Sega 32X Installation and Hookup FAQ Version 1.0-July 2nd, 2002. Legal Stuff: Any materials or information quoted in this document are the sole property of their specific owners. Neither I nor any website hosting this document are in any way affiliated with Sega Corporation. Neither the author of this FAQ or The Sega Corporation assumes no liability for any consequences the use of this information may have. This information is presented for educational purposes only and you utilize this information at your own risk. This document and any of the materials quoted in it are protected by international copyright law. The entire contents of this FAQ are copyright 2002 by Nick Crait. Feel free to distribute this FAQ to the four winds if you wish but DO NOT MODIFY IT. Also, you may NOT charge a fee or otherwise profit from this FAQ. This FAQ is meant to be free for everyone to use and share. This includes having the FAQ reprinted in commercial publications both electronic and on paper. You will be sued if you do so. You may distribute this FAQ in hard copy or electronic format as long as you do so freely. You may post this on your website as long as you do not modify the text and you give me credit as the author. Any attempt to misrepresent this work as your own will be litigated. If you wish to convert this to HTML, Latex, PDF, etc. please ask me before doing so. I'm sure it will be fine but I'd like to know first. Some of the information in this document has been gleaned from the following excellent sources (Nothing has been quoted as yet but these documents were used as general information sources): Sega Saturn FAQ by John Hokanson Jr. [http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/saturn/file/sega_saturn_b.txt] The Sega Megadrive/Genesis FAQ by Chris Foulger [http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/genesis/file/sega_master_system_a.txt] The Sega 32X FAQ by Gordon Craick [http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/32x/file/sega_32x.txt] The Sega CD FAQ by Barry W. Cantin [http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/segacd/file/sega_cd.txt] The author gratefully acknowledges these sources. A hearty thank you goes out to these authors for writing these documents. For more information on these specific platforms please read those FAQ's. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revision history: Version 1.0: Initial version of the FAQ. Began writing in June of 2002. Probably about 8 million spelling and grammatical errors. Finished on July 2nd of 2002. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 1-Questions and Answers Q: Why this FAQ? A: I wrote this FAQ because I started looking around on the net for information on the 32X. I'm a game collector and was interested in getting one to add to my collection. Unfortunately, I discovered this isn't a whole lot of information on the 32X other than technical specs and some game reviews. I then got a 32X off of eBay and when it arrived, I found that there I didn't have all the cables needed to hook it up to my Genesis and had to send it back. Luckily, the seller was nice about it and let me send it back at no charge. When I started asking around I found that I wasn't the only one with this problem. So next I was lucky enough to get a brand new 32X off of eBay that came with instructions and everything. I figured that there's a lot of 32Xs floating around and that people have no idea how to hook them up when they get them. So I figured I'd try and fill the gap by offering this FAQ up. Q: What is the Sega 32X? A: The 32X is a hardware add-on for the Genesis. It hooks into the cartridge port of the Genesis and via a pass through cable on the back. The 32X contains its own microprocessors to enhance the abilities of the Genesis, mostly by providing better graphics and some 3D abilities. The 32X's processors run in parallel with the hardware in the Genesis to provide a speed, graphics, and sound boost. The 32X plays special Sega 32X cartridges that are similar in shape to Genesis cartridges and utilize the special abilities of the 32X. You can also plug regular Genesis carts into the 32X without removing it from the Genesis. I have heard, however, of some possible problems with damage to Genesis carts doing this. I have no idea if this has any basis in fact. Q: What's the deal with the 32X and the Sega CD? A: The 32X is also capable of enhancing the abilities of the Sega CD if the user has one. There are special Sega CD 32X games that you play in the Sega CD that take advantage of the extra hardware of the 32X. Essentially, the 32X cleans up some of the graininess of full motion video (FMV) and allows the game to use more colors. The only Sega CD 32X games that I know of (released in the US) are all FMV titles that are essentially interactive movies. If anyone knows of any other games that used the Sega CD/32X combo please let me know. I will, of course, give you credit in the FAQ if you wish. Q: What was the point of the 32X? A: I'm not sure if anyone exactly knows. From what I've read, my speculation is that Sega wanted something to extend the product life of the Genesis and to combat the Super Nintendo (which had better graphics and sound than the Genesis). The Saturn was on the horizon but Sega needed something to compete with in the meantime. The 32X was released in the US first and Japan and Europe followed. For a variety of reasons (cost, software selection, competition, etc) the 32X