Heeelp!

[SuperMonacoGP]

Ok I posted this in the technical section of the site but no one replied.

Basically I need help with my Mega Drive II, I bought it off ebay about 3 weeks ago, came in original box, great condition and you could tell it hadn't been played that much or mistreated. I played it quite a lot for 2 weeks, then put it away in the box for a week and 2 days ago I got it out the box and set it up to play it again and for some reason a black screen came up when I turned it on. So I tried cleaning everything inside and all the carts... Still nothing would come up

So I thought ok maybe i've not set it up correctly on this t.v, so tried a different t.v and on that t.v the picture never came up but the music was playing on it this time, so was able to get music but no picture! Then I tried it on another t.v, same thing happened again, sound but no picture

Any ideas what could have gone wrong? I treat it well and when I put it in the box a week ago I didn't yank at the wires or anything, so i'm wondering could it be a component inside the Mega Drive has gone? Or could it just be my cable that connects into the t.v?

[ninjabearhug]

Original MD II RF cables are total arse, they're always going faulty. Buy a new cable from ebay, go for a Scart or RGB cable. It'll probably set you back around £7 but it's well worth it.

Alternatively, pick up a far superior in every way Model 1 MD

[SuperMonacoGP]

Original MD II RF cables are total arse, they're always going faulty. Buy a new cable from ebay, go for a Scart or RGB cable. It'll probably set you back around £7 but it's well worth it.

Alternatively, pick up a far superior in every way Model 1 MD

So it looks like the problem is the RF cable? I would happily buy a new one for £7 on ebay but i'm just a bit wary incase it's not the actual cable but rather a component inside the MD that is making it play sounds but not show any picture. If it was the MD I would buy one of those new MD that Blaze have made which has 15 games inside it and can play any cart in it. Costs £35 but it's well worth it if it means it will last a long time and not break from being old or the cables going faulty.

If I am certain it's just the cable though and nothing inside the MD then I will just buy a new RGB or scart cable for £7.

[retrospiel]

So it looks like the problem is the RF cable? I would happily buy a new one for £7 on ebay but i'm just a bit wary incase it's not the actual cable but rather a component inside the MD that is making it play sounds but not show any picture.

There's a 99,9% it's the RF cable, yes.

If it was the MD I would buy one of those new MD that Blaze have made which has 15 games inside it and can play any cart in it. Costs £35 but it's well worth it if it means it will last a long time and not break from being old or the cables going faulty.

No, these are not an alternative. I'd not recommend to buy these, exceot if you are a collector of Mega Drive hardware variants.

The Blaze MD is a rebranded At Games Mega Drive; an emulator based console that is incompatible to some games. It is not capable of RGB, nor stereo sound, nor is sound itself of a comparable quality to even a model #2 Mega Drive.

If you want a good Mega Drive buy a model #1.

If I am certain it's just the cable though and nothing inside the MD then I will just buy a new RGB or scart cable for £7.

If money is an issue than that is a good solution. RGB SCART cables are easy to find at ebay UK and the difference in picture quality is well worth the money even if your RF cable worked perfectly.

If money isn't an issue go with a model #1, or send your model #2 to TmEE and have it modded.

[SuperMonacoGP]

Thank you for that detailed answer Well what i'll do is... Buy a new RGB cable and then see how it works after that. If the picture still won't come on then i'll try and buy a MK1 Mega Drive off Ebay.

Can I just ask why the MK1 is better than the MK2? You said the sound quality is better on the MK1 but that surprises me because you'd think that the next versian of the console would be better.. lol obviously not though.

[Nunzio]

Probably not it, but did you check to make sure the LED came on? Lots of MD2 have bad AC adapter connectors and you have to jiggle it or turn it to get a good contact.

[SuperMonacoGP]

Probably not it, but did you check to make sure the LED came on? Lots of MD2 have bad AC adapter connectors and you have to jiggle it or turn it to get a good contact.

Yes the LED came on. It was strange because when I turned on the MD all that came on was a blank screen but the music on the game would come on but no picture would accompany it... I tried wiggling the wires but there was nothing but a black screen all through it.

[retrospiel]

Can I just ask why the MK1 is better than the MK2? You said the sound quality is better on the MK1 but that surprises me because you'd think that the next versian of the console would be better.. lol obviously not though.

Model #2 have tinny sound, perhaps comparable to Gens set to 22khz or even 11khz, but often heavily distorted, especially with drums and trumpets. It really does vary from MD2 to MD2, but even the very best MD2 sounds like the worst MD1 variant.

The average Model #1 sounds much better than any model #2, more like Kega in 48khz (it's actually 53khz that the sound chip generates if I remember correctly). The earlier the hardware, the better the sound. If you want to be sure to get a good model, pay attention to the "High Definition Graphics and Sound" logo on the model #1's bezel (above the cartridge slot).

If you prefer the model #2's design, you could ask TmEE to 'fix' your MD2 with a CCAM (Crystal Clear Audio Mod; and also have it region modded). Although the CCAM is not really a 'fix': your CCAM'd MD2 will sound even cleaner than any model #1.

[SuperMonacoGP]

Model #2 have tinny sound, perhaps comparable to Gens set to 22khz or even 11khz, but often heavily distorted, especially with drums and trumpets. It really does vary from MD2 to MD2, but even the very best MD2 sounds like the worst MD1 variant.

The average Model #1 sounds much better than any model #2, more like Kega in 48khz (it's actually 53khz that the sound chip generates if I remember correctly). The earlier the hardware, the better the sound. If you want to be sure to get a good model, pay attention to the "High Definition Graphics and Sound" logo on the model #1's bezel (above the cartridge slot).

If you prefer the model #2's design, you could ask TmEE to 'fix' your MD2 with a CCAM (Crystal Clear Audio Mod; and also have it region modded). Although the CCAM is not really a 'fix': your CCAM'd MD2 will sound even cleaner than any model #1.

Ah I see Thank you.

I really really need to know for sure though if this problem with no picture but sound is 100% my RF cable or if it could be a component inside the Mega Drive that has gone wrong... If I was to buy a new RGB cable off Ebay it would set me back £12, that may not seem like that much but I don't want to spend £12 on something that might not make it work.

If it is my MegaDrive that has broken then I will have to buy a new one but has anyone ever came across this problem? If they have and know what the problem is then that would help me. I appreciate everyones replies on here, for the moment though i'm still not sure what the problem may be.

[kool kitty89]

If the video connection if bad on the a/v port, the one affecting RF would only be composite video, and if it's just that pin (or other part of the composite connection) that's damaged, RGB will be uneffected. (and that's if it's not just damage to the composite pin or line on the RF cable's side)

[xXxTWO FACExXx]

try moving the video cables around.