Genesis, the video looks like $#[email protected] The image is darker, distorted(lots more jagged lines) and has noise(column lines like the Top-loader NES). Now, my system has the crappy Samsung KA-something video encoder, which is supposed to be junk. Is it because of that that my Genesis 2 has those video problems? While I'm at it, I would like to know if the Genesis 2s that are made in China(mine's made in Taiwan) have any of the Sony CXA video encoders. There are about 15 or so Genesis 2s available in my area, most of which are made in Taiwan, so when I go back to where they were, I'll test ouy each system until I find one with the same or slightly better or inferior video quality than a Genesis 1. By the way, does the Genesis 3 have better video quality than the other 2? I know it has compatibility problems, but I know that there is a way to get Virtua Racing to work, although I can't find a guide to that mod anywhere.

I know. I've seen some with several pins on the top of the cartridge missing. Oh, come to think of it, I forgot to ask if anyone has wiring diagrams or something so I could make my homemade Power Base Converter without frying anything.

Hmm... Time to get a crappy Genesis game and that broken Sega Master System(not now, though, the shop is closed).

I'll let you have this one... as long as you're referring specifically to the craptastic Game Boy Advance conversion. My most hated game of all time has to be Super Pitfall. This ill-conceived NES remake of Pitfall II isn't super by any stretch of the imagination, but it sure is pitiful! How do you make an NES game that's worse than the 2600 version in nearly every respect? Somehow, Pony Canyon managed. There wasn't a game on Earth that these guys couldn't stink up... they also released a horrendous port of Ballblazer for the Japanese NES, and a Super NES port of an Ultima game that was so bad they actually spelled their own name wrong on the title screen. Now THAT'S incompetence on a Three Stooges scale! Nuh-uh, I'm talking about the SNES version. I HATE IT!!!

Yeah, I don't think so. I have NEVER seen any Power Base Converters in my area, plus, on eBay, they cost more than an original working Sega Master System at that same place I can get the broken one. Plus, I actually WANT to do that, I don't care if it's easier to just pick up a Power Base Converter, I want to get into all this custom stuff and whatever, so I'm sticking with a homemade Power Base Converter, final. So, anyways, how would I go about wiring the Sega Master System cartridge port to make it work on a Genesis?

So what exactly needs to be done in order to get Sega Master System games working on the Genesis with a homemade adapter? Also, I was wondering whether games that take advantage of the Japanese Sega Master System's FM synthesis can do so on the Genesis, since that too uses a Yamaha FM sound chip(not the same, but was wondering if it worked the same way).

Searched everywhere about this and came out empty on information. I was wondering if it's possible to actually MAKE a converter for Sega Master System games on the Genesis(I have a broken Sega Master System I can go pick up at my friend's pawn shop) using a Sega Master System cartridge connector wired in such a way that it works in the Genesis. Wishful thinking, or something that's feasible? While I'm at it, would it also be possible to wire a card slot and Pause button like on the Power Base Converter or the Tototek Sega Master System/Mark III-Genesis converter(the latter has no card slot)? If it's not possible, can anyone confirm whether or not the Tototek converter works on the Model 2 Genesis?

I have to say R-Type III(to all R-Type fans who believe this is the greatest of all R-Type games, this is what I think of the game, so don't flame me for saying that it's the worst game in the series(it really is, IMO)). The difficulty of the game is just INSANE. It took me 3 MONTHS to get past the 2nd stage and I STILL CAN'T BEAT THE FRIGGIN GAME!(I never beat any R-Type game, really, except for Super R-Type on Novice, but that doesn't really count, since it's not the game's default difficulty level)

Real deals for cheap, yeah, right. I can't find top-loaders here and they're expensive as hell on eBay and the SNES Mini I brought back for an exchange at that place was defective(crackling audio no matter what type of A/V cable I used). So, this was a win-win for me, loving this unit. Even with the loss of 3 games(Duck Hunt, Castlevania III and Rad Racer II), I couldn't care less. That's why I have a front-loader as backup. Actually, guess what, Rad Racer II works, but with corrupt graphics. Still playable though, but it looks like $#!^