did not sell well at all and pretty much faded into oblivion fairly quickly. Q: Why didn't the 32X sell very well? A: That question is currently beyond the scope of this FAQ. GameFaq's hosts some other FAQ's that can answer this question better than I. For starters try Gordon Craick's FAQ at: http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/32x/file/sega_32x.txt. You should be able to find general information about the 32X sprinkled throughout the web as well. Q: What are the best games for the 32X? A: That depends on your taste. In general, 32X games are reportedly pretty terrible. There are some gems however. Virtua Racing Deluxe is generally considered to be the best port of the arcade game, even better than the Saturn version. Virtua Fighter is supposed to be a pretty good fighting game with decent control but I don't know how it fares against its Saturn counterpart. Space Harrier is considered to be a very good port of the original arcade game and Night Trap Sega CD 32X is probably the most popular interactive movie title for the Sega CD. Q: Where can I get a 32X? A: I got mine on eBay. Game stores with used merchandise may have them from time to time. And I assume there are other sources on the Internet that sell 32Xs. Before you buy however, read the section of this FAQ on hooking it up, because its very important you have all the parts you need. BE SURE to get the A/C adapter for it. I believe but I am not sure that the 32X uses the same A/C adapter as the Genesis 2. I will check and find out. If so, you should be able to cannibalize a spare Genesis 2 A/C adapter for the 32X. However, you MUST have all the cables necessary to hook it up to your system. Q: Can I hook up my 32X to a Sega CDX? I think so. The 32X FAQ on www.gamefaqs.com {http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/32x/file/sega_32x.txt} says it can be done. Also, the instructions that come with the 32X do say how to connect the 32X to a Sega CDX. However, in the same box that came with those instructions there was a small addendum that said NOT to hook up the 32X to the Sega CDX. The 32X FAQ says that the reason Sega says not to hook up the 32X to the CDX (Aghhh! Too many abbreviations!) is because Sega did not receive permission from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to connect the two systems. This sounds pretty plausible. Reportedly, the 32X works just fine with the CDX while playing cartridges. However, the 32X apparently blocks the CD lid of the 32X while it's installed. I would assume that you could insert your Sega CD/32X disc in the CDX first before you connect the 32X. Please let me know if you have tried this. Q: FCC approval? What the hell is FCC approval? A: The FCC regulates the sale of pretty much anything electronic in the United States. In order to almost any electronic or computerized device the manufacturer must first get permission from the FCC. This is because the FCC is charged with maintaining radio, television, satellite, etc frequencies in the United States. Game consoles and computers emit radio, magnetic, etc signals when they are on. If they emit too much of the wrong kind of transmission it can mess up the operation of other devices like televisions, computers, and radios and/or maybe screw up TV, radio, etc transmissions in the area. Therefore if Sega did not get permission ahead of time from the FCC for the CDX/32X combination they would legally not be allowed to sell it in the United States. Q: Is it possible to hook up the 32X to a Nomad? A: I don't know but my guess would be a strong no. At any rate, I don't think I'd want to risk killing something as rare as a Nomad trying it out. Q: My God, don't you ever shut up? A: Yeah, I hear that from my mother all the time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 2: Different Genesis models This is the real meat of this FAQ. Hooking up the 32X isn't that hard but it is complicated compared to setting up most consoles. You have to deal with the connections to the Genesis and to the 32X itself. The most common problem is simply that one doesn't have the instructions. Never fear, I will show you the way to salvation. First, a word on the different models of the Genesis (also known as the Mega Drive in the UK, Japan, and South America). There are 3 different models of the Genesis and each of them works with the 32X in a different way. Here's how to tell the difference. (Thanks to Chris Foulger for his excellent Sega Genesis/Megadrive FAQ at: http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/genesis/file/sega_master_system_a.txt Genesis model 1: The original American Genesis. Looking at it from the front, it has a headphone jack and volume control on the front left side. It is the biggest of the 3 consoles. There is a round, raised part on the top of the unit which has the Genesis logo on it. On the top back of the console the words "High Definition Graphics" are written in raised, silver lettering. It has 4 plugs on the rear of the unit: RF switch output, DIN monaural A/V output, A/C adapter input, and Serial EXT. Output. The 32X will work with this model of Genesis and instructions for hooking them up were included with new 32Xs. Genesis 2: The Genesis 2 was the revised model Genesis with different styling. It is somewhat smaller than the original Genesis and has NO headphone jack or volume control. The top front of the console has buttons on the front (power and reset) and three small red