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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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o1s1n

If it's scuffing the spindle is too low. As you said, this would happen from people pushing discs down. When I got my one the spindle was so low it wouldn't even turn.

The spindle itself is just a round piece of plastic on a metal bar that can adjust up and down.

You'll have to take the top of the console off and raise the spindle about 1 or 2mm up the metal bar.

It doesn't require any major knowledge or tools. It's difficult though due to the small distance you'll need to move it and the force you'll need to put on it to move. They don't want to budge easily. So you put loads of pressure on it all it moves very suddenly. Trying to do this within a 1 or 2mm distance is extremely frustrating.

If you move it too high, it won't read the disc. If you move it too low it scuffs or doesn't spin at all.

Took me over an hour of raising and lowering it to get it to finally read. Was almost about to give up on it too and cast it aside as broken.

sparkthatbled

Here's a pic of the inside, maybe it will help. I circled the ribbon in a suspect spot, i know ribbons are delicate and this one is folded over and taped down. Doesn't look right but i dunno, i'm only an amateur! If anyone can see anything amiss, let me know. I managed to raise the spindle high enough to stop the disc scuffing but still nothing.

High res image if required

o1s1n

so you raised it, it's not scuffing but still not reading?

That means the spindle is now too high.

It literally has to just be high enough not to scuff but still low enough to read. And by going by my lowering and raising I did before over an hour, it could be as little as the disc being 1mm or 2mm away from the plastic.

Just keep at it! And be careful, the metal pole the spindle is on went under my nail and into my finger. Bled like ****!

That 'disc not working' jingle will also drive you mad by the way

sparkthatbled

o1s1n wrote: »

so you raised it, it's not scuffing but still not reading?

That means the spindle is now too high.

It literally has to just be high enough not to scuff but still low enough to read. And by going by my lowering and raising I did before over an hour, it could be as little as the disc being 1mm or 2mm away from the plastic.

Just keep at it! And be careful, the metal pole the spindle is on went under my nail and into my finger. Bled like ****!

That 'disc not working' jingle will also drive you mad by the way

I don't even get a jingle. It says "checking disc format" for a few seconds, then nothing. Heard back from the seller, he maintains it was working perfectly before he shipped it. I assume this issue can't be caused in transit unless a customs officer unpacked it, opened the disc drive and stood on the spindle. Well, unless I get all my money back and he pays return shipping he can kiss his 100% feedback rating goodbye.

Myrddin

sparkthatbled wrote: »

I don't even get a jingle. It says "checking disc format" for a few seconds, then nothing. Heard back from the seller, he maintains it was working perfectly before he shipped it. I assume this issue can't be caused in transit unless a customs officer unpacked it, opened the disc drive and stood on the spindle. Well, unless I get all my money back and he pays return shipping he can kiss his 100% feedback rating goodbye.

I assumed he would say that, & if it happened during shipping (which it hasn't, as o1s1n said the problem is caused by people pressing discs home with too much force) then he has packaged the item poorly. PayPal claim all the way, nothing might come of it, but he might relent & return at least some of the money which could go towards a working Saturn for you.

The ribbon cable is normal btw

sparkthatbled

Got a message back from the seller. He said he would refund me the full amount i sent him originally and doesn't want the console back. Thats very decent of him so i told him if i get it working in the next few days he can forget the refund. If i can't do it myself, does anyone know someone or somewhere i can get it fixed up?

Dr Bob

Heres a quick question , wheres a good place to get basic electronic parts , (switches/resisitors/ports and the like) in Dublin that isnt maplin?

Since I've got an unexpected spare MD1 I'm modding it to work with jap carts , and run with 50/60 hz as well , theres a decent guide here
http://mmmonkey.co.uk/console/sega/md1switches.htm btw.

Myrddin

luas_dublin wrote: »

Heres a quick question , wheres a good place to get basic electronic parts , (switches/resisitors/ports and the like) in Dublin that isnt maplin?

Since I've got an unexpected spare MD1 I'm modding it to work with jap carts , and run with 50/60 hz as well , theres a decent guide here
http://mmmonkey.co.uk/console/sega/md1switches.htm btw.

