Sega Mega Drive Restoration 

Here is something for the capacitor aficionados: Replacing capacitors in old hardware is always a good move and it has therapeutic benefits for some of us. However, it is just as pleasant to know what you are doing and why. The life of an aluminum electrolytic capacitor is mostly determined by the chemical reaction formula called "Arrhenius' Law of Chemical Activity" and therefore to an great extend by the ambient temperature. In short it says that the life of a capacitor doubles for every 10 degree Celsius decrease in temperature. L2 = L1 * (Vr/Vo) * 2^x where x = Tm - (Ta + deltaT) / 10 Ta = Ambient Temperature, Tm = Max temperature rating of the capacitor, deltaT = Temperature Rise from Ripple current Vr = Max voltage rating of the capacitor, Vo = Operating Voltage, L1 = Load Life Rating via Datasheet and L2 = The projected Life at operating Conditions So for a L1=1000h/85° 10V ordinary cap running in a 5V system with no thermal stress(at ~25°) this will result in the ballpark figure of around 20 years. The 20 years are operating hours, not an expiry date as for food:) If you substitute the ordinary with an Europe Chemi-Con gem with 10000h/105° 16V operating at 5V/40° you can expect a lifetime of 1,800,000 hours or 205 years. With power supply capacitors, the deltaT must be calculated with, as this can be an important value when ripple current is flowing to a greater extend than in normal applications. Have fun and enjoy the eventide of your life in 205 years together with your capacitor:)

Honestly the Megadrive is pretty reliable and not known to throw caps. The main issues you’ll find are just the usual dirty cartridge pins and dodgy power connector. The cases however do come up beautifully with some of that black plastic restorer you use on car bumpers. Fantastic to see a MD video tho. Sega never gets the love on YT (actually I should find an excuse to do a video). The Master System will always be my first love, but the Megadrive is a very, very close second.

Good old MegaDrive! God bless the 68000! Awesome videos as always. Thanks! :)

Jan, please use Black car plastic polish on the cases to bring them up like new.

Beautiful work. It looks just how I remember my Megadrive brand new!

As a big Mega Drive fan, I really like this video! :D Nice work! I know what pain it is to recap one of these machines since I did it with my own and it took forever! I was kinda shocked to see that many capacitors in there. But it was worth it in the end because I think one or two of them had started to leak as I found some strange substance on the board which I think was electrolyte from one of the caps. The picture quality improved slightly after I was done, so there was without a doubt a tired cap in there. If you're only going to play games from an Everdrive, I highly recommend doing a 60Hz mod since it is super-duper easy on Mega Drives. All you have to do is to cut a jumper and bridge another and you're done! I did that plus added a switch to mine so I can toggle between 50Hz and 60Hz on the fly and it really improved the gaming experience. Sonic games are just way too slow on 50Hz. Once again amazing video Jan, and I'm looking forward to se you stream some Mega Drive goodness :) P.S. Yes you should definetly retrobright it :D

Great work, Jan. It's nice to see you enjoying refurbing other retro equipment like this. I hope you have the opportunity to get your hands on more gear like this.

SEGA were clever compared to NINTENDO back in the Console days of the 80's, 90's and early 00's with all their systems.. The Master System was backwards compatible with the SG1000 and the Mega Drive was backwards compatible with the Master System. The Saturn was a 2D graphic power house and the Dreamcast was so ahead of its time. Some people think the addons for the Mega Drive were a load of rubbish, I disagree.. I had a soft spot for SEGA because of the Arcades and then I got my Master System in 86 and become a big fan of the company.. As you know Jan I do enjoy the Commodore computers too. I'm not a NINTENDO or other console manufacture hater I like anything and everything I just have a fondness for SEGA.

Wow talk about a coincidence! I had been looking at buying an original Model 1 the last four days and BAM you upload a restoration video. Def gonna use this for future reference!

Ah Jan!!! You should have done the 60Hz switch mod while you had it open, makes such a nice difference on PAL consoles with higher speeds and removes the borders. Very simple to do to.

I miss my megadrive i had the same model as this. Played "The Terminator" to death. No pun intended. Another nice video thanks for making.

Love the Pitfall game! There is a secret area in the game you can go to and play the original Atari game, and as long as you don't die, you can play the WHOLE game! I'm sure you knew that already, though!

I love the Megadrive and I also have one to clean up. Thanks for this video as it shows me how 👍

Can't believe you missed the obvious "gotta go fast like Sanic" opportunity before the recap montage.... Thanks Jan. Something really relaxing about watching people do retro electronic repair.

Yay, I've got a stack of these to rehab in the next month!

Aaah the Sega Mega Drive my favourite! They are pretty reliable aren’t they. I got 4 of them and a Mega SG for the ultimate Mega Drive experience 😀👍 now just want one of those cool Mega SD cartridge.

With the Everdrive Cartridge you can run also Sega Master System (SMS) Games on your Mega Drive which is pretty nice ;)

haha I remember that mega drive, I suspect I may have put a gamegear power supply in it which would be center positive, I am only 8 minutes in to the video so far, maybe I did the damage, maybe the reset button was the cause all along. By now I probably could have worked it out myself but I am super happy you got a video out of it, I have a poorly Amiga 500 board coming your way soon too, will be in touch!

