Custom power adapter: Some games freeze at random.

Hi there,

I have a PAL Model 2 Saturn. Not sure what VA is this, but it's one of the later models, because there's no 3.3v on the PSU.

About a month ago, my Saturn's power supply died. No chirping, no weird sounds, no degradation of performance, nothing. One day it just wouldn't turn on. Turns out it was the AC/DC transformer on the board. Nothing I could do, so with help from my family, we went the DIY route. We bought a custom 5V power supply, and hooked it up to the console. (On a side note, you might be wondering why am I not using the 9V rail. Turns out you don't need it, it's just used for forcing the video output to 4:3.)

When we booted it up, it did work... Until 2 seconds later.

The console froze at the startup animation, and the audio started looping. With some troubleshooting we found out that, of the 5.05 V the new PSU generates, only like 4.8 were being brought to the console. Using shorter cables bumped that up to 4.98, almost perfect, and it became way more stable, to the point I can play some games until the end.

But it's still not quite there. On certain games, like Panzer Dragoon Saga, it can freeze while exiting from a battle. Not sure if it's because loading data requires more power, or what could be causing it.

We recently readjusted the laser, so it shouldn't be a problem.

So I just need a quick answer. Can this very small lack of voltage (0.02V literally) be causing this freezing issue? Or is it something else?

Thanks in advance.