Modding March, update 2

modding-march-2012-arcade-cp

More modding news!

I’ve finished off the tweaks to my Astro City’s control panel, and I can now swap in/out P1 and P2’s respective fourth button off the JAMMA harness, handy for my neglected MVS (which is now in my cab, giving Marvel vs Capcom a much deserved rest).

I’ve also disassembled my XB360 to get the model number of the DVD-ROM unit (which I could have simply ascertained by checking the cable off the front with the faceplate removed, but I figured I needed to disassemble it anyways so went ahead with it regardless), added a bit of hot glue to my SMS2 to reinforce one of the screws holding the dual-mono audio plate on the rear of the machine and also took apart my A500 to remove the floppy disk drive as I’m looking at grabbing a HxC Floppy Drive emulator and mounting it internally on my system (something I think Old School Game Blog would appreciate given his huge knowledge and appreciation for Commodore computers!).

In addition, I’ve had confirmation that the replacement Saturn cart slots are on their way, and the 10mhz oscillator for the SMD is in the post as well. If all goes well, I should be able to get the whole list done within a couple of days of April 🙂

I’ve also started thinking of tidying up a couple of other console mods – fellow modder Mamejay has shared a circuit for getting extremely nice composite and s-video off a PAL Atari 2600 (adapted from an A2600 Jnr mod he’s been doing for a while), so I’ll grab some CD4050s to give it a whirl. I’m also toying with the idea of overclocking my PAL and Japanese N64s since I still have a couple of switches in my stash.

So, the revised list (which will take me into April) is as follows:

  • Sega Mega Drive 10mhz overclock
  • Sega Saturn cartridge slot transplant
  • Atari 2600 AV mod
  • N64 overclock (PAL and Japanese consoles)

With all of those done, I’ll definitely have caught up on my backlog!

I’ll be looking forward to reporting back on when these are finished, as it means I can get started on two larger projects I have planned for this year, but details of those are to come down the road!

5 Comments

  • Frank_fjs says:

    Busy, busy, busy mate!

    The 2600 AV and N64 overclock mods should be interesting, will be waiting to see how they pan out. When I get around to securing a 2600 I might have to send it your way lol. 😛

  • Yeah – hopefully a few more parts arrive in the post over the next week so I can make some progress in the coming weekend, otherwise I’ll at least have the N64s to sort out. According to some out there, I’m not sure how much of a difference the overclocks on the N64s will make, but it’s something I’ve always thought of doing, so why not give it a whirl while I’m in the mood to mod some consoles 🙂 The Dreamcast is the only other machine I’d love to do an overclock on, but I’ve heard that save data can corrupt on a VMU if the machine’s overclocked, and it’s not that easy to grab a PAL DC these days without paying through the nose so I’m reluctant to abuse my poor machine any further. It’s already has a R512 flash memory write switch and R422 colour channel (PAL/NTSC) switch installed, as well as a modchip to make it import-happy, so I think it deserves a break from my soldering iron 🙂

    Happy to have a look at a 2600 down the road for you, just give me a shout if you happen to snap one up.

  • Hi mate,

    You are right, it would be awesome if you added an HxC to your Amiga 500. 🙂 That will add a lot of extra functionality to your system. Hope you’ll post some pictures of it in action once it is ready.

    Keep up the good work mate!

  • I will be very interested to see how you go with that 360 drive. It’s something I should have done a long time ago.
    Instead I just wait the 15 minutes or so it takes to warm up until a game works. 😀

  • lol, no worries Hollo, will definitely post on how the machine behaves after a laser change. It’s certainly easier than swapping DVD drives and flashing firmware for a one-off like this one. Credit goes to Mamejay for pointing my in the right direction though, I was going to buy a new drive and look into flashing it before he said a laser swap should do the job.