On February 21, 2025, Saturn hardware hacker, TZMWX announced that he is currently testing his own newly developed switcher that aims for universal compatibility with ALL existing Saturn ODEs (optical drive emulators), including Rhea, Phoebe, MODE and all revisions of Fenrir.
TZMWX did mention a disclaimer in regard to compatibility with MODE, in that the ODE is too large to fit inside along with the switcher and would have to be operated from an external enclosure, which is likely a deal breaker for anyone using MODE in their Saturn…
Apparently, switching between CD and ODE is as simple as inserting and ejecting the Micro SD card, as demonstrated in the video below:
Using the SD card as the switching mechanism itself, is simultaneously clever and potentially problematic, as it could put extra wear and tear on the SD card ejection mechanism and connecter down the road, however, it’s certainly an intriguing implementation prioritizing simplicity and ease of use, while not requiring folks to drill any extra holes in their Saturn in order to accommodate a physical switch.
On February 24, 2025, TXMWX revealed the name of his new device, which he’s calling WUXI, and stated that it would support the “entire Sega Saturn series” [of ODEs], to switch between ODE & CDROM.
Meanwhile, he’s sent the schematic to Jiali Chuang to fabricate a sample PCB, which will take about a week. After physical verification, he plans to upload the design to his Github as an open source project.
While there is no indication from TXMWX that he has any plans of producing WUXI for sale, it seems likely that it will be picked up by various AliExpress vendors in the same manner as the open source SAROO project.
For Fenrir owners (specifically) who are interested in an ODE switch solution, they may want to consider the readily available SaturnSwitcher from Will’s Console Mods, which comes in both 20-pin & 21-pin flavors. It’s a great quality-built switch, and at just £45, it’s also quite affordable!
Many folks who are just stepping into the world of Saturn ODEs may prefer a ‘softmod’ cart-based solution such as Satiator or SAROO for their hot-swappable convenience and ease of use, but for those who have already invested in an internal ODE solution, the WUXI switch may be the key to bringing their discarded CD-Rom drives back into the mix in 2025…
A massive Saturn fan since Christmas ’96, Dave is enthusiastic about growing the community and spreading Saturn love and knowledge to fans old and new. Co-founding the SEGA SATURN, SHIRO! podcast back in 2017 and creating the SHIRO! SHOW in 2020, he seeks to create interesting and engaging Saturn-related content for the community. Dave’s interests circle around game preservation, and he is a huge fan of game magazines and developer interviews.
