FS: modded Turbo Grafx and Turbo Duo units

I've been hard at work putting together some modded Turbo Grafx units. These systems will allow you to play BOTH US and Japanese HuCards on the same system without the need for an adapter such as the Kisado, Purple Barney, Mirai, etc. The modded decks are even then compatible with the Arcade Cards to allow play of the Neo Geo games that were ported to the PC Engine as "Arcade CDRoms", like Fatal Fury 2, Art of Fighting, and Kabuki Fighters.

The modification is actually a hardware mod (not a chip) that utilizes an external switch to control the "region" of the system. For my mods, I use a push-button style switch (I do have 2 slide switch style systems available) that's mounted on the front for TG16's and the back for Turbo Duo's.

The price for these Turbo Grafx 16 units will be $80 shipped Priority with Delivery Confirmation and insurance. This includes the modded console, rear cover for the system, original controller, original AV/Rf cable, original AC adapter, and Keith Courage.

I can mount the switch in 2 places:
"Left"-Mounted:


"Right"-Mounted:


I also mod Turbo Duo units. Some pics are below. I do these on a per order basis, so if you're interested, please let me know:

• boxed or unboxed
• gamer or collector
• completeness (packing materials, inserts, manual, matching serials, etc)

The price will vary on these conditions. Expect unboxed systems to start at about $230 shipped. All systems come with all original parts (controller, AV adapter, AC adapter). Again, price will depend on what you're looking for.

Modded Duo:



I will also perform the mod on your system if you want! I'm looking for $70 which includes priority return shipping with insurance and DC#.

Interested? Shoot me a PM or e-mail me at ddragoli@chemrx.com

I have lots more Turbo stuff! Expect to see some eBay auctions from me starting Sunday (auctions started!).

I should also mention that I have many Turbo games available. If you are interested in a particular game, please PM or e-mail me, but I currently don't have an updated list

I've also sold modded decks to The Chief, Conrad Hart, and k'_127 (who should receive his early next week) if you want to ask around.

PMs responded and a bump....

Lots of stuff listed on eBay

The prices on the auctions are still very good for many of the games !

BUMP

ill tell you this much... you are charging insane amounts just for shorting pin 29 to ground... lower that insane price and im sure people will do it.
i do an even harder mod for hella lot less money.

smokeingit said:

ill tell you this much... you are charging insane amounts just for shorting pin 29 to ground... lower that insane price and im sure people will do it.
i do an even harder mod for hella lot less money.

Click to expand...

Ummmm..... this isn't grounding pin #29 to ground. That's what you do to make a PC Engine CAPABLE of playing a US game WITH a converter. This mod requires switching/inverting pins 15,16,17,19,20,21,22, and 23 of the HuCard slot, NOT the processor (which is the pin 29 mod). US and Jap units have these 8 pins inverted. To do the mod, you also need an 8PDT switch, which is very difficult to find. It requires 40 solder points just for the switch and the HuCard slot, not to mention the soldering and modification of the inner static shield and the case. The mod takes approximately 2 hours to complete. I've sold 6 of these mods already. A few of these had sold in the past on eBay (before they started cracking down on the "mod chip policy" violations) and typically go $80 or so over the system price.

I believe the price, which includes priority, insured, tracked return shipping, the switch, the other parts to do the mod, and my time, is reasonable. Consider that a decent adapter to do the same thing costs $100+ for just the adapter and it's very reasonable in my opinion. You won't find many people who even offer to do the mod.

And most importantly, the people who have gotten the systems from me enjoy them and think I do good work.

smokeingit, what mod do you do and how much do you charge for it?

wow nevermind, i went to the site to check on what was needed and was mis lead. so i retrack the prior statment. and i do every mod. i havent done TG 16 yet because i dont have one. as soon as i decided to get one i will mod it. i do ps's 2, xbox, neo geo's DVD-Roms. pretty much anything. I had to do this when i was in the Air Force, but they were jet computer parts.

The biggest issue in dealing with the TG mod is finding the switch. Devilman_78 does the mod but his recent one used 2 x 4PDT switches since it's hard to find the 8 PDT. Lots o'cuttin' and soldering of tiny wires.....

by the way, what's a "neo-geo DVD-Rom"?

what wire do you use? 30 guage? and come to think of it that 8 is a pain in the ass. when i said neo-geo dvdrom, i meant neo-geo, and DVD-Roms. i fix DVD drives and CD roms, i worked for RCA and learned that way.

yeah
this mod is a pain to do for the average solderer
d-lite is key in the tg-16 stuff
if youre looking for a unit that can do both us and jap games, this is quite the key price
if i had the money, id snatch one up

D-Lite said:

The biggest issue in dealing with the TG mod is finding the switch. Devilman_78 does the mod but his recent one used 2 x 4PDT switches since it's hard to find the 8 PDT. Lots o'cuttin' and soldering of tiny wires.....

by the way, what's a "neo-geo DVD-Rom"?

