Net Neutrality

Sega Saturn - Part 01 - Region Free Bios

I finished the first part of my Sega Saturn MOD. The region free Bios. This was my first time replacing a SMD like this. Some tutorials online recommend cutting the legs of the chip. I noticed this often led to some of the pads getting damaged, so I decided to use  ChipQuik SMD removal alloy. A low temperature, Bismuth Alloy. It stays molten long enough for easy SMD removal. Farnell sell a kit of the stuff and I still have a bit left over. May come in handy if I ever need to do work like this again in the future.

Original IC7 Bios Chip. Kapton tape around the work area just in case.

I don't have any pictures of the board with the chip off or the ChipQuik process. I was focused on the work a bit too much. The pads cleaned up great, no damage. I was using my smallest tip I have on the iron. In the future I'll use the standard chisel tip when working with the ChipQuik alloy.

 The new region free Bios before I wired power to the rased pins (AWG30 Solid Core). 

Here's the old Bios chip, prior to cleanup with ChipQuik Alloy still there.

After clean up, the chip is still in great shape.
(Going to hold onto this chip, you never know when it might come in handy) 

I used a tiny spot of bluetack to hold the chip in place as I was lining it up. I used allot of flux and touched up each solder joint several times as best I could. I don't have any magnification or inspection equipment so I had no choice but to take my time. Working with my smallest Iron tip & crazy amounts of gel flux. I'm still far from good at soldering but every thing worked out OK. As a hobbyist I'm getting there.

I have a CD mod-chip on the way, that will allow me to play backups of my games. Once it arrives, I'll install it and the Saturn project will be complete. It's a relatively easy install with only one wire to solder.

I got the region free Bios chip from Zer0-2k11 on https://www.obscuregamers.com. Great guy, easy to deal with. Fast shipping and fair prices. I highly recommend checking out his mod shop here.

Thewheelman282 has a great video on this mod on his youtube channel. It was a big help in doing the mod.

This was my first time removing and replacing an SMD chip. So I don't have any other methods to compare it to. I would however, highly recommend ChipQuik removal alloy. I didn't damage any pads on the board and the pins on the chip are still in good shape. I should have practised on an old board but I was lucky, every thing went so smooth. I got my ChipQuik SMD removal kit from Farnell. Fast delivery and a fair price.

If you'd like to find out more about how to work with the ChipQuik SMD removal kit. Dave of EEVBlog has a great video, showing how to use it.

Early Christmas