Sega Saturn Switchless Region Mod Kit

Description

Sega Saturn Switchless Region Mod Kit

The Sega Saturn Switchless Region Mod does two things.

1 – It will make you console multi region so you can enjoy the Saturn’s vast Japanese game library.

2 – It will allow you to select 60Hz video rate independently of the region setting for full speed, full screen gaming.

If you are running your PAL systems in 50Hz, you are really doing the games a great disservice. I consider these switchless mods necessary for PAL consoles. This is important because most Saturn games were designed for 60Hz, but a few were 50Hz optimised and will not work correctly at 60Hz.

Which Saturn mainboard type?

There are three distinct shapes of Saturn mainboard.

• Type 1 – VA0 which is in three parts. Mainboard PCB, separate reset PCB, and separate power LED PCB
• Type 2 – VA1-VA5 which is in two parts. Mainboard PCB and a separate controller board PCB
• Type 3 – All higher revisions, VA6 to VA15, have an all in one PCB

I offer three types of Saturn region mod kit tailored for each Saturn mainboard .

• Type 1 Mod Kit for use in Saturn revision VA0 and comes with a separate LED board with pre-wired JST connectors for ease of installation.
• Type 2 Mod Kit for Saturn revision VA1 up to VA5 which is similar to Type 1 but has pads in different places and does not include the LED board.
• Type 3 Mod Kit board for use in all other revisions which is an all in one board with a built in LED.

All these mod kits have layouts conducive to optimal wire runs making installs much easier. The pre-wired JST connectors of Type 1 & 2 kits means there will be no permanent connection between the separate Saturn boards.

Important Notes

The list of Saturn board revisions here is very general and might not match what is inside your console based on the external shell. i.e. whether it is a Model 1 or Model 2. Ideally you should open your console to determine which mod kit type you need. All three kits will work in all Saturn revisions, but it will make install a bit more difficult if you choose the wrong kit for Saturn board revision.

Region modding old consoles will result in the forced region to be in black and white on composite and RF video. For example a PAL 50Hz console modded to work at 60hz will be black and white in the 60Hz setting and colour in the 50Hz setting. This is because native PAL and NTSC consoles have different master clock frequencies and different video subcarrier frequencies. If you want colour in all regions it is necessary to use either the RGB video output of the console or install a separate clock mod in the form of a dual frequency oscillator.