Sega CD2/Genesis 1601

[mnbren05]

I was wondering if anyone could help me hookup my Genesis 1601 with my Sega CD 2. I just dug both out the closet and tried to hook them up with no luck. (they should still be working) I think I'm missing a few cables or I have something hooked up wrong. Advice anyone?

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

A description of what exactly happens when you try to turn the system on might help. Does the Genesis come up as if the Sega CD wasn't there? Do you just get a black screen? Does the light on the Sega CD come on? Etc.

There's no cables required when hooking a Genesis up to a Sega CD, so that's not your problem. Well...unless one of the missing cables is a power adapter or video cable, that is. You'll certainly need those.

You could try cleaning the expansion port on the Genesis and the connector on the Sega CD, that might be the source of the problem. Otherwise I'd say that one or both of them is in fact not working since there's not much else it could be if both systems have power and there's a good connection between them.


...word is bondage...

[Cinder6]

It can be a little annoying connecting the model 2 SCD to the Genesis. Make sure the connectors are flush, and that you have the correct AC adapters plugged in for both.

[mnbren05]

A description of what exactly happens when you try to turn the system on might help. Does the Genesis come up as if the Sega CD wasn't there? Do you just get a black screen? Does the light on the Sega CD come on? Etc.

There's no cables required when hooking a Genesis up to a Sega CD, so that's not your problem. Well...unless one of the missing cables is a power adapter or video cable, that is. You'll certainly need those.

You could try cleaning the expansion port on the Genesis and the connector on the Sega CD, that might be the source of the problem. Otherwise I'd say that one or both of them is in fact not working since there's not much else it could be if both systems have power and there's a good connection between them.


...word is bondage...

Right now I have the Genesis attached to the Sega CD 2 and I can get to the main screen for the Genesis. However I have no idea how to get the CD to respond. I tried power adaptors for both and nothing. (I do have two of these plugged in.) Right now I'm trying to get the av singal out of the CD and I'm lost here. Which cable do you use to get the CD signal? I have av cables running out of the Genesis right now but not the CD.

[Cinder6]

You run the AV cable out of the SCD. Just out of curiosity...you don't have a game in the Genesis while trying to turn on the SCD, do you?

[mnbren05]

You run the AV cable out of the SCD. Just out of curiosity...you don't have a game in the Genesis while trying to turn on the SCD, do you?

I tried to run with and without the cart in the Genesis. Right now I think I'm going to get a new AV cable for the CD I think that may be the problem.

[mnbren05]

ANy suggestions for a good quality av cable replacement part? I looked closely at the one I had and it was decently worn in some place and the ends have grooves in them.

[alec006]

Ok heres what you do and a picture to help with it. The picture shows the Genesis Model 1 and the Sega CD Model 1 (The model 2 is smaller but has the same ports.)

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m137/darkknux_2006/genesis.jpg

Number 1 is Your Audio/Video Out Port,this allows you to connect your Genesis to a TV using Composite Video and Mono Audio.

Number 2 is your power in which is the genesis standard Mk-1601 9v 1.2A Power Adapter

Number 3 Are your Stereo Audio Out Ports,These allow the Genesis to Output Stereo Audio from Mixing using the headphone port in the front.

Number 4 is the Mixing port where you can have Stereo Audio by connecting a 3.5mm Male to Male Headphone cable to the front headphones port on the Genesis,This is only used for Stereo Sound.

Number 5 is the Sega CD Power input which is the standard MK-1601 Genesis 9V 1.2A Adapter. Its said you can only use the Sega brand adapter with the Sega CD.

Pretty much a simple setup would be to connect the Genesis A/V to your TV and have both the Genesis and CD power adapters in. The connector on the side of the genesis should be cleaned to produce working results.
For Stereo Audio from the Sega CD, Get a 3.5mm Male to Male headphone wire and connect one end into the Headphones port on the front of the Genesis and to the back of the Sega CD into the Mixing Port. The Stereo Audio Ports are used to output audio only,there is NO video out on the Sega CD.

The wire needed for A/V Output is very cheap and can be found on ebay. Just look for Genesis 1 Video Cable.

Bah i sound like some tech support video lol,anyway,my Sega CD did the same thing,just clean the expancion connector on the Genesis with a cue tip and rubbing iso alchoal and it should do the trick. Hope all this helps.

[mnbren05]

Helpful guide, thanks for the pic. I was wondering though, do I need the expansion port that hooks onto the Sega CD on the side? I am hooking up a 1601 to a CD2 and I saw expansion port in the description. I thought it was only needed to get stability. Hmmm.

[Ze_ro]

If you have everything hooked up properly, and you still can't get anything to happen, then there might be a blown fuse in the SegaCD.

I bought a SegaCD (second model) just the other day, and it's dead. I opened it up and sure enough, there's a resistor that acts as a fuse, and it's blown. A look on the DP Knowledge Base (http://www.digitpress.com/livefaq/index.php) (a sorely underutilizeed resource, by the way) sent me to this page which shows how to replace it (http://www.mrvfone.com.au/sega/fuse.htm) (warning, soldering skills required!)

--Zero

[mnbren05]

If you have everything hooked up properly, and you still can't get anything to happen, then there might be a blown fuse in the SegaCD.

I bought a SegaCD (second model) just the other day, and it's dead. I opened it up and sure enough, there's a resistor that acts as a fuse, and it's blown. A look on the DP Knowledge Base (http://www.digitpress.com/livefaq/index.php) (a sorely underutilizeed resource, by the way) sent me to this page which shows how to replace it (http://www.mrvfone.com.au/sega/fuse.htm) (warning, soldering skills required!)

