11 replies to this topic

[Atariman]

Does the Master Gear Converter work with the Majesco Game Gear? I've been contemplating getting the converter, but didn't want to go for it if there were compatibility issues. (I think I've heard that there are). Does anyone know for sure?

[Ze_ro]

The TV Tuner doesn't work with the Majesco units... and I think a lot of people have gotten that mixed up and claimed that the Master Gear Converter doesn't work either.... but the Master Gear doesn't have any actual components in it, so I'm not sure it's even possible to make a Game Gear that it doesn't work with.

--Zero

[Susuwatari]

Actually some works and some don't. The problem lies with the SMS/GG pin used on GG port (see link for pinout: http://www.gamesx.co...uts/ggcart.htm)

Pin 42 is pulled low (grounded) when GG game is used and should be pulled high otherwise through an internal pullup resistor. The problem is Majesco GG doesn't have the resistor (how cheap is the company that they can't afford to slip in a $0.02 resistor??) so you'd have t It's easier than trying to modify the Game Gear itself as you need security bit to open GG system.o modify the GG or the converter.

There are 4 known brands of Master Gear converters. 2 of them (Beeshu I know) has a pullup resistor from pin 44 to +5v and will work OK with Majesco GG. Other 2 models (including Sega brand) doesn't have anything and because Majesco model doesn't have the resistor, pin 44 stays stuck at ground level. As a result, Master System games won't play correctly or at all.

If you were planning to get a Game Gear, get it anyway and if the adapter doesn't work, a 1K resistor can be placed from pin 44 to +5v inside the converter to fix this.

[JohnnyBlaze]

Where can I find a Majesco game gear?

[ApolloBoy]

Star80 said:

Where can I find a Majesco game gear?

Why in the world would you want it? I'm real happy that I have a real Sega GG and not a crappy Majesco GG.

[thegamezmaster]

Hi, just picked up a game gear and was wondering how do you tell if a game gear is one from sega or majesco?

[ApolloBoy]

thegamezmaster said:

Hi, just picked up a game gear and was wondering how do you tell if a game gear is one from sega or majesco?

The Majesco GGs are made of cheap plastic and the three ovals on the faceplate (above "Game Gear") are gray-colored.

[Hydian]

The Majesco units also lack the screwhole in the back.

[Raijin Z]

My Majesco GG ran me $14 at a pawn shop. It does its job admirably, but they only games available locally suck my goddamn ass. At least they were only a buck each.

[russdog]

For those of you who dread the Majesco Game Gear (and for those who are looking for one, but feel intimidated by its bad reputation), there are some nice things about it that I like, though I guess it depends on your preference. For one, I think the black looks a lot better than the gray that was used on the Sega-released units. Also, I like the metal headphone jack instead of the green plastic one, and the lack of a red power switch is nice (the red makes it look too "fruity" in my opinion, as well as all of the colors on the lens). And I prefer the purple start button over the blue one.
But more than just my color preferences, here are some more reasons that I feel the Majesco version isn't so bad: the lens, though the painitng is often off-centered, is painted on the inside, not the outside, so the paint won't get scratched off, nor do you have to worry about buffing it off when buffing out scrathces (though it's a pity that the Majesco units come with scratches from the factory). Also, I don't know if it was just my units or not, but I once had a Sega-released Game Gear unit, and my Majesco unit had better contrast and a clearer picture. Oh, and the Majesco unit actually has a Sega board, and it's the same board that was in my Sega-released Game Gear.
But of course, I'll admit it has its downsides. Like I said, you have to buff the factory scratches out, you may have an off-centered print on the lens (I had to go through ALL of the boxes at the store when I bought mine to pick out the best looking one - and it wasn't perfect), and the TV tuner won't work, though my Master Gear Converter works fine on my Majesco unit. But remember too, some Sega units, like my older one that I had, also won't accept a TV tuner. This was something Sega did, not Majesco. Supposedly they had a dispute with the company manufacturing the TV tuner for them, and made the change to keep that manufacturer from selling the tuner under their own name.

[Video]

Actually, the TV tunner issue isn't with the Majesco GameGear, if I recall, it's not compatible with MOST of Sega's OWN game gears. Due to some design change (probably to save half a cent on over all procuction costs) the First Run of GameGears is the ONLY one's that will run the TV tuner. Pitty too, but the thing sucks batteries like a hoover, why would you want to use it as a portable TV anwyas? It's cool to have as an interesting history piece, but not very practicle for actual use.

If you want a portable TV, get the GBA TV tuner and an SP.

As for the Master Gear converter, same as the TV tuner, only it's an easy fix, you can ground out the gound pin and one of the +5 volt pins, and get it to work, or like me, just buy one someone has already done that to. And it'll work after that.

Wonder if the same sergery can be done to the TV tuner to make it work?

[russdog]

I think it's a simple mod to get the TV tuner to work - I just don't have a tuner right now to try it. I read somewhere that the tuner was made by a subcontractor and that Sega got mad at them over something, and made the later Game Gears to not accept the tuner in order to keep the subcontractor from continuing to sell the tuners, possibly under a different brand name. I don't know this for sure, but that would certainly explain why the tuner was abandoned and why the later Game Gears can't use it. Personally, this is what I'd do if I wanted to watch TV on my Game Gear (keep in mind, I love to hot-rod systems) - I'd replace the screen with a TFT portable television and install a homemade video converter to convert the video signal for the new screen. Then I'd add a Genesis style AV out jack as well as external controller jacks, and put in an antenna jack to connect an antenna so that the new TV screen can use its own tuner when no game is installed. The only problem is that the Game Gear's original screen stretches Game Gear game images (but not Master System game images) to fit the screen. A replacement screen would therefore have a shrunken picture with a border, but I think it's possible to use a special circuit with memory to stretch the image. If you got a TV screen with LED illumination and a good 5VDC supply, this would not only give you a better picture and built-in TV tuner capability, but would improve the battery life as well......just a LOT of work though.....I thought about doing it just to see if I could do it, but I don't know yet.