The Mega Blaster 2 by Aidan Lawrence is a hardware Sega Genesis/Mega Drive video game music (VGM) player that utilizes the real sound chips.

Play any Genesis track on-demand with brilliant sound quality on the actual YM2612/YM3438 and SN76489 PSG synthesizer chips that were found in the real Genesis consoles.

The Mega Blaster 2 is compatible with both .vgm and .vgz files and can support both the YM2612 and YM3438 simply by changing the DIP switch values.

This unit does not use any emulated sound – these are the real chips playing back logged data from the vgm files.

Features:

• Your choice of the original YM2612 (OPN2) or YM3438 (OPN2c) sound chip with the ability to swap on-the-fly using the DIP switches on the side of the board. Or, if you already have the sound chips, you can just order the board without any chips for a discount.
• A custom analog stage based on the Kunoichi Labs design on a four-layer PCB for flawless sound quality and stellar amplification.
• No additional power supply required, only a single USB connection.
• Support for file folders to organize your sound tracks.
• On-device file browser.
• Native VGM and VGZ support on-device, no decompression required.
• Brand-new VGM engine written from the ground up allows for accurate playback speeds for even the most computationally intensive sound tracks.
• Huge 64Mbit SPI RAM IC allows for giant PCM samples, allowing sample-heavy homebrew soundtracks to play with ease.
• Automatic YM chip authenticator. If your YM2612/YM3438 is damaged or not authentic, the Mega Blaster 2 will detect this at startup and alert you to it.
• All sound chips included with the Mega Blaster 2 bought from this site are verified to work correctly.
• DAC Stream support for homebrew soundtracks.
• 4 play modes: Loop, In-order, Shuffle ALL tracks, and Shuffle just a single directory.
• Custom looping options.
• An OLED display that’s grounded directly to the power input for zero analog interference.
• An adjustment potentiometer for the SN76489’s volume.
• A custom boost->linear power supply design for optimal audio performance.
• On-board class-AB headphone amplifier IC (TPA6111A2)
• Extremely easy firmware updates that require no external tools other than a computer. Just drag-and-drop an update file to the device as if it were a flash drive. That’s it.

Gallery:

Video:

source: aidanlawrence.com github.com

Autopsy:

Hello everyone, after the Fabio D. Bovelacci donation, i have decided to looking around for some cartridges for my Sega SC-3000. As you can see! i have found something.

The games cartridges are Japanese, but it works perfectly with my Sega SC-3000 PAL version.

Sega SC-3000 games cartridges (JAP):

• Safari Race
• Monaco GP
• Zaxxon
• Safari Hunting
• Sinbad Mystery
• Yamato
• Pop Flamer
• Pachinko II
• Lode Runner
• Hustle Chumy
• Exerion
• Champion Boxing

source: sc-3000.com

Autopsy:

12►

Many thanks to Fabio D. Bovelacci for his donation. This is my second computer (ZX-81 is the first one), i spent a significant portion of my childhood in front of this one.

from old-computers.com homepage:

The SC-3000 is a computer based on the hardware of the first videogame systems released by Sega in Japan : the SG-1000 series. It can use the same game cartridges marketed for these consoles.

The SC3000 can’t be used without a ROM cartridge, which can be either a game or language. There were three different BASIC cartridges. One came with only 1Kb of RAM (and you had only 512 bytes free !), the second with 16Kb and the last with 32Kb. In official adverts, they show a total RAM of 48Kb. This was counting the VRAM and the 32Kb BASIC cartridge…

Several great games were adapted by Sega for this computer. Several graphic characteristics of the SC-3000 are fairly close to MSX ones. For example, it was one of the first computers to offer 32 sprites. Some months later, Sega released the SC-3000 H which was the same system but with a mechanical keyboard.

This computer was also marketed by Yeno under the same name (Yeno SC 3000 & SC 3000H). It was exactly the same computer except for the Yeno brand…

source: old-computers.com sc-3000.com

Autopsy:

The Sega MasterSystem II was originally designed to output an RF modulated (VHF) signal but with a mod you can get a better signal with the Composite Video .

Description:

• Country: Japan
• Most Common: Usa/Europe
• Rarity: Unrare
• Year: 1990

from Wikipedia:

The Sega Master System is an 8-bit cartridge-based video game console that was manufactured by Sega and was first released in 1986.^[3] Its original Japanese incarnation was the Sega Mark III (although the “Master System” name has also been used in Japan).

In the European market, this console launched Sega onto a competitive level comparable to Nintendo, due to its wider availability, but failed to put a dent in the North American and Japanese markets. The Master System was released as a direct competitor to the NES/Famicom.

source: Wikipedia