Click to expand...

I usually use these 8PDT switches.


http://www.surplussales.com/Switches/SWPushB-4.html

I bought about a dozen of these some time ago, and they work great, last mod was with 2 4PDT switches because I ran out, and I had those laying around.

the package arrived yesterday I and went to take it today.

where to begin with ......

BEST DEALER ON THIS SITE

wrods just can't descripe this deal.

first, he agreed to put all what I wanted on hold for me till I was able to pay for everything. He sent me pics for the items and I recieved everything as it was in pics. He also added some extra Hu Cards as a bonus. not to mention the fast shipment and the well-done packaging. on top of that, he is so friendly and very nice to deal with. what more could you ask for!!?

Dean, I really thank you from the bottom of my heart for this deal and I'm so lucky to deal with you

hey guys, if anyone wants to buy a duo, this is indeed the best chance to buy one. hurry up and make sure that you don't miss it.

uh and how come I forget about this:

the shipment was supposed to be by air mail with insurance, but he went on and sent it by EMS ...... and HE paid for the additional cost.

.......

Yeah, I use 30 gauge wrapping wire for the mod. I've used 24 gauge, but ugh, that stuff will never work in a Duo. WAY too cramped in there for space.

Yep, those are the switches I use as well. The only problem with them is THEY'RE 3 INCHES LONG!!! Freakin' enormous. I'm in the process of trying to put one in a PC Engine/Core Grafx which is tiny, so you can imagine the problem of fitting the switch and 16 wires..... Also, they don't come with the outer and inner retaining nuts, which are an odd size and I haven't found a reliable source for (I have acquired some, but it wasn't easy)

Thanks for the kind words scoob and k'. It was a pleasure dealing with both of you as well!

Nothing like a little BUMP in the morning....

D-Lite said:

Yeah, I use 30 gauge wrapping wire for the mod. I've used 24 gauge, but ugh, that stuff will never work in a Duo. WAY too cramped in there for space.

Click to expand...

I always use PC ribbon cable in my Duo & TG16 mods. It's a lot sturdier than solid wire, and it's really nice to use - the wires are easier to solder and there are no "wire jungle" problems.

The problem with the ribbon cable (I've used it before as well) is that it's threaded and harder to both wrap around the contacts and keep from shorting the adjacent contact (one of the threads always seems to fly away during wrapping and tends to touch the neighboring solder point)

The 30-gauge wrapping wire is very sturdy and much easier to work with for me at least. Wrapping wire is designed for exactly that: wrapping. So it's built tough. It ain't copper either so it's not as "soft", tends to break much less frequently during bending. Working with the solid 24-gauge/telephone copper wire on the other hand, that SUCKS. Always snapping/breaking....

But the accidental crossing of wires (since there's 16 independent ones) can happen much easier. That's why I double check them during assembly and then test the finished unit in both US and Jp modes.

D-Lite, is that push button all you use for the mod? Or is it only part of a larger task like what is posted on the Mas Systems page with all those ICs? Would you be willing to share your mod schematics if it is other thatn the Mas job?
Maybe I should ask, are you willing to mod a Core Grafx 2 for me?

Lots a questions but I must say your work is impressive and for $80.00 that is hella cheap!!!! That's less than just the converter alone! Have you modded a TurboExpress???

what your asking for is to use pretty much ide cable wire which i think is insane... the only reason you would want to do that if its alot of power going thru the cables and i dought that its an issue with a tg16

Matt said:

I always use PC ribbon cable in my Duo & TG16 mods. It's a lot sturdier than solid wire, and it's really nice to use - the wires are easier to solder and there are no "wire jungle" problems.

Click to expand...

gt6plus said:

D-Lite, is that push button all you use for the mod? Or is it only part of a larger task like what is posted on the Mas Systems page with all those ICs? Would you be willing to share your mod schematics if it is other thatn the Mas job?

Click to expand...

The push-button is all the user sees, but it's part of a much larger task, which includes cutting the 8 pins of the HuCard slot, soldering 16 30-gauge wires to them, soldering the other ends to an 8PDT switch (on which the opposite poles have been crossed), shielding the solder points, and then mounting the switch to the unit. You can read about it on the Turbo-List in the "Files" section. The file is "country.switch". It's one of those things that you think "That'd be cool!" and it looks simple enough at first and then you open you TG16, cut the HuCard lines, and then buy yourself a new TG in a month because you screwed it up. Trust me, I know. But now I've got it down to a process and it STILL takes me nearly 1.5-2 hours to do the whole job. The mod posted on MAS Systems' page is the vaunted circuit board mod that only the great guru of Turbo, David Shadoff, really ever did and believes in. Coincidentally, he's the guy who designed the holy Kisado adapter that happens to do the same thing as the hardware mod. Perhaps I'll take some pics of the next mod I do and post them in the Tech section.

