Sega Mega Drive 50/60Hz and Region Switch Mod

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Modding a Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) with a 50Hz/60Hz (aka PAL/NTSC) switch and a region switch to choose Japan or Export (US/Europe) regions. I'm doing it the old school way utilizing actual physical switches. This can be used as a tutorial to do it yourself, too.
Here's a list of games that support the Japanese/Export switch: gamefaqs.games...
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MUSIC: "Antidote" & "4K" by Focus 10 ( / user-993847645 )
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#JanBeta #Sega #MegaDrive

[@rickyyoung]

You can do this mod with a single DPDT switch. When you cut the traces on the board the Mega Drive defaults in to Export/60Hz mode. You then connect the Center post to GND the Left post to JP1 and the Right post to JP3. Then on the single switch you'll have Japanese/60Hz on left Posistion Export/60Hz on Center (as this will be no jumpers connected default) and Export/50Hz on the right position.

[@hobbyaddict9908]

Ahh, the good old Dymo label maker! Even more retro! great video Jan!!

[@DEMENTO01]

I still have mine lmao

[@JanBeta]

Yeah, I couldn't resist using the thing for this. Love the style. :)

[@danielmantione]

It is a good habbit to solder a jumper header on the board and attach a female header to the cables. Now you made it impossible to remove the board without soldering, with a simple jumper header this can be avoided.

[@JanBeta]

Yeah, didn't think too much about that (as usual). I might retrofit headers next time I'm in there. Makes perfect sense.

[@ftrueck]

How often do you need to remove the main PCB? I guess this was the second time in 20 years.

[@rickyyoung]

or just put a slide connector on the switch end of the wire

[@TheBurk1989]

Ah now that's how Sonic is supposed to sound like! :D Nice work Jan! This mod is essential to any PAL MD imo. We basically got crippled machines here in Europe, and by doing this mod we help them run and shine like how they were intended to. It's interesting that there's so much japanese data left in some cartridges and can get unlocked by merely switching a jumper on the mainboard. I never did that on mine, I only fitted a 50Hz/60Hz switch. I might look into fitting a japanese switch on mine at some point, but for now I just enjoy the games at the proper speed. I just can't go back to PAL anymore. :D

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

If only more games were optimised for PAL, it’s not really the machine’s fault it’s the developers.

[@JanBeta]

Yeah, I basically kept in in the 60Hz position ever since I added the switches. There's a lot more games optimized for NTSC.

[@DamnDealDone]

@@SproutyPottedPlant optimised games are not good. So it's good that most MD games are developed for 60Hz. It means a simple mod to the console allows them to run as intended.

[@charlesdorval394]

Neat mods :) Makes me wonder if replacing the cristal with a little board with a VCO (voltage controled oscillator) with one of those switches and a couple resistors to feed it the proper voltages could do the trick for the composite/RF...

[@JanBeta]

Yes, that would definitely work. :)

[@ComandanteJ]

Thanks for the vid, I've been wanting to play Sonic properly for a long time, hehe. I don't want to modify the external appearance of the console, so I've been looking around the thing and I think I can 3D print some holders to put the switches hidden behind the expansion bay cover.

[@JanBeta]

There's also switchless mods these days. A bit fiddlier to install but no case modifications needed at all. :)

[@SaintKaede]

SEGA! So you decided to do the mod anyway well worth it. It does help greatly I suppose, the games seem radically different at 50Hz when they are initially made at 60Hz to begin with, I just tried it myself recently and it really is a different experience altogether for some games.

[@JanBeta]

Yes, the mod makes some games just play a lot better. I definitely want to try a switchless mod at some point, too. Love the Mega Drive a lot so far. :)

[@thenovicesretroreview7841]

I really like this channel. It makes very good in depth repair videos.

[@gamerdude0]

This is the best mod you can perform on the pal md imo, along with the cart slot mod to allow jp cartridges. Nice explanation too, well done!

