"Sega 32X System Dongle"

[Zadoc]

http://www.goatstore.com/info.php?id=351955

No one seems to have any clue what these were for, but if you bought a 32X and didn't have a Sega CD, you were supposed to put it on the end of your Genesis. If you don't, nothing happens. If you do, nothing happens. But at least you can say that you have an official Sega dongle.

I am pretty sure that this was supposed to add more system memory to the Genesis and allow 32X games to run smoother with the scaling.

[Cryomancer]

any pictures? I'd be interested in seeing what this thing looks like / where it goes on and all that. I'm a sega cluster enthusiast.

[Zadoc]

any pictures? I'd be interested in seeing what this thing looks like / where it goes on and all that. I'm a sega cluster enthusiast.

I can't find a pic. It came with the 32X and it goes where the Sega CD goes. It looks like a little nub.

[Jorpho]

Maybe it's some SCSI-like termination thing that would have come into play if Sega released more devices?

[Maxx]

I have one that came with a used Genesis 2. Before this thread, I had no idea what it was.

[NFG]

It's just a terminator, and was never required on any system I ever saw. Perhaps it would increase the stability of marginal systems, but it was unecessary in my experience.

[carslayer]

I have one of those. It came in the box when i bought my used 32X. It is basically a little peice of plastic that fits in the expansion port, only it is a little bigger and has some sort of chip inside. It's connected to a model 2 genesis wich does not work unless that little port thing is in there. without it, it cannot play 32X or Genesis carts. the power button flashes once when you turn it on then refuses to do anything else, sitting at a blank screen. I always assumed it was just to have a connection between two of the pins, like those little jumpers in hard drives wich say whether its a master or slave. ill try and post a picture later.

[Zadoc]

I have one of those. It came in the box when i bought my used 32X. It is basically a little peice of plastic that fits in the expansion port, only it is a little bigger and has some sort of chip inside. It's connected to a model 2 genesis wich does not work unless that little port thing is in there. without it, it cannot play 32X or Genesis carts. the power button flashes once when you turn it on then refuses to do anything else, sitting at a blank screen. I always assumed it was just to have a connection between two of the pins, like those little jumpers in hard drives wich say whether its a master or slave. ill try and post a picture later.

It's not like a connection between two pins, and this is the first I've ever heard of a 32X not working without this peice. My model 1 Genesis operates fine without it. I am curious, what model number is your Genesis?

[Push Upstairs]

I had a 32X+Model 2 setup work without this piece.

[Lemmi_Is_God]

please someone post a pic, i have no idea what you guys are talking about

a picture is worth a thousand words

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

Not in this case since the picture will just be of a little black plastic rectangle about 3/4" thick. I think that like those little metal clips that came with the 32X, this edge protector was another RF shield to protect against interference. The 32X was surely an FCC nightmare, especially at a time when a lot of people still used RF connections, and they apparently made Sega jump through all sorts of hoops with the thing.


...word is bondage...

[bangtango]

I have the original piece that this thread is talking about and it is completely useless. I've never needed it when playing the system.

[jajaja]

Do you need a Sega CD to use the 32X?

[mailman187666]

only to play 32x cd games, which there is only 4-5 of.

[Ze_ro]

I have one of these, and my 32X works perfectly fine without it. I've taken it apart, and there are no chips in it whatsoever... all it does is connect a few pins on the expansion port. My guess is that it's meant to improve the grounding for FCC approval.

--Zero

[shopkins]

I don't even have this thing and my 32x still works. I might have thrown it away.

[jajaja]

only to play 32x cd games, which there is only 4-5 of.

Ye, would be hard to play CDs in a cartridge slot hehe. I thought there for a sec that you might need Sega CD to use the 32X in general, like the 32X was connected to the Sega CD and shared some of its hardware. Thanks

[Mr Mort]

If I hook up my 32X to my Genesis (model 2) without the dongle, my Genesis locks up when I turn the power on, regardless of wheter I'm playing a Genesis or 32X game.
Once I plug the dongle in, everything works fine.

[carslayer]

If I hook up my 32X to my Genesis (model 2) without the dongle, my Genesis locks up when I turn the power on, regardless of wheter I'm playing a Genesis or 32X game.
Once I plug the dongle in, everything works fine.

Thats EXACTLY what happens to me. i have links to some pictures (sorry about the blurryness) cause im still not sure how to post them.

Genesis with very thick layer of dust and you can see the attatchment on the right side sticking out a bit:
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/imag...c57ec41d29.jpg

bottom of genesis:
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/imag...c3400c3465.jpg

attatchment and it's expansion slot:
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/imag...40541aa8f8.jpg

sorry again for crappy quality, hope this helps.

[Lemmi_Is_God]

humm im still at a lost as to what it is
but being a sega fan since the genesis was released i have never seen anything like what i think i see in those pics

*still gonna wait for better pics*

nevermind i did a search and i found out what you guys are talking about

http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1393
near the bottom of the page

my 32X didnt come with one, and i bought my 32X brand new in the box and none of my sega systems has one, this is why i was clueless