Super Nintendo Love/Hate Relationship

[Moirai]

I found replacements online shortly after my expensive lesson. I think they're just standard hitachi lasers, I have no idea why DUOs are so delicate. Some people told me that the laser must have been breaking anyway, but both times I tested real CDs for over a week, sometimes leaving the thing on for hours and it worked fine. The first time I loaded a CDR the game froze and it never read a CD again. The laser was dead.

I think my model 2 Saturn's laser is dead also.

The Saturn laser is easy to replace. It's a JVC Optima 6


I wonder if it is possible to replace the Duo laser with one that is capable of reading CD-Rs? I dont think i've ever heard of a drive that could die instantly from CDR usage.

[Thierry Henry]

the AR will wreck your cart slot and is an eyesore anyway. It doesn't deserve that kind of abuse.

The cart slot will be fine as long as that AR cart stays put. I've had one for the longest time and there's been no damage whatsoever to the cart slot.

Fun story, shipping DUOs back to Japan is expensive and CDRs actually can kill the laser in a single play.

I must say I've never heard that one before. In a single play, you say? Wow!

[sheath]

The Saturn laser is easy to replace. It's a JVC Optima 6


I wonder if it is possible to replace the Duo laser with one that is capable of reading CD-Rs? I dont think i've ever heard of a drive that could die instantly from CDR usage.

Cool! Thanks for that. I could have sworn the Saturn laser was an Hitachi though. The lasers I found for the DUO after the fact would have been easy to replace as well. All I know is two separate Japanese DUOs died instantly. I think I chanced it once on my DUO/R and didn't like the way it struggled with loading, so I'll never put a CDR in that system ever again, and I will go way out of my way to avoid using them on the Sega CD or Dreamcast as well.

[Drakon]

I found replacements online shortly after my expensive lesson. I think they're just standard hitachi lasers, I have no idea why DUOs are so delicate. Some people told me that the laser must have been breaking anyway, but both times I tested real CDs for over a week, sometimes leaving the thing on for hours and it worked fine. The first time I loaded a CDR the game froze and it never read a CD again. The laser was dead.

I think my model 2 Saturn's laser is dead also.

My briefcase pc engine cdrom reads taiyo yuden cdrs like a pro. I've been using cdrs on it forever without any issues. I did the gear bypass mod to it and it's never let me down. It also reads my only legit cd game (art of fighting) fine. This's obviously a cdr:



My sega cd also reads cdrs just fine. Considering the sega cd when I got it was scraping all cds against the case as they spin and could barely even read a music cd, I think that's pretty good.

[Dexter]

Love.

Though, when I first got a Sega, I felt like a traitor to Nintendo. I was playing the NES for years before the Sega. There was a time when I actually liked my Sega more than my Super Nintendo. The Adventures of Batman & Robin was so radical on the Sega.

[Moirai]

Cool! Thanks for that. I could have sworn the Saturn laser was an Hitachi though.

That exact JVC laser is the one that is in my Saturn (a 64 pin model 2 from October of 1996) it works perfectly. However some revisions (perhaps other regions) might use a slightly different laser. What's best to do is to open up your Saturn and check to see what laser it has. I believe most if not all US models use the JVC laser though. Or at least that's what I read somewhere. EDIT: THAT IS EXTREMELY WRONG.

ANOTHER EDIT: Actually some US model 2 Saturns also use a Sanyo disc drive which requires a different laser. Most model 1 Saturns use a JVC laser, but its slightly different than the one the later model 2 uses. However, Some Model 1 Saturn's are internally the same as a model 2, so those probably use the other JVC laser. (I've never seen one in person, they are extremely rare so i don't know for sure)


EDIT AGAIN: The model 1 and model 2 lasers might actually be compatible with each other. Physically they are identical and after doing some brief research it appears they are pretty much the same electronically.

[magicalsoundshower]

My briefcase pc engine cdrom reads taiyo yuden cdrs like a pro. I've been using cdrs on it forever without any issues. I did the gear bypass mod to it and it's never let me down. It also reads my only legit cd game (art of fighting) fine. This's obviously a cdr:



My sega cd also reads cdrs just fine. Considering the sega cd when I got it was scraping all cds against the case as they spin and could barely even read a music cd, I think that's pretty good.

Wow, I had no idea this existed - that Cutman remix is amazing, it sounds like something that could come from OCRemix, is it available for download somewhere?

[Zz Badnusty]

Wait. I thought this was a Super Nintendo thread.

Has anyone ever offered a legitimate theory as to how CDRs could damage a laser?

[Drakon]

Wow, I had no idea this existed - that Cutman remix is amazing, it sounds like something that could come from OCRemix, is it available for download somewhere?

No clue where it's from.

Wait. I thought this was a Super Nintendo thread.

Has anyone ever offered a legitimate theory as to how CDRs could damage a laser?

My personal experience with both the pc engine cd and the sega cd is that cdrs don't damage the lasers.

[j_factor]

CD-R's can definitely damage the Dreamcast laser.

[NostalgicMachine]

Wait. I thought this was a Super Nintendo thread.

Me too; where has the SNES discussion gone...?

List your top 5 "desert island" SNES titles:

1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to The Past
2. Mega Man X
3. Super Metroid
4. Contra III: The Alien Wars
5. Super Castlevania IV

GO!!!

[Drakon]

Me too; where has the SNES discussion gone...?

List your top 5 "desert island" SNES titles:

1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to The Past
2. Mega Man X
3. Super Metroid
4. Contra III: The Alien Wars
5. Super Castlevania IV

GO!!!

Link to the past and megaman x a desert island? What?

[NostalgicMachine]

Link to the past and megaman x a desert island? What?

If you could only take 5 SNES games with you to play for the rest of time, what would they be?