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Arcade & Retro Repairs & Mods, all new recipe, with no added MSG...

weeder

Well lately ive been talking repairs a lot and it seems to come up regularly enough, so why dont we dedicate a thread to it?

can be to ask questions, show repairs or just to give advice or whatever.

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BGOllie

getting some Bomb jack artwork printed from him this week. My Double Dragon & Pacman art all came from him and he does really quality work.

DaveyDave

So I've been playing the Dreamcast in the living room and it hasn't shut off. The same day when I played it in my bedroom it restarted after about 3-4 minutes.

Last time it was in the living room it shut off a few times and had slow load times. I don't think my controller worked properly when this was happening but it does work perfectly.

I don't think it's an overheating issue as there's space around it in the bedroom. The fan works but I haven't been able to open it to clean it. The laser motor sounds like it's working hard on the return so maybe I damaged it or didn't grease it properly or too much?

Could it also be related to the extension lead setup, maybe something isn't playing nice between the console and the wall?

o1s1n

CRT monitor did a weird thing the other day, I powered it on and the image had a tint of blue. The colours gradually came into it, and then it would start periodically dimming slowly and brightening up again. After a few minutes it was grand.

Nothing to do with the input as i displayed an inbuilt cross hatch and it was showing on that too.

Switched it on last night and it was 100% fine first go.

I wonder is there maybe a cap starting to fail somewhere?

I've kind of been meaning to open it up again and sort out the beam landing properly (the oul magnetic screwdriver in the back fix bothers the pedant in me!) so might be an opportunity to do that and give all the boards/connections a good once over.

DaveyDave

sugarman wrote: »

DaveyDave wrote: »

So I've been playing the Dreamcast in the living room and it hasn't shut off. The same day when I played it in my bedroom it restarted after about 3-4 minutes.

Last time it was in the living room it shut off a few times and had slow load times. I don't think my controller worked properly when this was happening but it does work perfectly.

I don't think it's an overheating issue as there's space around it in the bedroom. The fan works but I haven't been able to open it to clean it. The laser motor sounds like it's working hard on the return so maybe I damaged it or didn't grease it properly or too much?

Could it also be related to the extension lead setup, maybe something isn't playing nice between the console and the wall?

Is it losing power completely and turning off/on? What have you got plugged into the extension lead with it?

It wouldn't power off completely, it would just go back to the Dreamcast/Sega boot as if there was a reset button. Only thing plugged into the living room was a PS4. In the bedroom it's TV, Sky box, Dyson fan, PS4, Xbox One and 1 retro console.

[Deleted User]

GDEMU clones coming down in price. Still not low enough for me to warrant replacing my working laser yet though.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Optical-Drive-Simulation-Board-for-DC-Game-Machine-the-Second-Generation-Built-in-Free-Disk-replacement/32917175048.html?af=cc&aff_platform=aaf&cpt=1536426829965&sk=6mia6uv&aff_trace_key=640e6427a4bb44cd8b048240ad2e41ad-1536426829965-02081-6mia6uv&terminal_id=797355e999bb403cb9996cf3835c2428

BGOllie

Finally restored my second dead galaxian hardware clone (Kamikaze). I made a videos for those with a fetish for old PCB and bad explanations

o1s1n

So I mentioned previously that I wasn't too enamored with the idea of a magnetic screwdriver inside my BVM to fix the beam landing issue (!)

Tried loads of different magnets but none seemed to work. So I decided to crack it open this evening and have a go at playing with the convergence rings - no go unfortunately, they are all stuck together with some kind of glue to keep the likes of me away from them.

So, back to the magnet idea. I'd bought some neodymium magnets and tried them before but they were ridiculously strong to be putting inside the monitor. So much so that I could actually feel them buzzing in my hand whenever they got near the yoke.

Decided to take a different approach. If you stick the magnet to the outside of the case it half works..but not quite. Degauss and the image goes back to being impure.

So I decided to take the side of the monitor case off and see if sticking it under that might work, so there would be a layer of steel between the magnet and the tube - result! But not quite. Stuck another magnet beside it and bingo - image is perfect.