Radionics are very good for components like that. They've a trade counter in Crumlin but you can just walk in & buy no problem.

The monkeys guides are very good too...good luck with the modding

Dr Bob

EnterNow wrote: »

Radionics are very good for components like that. They've a trade counter in Crumlin but you can just walk in & buy no problem.

The monkeys guides are very good too...good luck with the modding

right has anyone ever done that mod .this is doing my head in
followed this guide
http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/console/sega/md1switches.htm
I've made the switches , cut the contacts at j2 and j3 , and wired the white wire to j3 brown to j2 , black to the far contact at j3 and red to the far contact at j4 . boot it up and nothing ..it power light but no picture ..I resolder everything on the contacts as the first one was a bit messy and may have been shorting..and now the power light flashes on for a split second then off.One combination of the switches gives a constant power light but no audio or picture.
I've removed all the soldered contact cables and get a steady on and no pic/audio (which is probably becuase the trace has been cut)

Any ideas on whats going wrong?

Myrddin

luas_dublin wrote: »

right has anyone ever done that mod .this is doing my head in
followed this guide
http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/console/sega/md1switches.htm
I've made the switches , cut the contacts at j2 and j3 , and wired the white wire to j3 brown to j2 , black to the far contact at j3 and red to the far contact at j4 . boot it up and nothing ..it power light but no picture ..I resolder everything on the contacts as the first one was a bit messy and may have been shorting..and now the power light flashes on for a split second then off.One combination of the switches gives a constant power light but no audio or picture.
I've removed all the soldered contact cables and get a steady on and no pic/audio (which is probably becuase the trace has been cut)

Any ideas on whats going wrong?

I've done that mod so much I actually dislike doing the bloody thing now.

Firstly, have you got a multimeter? If so, use the continuity setting to verify the traces between points have 100% been broke. You have to dig a bit deep on some consoles I've found, and if not fully broken you'll have shorts etc.

Secondly, verify your cutting the right jumpers. Some consoles don't have their jumpers in order...& mmmonkeys could possibly be tagged differently to yours. Make sure & do it by jumper number, not its physical location.

Here's an example of one I done

Dr Bob

hmm its a weird one.
I was going by jumper number all right rather than position , and I'd dug pretty hard on the traces , multimeter check is a good idea though.
In the meantime after I posted that I figured I'd try and rule out wether I'd managed to damage the meg beyond repair by getting it back as close as I could to the starting setup. I removed the switches and took two small peices of wire and used them to bridge where the contacts had been on j2 and j3(which are the two I broke the traces of) . After a reboot and a bit of messing about , it booted up with a dodgy black and white screen .After checking out speed and the fact that there were no borders (there werent!) it seems its now starting as a 60hz meg?!? it shouldnt be but it is! I need to dig up my RGB cable (I think it went missing when I moved).
Only thing I can think of is that j2's bridge seems a bit loose (I'm still getting used to soldering again ok!).I'm going to go back and redo the switches but rather than using the 4 cable one I'm going to do the six as it's a lot easier to see whats wrong.

Myrddin

luas_dublin wrote: »

hmm its a weird one.
I was going by jumper number all right rather than position , and I'd dug pretty hard on the traces , multimeter check is a good idea though.
In the meantime after I posted that I figured I'd try and rule out wether I'd managed to damage the meg beyond repair by getting it back as close as I could to the starting setup. I removed the switches and took two small peices of wire and used them to bridge where the contacts had been on j2 and j3(which are the two I broke the traces of) . After a reboot and a bit of messing about , it booted up with a dodgy black and white screen .After checking out speed and the fact that there were no borders (there werent!) it seems its now starting as a 60hz meg?!? it shouldnt be but it is! I need to dig up my RGB cable (I think it went missing when I moved).
Only thing I can think of is that j2's bridge seems a bit loose (I'm still getting used to soldering again ok!).I'm going to go back and redo the switches but rather than using the 4 cable one I'm going to do the six as it's a lot easier to see whats wrong.

Yep the black & white screen for 60hz is normal over rf. The screen also jumps around a bit depending on your tv settings. Sounds like the console is ok though, just grab a multimeter & verify the connections, common points etc.

