Repair Thread

[Anonymous No.1459564]

I guess the old one is gone. If I missed it, sorry.

http://www.gametechwiki.com/

[Anonymous No.1459590]

So I will begin with my question:

Today I received a GameBoy game that, while apparently working (didn't really test beyond firing it on) had its battery leak and was covered in dried battery acid. I got most of it off with diluted alcohol as usual, but there is most likely still some remaining under the surface mount chips. I would prefer to not have to desolder and resolder these chips on a rare game, so I was going to try pouring a small amount of cleaner on the board to hopefully dissolve what is under the chips. My question is, while I have used either lemon juice or vinegar to clean leakage off of corroded battery terminals in the past with some success, I am unsure as to how these affect PCB-board. Is it safe?

[Anonymous No.1459605]

>>1459590
Hay. I recently discovered that my Gameboy was fucked. I opened the battery pack to find it was covered in battery acid. Not that much, but quite a bit. What do? Is it possible to fix this? I wiped the crystalised battery acid off by cloth but it still didn't work.

I haven't played that thing for at least ten years (and even when I played it then it would have only been a brief session for nostalgia sake). Suddenly however I really want to play it. Get the authentic Link's Awakening experience on Gameboy OG before sleeping sometimes, gnome saiyan?

[Anonymous No.1459618]

>>1459605
Open the GameBoy, remove the terminals, dip them into some lemon juice or vinegar, rub them down with some sandpaper to remove any buildup or corrosion, rinse them off, let them thoroughly dry, and then test them. I had an FDS that had some bad leakage in it and this method worked fine and it can still run on batteries.

(Just not sure how safe these agents are on a PCB surface, so my previous question still stands)

[Anonymous No.1459634]

Are these really the only mods on the site?

[ITEM-3 No.1459746]

>>1459564
Hey, I normally make these threads, but I wasn't paying attention over the weekend and let the last one 404. Thanks for making a new one.

>>1459634
Yeah, that's it for now. Lots of mods get discussed in these threads, but very few people have added any of the information to the wiki. The site needs more contributors.

This isn't retro, but I recently fixed a problem with my Xbox that disabled the power button and caused the Xbox to turn itself on (freaked me out the first time it happened). I've started writing a guide for the repair (pic related):
http://www.gametechwiki.com/w/index.php/Xbox_Power_Trace_Repair

[Anonymous No.1459768]

>>1459746

I wish I had known. I would have documented quite a few mods I have done over the past year :( GameGear backlit screen, Saturn mod, PS2 mod, Famicom-to-NES adapter cart, stuff like that.

[Anonymous No.1459806]

>>1459590
>>1459618
>Fixing battery acid by adding more acid.

[Anonymous No.1459810]

>>1459634
We should add some more well documented mods to the site, like S-Video output for the N64.

[Anonymous No.1459812]

>>1459806
Battery "acid" in common household AA, AAA, C,and D batteries is actually a base oddly enough.

[Anonymous No.1459886]

Hey guys, new to /vr/ here. Back in the N64 days one of my N64 controllers just broke on me. One day the R button just permanently locked on as if it was always being pressed and just stayed that way. This makes nearly all my games unplayable (Shields are always active when playing Smash Bros. for example) I didn't spill anything onto the controller, and I took it apart several times to try and fix it but to no avail. I still have this controller 14 years later and to this day it's still glitched the same way. Any way to fix it? It would be nice to use it again because it's a controller in otherwise great condition, including its joystick.

[Anonymous No.1459893]

Anyone have repair stories?
>picked up an NES this past Saturday at a flea market with zelda for $30
>haven't played the original zelda since my dad bought it when it came out
>I never beat it as a kid so I'm super excited to finally give it another go
>so it's my 26th birthday, bought the NES as a present to myself. I pop in zelda and, fuck, it's a solid red screen
>the most vidya maintenance I've ever done consists of opening systems to clear dust and fixing a few analog sticks on N64 controllers
>I sigh and tell myself, "don't be a bitch, get on Google, you'll get it going."
>I get the NES open, taking over 30 min to remove the stuck reset switch/controller inputs on the main board, take the metal back plate and cartridge elevator off, gently remove the 72-pin connector, and scrub down everything with alcohol.
>put it all together, still doesn't work, birthday ruined
>almost buy a shitty Chinese 72-pin connector for $10, but refuse to be beaten so easily
>open the NES up again, scrub 72-pin connector again with windex and a toothbrush, adjust each pin individually with a safety pin, gently clean main board contacts, very carefully sever lockout chip, put it all back together, and prepared myself to be disappointed
>it works fine.
>just beat third dungeon.
>best birthday post 25 ensues.