Aladdin is a very fun mega drive game.

I have a Mega Drive 2, box and everything. It's in perfect shape and nothing on it has ever been opened - the guts of the controllers and console hasn't seen the light of day since the 90s. Though it has certainly had some playtime! I don't know how much playtime though, doesn't look like a lot since we only had one game for it (Mega Games 1), and to this day it looks very unused. EDIT: Just noticed the first cart you tried was Mega Games 1 as well! Awesome. I remember being pretty creeped out by Columns :P

Great videos

One of my favourite consoles, followed by the Dreamcast and Saturn

I have a Genesis my brother found but it is rusty. I might have to fix it some day. You have inspired me. I want one of those ever drive knockoffs.

So many capacitors! Just got my hand on two working Megadrives for future proofing and had not opened them up yet... Also have an Everdrive clone cartridge underway, so good to know that there can be issues.

Lovely Job Jan

I know this is a older video, but awesome job man. I replaced the caps my main and back up Sega Genesis, put new voltage regulator that you used and replaced the reset switch with the clickly one. I hope i can get another 20 years. but yeah really hate sega for how many caps they used 😅

Ah yes the Mega Drive, I like to call it that myself actually despite the fact that it's called Genesis here in America. Family used to have one and it's still here along with the old SNES as well was basically my early 90's those 2. Someone else commented about the switch mod which is indeed great for PAL versions of the console to make it work at NTSC or back to PAL as needed. Good to see you repairin' other retro hardware as well, keep it up. As for games to try, well aside the obvious ones The Sonics, Streets of Rages and what not, I would say some other very good games are: Ristar, Gunstar Heroes, Toejam & Earl, the Phantasy Star series, Shining Force series, Beyond Oasis, Landstalker, Rocket Knight Adventures and Kid Chameleon (even though it's unforgivably hard).

26:30 Ah yes. The good ole "clean the contacts and pads" that make most all controllers work again.

9:58 good old Jan!

Jan, Take a look at Mega Turrican, i think you'll probably like it, especially if you like the Amiga version.

Of all the things you've recapped I think you could've maybe skipped this one, top notch rubycon caps and I've never heard of anyone have bad caps on a Model 1 Mega Drive. But if you wanna do it then by all means do it.

Can you please recommend which capacitors to use for a recap?

Funny Tv brand you have there LIPS :P

Just a few Mega Drive games to try: Sonic 1&2, Alladin, Gunstar Heroes, Vectorman, Streets of Rage (1-3), Earthworm Jim. There are so many more great games!

I would like to see you retrobrighting this because it's turned black already. Except for the part that is labelled "Power - On".

the bit that broke is called a dpad keep up the good work oh yea and road rash wash best on the mega drive

You can use a little vaseline to lubricate the buttons, making the plastic not grind but run smooth.

​You could do a Game Gear recap video some time as well. That is an awesome system too. Plagued by the same leaky SMD caps as the Amigas. Maybe do a screen mod as well, although the better screen costs a fortune for the GG.

If you're still looking for Mega Drive game recommendations, try Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse. It's a fun platformer with a moderate difficulty curve Also, that fake everdrive will load Master System games as well - no need for a Master System converter.

Melvins shirt -nice

As a Brazilian, it is so weird to me to see a Mega Drive with the white/grey patch below the 16 bit logo. The Brazilian model is a hybrid, with the small 16 bit logo, red patch and Mega Drive name. We got some imports from USA and Japan, but never European models.

I really do not under stand your problem with 78xx/79xx voltage regulators. In 45 years of electronic repair as a job,not a hobby, I can count the number of these voltage regulator fails on one hand.

i grew up with a megadrive you should definitly play risky woods amazing game

What? A Jan Beta video that doesn't last 54 hours? I want my money back!!! :) More seriously, I still have fond memories of this puppy. Altered Beast, Shinobi, Aladdin, Mickey Mouse (Castle of illusions, iirc) are must haves. As for the console itself, I had one of the very first batches in France : it had an EXT port at the back and the now famous and very soghy after "high definition graphics stereo sound" sticker above the cartridge slot. Alas, it was stolen during a burglary :( Still makes me sad to this day...

Great video! What's that paste you used for the heat sink? Thermal paste?

I don't see many Mega Drive repair videos as they are very reliable systems. I must recap mine, just because of the age not because its getting faulty. 20:24 why did you swap the game in this jump cut? Was it not working?

Hey Jan, any chance of you doing a video on the gamegear? I'd love to see you restore it with tantalum or ceramic capacitors

You should do a 50/60hz mod.

WHAT TYPE OF PRODUCT YOU HAVE USED TO WASH AND POLISH PLASTIC PARTS

Nice job, you doing the 60hz mod next?