[@JanBeta]

Thanks! Yes, the mod is really useful. Love playing games at the speed they were intended for. :D

[@Zenny-jb4fk]

Mega drives are pretty much bullet proof, reset button can give out, replaced mine with an adafruit soft touch button fits perfect

[@JanBeta]

Yes, they are pretty well made it seems. The reset button seems to be its Achilles heel.

[@uptwisting]

Absolutely love this mod. I did a Master System 1 recently with the switches and have a few left over, so I'll be trying this with a £10 Mega Drive I just bought. Love the fact it can display Japanese text.

[@MindFlareRetro]

That's a great mod to do, for sure. The switches are perfect in that location and made all the better with the classic Dymo embossing labels.👍 OMG, I laughed when you showed the #JanBetaWasHere meme. I felt a bit bad about that, but thankfully you're a good sport.😉

[@Chriva]

I can hear the purists scream in agony :D Sweet mod :)

[@JanBeta]

Haha, they always do as soon as I'm modding things. And rightly so. ;)

[@Chriva]

@@JanBeta It's your console. You can do whatever you want :) If I had one I'd investigate if the internal memory map allowed for a 68332 mod and hack the living crap out of it over bdm :P It's probably a good thing I don't have one ;)

[@andrewclegg9501]

Did a similar mod on mine, but using a 3 position, dual pole slide switch. You never need the japanese+50hz option, unless you are really bad at games! Switch is on the back. Usually keep it in the English+60Hz position.

[@JanBeta]

Yeah, that would have been a nicer way to do it. (I might be bad at games though so I might be needing it... ;))

[@LaserFur]

some oscillator modules have a enable input pin that would let you add both oscillators and have a switch between them.

[@JanBeta]

That's an interesting idea. Maybe I'll experiment with that sometime. I want to do a switchless mod on a Mega Drive at some point, too.

[@P5ychoFox]

I did this mod too as if you put it in Japanese 60hz mode, hook it up to a Mega CD and put the Japanese Mega CD bios on your Everdrive; you can play Japanese Mega CD games!

[@bit-ishbulldog2089]

You can play NTSC J games without 60hz and Bios change, patch the disk if you run a backup disk.. You can also do it without the 60hz and just change the Bios on the Everdrive, or you can do what you said.. "you don't need to do what you said to run NTSC J Mega CD" My system has no mods or a Everdrive and I run all regions on my Mega CD.

[@sxpv]

@@bit-ishbulldog2089 I have a PAL Megadrive, and a Japanese Mega CD. I can access Mega CD only by loading Japanese BIOS from my Everdrive. (So I can then open a CD tray, and play my NTSC-J CD games.) I wonder if by modding my Megadrive to appear as an NTSC-J unit will let me pass the Everdrive stage, and access Mega CD naturally, or this wouldn't work and I better acquire a genuing NTSC-J Megadrive instead?

[@DomedagsPoeten]

Nice video! I always get in the mood for soldering something when i watch your channel

[@JanBeta]

That's the secret intention. ;)

[@HoroJoga]

I just got a second-hand japanese Mega Drive and just noticed it had another LED bulb on the right side of the red one. I had no idea what's the purpose of that led until I realized it only turns on when I boot up an US cartridge. Props to the guy who modded the console before selling it to me. It looks and work fine and doesn't do anything to the actual design of the console.

[@KinaQuinquina]

When drilling in thin plastic, one option is to put a small wooden block on the other side. It reinforces the plastic and stops the drill somewhat. The cartridge slot needs changing as well. I'm not sure if the Japanese Megadrive 1 or 2 cartridge slot is wide enough for every game.

[@SiD3WiNDR]

Wow, very contemporary Dymo labels :-D Nicely done!

[@gorkuspraxus]

Thank you very much, this was very useful, although I actually did this years ago.

[@sharpsharkabcabcabc]

@Jan Beta I got two consoles that they are dead by the wrong connecting the language mod. Is there a way to restrore the consoles? I didnt find any links fpr the fix. Please HELP!!

