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Sega Mega-Tech Restoration

Control panel time.

This is the starting point. Cracked/faded CPO with very crunchy buttons. Definitely needed a refresh.

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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 reproduction. This came in a week later:

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Finally I put the CPO on together with legit IL PSL-H pushbuttons and Cherry D44X switches I had to import from France as Dutch stores only sell Ali imports..
Disassembly was a paint with lock nuts, glued buttons amounts of CPO glue that should be illegal. The results do speak for themselves though :)

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Of course, the 300DPI print file is available for everyone ;)
 
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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!

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As for what's to come :)

Improved "Redux" versions.
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Home console converters.
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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.
 
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:
  1. 30mm length cam lock.
  2. 40x60x2mm steel connecting plates.
  3. 18mm black laminate chipboard, cut to 59,7x52cm.
  4. Authentic finger prints all over as black laminate does..

Assemble it like this:

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Be in awe at the legitness:

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And then push your machine back to the wall and never look at it again ;)
 
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. Anyway, he posted his magnum opus on this random forum post from 2017 and then seemingly disappeared from the face of the internet.

He went out with a bang, though. Turns out that this random Mega file of the pre covid era contained gold. It has recreated artwork, scans, manuals, info for making custom menu roms, and a complete reverse engineered pinout of the Mega-Tech cart slot with full comparison to the Mega Drive and even instructions to get an Everdrive going.

So I fired up Altium and designed a board to his spec:

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I then fired it up and magic happened:

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My bonus reverse engineering efforts for icons in the menu paid off too:

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I then got overconfident and tried my Master System converter, but that one unfortunately needs debugging I will get to in a future update...
 
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:

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After which, I made python script to generate menus for many custom carts:

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For the next step, get scammed on Aliexpress by getting 1 27C322 instead of 10:

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After getting a refund and getting more, make these carts:

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And suddenly the menu is on the Mega-Tech:

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And Gunstar Heroes plays :D

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With these 1mm longer Redux carts, the fake shells are fine.
 
Got the master system roms permanently transplanted to the redux PCBs too.

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Legit bootleggery here :)

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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:

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I had to get it straight and put screws down the top.

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Followed by angle brackets on the rear top.

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At least that sorted out the back.

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But the cab was still wobbly even after my previous fix. Oh, the other side was trembling apart too, just not cracked on the bottom.

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Followed that by another hardware session:

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I think at this point that only really leaves the side art and missing wood chunks. Of course I'll remake the sideart, but I'm thinking of patching in some black laminate squares to the damaged parts.

It would not be perfect, but at least it won't look as bad as paint?
 
Mega-Tech - Mega Drive Converter Release

It's here! :)

Just for a reference, I tested the following random games off my shelf today:

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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 was something I took on whilst being in between jobs to not get too bored at home.

Fortunately I will start new work in May so this thread will go back to regular speed from now. It was fun while it lasted though ;)
 
New job is keeping me a tad busy, but I am slowly filling the holes:

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The power cord needed a refresh too:

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It's always so satisfying to put in a new cord :)

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Fixing wood damage

This was at the bottom corner:

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Added something for the bondo to hook onto:

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Fill, sand, fill, sand:

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And the big secret is in the previous picture...melanine veneer backed with heat activated adhesive:

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You just iron it on, and suddenly even the back looks nice:

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Final artwork

After an epic tax party, sideart came in from the UK. The original left art was not that bad looking, but the right side was alligned sloppy and missing a chunk:

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So, *sticker pulling sound*

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Sweats, cusses, alligment and cleanup later, this Mega-Tech is finally finished:

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Thanks everyone for following along :)
 
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