Japanese Saturn PSU question

[FinalArcadiaVII]

Hey guys

I'm in the market for a Jap Sega Saturn (not now but in the near future) and I have a question regarding the Power Supply.

I know that I would need a step down volt converter plug thing but I was told that you can take out the power supply from a PAL Sega Saturn and plug that into the Jap Sega Saturn bypassing the need for the step down converter all together.

My question is is this possible and what more information do I need to know like which version of the PAL Saturn PSU will fit a JAP Saturn since there's a few versions of the PAL Saturn and what do I need to know about volts or anything like that (total noob at this as you can see:P )

I ask because I don't want to mod anything because I'm not very good at soldering and I think even if you solder your PAL console there's still some problems with the 60hz on some Jap games.

Thanks guys.
Ryan

[UltraMagnus]

I would just use a stepdown convertor, there are available for less than a fiver on Ebay.

[MrRange]

You can buy a step down converter for around £6 on eBay, I have one for my Japanese Saturn and it all works fine.

Swapping the power supply in the consoles sounds a lot mof effort and could be quite risky.

[FinalArcadiaVII]

You can buy a step down converter for around £6 on eBay, I have one for my Japanese Saturn and it all works fine.

Swapping the power supply in the consoles sounds a lot mof effort and could be quite risky.

I've read that if you plug a Step Down converter into a surge protector extention cable that it can run the risk of blowing up the plug and how I've set the room up I'd have no choice put to use a surge protector extention, have you experienced any problems with this or do you plug the step down into the mains?

Thanks,
Ryan

[UltraMagnus]

You can buy a step down converter for around £6 on eBay, I have one for my Japanese Saturn and it all works fine.

Swapping the power supply in the consoles sounds a lot mof effort and could be quite risky.

I've read that if you plug a Step Down converter into a surge protector extention cable that it can run the risk of blowing up the plug and how I've set the room up I'd have no choice put to use a surge protector extention, have you experienced any problems with this or do you plug the step down into the mains?

Thanks,
Ryan

If you are in the UK you should be ok.

I know there are problems when using one in europe. Something about being able to put the euro plug into the mains 2 different ways. Having it one way for a while then taking it out and putting it in the opposite way seems to be the problem. obviously with the 3 pronged uk plugs thats not a problem.

I also heard that its not the uk surge protectors thats the problem, most people who I know who have had problems have had them because they bought a US/JAP multi socket with surge protection built in and plugged that into the step down convertor.

I actually have my step down convertor into a surge protecter and that is plugged into antoher surge protector and I have had no probs whatsoever.

If you just use the stepdown for one plug at a time you should have no problem even if it is plugged into a uk surge protector. Noone I know has had any problems this way.

[mr_gibbage]

Other thing to watch with buying step down converters is to make sure you get one with the right wattage. Generally cheaper = lower wattage, although I don't think a Jap Saturn is particularly high. It is possible to swap power boards from a UK one though to avoid faffing around with step downs.

[RossDaBoss]

zyrobs over at the http://segasaturn.co.uk/ forums is the man to speak to if you plan on swapping out the PSU board. He helped me track down a PAL psu for my white Japanese Sega Saturn.

[FinalArcadiaVII]

If you are in the UK you should be ok.

I know there are problems when using one in europe. Something about being able to put the euro plug into the mains 2 different ways. Having it one way for a while then taking it out and putting it in the opposite way seems to be the problem. obviously with the 3 pronged uk plugs thats not a problem.

I also heard that its not the uk surge protectors thats the problem, most people who I know who have had problems have had them because they bought a US/JAP multi socket with surge protection built in and plugged that into the step down convertor.

I actually have my step down convertor into a surge protecter and that is plugged into antoher surge protector and I have had no probs whatsoever.

If you just use the stepdown for one plug at a time you should have no problem even if it is plugged into a uk surge protector. Noone I know has had any problems this way.

Ahh awesome thanks for the info

zyrobs over at the http://segasaturn.co.uk/ forums is the man to speak to if you plan on swapping out the PSU board. He helped me track down a PAL psu for my white Japanese Sega Saturn.

Ahh that's where I originally read the post about the idea of swapping out the PSU but I couldn't remember the site to go back to, thanks for that I'll ask around

Thanks guys,
Ryan