Interference in Sega Saturn

tech3475

Well-Known Member
OP
Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2009
Messages
3,687
Trophies
2
XP
6,097
Country
I’m having a weird interference issue with my Saturn, where by the picture just looks fuzzy at all times.

I went to have a look at it today but as it turns out disconnecting the CD Drive stops the issue, as soon as it’s got power and data it returns.

Annoyingly I still need the drive installed for my Satiator to work and for some reason it makes the BIOS sound deep, so keeping it disconnected is not an option.

Does anyone have any advice? I’ve tested the voltages from the PSU, seemed fine (12v and 5v rails IIRC).
 

Alexander1970

XP not matters.
Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2018
Messages
14,973
Trophies
3
Location
Austria
XP
2,500
Country
Austria
I’m having a weird interference issue with my Saturn, where by the picture just looks fuzzy at all times.

I went to have a look at it today but as it turns out disconnecting the CD Drive stops the issue, as soon as it’s got power and data it returns.

Annoyingly I still need the drive installed for my Satiator to work and for some reason it makes the BIOS sound deep, so keeping it disconnected is not an option.

Does anyone have any advice? I’ve tested the voltages from the PSU, seemed fine (12v and 5v rails IIRC).


Your Scart / RGB Cable maybe ? :unsure:
 
  • Like
Reactions: tech3475

FAST6191

Techromancer
Editorial Team
Joined
Nov 21, 2005
Messages
36,798
Trophies
3
XP
28,375
Country
United Kingdom
I doubt we have many around here that have answers to such a question offhand, even on consoles we commonly consider and play component level fixing on.

For it to suddenly happen and be cured in that way usually means a component in there has failed -- capacitor dried up, filter broke, inductor coil failed/shorted, one of the previous bypassed as someone spilled something... or maybe that the laser is on the way out and whatever auto correction it does pumped the power and with it came the noise. The other option is it is acting as an antenna for some other noisy device (take it to another room/house, put it in the middle of the floor rather than the TV cabinet, maybe do some shielding) but that is unlikely for a CD drive.


Solutions at this point are one of three

1) You track down the failed component, assuming it is that, and replace. I don't know what the Saturn peeps are up to these days as far as diagrams, hope you don't have to get a matching one and compare values. Might be enough to probe with an oscilloscope though. Could also scrounge maybe a whole drive assembly from another Saturn, though that could be an expensive hobby (I don't think they were tied to a system, though I also don't know how many models of drive there were and their mutual compatibility).
Could also be if you bolted some other device on there that also draws power that a capacitor, resistor or something that would have chugged along for years under stock conditions is suddenly being forced to do work and has failed accordingly. In that case upgrades or alternative points for power might be the order of the day.

2) You isolate the noise either at the CD level or the A/V out level (filters, capacitors, whatever does the trick).

3) You cut down your drive to be the minimum viable product for the I presume that Satiator is a mod chip or drive emulator.
If life is nice it will merely be that the Satiator measures a resistance and you then chuck a resistor across the thing (see things like airbags in cars and screen detection for those making a single screen DS to play GBA games or have a swap screen button and do DS games).
As I am not going to predict life being that nice you may then need to figure out what you can lose from the drive and still have it behave suitably for the Satiator whilst also curing your noise issue (you can bring in elements of 1 and 2 here as well). Normal sources of noise are motors and optical drives tend to feature those to disconnect (maybe need to chuck a resistor across it) and also figure out any detection methods you might also need to bypass here (see things like how to fake out a car CD player such that the line in works for it but probably a bit more advanced).


Have fun.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tech3475

tech3475

Well-Known Member
OP
Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2009
Messages
3,687
Trophies
2
XP
6,097
Country
Your Scart / RGB Cable maybe ? :unsure:

Maybe, I've tried 2 cables but they're both the same type i.e. cheap ebay.

Unfortunately Retro Gaming Cables is out of stock, so I'll have to keep an eye on it, been thinking of upgrading my cables anyway.

I doubt we have many around here that have answers to such a question offhand, even on consoles we commonly consider and play component level fixing on.

For it to suddenly happen and be cured in that way usually means a component in there has failed -- capacitor dried up, filter broke, inductor coil failed/shorted, one of the previous bypassed as someone spilled something... or maybe that the laser is on the way out and whatever auto correction it does pumped the power and with it came the noise. The other option is it is acting as an antenna for some other noisy device (take it to another room/house, put it in the middle of the floor rather than the TV cabinet, maybe do some shielding) but that is unlikely for a CD drive.


