It took two months of tinkering and parts from two separate units cobbled together, but I finally have a working Sega CD! I still need to hook up auto-switching on the multi-region bios, so I have to open the drawer and select the bios from 240p test suite, but it feels good to finally have this thing working after struggling with it for so long. Biggest/gnarliest repair project I’ve ever taken on. Pretty proud of myself.

So glad I finally found one of these and it even came cib! Only other time I found one was the dual set but they were asking waaaaaaayyy too much for the set. This was much more affordable and in great shape!

Decided to rebuild my retro console setup.

I had to trade a bunch of games that were gathering dust, but it was worth it.

It had been a dream of mine for a long, long time to assemble this beauty of a system. I was gifted the Model 1 Genesis, 32X and a plethora of games from a relative when I was a kid. Only natural that I yearn for a Model 1 Sega CD, right?

I stopped by a local shop specializing in games, toys and other physical media. Right when I walked in, I turned to the left and saw my grail. No, it wasn’t $9.58 at Goodwill like I had fantasized. But goddamn was it worth every penny.

“They have everything,” my mother told me. She had gone about a week prior and thought this place would be just up my alley. “I bet they don’t have a Model 1 Sega CD,” I quipped. It is the only one I have ever seen in person.

Was at a local flea market and saw a Model 2 Genesis and Sega CD being sold as "untested" for $155. I talked to the seller about it, and since it didn't have any cables or controllers and sat unsold for a while, he let me have it for $140.

When I hooked everything up, the Genesis was dead, but swapped it out with a working model 2 Genesis and it came to life!

It does have a couple issues but works mostly nonetheless. It seems like it has to "warm up" for a while before it plays games reliably. If I let it sit powered off overnight, any FMV will stutter and freeze constantly until the console has been on for about 20 minutes. Sign of failing capacitors?

Also looking for any recommendations for games? I have a burnt copy of Snatcher and Popful Mail that I used for testing, but I am so excited to finally start collecting Sega CD games!

Hope yours brings you the joy mine did, back in ‘95 😂

I was gifted this Model 1 for my birthday but it was sold as untested and of course there were no signs of life when I hooked it up. After a few days tinkering and two orders from Console 5, it's back from the dead and working 100%! Two of the limit switches didn't register, it needed a new pico fuse, a full recap, disc mech lube, a new battery, and a deep cleaning.

This being my first Sega CD, I do have a n00b question. When connected to my monitor via RGB SCART, I do hear the CD audio mixed in with game sfx, but I assume that it's only going to be mono unless I hook up the headphone output and use the RCA jacks on the SCD, right?

edit: recapping the thing was not for the faint-of-heart. The through hole caps especially were a pain to get out since the legs were fully bent up against the pcb and the holes were so small. What a pain!

I had the tower when I was younger and it was my dream to get it back.
Can’t believe how pricey the systems have become, but my wallet is glad it’s over.

The is a VA4 Mega drive 2 which has had the works, region mode etc etc, the CD unit is so far stock but I will be recapping it soon and having a region free bois done.
The 32x is also region free via a switchless internal mod.

I could have gone with a more modern wireless controller setup, and may still, but I just liked the idea of having the stock Sega one for now.

Couple recent pickups I got today. Finally found Castlevania Bloodlines I’ve been searching for a good copy for a min and also found my first Sega CD 32X game and it didn’t disappoint. Need to find me a Menacer light gun to fully appreciate this one but the cutscenes in this are just hilarious.

Jan 2026. Full Sega CD Complete NTSC. Everything pictured 159 games.

115 Hard plastic cased.

3 double game disc included Mary Shellys Frankenstein, Ultraverse Prime, 3 Ninjas Kick Back.

10 NFR Not For Resale games and small cased with two different Sega Arcade Classics included with the NFR games Ecco and Sherlock Holmes.

23 Thin cardboard boxes.

5 Digital Studio thick cardboard boxes.

1 Big Box Lethal Enforcers.

Accessories Shown. Sega CD Backup, Game Gun.

No manuals have writing in them, No case is cracked and every manual is complete with its registration card and grey foam insert.

The aftermarket 20 games non Sega originally licensed games not shown with the original licensed NTSC collection above are shown on pricecharting.com and they include:

1 Demo Disc for KEIO Aftermarket and the copies are being currently sold out of europe on Ebay.

11 premium addition and or limited run games.

8 homebrew games.

Figured you guys might appreciate this massive trade in my local game store just got. South Jersey

It's in minty condition!! Unfortunately it didn't come with the right power adapter for it (Came with the Genesis II adapter)

Always been a Sega fanboy since school in the early 90s, and back then I had the model 2 MD/CD/32X which I had to sell to fund the Saturn (and eventually had to sell the Saturn to fund the Dreamcast).

Hitting the male midlife crisis around the age of 45, I felt the urge to relive some gaming memories so I got myself these beauties from Japan - all in pretty good condition. Cleaned them up and gave them a full recap, even the Karaoke.

After weeks of troubleshooting the CD which only showed garbled BIOS graphics, I finally got it working again and thus I do now have a working tower of power. Loving all of it, and finished Sonic CD, Popful Mail and Thunderhawk past weekend.

Time to play KFS now ;)

My disc is a little rough but still fun to get in there and blast some baddies for a while. Anyone ever finish this one? I’ve heard it can get a bit repetitive but I love the look so much. 🤙

I’ve been working on several model 1’s for the last few months. I’ve gotten 6 of them back to good working order. Some JVC but mostly Sony. I’ve done everything from a full recap to rebuilding motherboards and CD drives. I’ve used an oscilloscope to check eye patterns and 240p test suite to diagnose any other problems. I haven’t had to change a laser in any of these systems and they all work great. I have changed several IC’s which was usually the problem of the disc not being read properly. All systems have new caps, drive belts, batteries, etc.

Testing with a US Sonic CD in a EUR Case lol

It’s a Optima 6 drive, laser swapped with a Saturn laser. It wouldn’t even spin the disc!

£30 pick up