EBAY Buy - SEGA SATURN MK1 with NO POWER! - Repair Video

I bought another Sega Saturn from eBay with no power. This time it is the Mk1 version (very nice looking). It doesn't power up.

Remember that this is just for entertainment and I am not an expert in these repairs. The processes in the video may not be the best way, the correct way or the safest way to fix these things. I do love fault finding and trying to fix broken things, so I hope that comes across in this 'Trying to FIX' series. Many thanks, Vince.

[electronicengineer]

If you position the power switch into its fully up (off) position, before pulling the cosmetic button up from the switch shaft, you would not break the latching post inside of the power switch. Just a tip for the future!

[mikecro]

Bit of advice when working live, try to use something like a tupperware box to put over the various components to limit your chances of touching anything you don't want to probe. It's not perfect or fool proof, but it does help keep your hand raised when you're focusing on something else. Many small changes help reduce the risk that can never be fully eliminated.... It also means if something goes pop, it limits what may hit you.

I always advise beginners to not touch mains voltage; and if they feel like they have to, to ensure they have either RCBO or RCD protection on the household electrical circuit, or use a plug-in RCD protector.

[technixbul]

I am happy that my advices helping you 😉It was an interesting problem, tipically on SMPS the ESR of electrolytic caps always go high (bad), in particulary in the small ones that prevent the oscillation of the swiching circuit (therefore that silence the whole PSU), you make sure you've always check them. The part you took off first, was the Switching controller + PWM + switching transistor in one case, those TOPxxx and TNYxxxx chips are poor made and many devices use them - TVs, Monitors, Video playing devices, washing machines etc. - they die very often and even explode to pieces once overheated.

[Retro_Rework]

Great video and fix as always Vince! Have you ever considered doing a video on trying to fix something with a broken/severely corroded board by getting a new one made through PCB Way? I know it would just be a lot of transferring components from one board to another, but maybe a good tea break fix to just show a sped up/condensed video. Just a thought. Keep up the great work and love the channel!

[Ea-Nasir_Copper_Co]

> breaks device during repair

One of us! One of us!!!!

[kazinwho]

Fixing Sega Saturns is the lord's work. Great video.

[BuyitFixit]

Great job Vince. Nice showing the opto coupler working. The double diode packages are common on switch mode power supplies. They are used to rectify the output voltage back to DC. Agree those switch mode IC's seem to be a common point of failure. Keep up the great work 👍

[kiphakes]

Ahhh man... I love the SEGA Saturn - my friend got a Mk 1 when they came out.. we played SEGA Rally and Virtua Fighter to DEATH.. I saved up and ended up getting a Mk 2. They were such incredible machines for the time - great home conversions of the SEGA Arcade Machines of the era!

[wisheruk]

Brilliant fix Vince I always test them dual diode packages and mosfets with my fluke in diode mode, seems to be consistent for me, maybe those testers aren’t quite pushing the testing hard enough, I would say yours was breaking down under load?
Keep up the excellent work, glad your finger is getting better 😊

[andymouse]

Just had a look at the Datasheet for the TOP202 and its quite a clever device but relatively easy to understand for anyone who would like to move forward and learn to use an Oscilloscope this would be a good place to start, having only three pins the correct waveforms will be clear and very easy to see if its running or not without the need for a tester ( a scope is a high level tester I guess !) It uses PWM to set and maintain an output so the pulses will be easy to spot and as you have a battery powered scope relatively safe. However I bear no responsibility if you blow your house up ! and of course you should proceed at your own pace and what your comfortable with but its a logical step or maybe stick to battery operated stuff for your first 'scopeing'...anyhow just sayin and Great Video !....cheers.

[Dasa]

It's nice to find a reoccurring fault with a specific device. If I ever find a faulty Sega Saturn in the wild, I may pick it up and see if I can fix it!

[andysmith]

After the Genesis/Megadrive, there was the 32x and Sega/Mega CD add-on things before the Saturn. Never had them, as I jumped straight to the PlayStation.

I've got a few things to send over to your PO Box soon! 🙂

[mrchilled]

had this so much with saturns as i buy them a lot when they are cheap non working i have built a nice setup of old school consoles doing it as so far got 2 n 64's 2 mk1 saturns a mk2, mega drive 1 and mega drive 2, a boxed nes and got a master system 1 i need to sort out that has no power
great video and keep them coming

[electronics]

Those little switching chips fail often! had a lot of monitors where the switched failed (am 15 and do street repairs for people in my street and village) and it had no output just like the PSU of the Sega. No idea why they fail maybe because they get too hot?! Idk

[hoodlumrocknroll]

I noticed something possibly missing on the nonworking power board before the octocoupler was removed. There is two holes, writing R-301 and the electrical wiring diagram 'resistor' symbol on the board. Based on that view, before going further in video, I think that resistor missing might be the problem. After seeing the MK 2 working board, that good has the same empty spot with same writing and diagram symbol, so my first thought was wrong.

[up_Gaming]

Glad to see a result in the end, this is another Saturn PSU saved :) If you ever need bits like a power button, do drop me a message, I very likely have a spare or two laying around :p

[odyssey]

Don't feel bad! I literally did the same fuckin thing trying to remove that button on my v1 a few months ago. You can get replacements from China that are the same just missing the screw hole mounts. I had to make a make- shift mount but I got my button working again. You just need a 5 amp 240vac switch. I bought one of the Alps ones. Just lmk if you need a link

Edit: I wrote this at the beginning of the video. Glad to see the v2 switch worked just fine on the v1!

[Dg-zjjo]

that was a good little fix vince arcade game looks brilliant

[anthonydenn]

Great job as always Vince, I'm guessing the IC fault must be before the diodes on the output. That's why it didn't test as faulty. Cool little IC, never seen them before.

[instahawk]

The joys of the sega saturn my dad got one in the box second hand not long after the console was released from a thrift shop came with three games sonic 3d a golf game and torico the memory of that game got to the end level the city of moons never figured out how to finish the game all in all the game is cryptic and unusual such an underrated console many years later got a saturn for myself and the torico game one day I’ll finally get around to finishing the game I’m just happy i have them in my collection