LEDs between those two buttons. The "Genesis" logo is written on the back top behind the cartridge input. The Genesis 2 has only TWO jacks on the back. The first jack is for the A/C (power) adapter. The Genesis 2 uses a different A/C adapter than the original Genesis. The second jack is the A/V OUT. You would hook up an RF switch or A/V cables to this port. You can hook up a stereo A/V cable to the Genesis 2 to get stereo sound through your television or stereo. Note: The A/V connector for the Genesis 2 is different from that of the original Genesis and they are NOT compatible physically or electrically. Genesis 3: This is the newest model of Genesis and was made and sold by a third party company for Sega. This is the smaller than both model 1 and 2 Genesis' and has bright red lettering saying: (insert here) on the top of it. The 32X is NOT COMPATIBLE with the Genesis 3. I don't know why. If anyone knows, please tell me. Sega CDX: The CDX is an all-in-one Genesis and Sega CD combination unit. It is designed to be portable and is probably the smallest of all the Genesis' (excepting the Nomad). The CDX is a small rectangular thing and contains a top loading CD drive in the front with a built in cartridge port in the back. Officially, the 32X is not compatible with the CDX. However, I have read in the 32X FAQ by Gordon Craick that the 32X can safely be hooked up to the CDX and works fine. Apparently the 32X/CDX combination did not have FCC approval so Sega could not advertise them as being compatible. I have no idea if this is true. The 32X *did* come with instructions for hooking up the 32X to a CDX but a small note was inserted stating that the 32X was not compatible with the Sega CDX after all. My guess would be that they printed sets of instructions ahead of time and after the system shipped the FCC reminded them they did not have FCC approval for the CDX/32X combination. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 3: Sega 32X cables, hookups, etc. The 32X came with more parts and cables than most game consoles do. Depending on which model of Genesis you have you will need all of the cables that originally came with the system. Finding all these is easier said than done. Here is a list and description of the various cables that came with the 32x. 1.) A/C Adapter This is used to feed power to the 32X. 2.) Mini-din to mini-din cable This cable is (I think) used to pass the video signal from the Genesis to the 32X. This cable is about 10-12 inches long and has a large plastic "bulb" on one end of the cable. Both sides of the cable end in an eight pin round male connector. The connectors look a lot like modern PC keyboard connectors. This cable connects the A/V IN port of the 32X to the A/V OUT port of the Genesis 2. This cable is required for hooking up to both the Genesis 1 and 2 consoles. 3.) Genesis 1 DIN to 32X mini-din adapter cable This cable is used in conjunction with the cable described above to hook up the Genesis 1 to the 32X. Add description. 4.) Plastic spacer This is a black plastic "collar" that goes around the "neck" at the bottom of the 32X. This is used to hook up the 32X to the Genesis 2. It doesn't actually do anything electrically or electronically; its purpose is to make the 32X fit snugly against the cartridge port of the Genesis 2. You don't need this to hook up the 32X to the Genesis 1. I imagine the 32X will work on a Genesis 2 without the plastic spacer but it may not seat properly which could cause problems and/or damage. Do so at your own risk. 5.) Metal clips These are two little metal clips that are used when attaching the 32X to the Genesis 1. The instructions say something about them being magnetic/RF shielding clips. I have no idea what these things do. What I do know, however, is that they're a pain in the ass to install into the Genesis and when you remove the 32X to just use the Genesis you must remove the clips, which is a pain in the ass. I didn't use them to hook up my 32X and have had no problems so far. You can install them if you want to but they may not be worth the trouble. 6.) A/V out cable This cable is very similar to the A/V cable that came with the Genesis 2 console. In fact, I believe the two cables are interchangeable. This cable has a male mini-din connector on one end to hook up to the A/V out port of the 32X. The other end of the cable ends in two RCA jacks (yellow for video, white for audio) that hook up a television. This cable is monor (meaning you can't get stereo sound out of it) so you will need a different cable (or cables, depending) to get your 32X to output stereo sound. You will need this cable to hook up the 32X to the Genesis 1 and 2 unless you have a suitable replacement cable. The 32X also came with instructions, promotional flyers, and packing materials. The 32X instructions (at least the ones I have) included provisions for hooking the 32X up to the Genesis 1, 2, and CDX. It does not say how to connect the 32X to a Genesis 3 and I believe it is not possible to do so anyway. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 4: Hooking Up the Beast The Sega 32X isn't really a difficult system to hook up but most people come across them without the right parts or instructions. This section will deal with how you physically install the 32X onto your Genesis to play 32X games. I'll first tell you which parts you'll need to connect it to a particular model of Genesis and then tell you how to actually use the parts. Some of this is simply paraphrased from the 32X instruction manual. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hooking up to a Genesis 1: In order to hook up the 32X to an original model Genesis (a.k.a. Genesis 1_ you will need the following parts: The 32X itself (duh). The male mini-din to male mini-din cable. The male Standard DIN (the larger, rounder connector on the back of the Genesis 1) to female mini-din adapter cable. Possibly the horrid little metal clips. First off, unplug the Genesis and 32X from the electrical outlet. Secondly, make sure the plastic spacer is NOT on the bottom of the 32X. The neck of the 32X has the same shape as Genesis cartridge and goes into the cartridge slot in the exact same way. (Insert metal clip instructions here) Gently insert the cartridge shaped neck of the 32X into the cartridge slot of the Genesis. Push down gently but don't force it. You should be able to tell when it's seated all the way (remember, just think of it as a heavier cartridge and insert it like that) nice and snug. The 32X should now be sitting on top of the Genesis and looking quite out of place. Next, look at the back of the Genesis. See that black round place with the little holes in it (the holes like the pupils of Kermit the Frog). Now find your cable that has the big round connector on it. You should see some fat round pins coming out of that thing. Those pins line up with the holes in the back of the Genesis. Okay, now take that connector and find the arrow that point's forward (it should be on the outside rubber part of the connector). Orient the connector so the arrow point is facing up towards the ceiling and forward towards the round port on the back of the Genesis. Now slide the cable into the port on the back of the Genesis. Be careful while you do this because it's not that hard to bend or break the pins and therefore destroy your Genesis (bad) or the 32X cable (worse). The only advice I can give is to move the connector around until the pins slide in without requiring much force. It's hard to see what you're doing when you're doing this so be careful. If you want to get some practice find an old PC and with a keyboard port that looks like the one on the back of the Genesis. Then find a keyboard with a connector to match and practice connecting and disconnecting the computer and keyboard. Once you have that cable connected to the back of the Genesis you should have the other end of the cable flopping on the floor. Now get your male mini-din to male mini-din cable. Take the end of that cable that DOES NOT have the fat round growth near the end. This is the end of the cable you will attach to the OTHER cable coming out of the Genesis. Those two cables are essentially smaller versions of the thing you installed a minute ago. These should also have arrows so you can tell that orientation they should be in. Now, line up those two arrows so they're facing each other. Now gently slide the connectors together until they're snugly fit together and you can't see any metal between them. Be careful here as well because these pins are smaller than the others and therefore more delicate. Once again, don't force them. Want some practice? Well, this time find a newer PC and keyboard. Actually, for this one you can use an older Mac with ADB connectors. Just practice putting those bad boys together without destroying the pins and you should be able to assemble the Genesis/32X cables. Now you should have the fatter end of the male mini-din to male mini-din cable flopping on the floor. Take a look at the back of your 32X. See those two round indentations side by side? They look identical, right? Well, written below those little ports should be the words "A/V OUT" on the left most side and "A/V IN" on the right most side. You want to take the loose end of your two-cable combination and plug it into the port marked A/V IN. Once again, have the arrow on the cable pointing forward and facing upward. Gently plug it into the A/V IN port. Now you're done connecting up the Genesis to the 32X. All you have to do now is connect the 32X to your TV and you're good to go. Find that cable with the male mini-din connector on one end and the yellow and white RCA jacks on the other. Line up the arrow on the mini-din connector of that cable to the "A/V OUT" port of the 32X. Insert it in there just like you did with its neighbor to the left. Now just plug the RCA jacks into your TV. Voila! All you need to do now is hook up the 32X power supply and plug it in. Then hook up the Genesis' power supply and plug it in. Make sure all your connections are tight and in the right places. Then stick a 32X cartridge into the cartridge slot of the 32X and switch on your Genesis (there's no on switch on the 32X itself). You should now be able to enjoy the (limited) library of 32X games. Try Virtua Racing Deluxe. It doesn't look flashy but it's fun. Please note that the method described above will only give you mono sound from your system. I'll talk about how to enable stereo sound later. Addendum: If you don't have Audio/Video (RCA) jacks on your TV. If you only have the big VHF connector on the back of your TV (the kind where you hook in cable TV) then you'll need another part. Just obtain an RF switch for the Genesis 2. The Genesis 2 and the 32X share the same kind of A/V ports. Hook up the 32X to the Genesis 1 in the same way as I described above. But instead of using the cable with the yellow and white jacks, put the mini-din connector into the A/V OUT port of the 32X. Then connect the other end to the TV. Easy as pie. This will also give you mono sound. Please note that I did not include instructions for putting the in the little metal clips. The official instructions advise putting them in before you do anything else. However it's almost impossible to describe how to do it without diagrams and I don't think it has much affect anyway. It's up to you whether you want to try and install them or not. I will NOT be adding installation instructions for the little metal clips in the future. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hooking up to a Genesis 2: The 32X really was designed to be used with the Genesis 2. All the pictures on the boxes show it with a Genesis 2 and it's obvious from the styling that the 32X is meant to visually complement the Genesis 2. There's no performance difference or anything but it's a little easier to attach it to the Genesis 2 then the original. Here we go. You will need the following to hook up the 32X to a Genesis 2: Male mini-din to male mini-din connector cable. 32X A/C power supply. Black plastic spacer that fits on the bottom of the 32X. Male mini-din to RCA (audio/video jacks) cable either mono (yellow, white) or stereo (red, yellow, white). Possibly the horrid little metal clips. First off, unplug everything again. I rather doubt you'll electrocute yourself and die but I figure it's not worth the risk. You're more likely the kill the hardware than yourself anyway. Now, take the black plastic spacer and see how it curves. Orient it so the part that curves UPWARD is facing up towards the ceiling. Now slide it under the 32X (around its "neck') and up until it is flush against the curving outer bottom of the 32X. There should be a nice click or two to tell you when you're done. This requires very little force so if it won't go on easily you're probably doing something wrong. You may be able to get away without this spacer if you simply can't find it. I don't know. I'd certainly use it if you have it though. Secondly, align the 32X with the Genesis. The logo on the front of the 32X should be facing FORWARD toward you. And the logo on the Genesis 2 should be towards the BACK of the unit. If by some chance you have things backwards the 32X won't go in anyway so you don't have much to worry about. Take the 32X and gently insert its "neck" into the cartridge input of the Genesis 2. Push down until you feel it's all the way in. Don't force it. It should fit in nice and snug. Just insert it like a cartridge. Ok, now take that male mini-din to male mini-din cable (I'm sorry I don't have a more user friendly description of it). Take the end WITHOUT the large round "growth" on it and plug it into the A/V port on the back of the Genesis 2. If you have a Genesis 2 you should be familiar with this procedure. Make sure it's nice and snug and don't bend the pins. That would be bad. Oh yes, that would be bad indeed. Now take the other end of the cable flopping on the floor. Find the A/V IN port on the back of the 32X. Take the free end of the cable coming from the Genesis 2 (the one with the big "growth" on the end) and orient it so the arrow is facing upwards towards the ceiling. Insert it into the A/V IN port of the 32X. Now your Genesis 2 and 32X are connected. Next take either the A/V cable that came with your Genesis 2 or the one that came with the 32X (either works fine) and plug it into the A/V OUT port of the 32X. Then just plug the other end of it (the RCA jacks) into your TV. Lastly, connect up the power supplies for the Genesis 2 and the 32X. I *believe* the power supplies are identical but I'm not sure. *IF* they are you should be able to use the power supply from another Genesis 2 for the 32X if you can't find the one that came with the 32X. Once your power is up insert a 32X cartridge into the 32X and hit the power button the Genesis 2. You should now be able to experience the joys of parallel processing. Addendum: If you only have a VHF connector on the back of your TV you'll need a Genesis 2 RF switch to connect up your 32X to the TV. If you've ever played your Genesis 2 you should have one of these already. Just plug it into the A/V OUT port of the 32X instead and connect the other end to the big round connector on the back of the TV. Easy as pie. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 5: Combining the Genesis, 32X, and Sega CD If you're enough of a Sega fan to have a 32X then you probably have a Sega CD as well. If you don't, you should get one. There are some good games for it. If you do have a Sega CD then you can combine the 32X, Sega CD, and Genesis into one massively parallel multiprocessing machine (at least 4 CPU's and God knows how many video and sound chips). There are a few games (7 or so I believe) that utilize the 32X in conjunction with the Sega CD. To my knowledge, all of these are simply full motion video (FMV) titles. The video looks cleaner, sharper, and has more colors in the 32X versions. The best known is probably Night Trap. The game play in the Sega CD/32X version is exactly the same as the original Sega CD game but the video looks a little better all around. It doesn't look like laserdisc but it is a definite improvement. If you like FMV games it might be worth your time to pick up the Sega CD/32X version of a game rather than the original Sega CD version. As a blurb, in my opinion the combination of the Sega CD and 32X was grossly underutilized. Some extremely exceptional role-playing games could have been produced had anyone wanted to. Hooking up the Sega CD/Genesis/32X isn't very hard but it does take an extra step or two. Plus you'll need an extra outlet for the Sega CD. Note: There are some restrictions on combinations of the Sega CD and Genesis themselves. If you have the original front-loading Sega CD you can ONLY hook it up to an original model Genesis (with the headphone jack). You cannot hook a Genesis 2 and a front-loading Sega CD together. You can, however, connect the original model Genesis (with the headphone jack) to both the original Sega CD (front loading) and the second generation Sega CD (the top loading one). The 32X will work with either. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hooking up the 32X to the original Sega CD and Genesis 1: First off, unplug everything. Then connect up your Sega CD and Genesis 1 as you usually would. Once they're stuck nicely together then just follow the instructions above for connecting up the 32X to the Genesis 1. Once you have everything together and plugged back in remove any cartridges from the 32X. Then switch on the Genesis and the boot screen for the Sega CD should load up as it normally does. Push the reset button to eject the tray and then put your Sega CD/32X disc on the tray and press start on the control pad (the normal procedure for a Sega CD game, nothing different). Then press start to boot up the game and everything should proceed normally. The game disc will automatically detect and utilize the 32X hardware. Some of the Sega CD/32X games may require a 6-button control pad. Please note that this setup will give you monaural sound output. I'll detail how to get stereo sound out of this setup later. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hooking up the 32X to the Genesis 2 and Sega CD 2: Just like the 32X, the revised version of the Sega CD is meant to complement the Genesis 2. The styling of all 3 machines is consistent. But you can use the Genesis 1 and Sega CD 2 together with the 32X. It may look weird but it's perfectly serviceable. First off, unplug everything. Now connect up your Genesis 2 and Sega CD 2 as you normally would (side to side). Now follow the above instructions for installing the 32X into the Genesis 2. Once you've got everything put together plug everything back in (be careful not to mix and match A/C adapters here. The Sega CD needs to use ONLY its own A/C adapter). Make sure there are no cartridges in the 32X and then switch on the Genesis 2. The Sega CD boot screen should appear as normal and you can then put in your Sega CD/32X CD. If you can't tell, I don't have a second generation Sega CD so I have no idea what it looks like. But these installation instructions should work. Note: Depending on which A/V out cable you use this may be a monaural setup. See below for details on getting stereo sound out of this combination. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hooking up the 32X to the Genesis 1 and Sega CD 2: I'm afraid I don't know much about this. My guess would be that you connect your Genesis and Sega CD as you usually do and then install the 32X into the Genesis. Make sure the 32X is devoid of cartridges and then turn on the Genesis as you usually would. I don't have any further details. Information is welcomed. Note: This will almost certainly be a monaural setup. There may be a way to get stereo sound out of this combination but I'm not at all sure. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 6: Getting stereo sound output from the 32X The 32X is able to output stereo sound through it's A/V OUT port depending on what you have hooked up to it. I'm pretty sure that all the 32X does is just take the audio signals from the Genesis and shunt it through its own A/V OUT port. That means that if you have mono sound coming into the 32X you will have mono sound coming out. And if you have stereo sound coming into the 32X it will spit out stereo sound. Figuring out how to get stereo sound out of the 32X is probably the biggest pain in the ass of getting a 32X. Worry not, it isn't very hard but it may require some funky cables on your part. As usual, the method you use depends on which model of Genesis you have. Getting stereo sound out of the Genesis 2 is pretty easy. Getting it out of the Genesis 1 is kind of a pain. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Obtaining stereo sound from a Genesis 1 and a 32X: This is where it can get kind of unpleasant. I never did understand why Sega decided to make the Genesis 1 only output stereo sound through a headphone jack. I doubt I'll ever know. At any rate, this decision is what makes it kind of hard to get stereo sound out of the 32X when using an original model Genesis. You'll need some extra cables and quite possibly a front-loading Sega CD. Note that 32X games will work fine without stereo sound. In fact you may not even want to bother hooking up stereo sound with the 32X. But if you do, here's how to do it. To do it the kosher way, as described in the instructions that came with the 32X here's what you will need: All the cables you normally need for connecting a 32X and Genesis 1. A front-loading Sega CD unit. A male to male stereo headphone cable. Stereo RCA audio cables (red and white). Make sure that the cables you get are long enough. You're going to have the snake those audio RCA cables to your TV and the headphone cable as to