Bought a cheap Asian Sega Megadrive. I show the nasty conversion they done on these to make them run in the PAL Asian regions and show what I done to convert it back into a Japanese machine. DamoMonsters channel: / thedamomonster
This video really saved me. I just recently acquired a what I thought was Japanese Megadrive. The R logo was there and the model number seemed to check out so I figured it's fine. Imagine my surprise when I opened it up and was like "There is no way this came from Sega this way" and figured I got me one of those Asian clones that run 50 Hz only. But then it seemed "too real and looked like a genuine Sega Board and when I saw the Crystal I was like "huh so maybe there is a way to reverse this shit" and came across this video. So, thanks :)
Oh I might add there is another difference: For some reason the Pins on the right on this board are black instead of Gold. I don't know if they applied some coating and whether it is removable but that's just another difference I noticed.
Awesome find! I really should pick up a Japanese or Asian machine & an Everdrive. Mind you it is pretty cool running things like Pyron's colour hacks & Steph's sound driver fixes and other rom hacks on the Raspberry Pi 3!
Was a pretty lucky find, managed to get in there mere seconds before another person lol. I am able to run those rom hacks on the everdrive also, along with homebrew, demos etc :)
I have the same model Everdrive and had the same issues using it on my modded Mega Drive 2. I solved it by putting the Everdrive into Genesis 3 mode. Now it never fails to load a game. No idea why it works but it did for me.
Playing NTSC games in PAL mode does feel quite nostalgic for people who had such consoles in their younger days. When I started watching youtube let's plays of some NES games sometimes they seemed a bit off for that reason, especially when it came to soundtracks. So, I think such consoles do have their place with the mods as well, at least in some parts of the world.
Yeah it's purely a nostalgia thing for me at least. Most games are better in 60hz but there are a few that just don't sound or play right unless they are t 50hz. Thanks for watching and commenting :)
I've got one of these Asian megadrives, was apparently bought here back in the day in good old northern Ireland. Absolutely no clue as to why these were being sold here but funny either way
I thought you might leave the sonic sticker on. It fits well there. You said the everdrive was a cheapo one? The ones I've looked at are all crazy expensive.
I bought one of these last week when I checked it, I felt weird because of that wire on the back... I'm very skeptical of it. so does it was the original japanese system that got modded or does it is just a clone that not made by sega?
It's an original Japanese model that got modded. But from what I understand there are some variations in the final result, depending on the particular location or maybe country. Mine for example has no sign of the fixed wire.
I followed Damo's video to restoring back to Japanese his was same revision as mine VA5 but Composite is now in Black & White is that supposed to happen in the revert process or have i missed something? Currently waiting on my SCART Cable.
In some ways yes, the jumpers are traced differently, for jumpers 1 and 2 that's between Japanese and English, and jumpers 3 and 4 are for 50 HZ and 60 HZ, on a Japanese model jumpers 1 and 4 are traced, the US "Genesis" one jumpers 2 and 4 are traced, and on a PAL one it's jumpers 2 and 3 that are traced, watch this video it'll help. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tpz7kMSkSro.html
Hey there... I've got an Asian PAL Megadrive model 1601-11 and I'm currently trying to figure out whether to add the Switchless 50/60 Hz Region Free mod (primarily to play games at 60 Hz, as 1601-11 is already region free anyway) or spend a little more money and purchase an original Japanese Megadrive which will just run at 60 Hz naturally. Can anyone advise if there are any strong benefits of getting the original Japanese console (other than awesome waves of zen purist satisfaction?! 🤓). Note: I have mainly Japanese games in my collection, except for Mega Games 2 and Mortal Kombat 1&2 which I hope to continue playing. I realize if I purchase the HAA-2510 Japanese Megadrive I'll need to open it up and remove the cartridge lock inside to allow me to play those different shaped UK (Megadrive) or indeed USA (Genesis) carts. I don't want to unnecessarily spend extra money on a Japanese HAA-2510 if switchless 50/60 Hz modding my 1601-11 will give comparable results. I hope somebody can advise!
Update: I got an interesting response to my question from spacewall213, over on Reddit. They said: "Main reason to go for a Japanese native 60hz console is to get the correct clock speed. A PAL Asian Megadrive modded for 60hz will still be just ever so slightly off the correct clock speed which can lead to artifacts BTW - I don't believe the Asian Megadrives are truly region free. You would also need to do the language mod if you want to be able to play US NTSC games released after software region locks became a thing. Having said all the above, I would just do the 50/60hz speed and English/Japanese language mods and enjoy what you have"