[Anonymous No.1459903]

>>1459893
Good work, avoid those chinese pin connectors like the plague, unlike the stock connectors those chinese ones rust and scratch up the pins on your games. You should avoid replacing the pin connector unless it's completely broken for some reason

[Anonymous No.1459913]

>>1459893
I'm currently sitting with an NES Toploader that I'm AV modding, but I ripped Pin 21 of the PPU off trying to lift it. I just got a hold of a dremel and I'm going to grind off the corner of the case to expose the pin again. If that doesn't work, I have a beat up Famicom that had been terribly AV moded by the previous owner that I can steal the PPU from.

[Anonymous No.1459912]

>>1459893

Congratulations! You win.

[Anonymous No.1459915]

>>1459634

I think OP want knowledgeable 4channers to add their own wisdom to his or her wiki.

[Anonymous No.1459942]

>>1459912
>>1459903
Thanks guys, I'm obviously proud that I overcame my ignorance of hardware to fix it. I even called my dad (he's 71 and spent the last 20 years fixing arcade cabinets at an amusement park) to brag about it. He was all, "I could have done that for you in ten minutes." I'm at the bar celebrating with friends now, but I can't wait to get out of here and play some more. Clash at Demonhead is next on my list.

[Anonymous No.1459974]

Repair/Modder general? Back from last thread with my (now clean) custom Gameboy.

Feedback would be appreciated.

[Anonymous No.1459991]

Anyone know why a VA3 HD Genesis would have gabled graphics but alright sound? I tried re flowing some of the solder on some chips and I've removed the voltage regulators because one had some excessive solder on one leg. I have no idea if those will help, but where should I poke around next?

[Anonymous No.1460146]

>>1459915
Not my wiki. I've just seen it linked in the OP of another repair thread if I remember correctly and figured it was just the communal /vr/ repair wiki.

If I erred in linking to it, my apologies!

[Anonymous No.1460193]

>>1459564
What guides are people looking for? I have a NES, SNES, and an N64 that I'm going to restoring here soon.

[Anonymous No.1462026]

bump

[Anonymous No.1463909]

Hey all, say I NEED to replace my nes 72 pin connector. I want to avoid using cheap Chinese ones, but I can't find a direct source that manufactures quality ones. Would buying a gold connector from an American company be my best bet? I'm primarily concerned about fucking up the contacts on my games over time.

[Anonymous No.1464107]

>>1459806
Well, acid is a misnomer. If you look at them, they say right on them that they're alkaline batteries. You should know what alkaline means.

[Anonymous No.1464692]

>>1464107
It looks like may battery says lion. Is alkaline the word for this animal in your language?

[Anonymous No.1464725]

Should I mod my PAL SNES for the region switch?
Looks fancy but I already got a Fire adapter.

[Anonymous No.1464746]

>>1464692
>Lion
It says Li-ion, which is Lithium-ion. Those are the type of batteries that Game Boy games use, and there is no actual acid in those batteries. The previous guys probably thought you were talking about the Game Boy itself, which uses alkaline batteries (AA or AAA batteries). Those use manganese dioxide, a base, the opposite of an acid. Any acid will neutralize manganese dioxide, or any base, into a salt.

The only batteries you are likely to run across that actually have acid in them are the lead-acid batteries from automobiles, which use sulfuric acid diluted in water.

[Anonymous No.1464778]

>>1464692
You best be trolling.

[Anonymous No.1464840]

>>1464725
The adapter just lets you run the games it doesn't switch the console to the correct frequency. If you want to do that you'll need to mod the console.