game gear + tv tunner

[albatros]

Hi. I have a working game gear (it can take some tries to get some games to work, but it's ok) and all I get with the tv tunner is the sound (ok) with bright blank screen. I've tried it with 2 tv tunners, and the results are the same.

My GG unit is from USA (the majesco release).
The TV tunners (both) are from europe.

Can it be some region incompatibilities? Games can be used worldwide, but maybe tv signal is diferent.

thanks in advance.

[kendrick]

There are two major revisions of the Game Gear motherboard, which are distinguished by looking at the serial number on the back of the case. If your serial number starts with a letter rather than a numeral, your Game Gear will not be compatible. Most of the consoles sold by Majesco fit into this category.

Later Game Gears were manufactured after an unfriendly disagreement between Sega and the maker of the TV Tuner, and so out of spite Sega engineered a lockout that prevented the tuner from functioning. I'm not aware of a modificatino that removes the lockout, but it's something I've been thinking about exploring on and off for a while.

-KKC, suffering through 75 degree weather in Florida. I'll trade you midwesterners my warm rain for some of your cold snow

[albatros]

Thanks, it should be that. The serial number is all numerical, but being a majesco machine it's almost sure it has the "lockout".

If someone knows how to remove the lockout please post it.

[NFG]

Where did you hear about this disagreement, kendrick?  I'd always thought the incompatibility was a result of cost-cutting.  Sega simply removed tuner-enabling components to reduce price and 'cause no one was using the tuner (the GameGear screen is about as fun to watch as a knife-throwing competition from the target's point of view.  It's bad for your damned eyes).

[kendrick]

Fernando Mosquera is the guy who originally reported the disagreement, but his SegaNet page is long gone. The only place I can find independent corroboration is here, but there's no source cited:

http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:0ufNH...agreement&hl=en

And even that's for a site that doesn't exist any more.

Oh, while I'm here? Apparently I might have the serial number thing backwards. It might be serial numbers with a letter at the end, rather than at the beginning that are incompatible. All mine are compatible so I don't have a good basis for comparison.

-KKC, who's having a bad week.

[InspecteurZ]

I presume it's not posible to mod a newer gg to use the tvtuner, isn't it?