[@emmettturner9452]

There is no reason to run ground or 5v across the entire console! There are plenty of places to grab ground or 5v right where you mount the switches. I got a PAL-modded JP MD from SE Asia complete with the crystal oscillator mod and a PAL RF modulator bodged onto the left side. They soldered the switch to the side of the modulator and connected to ground there and the modulator itself was soldered to the ground plane for mounting. That meant no ground wire at all. It grabbed 5v from the same place as the modulator but I need to check to see if it should since I don’t know if the jumpers should be digital or analog 5v (two different regulators). Even if they connected it to the wrong 5v, both are available on the left since that’s where both of the regulators are.

[@bit-ishbulldog2089]

Jan try Streets of Rage 1,2 or 3 and change the region switch, you will notice the title change to Bare Knuckles.. Most modern TVs in Europe should run 50 and 60hz (My CRT and LCD both work on all regions) I had a monitor a few years back that did not, what happens in 60hz is I would get a black and white image.. Very simple mod that I will do one day but not on my childhood original Mega Drive.. I get a extra mrk1 Mega Drive to do this to.

[@noobguy57]

Great video! I'm assuming composite won't work because the crystal oscillator would need to be swapped too? I have a friend who has a modded system like this but the crystal was never swapped. RGB works just fine though.

[@axemanracing6222]

Mega Drive, the first hardware I modded by myself without any help. With a stereo RCA connector out on the back. Great times.

[@axemanracing6222]

Btw RGB the ONLY way to go.

[@JanBeta]

Yeah, the RGB signal is great!

[@EZO.FUZZ.IS.OFFLINE]

Vielen Dank Jan Beta! Ich installiere gerade den Triple Bypass und wollte den Region Mod gleich mit mahcnen :D

[@JanBeta]

Ich drücke die Daumen, dass alles klappt! :)

[@EZO.FUZZ.IS.OFFLINE]

@@JanBeta Naja, habe ausversehen ein paar Traces kaputt gemacht. Auch mit manuellem Patchen hat es nicht wieder funktioniert. Habe mir zwei Ersatzkonsolen auf eBay bestellt. Gebe ncihta auf ;)

[@JanBeta]

@NoBody-pf2nv Das passiert leider! Nicht aufgeben ist auf jeden Fall die richtige Einstellung und im Vergleich zu anderen Retrokonsolen sind die Megadrives zumindest immer noch vergleichsweise günstig zu bekommen. Viel Glück! 🤞🤞🤞

[@EZO.FUZZ.IS.OFFLINE]

@@JanBeta Danke!! :D

[@benbaselet2026]

I wonder what those funny looking black rectangle components are on the board, EM26 EM27 etc... ESD protection diodes or somesuch?

[@8bitdreams217]

These are ferrite beads

[@JanBeta]

Yes, ferrite beads. Mostly for RF filtering and FCC compliance I think.

[@Ikrananka]

Love your videos Jan but I have to say that those holes you created for the switches are just plain awful. Use a smaller drill and take more time and care with your files and you can easily create some near perfect holes. I'd also recommend creating a printable hole template beforehand using something like the free Front Panel Designer software and sticking this onto the case as a guide.

[@fluffycritter]

Yeah, also it’d have made sense to connect them to the board with some inline quick connectors so that it’ll be easier to service the board in the future; as it is you now have the board essentially permanently attached to the case unless you desolder and resolder and possibly make some mistakes in the process.

[@JanBeta]

Yeah, I could have done a better job (again). Not too patient with these things. :/

[@JanBeta]

True, didn't think about that too much. I could just have put some pin headers in I guess.

[@McAlby]

Thanks for the video. May I ask what do you use to connect the console to the monitor?

[@awilliams1701]

what's up with the orange and yellow wires that were already on the board. Were those patch cables or is it supposed to be like that?

