Switches on a Modded Genesis

[DrGamer]

Can someone tell me what all the switches are for on a "modded" Genesis or give me a link or links explaining them? The switches are 1. 50/60 Switch-I know that one and why. 2. Overclock Switch - why would you need that and when would you use it? 3. JPN switch-Not sure what this does.... 4. Standby switch....don't know why this would be there....couldn't you just put the game on pause???
Any help appreciated!!!
Thanks!

[anagrama]

The 50/60Hz Switches and JP/English switches are used in conjuction to set the region to play any Mega Drive/Genesis game, regardless of region: 60+English = US, 60+JP = Japan, 50+English = PAL.

Overclocking will theoretically prevent slow-down in some action-intensive games, but can also mess with timing issues in other games.

I've not tried overclocking, but would highly recommend the 50/60Hz & language mod to anyone who's not terrified of a soldering iron.

I've no idea what the stand-by switch you mention is

[DrGamer]

Thanks for the info anagrama. I just got mine in the mail and I was unsure of what all the switches were for....I am not positive on the name of that standby switch...when I get home I will post what it says exactly...the person I bought it from has not responded to my email...but then again, his wife just had a baby ....so I think he is very very busy
And he was very helpful and informative...so I'm sure it's just the "baby" thing!
Actually, I bought it from a person that responded to a post here

Also, I forgot to mention....he did widen the slot so Japanese games would fit
The job he did was very professional and very good...I would recommend him highly if anyone is interested and he is ok with doing more....he name is Scott Simmons in Canada

[anagrama]

Oh, one more thing to mention - if you're trying to play a region-locked PAL game on a US TV, you'll need to switch it back to 60Hz after the game has booted, otherwise you'll probably get a rolling screen.

There's a small number of PAL-optimised games (most Codemasters titles, maybe one or two othes) that won't play right at 60Hz, but should be set for at least 98% of MD/Genny games now Enjoy it!

[DrGamer]

OK, I am now at home so I can tell everyone the switches on the modded Genesis
1. 50/60 switch- know what that one does
2. JPN-anagrama answered that one
3. OC and NORM switch-I think anagrama answered that too
4. RESM and HALT switch....have no idea on this one..any ideas???

It does have an S Video out on it and 2 Composite Outs...I think they may be both Audio but not sure...guess the only way to find out would be to hook it up... x_x

Anyone who has a modded Genesis...hopefully they will know...Thanks!

The main reason I bought this was to play the PAL version of Alien Soldier...and also to buy some imports such as MUSHA Aleste...if I can find it at a reasonable price...NOT EBay prices...hehe

[DrGamer]

Just wanted to let everyone know the person that modded my Genesis emailed me with ALL my answers...the new baby and working 12 hours shifts makes it very hard on the spare time!
As I said before...anyone wants this done...he IS the man

Thanks for the help though anagrama!

I suppose this topic can be closed..if anyone wants info about modding and if he will do anymore...feel free to contact me

[anagrama]

So what was the RESM/HALT switch for? I'm intuiged

[Moon Patrol]

All I can say is, open that bitch up and see what that RESM/HALT switch is tied to! Just grab a schematic of all the internals of the genesis, and have at it.

[DrGamer]

Here is what all the switches are for....including the resume/halt switch; this is his explanation:



1 – I didn’t have the label for North America, so just JPN is listed (Japan).



This switch is what you need if you import games from Japan. Although a lot of games that were made had absolutely no changes made to the programming (only the outer casing) and in these cases the game looks at what region that’s it’s in to see what language it should be played in. The neat thing about having this switch installed is that you can place your regular games in the system with the switch flipped to JPN, and you might get a new title screen in Japanese and occasionally you get stuff that was censored out (like blood and such). Not all games do this, most of mine showed a screen that said “This game is only intended for the NTSC system” which is kind of odd seeing as both Japan and North America use the NTSC system.



2 – This mod I had to do because it was just plain cool.



You may never use it, but if you need it, it could definitely come in handy. First thing to note, when the switch is set to normal, the system will function like it just came out of the box. This mod only utilizes a switch and a bit of wire. What this mod does is it allows you to double the speed of the processor (just like if you overclock your computer, it makes the computer ‘think’ faster, causing less slow-down). I did not add anything to the system to double the speed, it was already built into the system from day one, I just added a switch to turn it on (I think it was added to all game developers to switch it on through the cart slot, to allow bigger games to run smoother)



Games that have been documented for great improvement:

Mainly games with 2 players on the screen at once with lots of sprites’n stuff moving around – like Sonic the hedgehog 2, and 3. I’m told Ecco the dolphin really needs this mod, as it has lots of ‘slow-down’ (I have not played this game, its just what I have been told).



3 – This has to do with the OC.



If you start the system up in OC mode, most games get upset or don’t boot up at all. So I added a switch that sends a ‘halt’ command to the processor. Again, this is built into the processor chip itself, I just added a switch to tell it to halt when-ever I wanted.



So, if you what to over clock: boot up the games, flip the Halt switch (every thing pauses, except the sound – it’s a different chip), flip the OC switch, then flip the Halt switch back to “Resume”. Now you are nice a speedy. You can flip back and forth as many times as you want, when ever you want, but if you don’t “Halt” first, %99 of the time, the game will crash.



I have had the sound go “all funny” when doing the OC, usually I can pause the game (the way you normally would) then un-pause; the sound seems to go back in sync.



Here is more info on the OC mod:



http://www.epicgaming.us/



4 – the 2 composite ports on the back are just sound, well stereo sound, if you ever meet me in person, feel free to smack me in the back of the head J it would have taken me all of 5 minutes to add a composite video out…but really they are necessary if you use S-video. In the next week or so, I’m going to make some composite video cables, it will plug into the A/V port on the back of the Genesis, and I will mail you out a pair later J



As for the 50/60:



I really hope this works for you; here’s what I think you will have to do, place the switch on “50” – then turn on the system. Hopefully you can see the game boot up (on my TV I get 2 images waaayyy out of sync, but I can tell what is going on, my friends TV gets a blank screen…). When you see the game loads the games main title screen (or guess if you can’t see it) then flip the switch to “60”.



What hopefully has happened is that the games checked to see what region the system is (the 50MHz = PAL), you had the switch to %), so it’s satisfied and load the game. You flip the switch back to 60, and the system goes back to showing the proper screen resolution, but the game continues to play because it only checks the region during start up.

Hopefully that answers all your questions!
And BTW, I tested the PAL Alien Soldier last nite and it works perfectly! Boot in 50, switch to 60 and bingo!!!
And Alien Soldier is one that had region lockout...sooo glad it worked because with the Game Genie codes the main character in Alien Soldeier was garbled and messed up graphically...not now!
Anyone has any other questions...let me know

[PDP-13]

I think there is a design flaw in the implementation of the moded genny.

HALT should be wired to BOTH CPUs. Then your sound should theoretically not mess up. (only M68000 gets halted leaving ol' Z80 to run amok...heh)

[TheSmirk]

pretty interesting, I'm halfway through the 50/60 and Japan/America mods myself (been halfway through for a few months now , I think one more trace cut and switch wire-up and I'm done)

To say its a "side" project is a major understatement

[phreak97]

why would it take more than a couple of days? that's the kind of thing i'd do in one night if i got bored:s