/vr/ Repair and Mod Thread

[Anonymous No.10155852]

Been a while since we had one of these.
Share your hardware repair and modding projects. Ask and answer technical questions.

[Anonymous No.10155935]

>>10155852
Picked up a junk Mega-CD 2 for a good price.
Managed to get it working by replacing the fuse it plays games fine but loading times are extremely long and it really struggles with FMV sequences, skipping and freezing frequently.
What is the next logical step here? Recapping or replacing the laser? Does anyone have experience with Chinese replacement lasers, I've heard they're very hit and miss.
Picrel is the board, maybe you can notice something else wrong?

[Anonymous No.10156054]

Any news on an ODE for the PSOne?

[Anonymous No.10156127]

>>10155852
Reminder that most original xbox consoles are ticking chemical time bombs.
Quit procrastinating and remove that supercap!

[Anonymous No.10156489]

>>10156127
I need to get around to that but it needs two weird screwdrivers I don't have to disassemble

[Anonymous No.10156557]

>>10155935
>What is the next logical step here?
diagnose problem
fix problem
simple as

[Anonymous No.10156870]

>>10156127
>tfw 1.6 chad

now I just need to actually bother with modding it.

[Anonymous No.10158196]

bump

[Anonymous No.10158364]

>>10155935
Unless you're omitting saying you did it because it's so obvious, clean off all the old lubricant from the drive and apply new lubricant (silicone grease).

[Anonymous No.10158436]

>>10158364
Yep. Cleaned the laser, cleaned the connectors, greased the drive, made some tiny adjustments to the laser's potentiometer (no oscilloscope so I didn't experiment much with this).

[Anonymous No.10159225]

>>10158436
While I'm just shooting int he dark, maybe it's the ram? I doubt it's circuit board traces causing a problem, so probably some sort of IC. Can Clock crystals go bad? Something is clogging your drain so to speak.

[Anonymous No.10159238]

>>10159225
I really hope not. I've already ordered a replacement laser, I'll try that and go from there. I don't think the capacitors have gone bad because gameplay is smooth with no glitching graphics, though I will get around to replacing them at some point anyway

[Anonymous No.10160510]

My kv-34xbr800 is shitting out on me and either not turning on or temporarily showing feed. I've found an old repair thread diagnosing the issue

https://www.fixya.com/support/t25294057-tv_sony_trinitron_xbr_not_turn_led

Can anyone point me in the direction of where to buy the needed parts? Or what parts i need?

[Anonymous No.10160514]

>>10160510
I'm not going to pretend to be an expert and instead expect you to be one. Replace the board, or at least the failing components on it.

[Anonymous No.10160542]

>>10160510
All you need is a screwdriver and someone to upload the video of you electrocuting yourself to this thread.

[Anonymous No.10160580]

>>10160542
my roommate is the electrical engineer major. you'd be witnessing his death!

[Anonymous No.10160581]

>>10160514
Is there a specific board that you know of?

[Anonymous No.10162242]

is there such a thing as a composite to S-video converter that doesn't introduce awful artifacting and video patterns? It would simplify my setup so much if I could find one that wasn't shit.

[Anonymous No.10162653]

>>10160580
If true then your roommate will be able to diagnose and fix this in a few minutes

[Anonymous No.10162805]

>>10155852
I've got 4 projects.
First is picrel. Awaiting the GDEMU I ordered. I already did the fan mod. Thinking of getting a different shell and a broadband adapter. Doesn't read burned CDs anymore after burning Sonic Adventure and playing a few stages.
I got a modchip for the first PS1 I've ever owned. It's unfortunately not able to do an ODE, but still functions fine. Mod chip is mainly for region unlocking.
Another PS1, but is the 5501. I attempted to install the xStation, but it wouldn't read the SD card. I probably need to reflow the connections on the xStation, but some points will bridge if I put too much.
I also have a Saturn (VA6) with the Fenrir Duo, but I'm getting audio stutters within about five minutes of gameplay of any game. Anyone have ideas?

[Anonymous No.10163245]

>>10162805
Welp, modchip works. I expected something to fail, but it works right out the gate. Tested on these games. This gives me some confidence working on the other PS1 with the ODE. Will probably update sometime later should this or another thread be around.

[Anonymous No.10163991]

i made a thread a while ago for my malfunctioning snes
>>/vr/thread/9814239
before i start trying to check traces and replace caps does this sound like anything specific
>mario kart glitching out
>triggers super metroid's antipiracy but the save data is still there (it's supposed to end up gone if the piracy check fails)
>mario all stars antipiracy also triggered
>can't write new save data

[Anonymous No.10164187]

>>10155852
My N64 doesn't produce clean sound anymore. Every game I pop in has a bunch of distortion. It's hard to describe. I've changed out the component cables, but no luck. I'm guessing I have to re-solder some stuff?

[Anonymous No.10164223]

>>10163991
I'm no expert, but maybe the SNES isn't reading the full SRAM on the cart because of bad contact? Or in worst case, a broken trace on the board.
I mean, if it's only the Mario Kart with the graphical glitches, then it probably isn't a bad PPU chip.
Do you have a Super Everdrive? Running the Burn-In Test really helps knowing if the chips are bad or not.
I have 2 SNES that will hardly read cartridges, and would only do it when I slowly insert the cartridge into the slot while tilting it to one side (with the SNES shell removed, of course). And even so I would eventually lose power and get a black screen.
This happened after trying to SuperCIC mod both (lifting PPU legs and removing CIC chip), but even after undoing everything and the burn-in test showing there's no problem with the chips, I'm still getting this problems and I suspect it's more of a contact problem.

[Anonymous No.10164232]

>>10164187
>I've changed out the component cables
You mean composite?
Did you ever open the console?
Have you checked if the problem aren't the TV speakers?

[Anonymous No.10164250]

>>10164232
Never once opened it. TV is fine because everything else works and sounds clear.
I did mean composite, thank you.
The thing is caked with dust, I am ashamed to say.
It's something that's been a problem for a while, but haven't felt confident/wanted to fix. Just wanted some potential direction before I tackle the project.

[Anonymous No.10164273]

>>10162805
Be sure to check continuity for every point.
>Fenrir audio stutter
Have you tried using a different SD card?

[Anonymous No.10164287]

>>10164250
I would definitely try to clean everything on the board before attempting to resolder anything.
Otherwise you might want to check the 9480F chip (U1), I believe that's the audio DAC (unless you have some other revision).

[Anonymous No.10164293]

>>10164287
Thank you for the advice. I appreciate it.

[Anonymous No.10165608]

>>10164273
Changed the SD card, audio issue seems to be fixed. I used a SanDisk 32GB instead of the AmazonBasics 512GB. Dunno if the Ama needs to be formated to FAT32 or if those cards are just plain bad. The card was new btw.

[Anonymous No.10167223]

>>10155852
Latest project, wired up SNES to NES (and vice versa) controller adapters. The controllers are pin compatible and extremely similar inside, only the connectors are different. The SNES to NES works like a charm, i get to use B and Y where my thumb would normally be resting for A and B. However, there is a problem with the NES to SNES adapter, and will explain.

[Anonymous No.10167229]

>>10167223
The NES to SNES controller has a pretty major problem, now, everything i have ever read on the stupid internet has said "oh yeah, pin compatible, they just work in each other, blah blah blah" ...well, yes, the NES controller does indeed register in the SNES, HOWEVER, A,X,L and R always register as ON, and for most games, this is a pretty major problem lol
So there you go kids, don't trust everything you read on the stupid internet.

[Anonymous No.10167667]

>>10167229
Is there a way you can keep those inputs from being on, maybe with like a passive component?

[Anonymous No.10167812]

>>10155852
I heard some shit about some kind of HDD-based conversion for the PS1, and I have an old one with a busted spindle I'd like to convert. Can any of you delightful autists help me get on the right track?

[Anonymous No.10168431]

>>10167667
> maybe with like a passive component
Well, the way the controller works is each game manually polls it, so, i don't think there is anything passive that would just make it appear zero after 8 consecutive polls and just be smart enough to reset itself. Maybe some barrel / shift register with some timeout or something but that is a bit beyond my wheelhouse.

[Anonymous No.10168454]

>>10167223
Cool story, but exactly why would anyone want to do this?
>>10167229
>HOWEVER, A,X,L and R always register as ON
As they should. You did understand the circuitry and protocol before doing this, right?
>don't trust everything you read on the stupid internet.
Great advice, but where on "the stupid internet" did it say that it would work the way you imagined it would?

[Anonymous No.10169307]

>>10168454
SNES controller is super confy and NES controller is kinda silly
the wire colors inside of the cheap amazon controller extension cables i gutted to make these neither matched the schematic or each other lol. i just used a multimeter for continuity and wired'em up
> You did understand the circuitry and protocol before doing this, right?
actually i don't

[Anonymous No.10169336]

>>10169307
>SNES controller is super confy and NES controller is kinda silly
Understatement of the half century
>the wire colors
Electricity is color blind champ. Learn to live with it. Especially with China making everything.
>silly pic
Yeah, that's irrelevant
>actually i don't
Fair enough. Look it up. You'll find that while it's "compatible" it's not "compatible". The standard NES controller protocol starts with AB. SNES starts with BY. So exactly what you're seeing.

[Anonymous No.10169349]

>>10169336
well what im thinking about is just making romhacks of games for it, that just ignore A X L and R, for whatever i'd want to play. it would be pretty easy to do, just set a breakpoint for $4016 / $4017, find the ram value(s) it's stored in and just remap the buttons a bit. the NES controller would be fun for like mario all stars, but having those inputs always on doesn't allow you to play the game properly unfortunately.

[Anonymous No.10169628]

>>10169349
Whatever floats your boat, you absolute freak. This could all be solved for everything with simple hardware mods, but even that'd be pointless. Using garbage original controllers is bad enough. Going through those contortions to do it literally qualifies as insanity.

[Anonymous No.10171567]

>>10167812
Terraonion MODE. You need a 550X version and have to solder similar points like on the xStation to get started.

[Anonymous No.10171673]

>>10169349
Sim City Mouse Edt., pfft. I want Sim City Super Scope Edt.