--Zero

I'm going to have to take a look inside I think. Still no luck with the CD thanks for the advice guys.

[Cinder6]

Helpful guide, thanks for the pic. I was wondering though, do I need the expansion port that hooks onto the Sega CD on the side? I am hooking up a 1601 to a CD2 and I saw expansion port in the description. I thought it was only needed to get stability. Hmmm.

Wait, you aren't plugging it into the expansion port? You need that.

[InsaneDavid]

Wait, you aren't plugging it into the expansion port? You need that.

No you don't. mnbren05 is miswording things, I think he's talking about the base expander that goes on the side of the SCD2 to extend it out beneath the Genesis 1 since it's longer than the Genesis 2.

[alec006]

Helpful guide, thanks for the pic. I was wondering though, do I need the expansion port that hooks onto the Sega CD on the side? I am hooking up a 1601 to a CD2 and I saw expansion port in the description. I thought it was only needed to get stability. Hmmm.

Lol,yea stable data ^^, the expansion connector on the right side of the Genesis is needed,it connects the Main Genesis motherboard to the Sega CD motherboard and does all that processor and sound data stuff. But yea you have to connect it or the Sega CD wont even respond to a power up. So yea,i think that may solve a problem ^^. And BTW if your wondering the EXT connector on the BACK of the Genesis,thats just used for the Meganet Modem only available in Japan.

[mnbren05]

Yes I'm sorry about that I typed the wrong thing. Well I'm off to hunt for the exp. connector. Thanks for the help. I'll keep everyone updated.

exp. connector = expansion connector (plastic thing comes off the sega cd2 to stabilize the genesis)

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

I'm still not sure what you're talking about when you say "exp. connector." I guess that like David suggested you must mean the plastic spacer thing that allows the Genesis 1 to fit better on the Sega CD 2 (since there's nothing to hunt for if you're talking about the actual expansion port connector, one side is one the Genesis and the other is on the Sega CD and they just connect together). If so, I wouldn't worry about hunting it down. It will make the system more stable, but it won't make it work if it's not working. You could try holding the outer edge of the Genesis up a little bit when you turn the power on to make sure there's a good connection and if that makes the Sega CD work, then possible getting the spacer could help, but I don't think that sounds like your problem.

Have you tried using the AC adapter that you've been using in the Sega CD in the Genesis instead just to make sure it's working?

If it's not that, it sounds like your Sega CD is broken. It's likely to be the fuse on the power board like Ze_ro suggested.


...word is bondage...

[Sosage]

As I just found out this past weekend, it only takes one power up with the wrong AC adapter to blow that fuse (my CD2 unit was working like a champ since buying it brand new. That is until I accidentally plugged a...duh...Nintendo adapter into it). I'm just adding to the recommendation of checking your fuse.

[mnbren05]

Well I opened the Sega CD and here is what I see. I did not feel confident poking around (removing things) so I figured I would post these. I look over the guide and I did not see any "fuse" with "F301" I can only see a box with "FL301". (I am assuming the "green top bobs" are fuses though.) Any idea what the black box is? Let me know if I'm missing something or you guys see anything.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

FL301 is probably it. FL stands for "Fusible Link," which is one of many different types of fuses. The "green top bobs" are fusible capacitors. The glass fuses you're used to are not usually used in this type of application, though I think some systems do use them. A friend of mine said he had to replace one in a CoreGrafx system once.

Anyway, a fusible link might be a little harder to replace than a fusible capacitor just because you'll have to desolder it from the board and remove it completely, but the procedure should be the same.

You'll want to test it first to make sure it's really blown. A multimeter is needed for this (well, you could use a battery and a light bulb with some pieces of wire or something like that, but a multimeter is *RECOMMENDED*) and of course a soldering iron and some light soldering skill will be needed for the actual replacement.

EDIT: actually, you might want to crack open that FL301 box and see if there's just a removeable fuse in there. That would certainly be nice, wouldn't it?


...word is bondage...

[Dreamcast]

The sega cd model 2 attends to break very easily. im suppriesed mine still works. My genesis is about to start a fire. 3 hudge adapters......

[mnbren05]

EDIT: actually, you might want to crack open that FL301 box and see if there's just a removeable fuse in there. That would certainly be nice, wouldn't it?


lol it would be pretty nice to open that up and solve everything. I opened it up and it looks fine. Just wondering, the 3v lithium battery gets a low reading on my battery tester (way down in the replacement area) could this be the problem?

[alec006]

lol it would be pretty nice to open that up and solve everything. I opened it up and it looks fine. Just wondering, the 3v lithium battery gets a low reading on my battery tester (way down in the replacement area) could this be the problem?

Nopes,thats just for Memory Storage for games on the Sega CD and its rechargeable so,i believe it will last awile longer,mine does at least and i have one of the first models.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

lol it would be pretty nice to open that up and solve everything. I opened it up and it looks fine.
Well, I wouldn't expect the fuse to look bad. I suppose that in some extreme situations, you might get a flare out that would leave a charred looking fuse, but in most cases it will still look just the same, but no longer be passing current, which is why you need to test it with a multimeter.

You might be able to use your battery tester to test the fuse, by the way. Run a wire between one of the battery contacts and one of the fuse contacts, then touch one of your battery tester wires to the other contact on the battery and the other battery tester wire to the second contact on the fuse. If you get no signal reading at all, then the fuse is blown.


...word is bondage...