Try cleaning the motherboard the cardtridge connector the Sega cd expansion board it's how I fixed my original Sega Genesis model 1 high definition graphics system and it works excellent I saved 2 original Sega Genesis model 1 high definition graphics systems I bought off eBay and they both work excellent I cleaned the heat sink motherboard cardtridge connector Sega cd expansion and controller ports the less dust the more likely it will work also add new solder to the power pcb board and replace the voltage regulators and all the capacitors

grüße jan, schönes video. ich hab gerade auch eine bekommen und versuche sie wieder flott zu machen. eine frage: was denkst du, wäre ein RGB mod oder Composite mod sinnvoll, für tec. idioten wie mich? und kann man den RGB mod auch ohne widerstände und kondis basteln, oder ist das nicht möglich?..PS: kann man irgentwo noch neine dieser "fake-evercarts" kaufen? 80 euronen (plus und aus china) sind doch sehr viel für den originalen spaß...lg, danke für deine arbeit und ein super start in den frühling dir..dor krautrockt!er aus chemnitz

What, no RGB mod? Missed opportunity!

Honestly I would have just replaced the caps under the heatsink and been done with it. But hey that's just me.

Is that red thing for the sega cd?

11:57 God, it sounds like that Sonic game has been abusing sleeping pills! (I know, it's just not optimized for PAL.)

That cartridge was clearly faulty.. but measuring the ohms from +5V against the ground with the cartridge on/off instead of just powering it would probably have saved you some unnecessary steps and current spikes :)

Hi i have a megadrive and was cleaning with rubbing alchol , where the white is where it says power on i now have black smudge can i fix it i did i ruin it ? thanks

Jan, what's that HDMI converter you have set up for this, and what do you think of it?

highly recommend a 6buttons pad (if you have one in the box that you got) for SF2ce and other fighting games some others: streets of rage series shinobi series another world flashback aleste series valis III golden axe alisia dragoon phantasy star series

hello jan!

So you have a working system, you measure a healthy output voltage on both regulators but decide to replace them because a funky cartridge shuts the system down?

You should play it on the 1084.

My sega genesis (megadrive) turns on but just give black screen can u plese help me , what it could possibly be? thanks in advance

What are the keywords to search for the knock off Everdrive? The original everdrive seems a bit steep at 150USD.

Dude, links for the Everdrive clone PLEASE?

Is that a sidecar connector under that red tape on the right of the board? (edit: sorry, I never owned a Genesis/Mega Drive. That's the MegaCD port, isn't it?) also: no 68010 upgrade? 😁 (someone had to say it) also2: you should fix the squeaky controller so we can see what you're talking about with the D-pad.

Sir would you restore my Mega Drive ? I want the same professional quality work but is hard to find. Can we talk vía email or something ?

Servus Jan, Weißt du, ob die fake Everdrive Card auch im Master System 1 läuft? Auf die Idee kam ich weil ich früher immer die Mega Drive spiele meines Freundes auf meinem Master System gespielt habe. For all English Visitors: Does anybody know if the fake Everdrive Card also works in Sega's Master System 1? I got the Idea for this because I always played my Friend's Mega Drive Games on my Master System.

Excellent stuff. Can I ask if you've lived in the UK? I know most European's English skills are better than a Brit's language skills, but yours is near flawless and you use colloquialisms too.

This does what nintendon't

Hi Jan. You shouldn't use the knock off ever drive things. They're circuitry is design for the wrong voltages ( ~3.3 instead of 5V ), there's a chance you could harm your system by using them.

Uggghh please fix the capacitors. It's really bothering me they're lying all over the place.

Not very keen on recapping. I understand that :-)

Shiny! I need to source a knock-off everdrive...

2nd

They are very hardy consoles, I have owned my Mega Drive Mk1 from new and never had a issue. I own the original High Definition Graphics - Stereo Sound with the silver 16 - BIT logo. I also own a Mk2 Mega Drive and a MK1 Mega CD and I have the boxes etc for all of them, I got these brand new when they came out in the early 90's. Some flash cartridges are a bad idea to use if they have not been made professionally.. I would only use one from krikzz.com/store as I know these are well made and unlikely to damage the console.

polska

Love your channel Jan. I’ve only been watching your channel for a couple months, but I really enjoy what I’ve seen so far. Also I don’t want to be annoying but check out my channel I also cover retro tech. Anyway from one retro tech youtuber to another, keep up the good work.

The most disliked aspect of a technical video is out of frame actions, inaudible murmuring and big hairy arm in your face.

15:59 "Yeah there's definitely a lot of capacitors in there" Then you have never seen the insides of a Sega Genesis/Mega CDX, i own a Sega Genesis CDX, and the CD drive was not working correctly so i opened it up and found a lot of cocoons and insects and one insect that lay the cocoons, so i removed them all and then use the 4 screws to let the laser run good again, now he is doing a lot better, but still not 100%, but a Sega Genesis/Mega CDX has MANY little capacitors. 8bitplus.co.uk/your-consoles/sega-cdx-multi-mega-capacitor-replacement/

Mega Turrican is a great game to play, but then you need the Sega joypad that has 8 buttons, played it a LOT with my father on the Amiga 2000 back when i was a little kid (there it is called Turrican 3). ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6H-qskYLiAE.html