Solutions at this point are one of three

1) You track down the failed component, assuming it is that, and replace. I don't know what the Saturn peeps are up to these days as far as diagrams, hope you don't have to get a matching one and compare values. Might be enough to probe with an oscilloscope though. Could also scrounge maybe a whole drive assembly from another Saturn, though that could be an expensive hobby (I don't think they were tied to a system, though I also don't know how many models of drive there were and their mutual compatibility).
Could also be if you bolted some other device on there that also draws power that a capacitor, resistor or something that would have chugged along for years under stock conditions is suddenly being forced to do work and has failed accordingly. In that case upgrades or alternative points for power might be the order of the day.

2) You isolate the noise either at the CD level or the A/V out level (filters, capacitors, whatever does the trick).

3) You cut down your drive to be the minimum viable product for the I presume that Satiator is a mod chip or drive emulator.
If life is nice it will merely be that the Satiator measures a resistance and you then chuck a resistor across the thing (see things like airbags in cars and screen detection for those making a single screen DS to play GBA games or have a swap screen button and do DS games).
As I am not going to predict life being that nice you may then need to figure out what you can lose from the drive and still have it behave suitably for the Satiator whilst also curing your noise issue (you can bring in elements of 1 and 2 here as well). Normal sources of noise are motors and optical drives tend to feature those to disconnect (maybe need to chuck a resistor across it) and also figure out any detection methods you might also need to bypass here (see things like how to fake out a car CD player such that the line in works for it but probably a bit more advanced).


Have fun.

Yeah, I fear it becomes something like this, especially since the only service manual I can find is a model 1.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Alexander1970

tech3475

Well-Known Member
OP
Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2009
Messages
3,687
Trophies
2
XP
6,097
Country
Update:

Recap hasn’t fixed it nor removing the drive motors, starting to suspect a faulty IC or something more obscure.

I have however been able to find a way to boot games without the drives data cable (just power, which seems to not cause interference), although it still suffers from the slowdown issue.

I’m starting to consider just buying a replacement (ouch the market prices though) and maybe just using this for experimenting/secondary system.

Update 2:

Got a Model 1 delivered, seems to work fine. Thankfully I got the Satiator so I don’t need to open the system up.
 
Last edited by tech3475,
  • Like
Reactions: Alexander1970

Site & Scene News

Popular threads in this forum

General chit-chat
Help Users
  • BakerMan
    I rather enjoy a life of taking it easy. I haven't reached that life yet though.
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    No real point since movies are 30fps
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    Not a big movie buff, more of a gamer tbh. And Series X is 120hz 8k ready, but yea only 120hz 4k games out right now, but thinking of in the future.
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    Mostly why you never see TV manufacturers going post 60hz
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    I only watch tv when i goto bed, it puts me to sleep, and I have a nas drive filled w my fav shows so i can watch them in order, commercial free. I usually watch Married w Children, or South Park
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    Stremio ruined my need for nas
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    I stream from Nas to firestick, one on every tv, and use Kodi. I'm happy w it, plays everything. (I pirate/torrent shows/movies on pc, and put on nas)
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    Kodi repost are still pretty popular
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    What the hell is Kodi reposts? what do you mean, or "Wut?" -xdqwerty
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    Google them basically web crawlers to movie sites
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    oh you mean the 3rd party apps on Kodi, yea i know what you mean, yea there are still a few cool ones, in fact watched the new planet of the apes movie other night w wifey thru one, was good pic surprisingly, not a cam
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    Damn, only $2.06 and free shipping. Gotta cost more for them to ship than $2.06
    +1
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    I got my Dad a firestick for Xmas and showed him those 3rd party sites on Kodi, he loves it, all he watches anymore. He said he has got 3 letters from AT&T already about pirating, but he says f them, let them shut my internet off (He wants out of his AT&T contract anyways)
  • K3Nv2 @ K3Nv2:
    That's where stremio comes to play never got a letter about it
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    I just use a VPN, even give him my login and password so can use it also, and he refuses, he's funny.
  • BigOnYa @ BigOnYa:
    I had to find and get him an old style flip phone even without text, cause thats what he wanted. No text, no internet, only phone calls. Old, old school.
  • Psionic Roshambo @ Psionic Roshambo:
    @BigOnYa, Lol I bought a new USB card reader thing on AliExpress last month for I think like 87 cents. Free shipping from China... It arrived it works and honestly I don't understand how it was so cheap.
    +1
  • BakerMan @ BakerMan:
    fellas
  • BakerMan @ BakerMan:
    would you rather have a 9-5 desk job with poor pay or work for an intergalactic space militia with no guarantee of being paid?
  • BakerMan @ BakerMan:
    basically, normal boring job or halo and/or helldivers irl
  • SylverReZ @ SylverReZ:
    Lol. Have you heard about this?
  • SylverReZ @ SylverReZ:
    I wish the people who make these emulators know the basic primer course on copyright and trademarks.
    SylverReZ @ SylverReZ: I wish the people who make these emulators know the basic primer course on copyright and trademarks.