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Mega-Tech - Mega Drive Converter Release It's here! :) Just for a reference, I tested the following random games off my shelf today: They all worked flawless besides of Ecco TOT giving a PAL region error, but I won't call that a bug. So to let you guys in, this whole Mega-Tech PCB project...

Stabilizing the cab even more... I wonder what the heck happened to this thing because so many more pieces turned out to be loose. Did it fall down the stairs or something? Just look at the back: I had to get it straight and put screws down the top. Followed by angle brackets on the rear...

The Z80 on the bookkeeping daughterboard is missing. That would be your first attempt to get it going.

With the repro carts now being stable, I've open sourced the designs with a support thread here. ;)

Got the master system roms permanently transplanted to the redux PCBs too. Legit bootleggery here :)

Compilation carts. So turns out Sega made a bunch of 3-6 game compilation carts near the end of the Mega Drive's life cycle. Let's find the best combination: After which, I made python script to generate menus for many custom carts: For the next step, get scammed on Aliexpress by getting...

PCBs came in :) Starting with the (to be open sourced) Mega Drive converter! Before I start I have to give full credit to Nipedley. This person has done an incredible amount of research back in the ~2010 era and used to have his own site that is linked to on several blog posts of the time...

How to make replacement back door, the legit way. Like seriously, guys. Why does everyone use painted MDF? Late 80's+ machines are pretty much all dual side laminated chipboard for good reasons. /rant So for the Mega-Tech you need: 30mm length cam lock. 40x60x2mm steel connecting plates. 18mm...

Just placed an order for the 4 shown PCB designs on JLCPCB. Let the two weeks of impatience begin :) I also found the source of the audio issue: one speaker was wired in reverse polarity... I'll still replace the speakers but at least it now sounds basic instead of rediculous.

With another Master System game butchered, I also added Fantasy Zone to the working collection. That means both 1Meg and 2Meg games are verified now! As for what's to come :) Improved "Redux" versions. Home console converters.

Control panel time. This is the starting point. Cracked/faded CPO with very crunchy buttons. Definitely needed a refresh. Now to continue the insane open source project, I got another Canon Lide 110 for €3,50 and followed my own tutorial again. I put together the scans and made my own...

You're right. As a compromise though, I have decided make seperate "Redux" versions of the original PCBs that have longer connectors and tweaks to make reproductions easier.

The Mega-Tech carts are housed in Japanese Mega Drive shells. To make the repros complete I got this from Aliexpress: To make it fit, some small studs in these shells had to be cut and the DIP sockets removed. But after putting it in, something was off. It was like the edge connector is too...

Thank you for the tip! I was getting excited play with the Frugalmapper you linked, but unfortunately that one is known to not work on the Mega Drive. And the Mega-Tech is technically a Mega Drive... I will definitely google around for a slot 2 mapper that does fit.

The Master System cart is a bit more complicated than the Mega Drive. The menu rom is the same 27C256, but the games themselves have special roms with built in mapper logic. This means the only easy way to make a repro is to remove a rom from an original Master System game as eproms won't work...

The Sega Mega-Tech is pretty much a Mega Drive glued to an additional Master System that runs the menu screen. To make this duo work, the (same as home version) game rom is placed on a circuit board with an additional custom menu rom that contains the text to fill the menu pages. The menu rom...

Progress update on the homebrew. I want more games in my collection, but even sports ones are getting expensive now. There are some guys selling repro gamecart PCBs, but I want open source everything ;) For the whole library, we need both a Mega Drive and Master System based cart. The 171-5782...

In today's update: a warning for people wanting to recap the Mega-Tech PCB. I wanted to try a recap because my cab sounded like a smartphone. So I made the cap list here and got to work. I own a decent soldering/desoldering station so usually it's a breeze, but not this time. This board got...

Currently I have reverse engineered both the Megadrive and Master System based carts. These are on the way from China as we speak: I'll do a full write up once I got them in and tested.

Dumb?... everyone loves Neo Print...:love: