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/vr/ - Retro Games

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670150 No.670150 [Reply] [Original]

So I have an idea for a retro gaming site, but I would like to hear your opinions of it first before I jump into trying to create it. The site would be a wiki whose goal would be to aggregate all the knowledge from the Internet on the topics of repairing old video game consoles and computers and documenting their hardware in detail. For instance, an ideal group of pages for a particular console would include high resolution scans of the motherboard and other components for every revision of the console along with a table which identifies each of the chips and provides links to their documentation. Most of this information is out there, but it's scattered.

As an example for an article about a repair, let's say the laser in your Sega CD fails. There should be an article which details how to identify and confirm that the problem is with the laser, what type of laser it is and where you can buy it/what other devices use the same laser, and how to replace the laser yourself. I'd also include articles related to modifications and homebrew programming docs and tips.

So would any of you find a resource like this useful or contribute to it? It's been ages since I've designed a website, so it would take me a while to get it going, but I would make it a summer project.

>> No.670450

I like this idea OP, include flashcarts as well, since they're close enough to modchips in function.

>> No.670465

Abso-fucking-lutely

>> No.670471

I probably couldn't contribute much, but I say that sounds like a good project.

>> No.670476

Oh God. I so much wish I could help. You made me wet my pants, OP. I'm totally looking forward for this, if there's anything else you need, don't hesitate, and ask for help here.

>> No.670479

I need this!!!
My Sega CD laser module is almost obliterated. I can barely play my burned copy of Snatcher.
Any Help?

>> No.670502
File: 3 KB, 75x75, Siege_Tank_Profile.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
670502

>>670465
Ready to roll out! [/spoiler

>> No.670507
File: 11 KB, 800x600, meh.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
670507

Overambitious, reinventing the wheel, too many people you'd have to ask for permission and rights and other bullshit. You'd also be creating a target for crazy people.

Still a good idea. I'm already forming a tiered diagram in my mind...

Like...

>> No.670512

>>670479
http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?22027-Sega-CD-systems-repair-thread

>> No.670529

>>670512
sega-16 is a great site, its helped me numerous times and the people that post there are great at what they do.

>> No.670539

>>670150
I could use this greatly. My PS2 slim doesn't read discs anymore. Not sure if it's because the motor doesn't spin or because the laser assembly doesn't seek though.

>> No.670572

>>670539
Not OP but the rod the lens slides back and forth on is placed between 2 plastic pieces, and it might have come loose, or one of the pieces could have broken.

Might not be this at all, but it;s what happened to 2 of mine, as those little plastic pieces are fragile as fuck. Scotch tape fixed it right up though, aside from regular replacements.

As for OP's idea, please. I can't into anything hardware. I only know a few things because my brother was a computer wizard.

>> No.670581

>>670572
>Might not be this at all, but it;s what happened to 2 of mine, as those little plastic pieces are fragile as fuck. Scotch tape fixed it right up though, aside from regular replacements.
Would I be able to unscrew the assembly and tape them back? I have electric and duct tape.

>> No.670609

>>670539
Have you tried cleaning the lens, get some q-tips and a bit of rubbing alcohol and scrub it. Just put a little bit of alcohol on the q-tip you dont need to have it dripping all over the place.

>> No.670618

>>670609
Pretty sure it's a motor issue. I'll do it anyway just so I don't seem contrary, but I haven't seen it moving.

>> No.670635

There will be no Red Green fixes. A "dirty lens" is almost NEVER the cause of a Playstation failing to read a game. Nine times out of ten, it's because the laser diode fucked off, being the cheapest diode Sony could get away with using. They have a limited lifespan, and people's dumb idea of overvolting them kills them even faster.

>> No.670636

>>670581
Ok so I actually called my brother because I couldn't remember exactly how we did it, and the first thing he said was:

>First of all, we never had a PS2 Slim, we had 2 normal ones

So yeah. Asked him how we fixed it.

>Fuck I don't remember, something with taping the rod the lens slides on

Glad I could help.

>> No.670646

>>670636
Hahahah. Oh god at least I had a hearty lol.

>>670635
But the question remains: How does one fix this?

>> No.670650

>>670646
Just adding this because I'm bitter: the PS2 slim is in PRISTINE condition otherwise. Not even microscratches or dust.

>> No.670659

>>670581
I also found this, not a slim but the lens mechanism is the same. I remember having to do this with my Xbox.

Wait why are we talking about PS2 repair on /vr/?

>> No.670664

>>670659
Maybe he wants to play PS1 games on it.

>> No.670665

OP here. Thanks guys for your interest in the project.

>>670450
>include flashcarts as well
Oh for sure. There's a lot of stuff I'm not thinking of that would belong on the site.

>>670479
This >>670512 looks good, but it also demonstrates my motivation for making this site: many guides for repairs can only be found in forums, some of which are archaic, and almost never are they as detailed as that one. I'd like all the repair articles on my site to be as detailed.

>>670650
Does the laser light actually turn on? With some disc drives, they won't spin the disc until the laser sees a disc in front of it, so the spindle motor may be fine.

Anyway, there are a few obstacles standing in my way of making this site:
- I'm a poorfag grad student, and I have no idea what kind of costs are involved with running a website. I would have to use ads and if necessary donations to pay the bills.
- I'm rusty on making websites, and I never knew too much to begin with. I used to be able to write a decently formatted page with tables and whatnot in notepad, and at one time I ran an Apache server from home, so I do have some experience, but I'm sure I'd have to learn a lot of new stuff.
- This: >>670507 . I will absolutely give in to any legal pressure whatsoever to remove pictures or documents, but hopefully this won't be a problem with too many things.

Do any of you have advice on familiarizing myself with actually running a site?

>> No.670670

>>670659
>tfw forget link
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Fix-the-PS2-Disk-Read-Error

More specifically
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Fix-the-PS2-Disk-Read-Error/step4/Adjusting-the-Optical-Lens

>> No.670673

>>670664
This. My PS1 is currently lent off to a friend (who takes excellent care of things) and I wanted to be able to play games still.

>>670665
>Does the laser light actually turn on?
Let me plug it in and check.

>> No.670676

>>670670
Thanks for this. If this is the issue, I'll be glad to have it fixed.

>> No.670675

>>670670
>tfw forget sage
>dem dubs

>> No.670756

This would be awesome. Unfortunately, I'm fairly useless for contributions. I've taken apart a PS2 and controller and that's it, so not much of a knowledge base.

On a side note of other places to maybe get people on board with it, have you thought about asking /g/ or /diy/ if they would contribute/be interested? The emulation general on /vg/ might have some interested people.

>> No.670802

>>670676
>>670676
>>670676
>>670676
>>670676
IT JUST MAGICALLY FUCKING FIXED ITSELF WHAT WHAT WHAT.

>Put disc in
>Check if it's spinning
>It is
>"Reading disc..."
>Boots perfectly

Holy fuck please let this stay permanent :V

If it's not too much, anyone know what you do to get it to boot from an external media?

>> No.670817

>>670756
Seconding this, I'm sure people at /g/ and /diy/ would love to contribute. You should make threads there about this, explaining the situation and all. I'm sure it'll boost your project.

>> No.670954

>>670756
>>670817
>asking /g/ or /diy/

Good idea, I've made a thread on /g/ here: >>>/g/33814998 . I'm not too familiar with /diy/, so why do you think they would be interested in this?

>> No.672509

bump

>> No.672553

>>670150
Yes and yes. I like this idea.

>> No.672747

>>670150
Sounds awesome really. Specially because I'm going to need to repair an SNES at some point in the future. Would be a nice resource to have.

>>670502
If you're just spoiling your whole post you don't need [/spoiler] at the end.

>> No.673028
File: 1.31 MB, 1400x3000, flashychips.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
673028

>>670665
Guy who brought up flashcarts in the first post here, finally found the image I made.

I know, I know, some of this shit is dated/wrong. I'm going to update it soon though.

>> No.673123

I'd click the fuck out that website.
I've been playing around with my GCN lately (sorry if not retro, just trying to make a point), and most wiki's with information regarding soft-modding, lens tweaking, and GBA flashcarts are either dead, only available through waybackmachine, or frozen in time. Would be nice to gather that kind of information on an active website.

>> No.673124

>>673028
>NES PowerPak
>Famicom Everdrive N8 (Treat them as different platforms)
>N64 64Drive
>PSX MM3 Stealth Modchip
>Dreamcast needs no mods, really.


Everything else is agreeable.

>> No.673135

>>673124
Image was made before the NES one came out, I've been meaning to replace the PCB. Don't see any reason to add a seperate famicom section though.

I'm avoiding putting the PowerPak on there due to the fact that compatibility for the N8 will surpass it.

Both 64Drive and Everdrive 64 v2 have the same compatibility, so Everdrive wins due to cheaper price point.

PSIO will offer a lot more than a modchip once it comes out, plus there's leess wear on the laser, so that's why it's on there.

Dreamcast SD adapter is fairly cheap so the price saved from discs offsets it, once it comes farther along the DCIO will take its place.

>> No.674532

>>670954
I lurk /diy/, say, once every month and a half, and there's always at least two threads on console modding (very often retro), and about five threads regarding electronics. So yeah, they'd be into it. Not absolutely everyone on the board, but just like /g/. You won't lose anything by trying, either.

>> No.675825

I'm curious OP, what did they say in that thread in /g/? It's dead now.

>> No.675916

>>675825
/g/ hasn't been about TECHNOLOGY since about 2008. It's been about consumer crap ever since, and INSTALL GENTOO LOL M I A OLDFAG YET?

I'd suggest linking up with SegaXtreme and Sega 16, as they're the foremost western Sega sites, and jam-packed full of people who know what the hell they're doing, without the egoism typical of most forums.

>> No.675940

I would go to that website. Start putting it together man.

>> No.675978

>>670150
This is exactly the site I want to exist. I'm always looking for information for repairs, and I always have to go to several different sources. It's such a pain in the ass.

>> No.678374

Please make this OP,
Why not start with a blog or free wiki and build upon that, grandiose plans are usually doomed

>> No.678420

This would be great OP, specifically the motherboard diagrams for controllers because it makes it easier to map out and design your own controllers like custom fight sticks and the such. I was able to find the scans for the NES controller and the NES controller with turbo buttons and a shitty D-Pad that was round and combined them inside of a N64 controller to make the comfiest NES controller. It would be great to have a dedicated site and even some How-To guides on the site for basic circuit comparisons and how to solder in your own wires to make extra buttons and stuff.

>> No.678502

I would make use of/possibly contribute to this. Sure would be nice to have all the good info in one place

>> No.678529

>>673135
DCIO?
is it that project that's trying to get the Dreamcast to read HDD's via the GD ROM or the extension port?

>> No.678628

>>678529
It's kind of like PSIO but for the dreamcast, it's not very far along but it will offer fast loading from SD/HDD.

>> No.678634

>>678529
>>678628
I missed your spoiler (dark theme and low brightness), so yeah you're right.

There is also a Saturn one they mentioned that they might work on.

>> No.678641

>>678634
same people who are doing PSIO?
any news of that homebrew LAN adapter?

>> No.678667

Sounds awesome. If you want to avoid costs and design and all that shit, I suggest trying out that free Wikia website and make one off of the template wiki. Then, if everything fares well and you get a large amount of articles and visitors, you can start a new website.

Just my 2 cents.

>> No.678678

>>670150
Just the other day, I was thinking of building a cart and peripheral that would turn my SNES into a really badass 8 bit programmable keyboard. Your website could help me, no? I would be much obliged.

inb4 SNES is 16 bit; technically, the data bus is 8 bits wide, but even letting that slide, the SPC700 that the SNES uses as an audio coprocessor is decidedly 8 bit.

>> No.678703

>>678374
I'm with this anon. Get one of those free wikia wiki's. They are adfucked, but it won't cost us anything.

I myself don't have any useful info offhand, but once the site is up I'd be more than willing to hunt material down and post it, or write articles explaining things better than the source material.

It would be like Data Crystal, only hardware oriented.

>> No.678726

OP again

>>675825
It didn't get any replies.

>>678374
>>678667
>free wiki
That's a great idea as a way to start. So wikia is a good free wiki? I suck at coming up with names, so I'm open to suggestions.

Okay, let's do this.

>> No.678757

>>678726
the Final Guide on how not to fuck up on fixing and modding your old consoles wiki?

>> No.678775

>>678757
thefinalguideonhownottofuckuponfixingandmoddingyouroldconsoles.wikia.com might be a bit long of a URL.

>> No.678820

>>678775
nah, it's the perfect length
vrsconsolesgeneral.wikia.com?

>> No.678873

>>678641
Yeah, they're doing all 3, one at a time mostly. I guess xxIO will be a thing now.

I can't say I've heard much about the LAN adapter lately though, hope it's not dead

>> No.678887

>>678873
somehow I don't hold much hope for any of those projects completing

>> No.678914

>>678887
PSIO is coming along quite nicely, the others will be a few years though,

I'm in no rush, I have plenty of consoles to fuck around with.

>> No.678958

>>678775
retroconstitution
retrofixation
wreckedwretrowiki - www.www.info or whatever other top level domain works.

>> No.678984

Retro Consoles Wiki

>> No.679030

>>678984
Nice and short, works for me: http://retroconsoles.wikia.com

So now I just need to play around with the wiki settings, decide on a layout, and figure out what kind of bandwidth and storage limits I'm up against, and then I'll start adding some stubs. This is going to be like the third time I've had to relearn wiki syntax.

>> No.679056

>>679030
Feel free to add my image >>673028 if it helps.

I might update it later though.

>> No.679209

>>679056
Thanks, I'll add it if you or someone else doesn't add it first. I'll start putting some love into this project over the weekend, for now I'm calling it a night.

>> No.679239

>>679209
Okay, sleep well. If this thread is still up and I've updated, I'll post it here.

>> No.679302 [DELETED] 

Why not call it RetroConSoul?

>> No.679561
File: 569 B, 40x24, met_l.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
679561

Registered. As soon as more of the Wiki is fleshed out, or at least has bones, I'll start plugging stuff in. I'm not the best at writing historical records and the like, but I have other abilities, and a wide collection, if not a very deep one.

>> No.680180

Hey OP, as >>670756 and >>670817 said, you should post on /diy/ about this. They know their shit about console modding and a lot of useful stuff on electronics, and from my experience they're much more mature and helpful than /g/.

>> No.680495

>>679561
Whenever you feel like it, post the link here. I personally might be able to contribute, and a lot of people have a whole library on this stuff.

>> No.680516

>>680495
Nevermind, I just realised that in the end you went for http://retroconsoles.wikia.com/wiki/Retro_Consoles_Wiki

>> No.680657
File: 616 B, 32x32, link_l.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
680657

>>680516
I'm not the OP or the operator of the wiki; I was just stating that I had registered for the purposes of editing in the future.

>> No.680987

Link to the wiki: http://retroconsoles.wikia.com

I'll have time in a few hours to start getting the wiki into shape. My goal is to have it ready to accept submissions by the end of the day. I'm not going to worry too much about how it all looks at this point, and instead I'll try to get a couple of articles up as a template and flesh out the front page some.

>>680180
>post on /diy/
Okay, I'll start a thread there once everything's up and running. This wiki's gonna need all the help it can get to get off the ground. I'll also go on a few forums and try to recruit contributors.

As a basic way of organizing things, I'm thinking that each console should have its own page with subsections for specifications, hardware, peripherals, repairs, mods, and whatever else is related to the console with links to more detailed articles for each of those sections when appropriate. Another section I'd like to include is one that gives some details about normal operation, for instance if you get a BIOS screen when you turn a console on without a cartridge inserted. I remember it took me ages to get an answer to that question when attempting to diagnose a broken Coleco Vision.

For something like flashcarts, those should be mentioned in each console's article, but there should also be a "flashcarts" page with a table listing the different flashcarts for different systems, and if appropriate individual flashcarts could have pages which details pros/cons and installation. I'm probably overthinking things though, so once a basic structure is established, I'll just let things fall into place and adjust things when necessary.

tl;dr working on it, check back later

>> No.683246

Okay, I'm working on the wiki right now. I've got a shell of a page for the Genesis ready, and I've added a page that provides the pinout of the cartridge slot. I'll be playing around on the wiki for the rest of the night trying to give it a little meat. If anyone would like to contribute, please feel free to join me!

Again, the link is
http://retroconsoles.wikia.com

>> No.683261

wish I was able to contribute OP but I've got no technical know-how
bookmarked the wiki and will definitely be a user
there's some youtubers who do modding videos, maybe try getting in touch and seeing if they would like to contribute or at least allow the use of their info etc.

>> No.683425
File: 1.35 MB, 1400x3000, flashychips.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
683425

Hey, I'm here again.

Feel free to give me feedback.

>> No.683504

>>683425

Consider adding the swap method for ps2. It's all I use for that gen and my console still works fine years and years later. ymwv

>> No.683547

>>683504
I'll keep it in mind, I mostly made this with HDD loading in mind, but for Slim PS2's that's a valid point.

>> No.683563

>>683504
Well, if you include the swap method for the PS2, then you have to include the swap methods for the Saturn and PS1. That should be a different image altogeter imo.

>> No.683978
File: 9 KB, 250x289, sager.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
683978

>>675916
>INSTALL GENTOO LOL M I A OLDFAG YET?

>> No.684009
File: 26 KB, 587x255, boss coleco.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
684009

I am both amused and a little disappointed that my component modded Colecovision and svideo modded Atari 2600 have better video clarity than my NES, but unwilling to ruin a PC10 or VS game to change that.

I'm holding out hope for that guy working on a FPGA-based PPU replacement.

>>683425

I just got my shipping notice for my N8.

>> No.684232

>>683978
Suck my SICP, I'm not buying that shitty laptop because there's NO TIME FOR ROVE, DOCTAH TIDUS!

>> No.684275

>>670150
>http://retroconsoles.wikia.com

Greetings.
Ok, bro, I love retro consoles and I'm willing to submit my own repairing sheets and guides to contribute in the near future.

>> No.684565
File: 36 KB, 565x600, that fucking chip.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
684565

>>684232

IDLE COARS