Stuck both magnets in place and put the side plate back on the monitor. Turned it on and off a few times and it seems to have done the trick

Before...

After!

Previously any kind of red in the bottom left corner would be completely green, so the bloodlines logo is a good test.

Doge

Broadcasting Engineers hate him!

See how he fixed his Video Monitor with this simple trick.

The Last Bandit

I'm sure you could have gutted it and found a suitable LCD to fit the case if you tried

eddhorse

Great work with the magnets, very impressed

o1s1n

What amazes me about it is how little effort is really involved once you figure it out.

You'd imagine trying to get electrons to land somewhere to get both screen geometry and colour correct would require tiny adjustments. It really doesn't.

'no that doesn't work, no either does that... Ooh that worked. And it works perfectly. Wtf?'

o1s1n

Tried to fix my PCE this evening, still not quite there yet.

I removed that weird mod someone did on it before (they'd soldered wires to the underside of the DIN connector inside the console to run composite video out). Only reason I can imagine they did that is because they lost the cable?

Can see it here;

I've managed to get picture back over RGB out of the extension port, however it's really blurry/streaky! Everything has a white drop shadow blooming out of it.

To get RGB to sync in the past before I removed that mod, you had to connect the console up with an RGB cable and connect one of these composite wires or else there wouldn't be any picture.

Now I have picture over RGB alone but it's doing this streaky/burry thing.

o1s1n

So weird! I fixed the PCE but its such an odd workaround I'd love to know what's going on.

When RGB is output alone, there's no picture.

When RGB is output while the console shared a PSU with another console (I had a Megadrive Trio linker plus that had both a Megadrive I and II PSU in the same chain) - you get picture, but whites are streaking and the whole picture is blurry.

When RGB is outputted while a composite cable is also plugged in (it could be any composite cable, the video one or the audio ones) I then have perfect RGB picture.

Must be a grounding issue? It's working perfectly over RGB anyway as long as I also leave the composite out cable plugged into something (I actually have it running into the composite inputs on the front of the bandridge scart adapter)

BGOllie

first issue, I would've gone for a sync problem, but the fact that you get rgb output when a composite cable is plugged in would point towards a grounding issue alright. improper grounding can lead to all sorts of artifacts, but it's usually a fuzzy picture. if it looks ok when composite is plugged into sth on the scart adapter then I assume that it completes the grounding there with a round trip somehow.

Are each R.G & B ground channels connected on your scart lead ? I've had issues with that making rgb scart connectors on my MSX(s) .
Also doesn't hurt to triple check if you're getting the composite sync going to the right pin. again I've had issues sending sync to the wrong pin on the scart ...although it does more sound like a channel ground issue.

o1s1n

BGOllie wrote: »

first issue, I would've gone for a sync problem, but the fact that you get rgb output when a composite cable is plugged in would point towards a grounding issue alright. improper grounding can lead to all sorts of artifacts, but it's usually a fuzzy picture. if it looks ok when composite is plugged into sth on the scart adapter then I assume that it completes the grounding there with a round trip somehow.

Are each R.G & B ground channels connected on your scart lead ? I've had issues with that making rgb scart connectors on my MSX(s) .
Also doesn't hurt to triple check if you're getting the composite sync going to the right pin. again I've had issues sending sync to the wrong pin on the scart ...although it does more sound like a channel ground issue.

Yep that's it alright, I was originally thinking sync until I started getting picture just by grounding it via any means possible.

I'm using it with one of these fancy pricey RGB cables, so am fairly sure it's all grounded correctly

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Scart-RGB-Cable-for-PC-Engine-TurboGrafx16-EXT-Connector/173519279188?hash=item28668e1454:g:UtQAAOxyaRZR2X4C

I've a feeling that it's something to do with the mod that was previously done on it. I wonder was a trace cut somewhere? Will have to have a close look over the pcb.

o1s1n

Not sure if you guys remember, but my Super Metroid cart stopped working a while ago. Couldn't figure it out.

If I booted the console in PAL mode (it's a PAL cart) it would give me a piracy error.