stretch between the front of the Genesis and back of the Sega CD without being too tight. Try to get something that's only an inch or two more than you need. Longer is not necessarily better. First off, unplug everything from the electrical outlets. You can do this with your 32X already in the Genesis if you want to. It won't hurt anything. Next, take that headphone cable. Find the headphone jack on the front of your Genesis. Plug one end of the cable into that headphone jack. Take the other end of the cable and snake it around to the back of your Sega CD. Find the headphone (I think it's actually labeled as "mixing") and plug the other end of the cable in there. You should now have a headphone cable running from your Genesis to Sega CD. Now look on the back of your Sega CD. See those red and white jacks back there? Those are where you want to connect your RCA cables. Take one end of the red and white RCA cables (it doesn't matter which end) and plug the white cable into the white jack and the red cable into the red jack. Now go back to your Genesis for a moment. See the volume control sitting by the headphone jack? Push that all the way up so it's at maximum volume. You may be able to have it lower, I'm not sure. Now hook up the 32X to the Genesis as described above. Here's the tricky part. Take the A/V cable coming out of the 32X. Connect it to your TV as usual BUT ONLY CONNECT THE YELLOW CONNECTOR. The yellow connector is the video output and you want to put that in the yellow colored RCA jack at the back (or front maybe) of your TV. Just leave the white (and red if you have it on your cable) connector dangling there. It won't go anywhere. Next, find the red and white RCA cables coming out of your Sega CD. Take the free red and white connectors and snake them around to where you just plugged in the yellow connector. Now plug the red colored connector into the red jack and white colored connector into the white jack. What you should now have is the following situation: Only the yellow connector on the cable coming from the 32X should be hooked up to the TV. The red and white connectors coming from the Sega CD should be hooked up to the TV next to the yellow connector from the 32X. Make sure your Genesis volume control is all the way up and that your TV volume isn't too high. Plug everything back in and turn on your Genesis/Sega CD/32X as usual. You should now hear stereo sound coming out of your TV. You should get stereo sound whether you are playing a Sega CD game, a 16-bit Genesis game, or a 32X game. Now...... why did you just do this? Like I said before the 32X can only spit out whatever sound came into it in the first place. The Genesis 1 is incapable of putting stereo sound out of its A/V port in back. It can only output mono sound. In fact, this connector is the exact same one that was on the old 8-bit Sega Master System. The Master System was incapable of producing stereo sound at all. When Sega designed the Genesis they decided (for some reason) to have the Genesis spit out stereo sound from the headphone jack in the front and to spit out mono sound from the A/V port in the back. I don't know why. So what you're doing with all these other cables and the Sega CD is converting the sound output of the headphone into a form that a TV can use. You do this by passing the sound through the Sega CD, which then converts it into the kind of sound a TV can use (outputted through those red and white RCA jacks). This just shunts the stereo sound from the Genesis into the TV. So you're taking the video from the 32X (the yellow connector) and the audio from the Sega CD (red and white connectors) and combining them through the TV. Note: If you have an original model Genesis but do not have a Sega CD there *may* be another way. At most stereo and electronics stores you can get cables and/or adapters that have the male headphone jack connector on one end and the red and white RCA cables on the other. This splits and converts the sound into a form a stereo or TV can use. In theory this should work. However, I have not tested this and have no idea if it works. If anyone has tried this please let me know. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Obtaining stereo sound from a Genesis 2 and 32X: This is much easier. In fact you may not need any extra cables and connector at all. First off, let's talk cables. There are two kinds of A/V cables that work with the Genesis 2 and the 32X. The first one is monaural one with yellow and white RCA connectors. The yellow carries the video and the white carries the mono audio. The second type is a stereo A/V cable. This one has yellow, white, and red RCA connectors. The yellow carries the video, the white carries one sound channel and the red carries the other sound channel. So to get stereo sound out of a Genesis 2 and 32X you will need: All the normal cables to hook up the 32X and the Genesis 2. A male mini-din to stereo RCA cable. Your Genesis 2 may very well have come with one of the stereo A/V cables. If not, there's plenty floating around from all the dead Genesis 2s out there. Just follow the instructions above for hooking up the 32X to a Genesis 2. Now, instead of using the A/V cable that came with the 32X instead use the stereo A/V cable (the one with the yellow, red, and white connectors). Just plug those connectors into their appropriate jacks on your TV and you're all set. You now have stereo sound. Easy, huh? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 7: Everything else This is just sort of a catchall section of information that didn't seem to fit anywhere else. This is probably not terribly important but I figured I should include it for the sake of completeness. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The official 32X instructions do include a section on hooking up the 32X to a Sega CDX. However, I have never done this and have never closely inspected a Sega CDX. Also, you need (at least according to the instructions) some plastic spacer thing to make the 32X and CDX fit together. Because I really don't have enough information on this I'm not going to write a tutorial for it. If anyone has put together a 32X and CDX successfully I would appreciate hearing from you. I will quote you in this FAQ. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have no idea if the little metal clips are truly necessary or not. The instructions list them as "electromagnetic shield plates." All I can tell you is that I have run my 32X without installing the clips (I do have them though) and have run into no problems so far. For all I know my Genesis may explode and kill me without those clips but I imagine they're mostly superfluous. It's up to you whether you want to use the clips or not. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have read that some 32X's have shorted out and destroyed themselves/games/Genesis' in the process. I have no idea if this is true. My guess would be that if this did happen then it's probably due to user error. However, to be on the safe side you might want to disconnect your 32X when you want to play regular Genesis games. At least you're not risking your valuable copy of Phantasy Star 4. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's some trivia for you. The heart of the 32X is two Hitachi SH2 CPU's running at 23Mhz. These are the same processors that the Sega Saturn uses (though I think they run at a different clock speed in the Saturn). And if you hook up a Sega CD to your 32/Genesis you will have a sort of neutered Saturn. The 32X also added the one thing that Genesis needed the most: more colors. I have read that the Saturn is a difficult system to develop for due to its dual processor architecture. I would guess that the 32X would share that dubious quality. Maybe even more so, because a programmer would also have to contend with the processors of the Genesis and Sega CD. That might also explain why so few games came out for the system. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have a cleaning kit for your Genesis you can use it on your 32X as well. The pins and stuff are the same. You should clean your 32X and Genesis at least once a month and probably more often if they sit out all the time. Cleaning the contacts really does help a lot. Also, you should clean your cartridges. Just use a Q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol and rub it along the cartridge contacts. That should be your first troubleshooting step. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Future wish list: Add a troubleshooting section with possible solutions to problems. Add a table of contents to make it easier to find information. Organize the sections further to make it easier to read. Provide and HTML version of the FAQ for easier reading. Add recommended sources for obtaining parts/cables/etc. Add reader comments and suggestions. Put the document under the GPL license. Translate into Spanish. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once again, the author gratefully acknowledges the following sources for information in writing up this FAQ: Sega Saturn FAQ by John Hokanson Jr. [http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/saturn/file/sega_saturn_b.txt] The Sega Megadrive/Genesis FAQ by Chris Foulger [http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/genesis/file/sega_master_system_a.txt] The Sega 32X FAQ by Gordon Craick [http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/32x/file/sega_32x.txt] The Sega CD FAQ by Barry W. Cantin [http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/segacd/file/sega_cd.txt] This is the end of the FAQ. I hope it has been of some help to you. The entire contents of this FAQ are copyright 2002 by Nick Crait. Feel free to distribute this FAQ to the four winds if you wish but DO NOT MODIFY IT. Also, you may NOT charge a fee or otherwise profit from this FAQ. This FAQ is meant to be free for everyone to use and share. This includes having the FAQ reprinted in commercial publications both electronic and on paper. You will be sued if you do so. You may distribute this FAQ in hard copy or electronic format as long as you do so freely. You may post this on your website as long as you do not modify the text and you give me credit as the author. Any attempt to misrepresent this work as your own will be litigated. If you wish to convert this to HTML, Latex, PDF, etc. please ask me before doing so. I'm sure it will be fine but I'd like to know first. Readers can contact me via e-mail at: orporg@yahoo.com. I will try to answer questions or comments you have but may not always have the time to do so. I will definitely give you some kind of response though. If you have information that you would like included in this document please let me know and I'll look it over. If I include it you will of course, receive full credit. The latest (and probably only) version of this FAQ can always be found at www.gamefaqs.com.