Sega Saturn ReSaturn PSU

Description

After a few years in the market our Saturns are growing older, and problems related to bad caps in the stock power supply, or problems with the infamous voltage regulator (prone to fail from the very beginning) are commonplace. This can affect the voltage of the CD lens and, of course,  the voltage the chips in the mobo are in need of. Recapping or swapping the whole PSU can obviously be a solution, but the variety of models existing makes it sometimes hard to find a match.

To solve all this, I designed the ReSaturn PSU, a 12v power supply that works with all Saturn revisions (from VA0 to VA15) either NTSC-J, NTSC-US, or PAL.. You just need a 12v AC/DC adapter with positive centre tip and you’re good to go.

The Saturn had 3 different sorts of PSU:

Type A (GND,GND, 3.3v, 5v, 9v)

Type B (GND,GND, 3.3v, 5v, 9v)

Type C (GND, GND, 5v, 5v, 9v/12v) or (GND, GND, 5v, 5v).

All these combinations are possible with the ReSaturn PSU.

The ReSaturn also includes a block connector with +5V that will allow MODE users to plug in the cable for extrajuice straight to the PSU. This has sorted out issues related to crackling sound with the MODE.

Please note that this design follows PCB layout best practice and that the choice of components is tailored to the specific needs of the Saturn. All components are good quality branded ones. When tested with a good-quality 12v adapter, this PSU offered a ripple+noise output of around 30mV on the 3.3v and 5v rails under load.