If I booted the console in NTSC mode, it would also give a piracy error.

Turns out it was a really simple fix. The battery was dead! (which is weird as the battery in it is was replaced and is only 5-6 years old)

Super Metroid is apparently the only Snes game that needs a battery to boot. Stuck a new CR2032 in and it boots fine!

Something to keep in mind if your cart suddenly stops working.

alpahaeagle

Hi Guys

Does anyone her fix commodore computers...have a c128 that seems to have a grenn screen only with random charcters on the screen...also show error im memory 0 in the c64 mode.

DaveyDave

sugarman wrote: »

Sounds like the common reset problem, easy enough fix. Theres header pins on the PSU connecting it to the main board that just need a bit of cleaning / bending to give better contact. I'd say moving it about is what's causing, especially if it's been turned upside down which you prob did while greasing the GDROM rails last time.

I gave this a shot last night. Hasn't turned off since but it also didn't turn off last time while playing Typing of the Dead. I've read mixed posts online also suggesting it's related to the fan sensor/wire. Hopefully it stays working!

CiDeRmAn

So...

Is it possible to render a 3DS region free?
I have a spare one here and there's one or two 3DS titles that never made it this far that I would love to import.
Any advice would be great!

bugs

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

So...

Is it possible to render a 3DS region free?
I have a spare one here and there's one or two 3DS titles that never made it this far that I would love to import.
Any advice would be great!

https://3ds.hacks.guide

Step by step cfw install will provide region freedom

CiDeRmAn

Can anyone hook me up with a contract for FrancoB.
I'm just going to order the right 2p harness/loom for my cab, I've been dawdling too long!
I'll need it to connect to the standard K molex found on AWSD/Egret cabs and hence to the stick and six buttons+ start.

eddhorse

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Can anyone hook me up with a contract for FrancoB.
I'm just going to order the right 2p harness/loom for my cab, I've been dawdling too long!
I'll need it to connect to the standard K molex found on AWSD/Egret cabs and hence to the stick and six buttons+ start.

Didn't think he was still making looms.
Craig at giz10p might be able help too https://www.giz10p.co.uk/index.php

CiDeRmAn

So, my hard modded PS2 definitely needs a laser, it's not reading CD disks at all, in either PS or PS2 formats.
Is it an easy job?

CiDeRmAn

sugarman wrote: »

Wouldn't be so quick to say it needs a laser replacement, any i've had i've brought back to life by adjusting and cleaning it. My day one PS2 is ploughing on after stopping twice! ...just had to stop ripping discs to the HDD through it :P

What's involved in the adjustment process?
I had a look at someone doing it online and I would be concerned about my technical prowess, being cursed with clumsiness...

The Last Bandit

There are a couple of tiny pots on the Laser assembly that can be adjusted - use tiny increments when adjusting these though and remember which way your turning it

But, if I were you with a hard modded console with the ability to boot from memory card, I'd be installing a hard drive and get HDDLoader on the memory card. If the laser is tired and weak its not going to get any better over time.

Its possible (but time consuming) to rip and transfer your original discs to the PS2 harddrive using a PC.

CiDeRmAn

So, just google "seven easy steps to killing your PS2" you mean?
Bugger...

Well, at least it's easier to fix than the PSX... which is still working, thankyouverymuch...

Inviere

The Last Bandit wrote: »

But, if I were you with a hard modded console with the ability to boot from memory card, I'd be installing a hard drive and get HDDLoader on the memory card.

Agreed, I detest using discs in PS1/PS2/PS3 because of ****ty lasers. HDD all the way.

o1s1n

I do have a bit of a nostalgic thing for playing discs on a PS1 and the sound of the drive seeking...but I'm a bit of a saddo like that

Inviere

o1s1n wrote: »

I do have a bit of a nostalgic thing for playing discs on a PS1 and the sound of the drive seeking...but I'm a bit of a saddo like that

Every time you do, the laser cries a little

CiDeRmAn

I am a fellow disc lover, I much prefer to use them than an anonymous bunch of files on a HDD.