I saw a thread a few days ago about the shitty capacitors and belts in the Sega CD Model 1 and how they almost always fail unless refurbished. I found a seller online that refurbishes the Model 1, but doesn't replace the capacitors. They claim the capacitors in their units are fine and clean and what have you, but I am still worried.
So I started looking at the Model 2 and am amazed at how much cheaper they are. Apparently they're highly reliable and read discs faster too?
I have a Model 1 Genesis and I think I need some heat shields and other random stuff for it, but I am seriously leaning towards a Model 2 now. Not just for the price, but the reliability. I play a shitload of Sonic CD.
Model 2s are no more reliable than Model 1s there's just shit tons more of them out there to cobble together working units out of. Sadly, all of those first wave CD Rom devices like Sega CDs and PCE-CDs are failing. Try finding a Jaguar CD or a Commodore CDTV that's still operational. Even Laseractive PACs have started needing it.
Like I said in that other thread get yourself an X-Eye/Wondermega or (I've heard) a Sega CDX if you want something with a real lifespan. If you buy a Sega CD that hasn't been recapped it WILL need recapped within the next 1000 hours of use. It's not the end of the world I know a shop that does it for $45 and there are guys who offer the service by mail on the forums for under $100. Just check into it and budget accordingly. In the case of the model 2s you can buy ones with DREs cheap and cobble them together yourself.
>>3116004
I'm not the guy from the other thread, that thread just got me curious on buying a Sega CD myself, because as a kid I played like 5,000 hours of Sonic CD.
So Model 2's are just as bad/prone to failure?
>>3116007
In my experience I'd say yes. It seems like you see a higher percentage of Model 1s in need of repair but I think that's mainly due to them being considerably rarer and most working model 2s you see are Frankenstein jobs with the non working bits just thrown right in the trash.
Like for example I only have the one Model 1 and I got it when I was working in a shop in the 90s but I think I have like four Model 2s stacked up that I just grabbed at thrift stores or yard sales for under $5 each.
I realize this is anecdotal but you can see what I'm saying. If I DIDN'T have my X'Eye I would be playing on a Model 2 and somebody might see me doing that with the Model 1 just sitting on the shelf and conclude that the 2 is more reliable when really it's just that it's cheaper to keep running.
>>3116030
Well I'm like the other guy, I can't afford the X'Eye or Wondermega, so I'm really wondering what to do on the Sega CD end of things. I suppose I could just buy the Model 1 with the new belt and then have it sent to the guy who replaces the capacitors you mentioned?
>>3116052
Just wait until the caps fail then send it. It doesn't do any damage to let them fail they're not like that clock cap inside the Xbox. Just budget for it and don't get all broken hearted when it happens.
Bonus tidbit I actually only paid $20 for my X'Eye as-is, console only. I switched lasers with an extra Saturn I had laying around and both of them work. I don't know why the laser that wouldn't work in the X'Eye did work in the Saturn but fuck it. I haven't really put any hours on that Saturn but the X'Eye has been chugging right along for as long as /vr/ has been here 3 years now I guess.
I purchased a JP Mega CD Model 2 ten or so years ago and last I checked it was still running perfectly. It was a complete unit in good condition so I'm guessing it has had very minimal use over the years so that probably helps in terms of the mechanical parts. As for capacitors, I guess they will give out eventually.
>>3116158
How many years has it been since you had it on for longer than an hour? Yeah.
>>3116132
>and there are guys who offer the service by mail on the forums for under $100.
Can you tell me who does this?
>>3116190
turbografxfan on ebay for one
>>3116193
I think I'm going to pass on Sega CD's for now, looking into it more they are an expensive mess.
>>3116508
I guess that's one thing Sega CD has going for it: consistency.
BAM! 20+ years and the war is STILL on baby!
>>3115980
>>3116168
>>3114304 here, took it apart to clean it out, no swollen or leaking caps, been playing the shit out of shadowrun and fell asleep with it on last night, still fine, my snes was left on for days at a time when I was a kid and its fine too. I dont know what causes caps to fail but it might be lest prevalent than is stated.
they are prob fine. my gg still has good sound and picture but I haven't left it on that long because i lost the ac adapter.
Model 1 had better sound but Model 2 is more compact.
>>3116030
the model 2 needs a fuse replacement 99% of the time when it does need something done to it. The model 1 has all sorts of problems from having a motorized tray and such
![ProfessorTwilley[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/wcvyfvl.jpg "ProfessorTwilley[1].jpg")
>>3117051
Again, drive maintenance is fairly easy as those very early drives were super simple. Fuse replacement does kind of suck but at least those fuses are just "small" while the surface mount caps are TINY.
>>3116531
An SNES or base Genesis will run for freaking ever but once consoles started having drives in them they got a limited lifespan and for whatever reason the first gen ones' are particularly short, I guess companies needed to learn from their mistakes. Also again the caps I'm talking about aren't the big cylindrical ones you're thinking of when you're looking for bulging, they're tiny rice grain sized ones.
>>3116529
I get it and laughed pretty hard in the "ah hah!" way
>>3117117
>Again, drive maintenance
An issue with my Model 2, not a Model 1, but I really wish there was a way I could repair/replace the gears and limit switch in it; It seems to have just disappeared on mine, which has led to rather nasty gears.
>>3118707
If you didn't keep 'em greased and they got even slightly chewed up you might as well swap the whole assembly with one out of a model 2 with burned PCBs
>>3118721
That's something I'm considering doing; I can' really be TOO angry though; It was a "Untested" unit from ebay that had obviously been screwed around with beforehand. Ended up getting a refund for everything aside from shipping.
I'd just really hate to put the money down on another one only to run into problems with it as well.
And thinking about it, I'd probably swap the PCBs rather than the assemblies, since the shell on this one is pretty trashed (including the CD lid being straight up snapped off).
>>3118729
Sounds like you should just consider yourself ahead a couple confirmed good PCBs for just the cost of shipping. You can always put the burned PCBs into your current crap-box and sell a 100% junk one "as-is for parts". People still buy them. I don't know why people list consoles they should know damn well are nonfunctional as "used". They should realize people are going to dispute it.
>>3118750
Yeah, that's pretty much it; The laser still reads, and it will play games in some form, but it's by no means in what I'd call a usable state at the moment.
So, if the boards get fried or whatever, how are you to know whether the drive assembly is still going to be functional?
>>3118765
If the boards blew chances are it was when the console was running and playing a game. It's a gamble but you can hedge your bets by looking at the physical condition of the case.
