Questions re: SMS compatibility

[Pantechnicon]

So I've had this great big old pile of Sega Master System carts for about a year and last night finally got around to exploring it somewhat.

I plugged a Power Base Converter into my Model I Genesis to see what the SMS titles were like. Out of around nine carts only three or four loaded on the Power Base. I assumed the non-loading carts were dirty so I went through my contact cleaning/degreasing rituals and still couldn't get the majority of titles to boot.

So I remembered that I had an actual Master System in the garage and pulled it out. Every single game that wouldn't boot on the Power Base fired right up in the Master System (/scratching head). Can anybody explain this? Examples of games I could not get to load in the Power Base were Shinobi and Altered Beast, among others.

Related - are there any similar compatibility issues with playing SMS titles on Game Gear using a Master Gear Converter? My feeling would be that the answer is no, as I understand the Master Gear is little more than a pin converter for the SMS hardware inside a GG. Since I'm not making CGE this year I've got good old Altairboy looking for a Master Gear Converter for me and I'm wondering if I should expect further disappointments.

[AB Positive]

I've not had any problems with my master gear converter on any of my games. I wasn't aware the power base converter had issues either however so I might have just lucked out.

-AG

[Raccoon Lad]

Those games SHOULD work with the power base converter. the only game that won't work is F-16 Fighting falcon, and there's a few that don't work right with the genesis controller, but otherwise load and function correctly.