[@waldevv]

Is there a similar mod for a NES? I never had issues with PAL mega drives but on the NES so many games are in slow mo because of the 50hz as they clearly didn't take that into account as well back then

[@p166mx]

I love watching your videos some how it is so entertaining. Hopefully one day with the help of your videos I can restore my 1990 C64C I have owned since new. It is fully working but the video output is poor so I suspect it could do with recapping, the PSU needs replacing the keyboard is also very hard to type on. It has yellowed an awful lot so it also needs retrobriting which is hard to do in Northern England which basically gets no sun :( Also I hope you don't mind me asking this but where did you learn how to speak such good English? You speak much better English than a lot of English people I know :). I am ashamed to say every time I go to Germany I speak very little German as most people just reply back to me in English :D.

[@JanBeta]

Thanks Ian! Sounds like a nice project. There are ways to do retrobright with UV lamps etc you can try (I have similar problems with sun here in north Germany)... I actually studied English for a couple of years but never graduated. I know a lot about Shakespeare and romantic poetry now. ;)

[@BocaRetroGames]

Tks for Another great video Jan ! Tks for entertain us.

[@JanBeta]

Thanks Boca! :D

[@vincenzomontini1568]

Hello, nice video I bought a Pal megadrive from Spain with this mod can I use Pal cartridges and NTSC ? or only NTSC ?

[@JanBeta]

You can use both with this mod, that’s the whole purpose of it. ;)

[@bassarpeggio5648]

How difficult would it be to rig up a parallel 50 or 60Hz oscillator to finish the NTSC/PAL switch mod?

[@emmettturner9452]

4:42 “They made several revisions of this board but they made one version for the whole world” You’d think that especially with the jumpers you were pointing out but it turns out that Japanese boards have no RF modulator and move the power jack to the board despite having corresponding revision numbers.

[@DBZpwnsDC]

Japanese Sega Mega Drive board was released first in 1988... they didn't move the "power jack to the board"

[@emmettturner9452]

@@DBZpwnsDC I wasn’t speaking in chronological terms. You are speaking of VA0 and VA1. I was speaking of differences between the Japanese boards of the same engineering version as their international counterparts. North America started with VA2 and some 50hz PAL territories started with VA4. You can say that the Japanese Master System adds FM synth and a 3D glasses port when comparing it to an American one regardless of which came first because we are talking about a list of additional inclusions, not a chronology. For the MD power jack position, I was talking about a list of differences within the same engineering version (VA2-6), not a chronology. VA7 was the first revision intended to use that same board worldwide but that didn’t happen due to PAL issues with the new chipset. That’s why they kept producing VA6.5 for PAL50 territories and revised it to VA6.8 to use the new SMD encoder IC. VA7 was released in Brazil, some parts of SE Asia, the USA, and Japan.

[@VLCalaisFanboy]

@@emmettturner9452 RF is clearly a afterthought considering the fact the RF shielding blocks the air vents...😂 Doesn't make sense for a power jack to be on a separate tiny board and then joined to the mainboard by long wires... with the VA7 the Sega Genesis went full circle moving the power jack back to its original location!

[@otopico]

Great mod for a brilliant and amazing console.

[@JanBeta]

Yes, it makes the amazing console even more awesome! :D

[@sidocious]

If I have an S-Video/AV mod in my MD, than I can't use this mod?

[@MickeyD2012]

I demonstrated this in my high school public speaking class about 15 years ago.

[@JanBeta]

Oh, nice! You probably did less confusing job explaining it... ;)

[@Numb_Body_Berlin]

If I just want to change the speed of the game music, do I have to use the N to P switch, right?

[@JanBeta]

Yup, that does the trick for the vast majority of games I've tried!

[@Raes96]

well i am confused... i have pal megadrive, and all i want obviously is to have 60hz. but when i switch the region, my cartridges maybe not be compatible because of region lock dont they?

[@JanBeta]

Yup, some cartridges are only going to work with the switches set to the correct region. I found that many work with whatever settings and just run faster or slower. If you do the mod I‘ve shown you should be able to play all the cartridges with the appropriate settings though.

