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Netlink Newbie

Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2015 5:05 pm
by Sega-Rich
Hi all!

I've just been sent over here from "saturngroup" as I'm wanting to get playing online with it and I'm told this is the place to sort that. Is this site active? on the forum index I look at the "last posts" to see most of them are years old??

Re: Netlink Newbie

Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2015 8:19 pm
by Warp2063
Welcome!

Depends on your definition of "active." There aren't many of us who stop by anymore, and those of us who do don't normally check the site daily. It doesn't help that few of us have the means to play the five existent NetLink-compatible games anymore, assuming we have the time, and using the PlanetWeb browser is more of a curiosity these days than anything else. I actually just packed the last of my Saturns away in a box last night, as I'm soon moving to a place where I won't have an analog phone line... and won't be able to bring the system with me at first, anyway.

We'll be happy to try to answer your questions and to help out, but chances are, all of your questions have been answered repeatedly in myriad threads. Ask away, though! The NetLink section is the place to do that.

Re: Netlink Newbie

Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2015 9:00 pm
by Xranger60
^ :lol: Welcome to the board!

Re: Netlink Newbie

Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 9:24 am
by Rogue
Helllo!

Welcome! We sometimes come back to experience some NetLinking. You know, it's just five games, and some people don't have all of them (I have 3). And some people don't bother pirating (not that will hurt anyone's rights, but some people just don't feel like doing it).

My Saturn is in it's box too. And I have someone here willing to play with me (for some months already). I should try to setup it as soon as possible. And if you want to join us and have a phone, I can call without problems.

Maybe we should try something different to reunite more people. What about organizing a championship? Feel free to give some ideas too! n.n

Re: Netlink Newbie

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2015 12:48 am
by xDerekRx
Our board isnt super active but this is really the best shot you have at Netlink matches Rich.

Im getting a landline connection soon, maybe try to get some matches again.

Re: Netlink Newbie

Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2015 3:58 am
by JerryTerrifying
I think everyone thats posted in this topic checks the site from time to time even if we don't actually post. I've been quiet for a while but still pop in to see if anyone is posting. The last time there was any buzz, that I saw at least, was when the Pluto lurched into the spot light. I've just been busy. Have had a girlfriend and a new job taking up a lot of my time. Most of my free time has been sunk into a video project that's had so many peaks and valleys.

A few months ago I lost access to an analog phone line and I deeply regret not putting in more effort into getting a Netlink match going. Perhaps some day I'll have access to another analog line but the way its looking I'll probably end up buying or building a phone line simulator just to dick around with my Netlinks. I think part of why I didn't try to get a match going was my PCs power supply shitting out back in November. It's nice to see familiar avatars posting in this thread though. :D

Re: Netlink Newbie

Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 6:55 pm
by Sega-Rich
Hi Guys!

Thanks for the warm reception! after 6 months plus of me not visiting lol, anyway I'm back after having just bought what is thought to be the last brand new old stock Netlink set! :D so just waiting for that to land and also tracking down a Sega Rally and Duke Nukem for it. I think I'm going to pursuit the analog phone line simulator and also get my Saturn region free modded, any info on this? is it a kit? what is the procedure?

Many thanks all!

Will be here challenging everyone once I'm set up! :twisted:

Re: Netlink Newbie

Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 1:12 am
by Warp2063
I don't know if there's an actual kit for a region switch mod, but the parts are easy to acquire and the theory is pretty simple. There are a series of jumper points on the mainboard of the Saturn. Their location and layout varies depending on which model you own. The combination of points that are electrically connected to each other determines the region that your Saturn will believe itself to be. Normally there are specific ones connected together to permanently determine your Saturn's region code. By breaking those permanent connections and soldering wires to those points and switches to the wires, you can switch the region of your Saturn with the... well, flip of a switch/switches.

The difficulty lies in determining which model you have, finding those points, figuring out what's what, and the actual soldering work. You have to be careful - bridging certain points together will create shorts that could permanently damage your Saturn. If you're not confident in your soldering ability, I'd recommend finding someone to do it for you. I was reasonably confident going in, but the job was much more difficult than I'd anticipated. If you want to go ahead and try to do it yourself, there are a plethora of guides online.

One extra thing to keep in mind that PAL systems output video at 50HZ, while NTSC systems output video at 60HZ. I can't remember if any of the PAL games are going to give you trouble if you try to run them at 60HZ or not.

Re: Netlink Newbie

Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2015 1:21 pm
by Sega-Rich
Hi there, thanks for the info! I'm fairly confident on the procedure its just the parts that I'm not sure about, firstly the chip its self, cant find much info on how to program it prior to fitting, secondly the new LED, they call it a "3 pin duel illumination" bit unless I've missed something its supposed to illuminate X3 different colours and have X4 pins?? I have the Europe PAL MK2 which luckily is the one featured in all the guides.

Thanks.

Re: Netlink Newbie

Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2015 1:51 am
by Warp2063
Ah, you've found one of the more complex mods. Most of the simple ones just use some multi-throw switches that people hide on the back of their system. For programming a PIC microcontroller, you'll need a PIC programmer. I think the cheapest one I own was around $50USD? The LED you're referring to is a three-color LED. It has three inputs - one for green, one for red, and one for blue. The fourth pin is the drain. Like a light bulb, power has to flow both into and out of it for it to light. That fourth pin will be a different length than the other three to indicate what it is.

Re: Netlink Newbie

Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2015 5:07 am
by Sega-Rich
Yes, glad I found this mod its pure tech genius! Found a guy on ebay who does it for £35 and seems to know his onions so gonna have him do it. I've been pondering for the last 2 day on which console to have done MK1 or MK2 couldn't decide so having both done! Then purchase phone line simulator got my NOS Netlink the other day just waiting on my Netlink Sega Rally then I'm up and running challenging eveyone! Ha ha ha.

Re: Netlink Newbie

Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2015 2:43 pm
by Warp2063
I was trying do do my own spin on that mod on one of my Saturn 2 systems, but I did some damage to the system and never got around to completing the mod. To this day, it sits in well-labeled pieces, waiting for reassembly.

Re: Netlink Newbie

Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2015 2:36 pm
by Sega-Rich
Oh dear! What was your twist going to be on the mod??

Re: Netlink Newbie

Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2015 3:51 am
by Warp2063
Sega-Rich wrote:Oh dear! What was your twist going to be on the mod??
I was doing the full video frequency/region select mod and changing up some of the button press timing and frequency select colors by rewriting the program.

Re: Netlink Newbie

Posted: Mon May 30, 2016 3:11 pm
by Austin Peyton
I can play vitual on and sega rally through netlink.