In this edition of Rocker How To we do an in depth tutorial on how to repair a Sega Saturn which no longer reads games. To do the repair we replace the existing Optima 6s laser pick up with a brand new laser pick up. The repair itself is a fairly easy process and only requires 2 primary tools, a Phillips screw driver and soldering iron.
This is also a really good opportunity to clean the inside of the systems as long as we are diving into the guys of the console.
Once this replacement is complete, the system should be able to read games again and you should notice the system perform much faster thanks to the new laser.
link to purchase a replacement laser pick up:
seller store – http://stores.ebay.com/3cn1274?_trksid=p2047675.l2563
current direct link to pick up – https://www.ebay.com/itm/JVC-Optima-6S-Laser-Optical-Pickup-Lens-CD-VCD-Sega-Saturn-Ships-from-China-/122548592859
Note the laser will ship from China and takes 2 to 4 weeks for delivery.
Music credits:
Intro song modified version of this: https://soundcloud.com/artificial-music/itl
Other songs:
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for those of you that have fitted your lasers. if the laser is moving but the disc wont spin, remember to remove the ball of solder connecting the anti static pads
Nice! Seemed fairly easy, even if you're not 100% sure of what you're doing but are following along. I'm hoping a simple enough fix like this is all our 3DO needs!
You can find better deals on the laser pickups on AliExpress. I used to get them for about $6ea. for lots of 10 about 2 years ago. They went up a bit in price.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-JVC-6-OPTIMA-6S-OPT-6-JVC-6-OPTIMA-150-OPTIMA-6S-OPT-6S-JVC6/32822871079.html
Those have the comb gear too.
You can also find different listings by searching a combination of "JVC Optima 6 6s 150 Optima-6 Optima-6s Optima-150"
It also should be noted to use an ESD safe soldering iron to desolder the blob. The blob is there to prevent ESD damage to the laser diode during transit.
https://www.newport.com/medias/sys_master/images/images/hc0/h01/8797049454622/AN03-Protecting-Your-Laser-Diode.pdf
Good read if you have the chance to look it over.
Thanks another great video , is it worth calibrating the new laser or is it calibrated at the factory ?
great tutorial thanks for sharing and it looks a lot easier than doing a ps2
Thumbnail is messed up buddy ! Wish I knew this once I broke my original one.