We needed to remove the ROM chips to dump them, so why not video it? Enjoy! :D

This time I’m working on the newer of the two Japanese Sega Channel adapters. With the owner’s go-ahead, I decided to install sockets so the ROM chips could be removed again without having to desolder everything. A much more convenient arrangement for future experiments!

With the sockets fitted, it was time to put everything back together and see whether the adapter still worked. I connected it to a Mega Drive 2 and fired up the XRGB to have a look at the output. Unfortunately, the XRGB wasn’t particularly interested in finding the signal at first.

After another attempt, up came the Sega Channel selection screen. Excellent! I didn’t have a cable connection to actually use the service, but the adapter would still display its menus and let me move through the channel selections.

I eventually found a suitable controller and had a little poke around. There was even a rather lovely Sonic animation, although I wasn’t having much success understanding the Japanese menu options. I certainly wasn’t going to let that stop me pressing buttons!

Leaving the adapter alone for a while also brought up another menu. There was still plenty to explore, but the important thing was that the hardware appeared to be working after the socket installation.

At this stage, I was planning to send the chip off to the UK to have its contents dumped, since my GQ-4X programmer didn’t appear capable of handling it. That would turn into another interesting little adventure, as you’ll discover in the following videos!

Sega Channel Japan series