Sega mods and service. Genesis to Saturn, one bench.
Genesis, Sega CD, the 32X, and the Saturn: the era of add-on towers, region locks, and capacitors that age out on a schedule. Recaps for the cap-rot generations, region-free mods, ODE and flash cart setups, AV upgrades. Every job is quoted after we look: kit cost plus labor, one flat quote before anything starts. Walk in or ship it in from anywhere in the U.S.
What we do on the Sega bench
Quoted after we look. The number comes from your board revision and the kit it takes, not from a menu.
Diagnosis
$49The $49 diagnosis answers the real questions first: which board revision you have, what shape the capacitors are in, whether the add-ons still talk to each other, and what the whole job costs. Free when you approve the work, and free when the verdict is not worth doing.
Recaps — the cap-rot generations
Quoted after we lookGenesis revisions, the Sega CD, the 32X, and the Saturn carry capacitors that leak onto the board as they age. A recap replaces them before they leak. Prevention beats rescue every time. Kit cost + labor.
Region-free mods
Quoted after we lookSega shipped region locks in the era when imports were half the library. Switch the lock off and a Japanese Genesis or Saturn plays everything, carts and discs alike. Kit cost + labor.
ODE & flash carts
Quoted after we lookA Saturn optical drive emulator ends the disc wear for good, and Everdrive-class flash carts give the cartridge machines a whole library on one cart. Matched to your hardware, SD card laid out, loading verified. The card's contents are your library to manage. Kit cost + labor.
AV upgrades
Quoted after we lookClean video out of consoles born for RF: RGB and S-video mods for the CRT-and-scaler crowd, so a Genesis finally looks the way it always should have. Kit cost + labor.
Why the Sega bench stays busy
The add-on era fails in patterns. These are the three we see most.
The cap-rot generations
Every board in the Sega family ages its capacitors on the same schedule, and the leak happens whether the console is plugged in or not. A recap is the difference between prevention and a rescue with worse odds.
Three consoles in one tower
Genesis plus Sega CD plus 32X is three power bricks and a stack of interlocks. When one link misbehaves the whole tower looks dead. We find which link it is.
The region-lock era
Half the best Sega library never crossed the ocean. A region-free mod opens it: import carts and discs running like domestic ones, on the hardware they were written for.
Walk in or mail it in
A Genesis travels well; the tower travels better with the links wrapped separately. However it reaches the bench, the quote comes before the work.
How a mod goes
- 01Walk in. 2224 Sunrise Dr, Longmont · Mon–Fri 9–6, Sat–Sun 10–3. Or mail it in from anywhere in the U.S.: request an RMA number online first.
- 02We look. Board revision checked, caps inspected, kit matched, one flat quote covering kit cost plus labor, emailed or handed over. You approve before anything starts.
- 03The work. Installed cleanly, the whole setup tested, your original parts boxed and returned with the hardware.
- 04Home. Shipped back or picked up, with a 90-day labor warranty and the straight story of what was done.
What we don't do
Scope stated plainly, so you know before you ship anything.
Honest limits
- Repairs stay stock; mods are their own lane. A no-power console or dead add-on is a repair, quoted on the retro console bench after diagnosis. Once it runs, this page takes over. The full console front door is right here.
- The 32X, told straight. It is a rarer visitor and always welcome, but when an add-on is beyond saving we say so after diagnosis instead of selling you hope.
- The SD card is your library. We set up the ODE or cart and prove games load; what lives on the storage afterward is yours to manage.
- The Dreamcast has its own page. Sega's last console lives on the Dreamcast bench; full resto-mod commissions are the custom bench, quoted per project.
Sega mod questions
The things people ask before they box up a console.
Straight answers
Yes, and it is the job we recommend most for them. Genesis revisions, the Sega CD, the 32X, and the Saturn all carry capacitors that leak onto the board as they age, and a recap replaces them before they leak. Quoted after we look: kit cost plus labor.
Yes. The add-on tower is welcome: we find which link is misbehaving, recap what needs it, and tell you straight when an add-on is beyond saving. Quoted after diagnosis like everything else on the bench.
Yes, on the cartridge machines and the Saturn: the region lock switched off so import carts and discs run like domestic ones. Quoted after we look: kit cost plus labor, and you approve the quote before any work starts.
Quoted after we look. Every job is kit cost plus labor: we check your hardware, source the right kit for its board revision, and hand you one flat quote before anything starts. Diagnosis is $49 and free when you approve the work.
Yes, anywhere in the U.S. Request an RMA number online and pack it well. If the whole tower is coming, wrap the links separately so the add-ons cannot grind each other in transit. We diagnose within 3 to 5 business days of arrival and email one flat quote. You approve before any work starts.
Repairs are their own lane on the same bench: no-power consoles, dead audio, disc drive trouble, and stock-specification restoration live on the retro console repair page, quoted after diagnosis. This page takes over the moment you want the machine better than stock. The Dreamcast has its own page.
The tower deserves better than a closet.
Call the shop any time: our AI receptionist answers around the clock and a human follows up. Or run the repair wizard for a first-pass assessment before you commit to anything. Walk-ins welcome at the Longmont bench, and the mail-in lane reaches every state.