[@misas8542]

I did that mod myself. Now I am wondering what kind of RGB cable I need to get it fully to work on a PAL TV. I got myself one for the Megadrive 1 exclusivlely. While the PAL picture is perfect with it, the 60Hz modes have a big ugly black and grey bar at the top of the TV picture.

[@JanBeta]

That’s probably due to the TV not being able to interpret the signal correctly. Some TVs deal with the not-quite-NTSC signal fine, some don’t. The cable should not make any difference (at least as far as I understand).

[@misas8542]

@@JanBeta Thanks for the reply but I found what was wrong with it... my old CRT is always switching into 16:9 mode when I start up die Megadrive in its 60Hz mode. I dont know why it does that, but I have to manually set is to 4:3 every time I start or reset the console. The strange grey and black bar where just the upper end of the 16:9 frame. Looking forwart to my upscale setup so I can maybe get rid of that hunk of lead CRT monster.

[@kanavat-seuranta1695]

Can I use Genesis 32X and US 32X games with modded a PAL Sega Mega Drive when those "Export" & "60Hz" switches are activated?

[@JanBeta]

I don't have a 32X to confirm but technically with the switches in the 60Hz position, the Genesis is a US model so I don't see why it wouldn't work.

[@MultiArrie]

nice tinkering, would you convert the US C 64 C to Pal.

[@danielmantione]

It is certainly recommended to own a PAL C64, because many more advanced games and demos do not run on NTSC, so you need to to experience the best software. Wether you convert one, or just import a PAL C64, is your own choice. Personally I don't do converts, I imported an NTSC machine for software testing purposes.

[@EvilTurkeySlices]

Daniël Mantione I wonder if there is a way to do what Jan did with this Mega Drive(to easily convert it back and forth without opening the unit)

[@danielmantione]

@@EvilTurkeySlices For the C64 this is not possible, because you need a different VIC-II for PAL and NTSC. Therefore the most convenient way is to own multiple C64s, you can easily swap them on your desk.

[@danielmantione]

For the Commodore Plus/4 on the other hand, I have done a nice mod: www.freepascal.org/~daniel/plus4_pal_ntsc_switch.pdf

[@EvilTurkeySlices]

Daniël Mantione you could make a custom PCB(or even use prototype board) to have both VIC II and clock crystals on it, and switch them in using a switch on the back.

[@mouviel]

I made the modification on a Japanese Mega Drive, but when I use PAL 50HZ mode the image is black and white. The crystal is 53.69317MHz. Should I replace it with 53.203424 MHz to solve this problem?

[@JanBeta]

Oh, no idea if that's going to work (probably yes). The Japanese standard is a bit off the regular frequencies, so you might have mixed results depending on which monitor you use to display it. Some might even handle it. Also, are you using the RGB out? That should theoretically work fine independently of the oscillator.

[@AmaroqStarwind]

You should do a mod where you add an extra RAM chip to the VDP.

[@KenjiUmino]

in another video i learned that the console will "default" to NTSC when you cut the trace for the video mode jumpers and just leave JP3 and JP4 open ... this was perfect for me because all i had right now was a simple single row on-off toggle switch wich i used to simply restore the previously cut contact at JP3. this way, i could do the mod right now without ordering any parts and waiting for delivery - i can now switch between US/EU and that was all i wanted ... the few japan-only games i actually want to play are not region locked while most US games i tried are locked - i guess making the cartridge physically incompatible to US/EU consoles was "good enough" as a lockout method. i just wonder if i should add a pull-up resistor to JP4 instead of leaving it "floating" when the switch is open - would be the more "proper" way to do this, i think? what value would the resistor need to be then ? 1k?

[@vaendryl]

is scratching off the jumper connection really the only way? it just looks awful :/

[@JanBeta]

You have to break the connection in one way or the other. To make it a bit nearer, you could use a small drill or a rotary tool.

[@hyumahoshi]

I just wondering.. i have opening my PAL mega drive, and i've noticed there is a capacitor on JP4.. To make the mod i've to cut and remove that capacitor?

