Hardware Restoration

Did you know that Sega's console is hardware is terrible? I don't mean from a technical standpoint, though that is an issue as well. I'm talking about the physical properties of the hardware. It just breaks too easily.

Sega Genesis Circuitry
The Sega Genesis, like most products, went through a number of revisions. One of the biggest differences between revisions is the audio circuitry used. As shown here at Sega-16 the audio circuitry varies so wildly that people can tell when something sounds wrong.

Additionally, Sega used some really cheap capacitors at the time. While an 8-bit Nintendo sounds fine after all this time, the Genesis 1 and its ~40-capacitor audio circuit has a tendency to sound awful after all these years. And then you have to replace all of them to try and keep things sounding good.

Additionally, the AC adapter will accept an 8-bit NES power adapter. This will kill the system over time, and blow a fuse in a Sega CD 2 instantly. Whoops!

Sega Saturn Cartridge Port
As noted here the Sega Saturn's cartridge port has a tendency to fail due to bent pins, similar to a problem with the original 8-bit NES. One method of repair includes bending the pins back, but a design oversight on cartridge producers means that the bent pins will happen again.

Sega Dreamcast
As shown here the Sega Dreamcast has its own host of problems.

Plugging in controllers while the system is on can blow a fuse.

Playing the system normally can wear out the GD-ROM drive, which is a proprietary technology.

Random resets can happen because the power circuitry has pins bent incorrectly.

The on-board clock battery will not hoold a charge after about a decade. This requires a user to re-input the date and time on every boot. This can be fixed with a custom battery holder, some solder, and some patience.

Arcade
Superguns are devices meant for creating an environment suitable for playing arcade machines in one's own home. They often consist of wired custom controller inputs, a power supply, and a video output solution.

To the right you can see my custom arcade joystick connected to an open-wire supergun solution I built myself. It incoropates an RGB-to-VGA video conversion device, an actual arcade power supply, and a VGA CRT monitor. The game itself is a Phoenixed CPS2 arcade board called 19XX.

The reason the board is Phoenixed is because Capcom implemented a DRM-like solution involving a suicide battery. The original board went too long without a battery replacement, and custom code on the board was lost.

However, thanks to hackers, reviving a CPS2 board is now possible. Arguably, that's better than pure emulation. It allows for proper historical preservation.