Maybe I should ask, are you willing to mod a Core Grafx 2 for me?

Click to expand...

Well, I'm in the process of figuring out if one of the midget (not to offend people of small stature) systems such as the PC Engine, Core Grafx, or Core Grafx II systems can be done with the push-button switch. I can definitely be done, but will be VERY tight in the system. The space does exist however and I am determined! Because just think how cool that tiny system would be playing both regions..... If I can figure it out and get it to work, sure I'll do one for ya

Lots a questions but I must say your work is impressive and for $80.00 that is hella cheap!!!! That's less than just the converter alone! Have you modded a TurboExpress???

Click to expand...

Thanks for the compliments and yes, it is cheap! A TG16 system with hookups and shipping will cost you at least $30-40 itself. An adapter (a good one) will cost you $100 now, even if eBay allowed them to be sold (which they don't) anymore, and an import system will be more than the difference, especially if it's coming from japan. I have a number of these systems available so I'm trying to spread the wealth with the NG.com community! I know there's quite a few Turbo fans around here.

I have not yet done a Turbo Express, but that's another project I'll be taking on. Another tight fit. An interesting story: the original docs on the Turbo-List page I listed above are for a Turbo Express, not a Turbo Grafx 16 or Duo. Whereas the mod is basically the same, the slot is upside down in the Express and caused many of those who tried to perform the mod to screw it up.

BTW, the auctions are still very reasonable! Ys I& II, one of the best RPGs ever, is still only at $0.99!!!! And Godzilla, one of the rarest games on the system isn't even $20 yet! BID BID BID!!!

to reiterate the answer to a common question:

Yes, the $80 modded TG16 system is complete with an original AC adapter, original TG Rf adapter, original controller, and the rear cover. Shipping is priority insured and tracked, included in the $80

and while I'm at it, a big ol' BUMP!

D-Lite said:

The problem with the ribbon cable (I've used it before as well) is that it's threaded and harder to both wrap around the contacts and keep from shorting the adjacent contact (one of the threads always seems to fly away during wrapping and tends to touch the neighboring solder point)

The 30-gauge wrapping wire is very sturdy and much easier to work with for me at least. Wrapping wire is designed for exactly that: wrapping. So it's built tough. It ain't copper either so it's not as "soft", tends to break much less frequently during bending. Working with the solid 24-gauge/telephone copper wire on the other hand, that SUCKS. Always snapping/breaking....

Click to expand...

If you're doing a good job of soldering, wrapping the wires is completely unneccessary and a waste of time. Stranded wire is more flexible and can take a lot more stress at the solder point. The breaking you described won't happen at all with stranded wire.

I have not yet done a Turbo Express, but that's another project I'll be taking on. Another tight fit.

Click to expand...

I've done a few TE mods. It can be difficult to get the switch(es) installed in such a way that it doesn't interfere with any of the other functions, but it's very doable. I found that the way that worked best for me was to install two small 4pdt switches on the bottom end of the system, on either side of the link port.

Originally posted by smokeingit
what your asking for is to use pretty much ide cable wire which i think is insane... the only reason you would want to do that if its alot of power going thru the cables and i dought that its an issue with a tg16

Click to expand...

No, the reason I use it is because it's more durable than solid wire, and because the fact that the conductors are stuck together is convenient.

The snapping/breaking of the solid 30-gauge stuff is never a problem, unless you score it while stripping.

The wrapping isn't necessary, but takes very little time and makes the connection stronger than not wrapping it.

I looked at one of my TE's earlier today, and yes, it's very doable, especially towards the bottom of the unit. I'll be trying an 8PDT since it's a bit cleaner, but maybe the 4PDT if it's too tight. It's damn tight in the HuCard slot area on these..... It will definitely be more work than a TG16

I like the idea of using IDE cable since it's connected, but it's just a bit harder to work with. Again, if you test the system once the switch is installed (which I assume you do anyways), it doesn't really matter if you have the wires connected.

Hi, um, I emailed you yesterday about possibly modding my Supergrafx. I got a response from my first email but, not my second. I realize you're busy but, I'm really interested. My email is vegetagallitgun@hotmail.com. Hope to hear from you soon.

Jon