[@JanBeta]

Most people advise to just leave it in place. I think it makes sense to check where it connects and reconnect it after soldering in the switches. If in doubt, google for some schematics for your board revision and see where it should be connected.

[@rickyyoung]

You don't need the Cap on JP4. Mines not been on there for a while now

[@wizpin]

Thanks a lot, now i also want a mega drive again, how do i explain this to my wife :P ;)

[@JanBeta]

Haha, sorry. ;)

[@rolandbaron5813]

This is awesome 👌🏾

[@delatroy]

50hz PAL TVs can’t output 60hz?

[@JanBeta]

Most modern ones can, but in the old CRT days, it was an extremely rare feature.

[@Plan-C]

Very nice work. Ps the magnetic bowl won't work with cheap modern screws. They seem to be made of soft non-magnetic crap these days lol.

[@JanBeta]

Thanks! Yeah, I hate those screws, they don't stick to my magnetized screwdrivers, too. :/

[@ps3customgamer]

Did you change the thermal paste on the linear regulators the original paste will be dried out and heatsink not making a good connection

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

He put new voltage regulators in.

[@ps3customgamer]

Knuckles the Echidna not what I asked

[@p166mx]

@@ps3customgamer if he put new voltage regulators in then surely the original thermal paste would have disappeared too apart from the traces on the heatsink?

[@ps3customgamer]

Ian Robertson Yeah exactly. My opinion is the regulators on old consoles are dying only because thermal contact has been bad for a number of years.

[@JanBeta]

Yes, I replaced them with proper ST 78S05s and put new thermal paste on in the previous (restoration) video.

[@Rotterdam93]

Great tune 😊

[@hyumahoshi]

Good job Jan!

[@saschakonig2012]

Bring mir gleich noch n Carlsberg, bidde! Das wäre schön. Du sitzt eh näher am Kasten.

[@HaveYouTriedGuillotines]

Now that's how you do it!

[@JanBeta]

The old skool way. ;)

[@ownpj]

Now you just need to do an overclock mod

[@JanBeta]

I will eventually, I might have some more Mega Drives coming my way to experiment, too. ;)

[@xKynOx]

the way i modded my megadrive to play american/japan games was a hacksaw, i never noticed anything weird on a 14 inch tv connected by RF.

[@danielmantione]

I expect the colour carrier will be wrong on the RF, but some televisions tolerate this.

[@JanBeta]

Interesting, I didn't try RF at all yet (I guess very few people will nowadays) but I assumed it would not work properly on most TVs without changing the oscillator frequency.

[@portnoi88]

All you need is a 3-way switch.

[@leeashleyanthony]

I used Nico's guide, which utilised an SPDT (Single Pole, Double Throw), on/off/on switch. mdpal60.net/wiki/megadrive/regionmod/start

[@JanBeta]

That's a smarter way to do it indeed!

[@leeashleyanthony]

@@JanBeta Whatever gets the job done :D

[@abdelll9737]

Can someone do this for me? I live in Belgium.

[@arduino5267]

Krass das war mein erstes spiel Motorad Tetris und Fussball in einem

[@Lahire-s7l]

Super cool ces top😊

[@104d_3rr0r_vince]

Perifractic is a bit silence these days.

[@rickyyoung]

They're not a set of Zurons. Has Big Clive taught you nothing?

[@raypalmer7733]

Jan, why not use a hot glue gun to do the job with the case?

[@JanBeta]

I found that hot glue doesn't last that long and comes loose easily when applied to things like this (constantly moving).

[@kentb3175]

Yay!

[@saschakonig2012]

Du F!cker. 😘

[@frankbunny1946]

Auf Deutsch wäre cool gewesen

[@JanBeta]

Ich hatte tatsächlich mal geplant, parallel deutsche Videos zu machen, aber das Ganze ist leider unglaublich viel zeitintensiver als gedacht. Ich habe mich am Ende für Englisch entschieden, weil mir die internationale Kommunikation sehr viel Spaß macht.

[@DomedagsPoeten]

First comment 😃

[@JanBeta]

Haha, well done. ;)