Here are the PAL switch settings and hardware notes I recorded from my Sega Saturn Sophia Programming Box. I originally called these the “factory settings”, but I have not established that they were universal PAL factory defaults.

One useful troubleshooting note from the time: if no video appears, it may be worth trying the NTSC / PAL switch in the NTSC (OFF) position. I remember some display trouble around this setting, although I did not fully characterise it. A TV that supports both PAL and NTSC makes that experiment easier. Thanks globalisation!

Switch Bank 1

  • AREA0 = ON
  • AREA1 = ON
  • AREA2 = OFF
  • AREA3 = OFF
  • NTSC/PAL = ON
  • 6 = OFF
  • 7 = OFF
  • 8 = OFF

Switch Bank 2

  • WS0 = OFF
  • WS1 = OFF
  • SCSIBOOT = OFF
  • SCSI ON = OFF
  • SIMMCART = ON
  • 6 = OFF
  • 7 = OFF
  • 8 = ON

Hardware notes

  • My Sophia arrived with one 8 MB Samsung KMM5362000B2G-7 SIMM, rated at 70 ns.
  • Sega’s Programming Box documentation supports up to four 8 MB SIMMs, giving a maximum of 32 MB.
  • The A-Bus board is the upper board carrying the SIMM sockets.
  • The cable from the A-Bus area to the SH-2 CPU cards is the branched EVA-board power cable I had been investigating.

Things I hadn’t worked out yet

  • What are the HCD63 markings on Sophia?
  • What is the EVA-PO-S / EVA-P0-S 4-pin header CN10 connector that joins CN4 on the SH-2 CPU Card?
  • 171-6692B (ADK-7000) vs 171-6692D (HCD63) - manufacturers perhaps?

Until we know, I guess we’ll never know.

Sources