Dr Bob

The B/W is actually over AV but that seems to be the norm from what I've read. after re reading the mods I reckon either A/ I didnt make a deep enough cut , or b/ there's a short somewhere .TBH I'm going to redo the mod as the more soldering/less complicated 6 cable one (i.e. the one you did there) rather than the 4 cable one where you link up the ground and 5v to the second switch.
I'll stick up a post if it works (and I don't electrocute myself!)

o1s1n

60hz will output in black and white over AV alright. Technically what you're doing there is sending 60hz to a PAL television which only supports 50hz.

We are totally waxed with RGB as it bypasses that whole NTSC/PAL compatibility issue and gives you full colour in 60hz on a PAL tv. Without it we'd all be hunting for NTSC televisions!

Pyongyang

Not really a 'repair' as such but I just posted a video to YouTube showing you how I store my collection of loose PC Engine and SuperGrafx Hu Cards. Hope it comes in useful to someone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VNqpdw639s

wnolan1992

My NES hasn't been working right for a few years now. So I'll throw it out hear to see if someone has any ideas.

Ok, so when I put a cartridge in and turn on, the game will load and play as normal. Problem? All down the screen there are white lines, and sometimes the textures mess up. I've always suspected that the console overheated at some stage, but I can't be sure if this is the ause.

So is it bollixed or is there a chance it's a simple fix?

I'll get some pics during the weekend if this hasn't been answered.

(sorry if this has been asked before or is a glaringly obvious problem, directions to a post or whatever would be appreciated)

Myrddin

wnolan1992 wrote: »

My NES hasn't been working right for a few years now. So I'll throw it out hear to see if someone has any ideas.

Ok, so when I put a cartridge in and turn on, the game will load and play as normal. Problem? All down the screen there are white lines, and sometimes the textures mess up. I've always suspected that the console overheated at some stage, but I can't be sure if this is the ause.

So is it bollixed or is there a chance it's a simple fix?

I'll get some pics during the weekend if this hasn't been answered.

(sorry if this has been asked before or is a glaringly obvious problem, directions to a post or whatever would be appreciated)

Are the textures definitely glitching, or is it a case of a bad/dodgey RF cable thats picking up interference.

Half of all NES problems are down to bad/dirty contacts between the game cart & the 72 pin connector inside the console. The other half of problems relates to the game contacts being filthy & needing a proper cleaning.

There are other issues, but by far & away the above two cover the majority. Replacing the 72pin connector is straight forward, but before any of that you should clean all the games contact pins to rule it out.

wnolan1992

EnterNow wrote: »

Are the textures definitely glitching, or is it a case of a bad/dodgey RF cable thats picking up interference.

Half of all NES problems are down to bad/dirty contacts between the game cart & the 72 pin connector inside the console. The other half of problems relates to the game contacts being filthy & needing a proper cleaning.

There are other issues, but by far & away the above two cover the majority. Replacing the 72pin connector is straight forward, but before any of that you should clean all the games contact pins to rule it out.

Well I use the same cables for my SNES as well, which works perfectly so I don't think that's the problem. Texture glitching is rare, but it has happened. I'll try cleaning the pins. Might get lucky.

wnolan1992

Ok, here're some pictures to illustrate what's happening.

Also, forgot to mention that a lot of times when I put a cart in and turn on the console, it just sits there resetting itself over and over again until I hit reset myself.

I reckon this has to be a console issue, as if it were to do with the cars then surely there'd be differences in some of the games.

Is this cheap to fix? Because I've spotted a NES on ebay (boxed, with controllers and six games) for 70 quid...

Optimus Prime

had that issue before with messed up graphics,replace the 72pin connecter it will be grand. when you remove the old connecter clean the connection part on the main board before you put on the new one.

consoles reseting itself over and over is usually(not always) a sign you are trying to play a game from a region different than the console. eg a US copy of Mario on a PAL nes. ive had this happen a few times, the fix for this one is to make the console region free. EnterNow has a great guide up on how to do this. either way removing the pin in enternows guide will stop the console doing that restarting buisiness!

Myrddin

Agreed Keith, its 99% the 72 pin connector. OP I seriously doubt the NES overheated itself at any stage, not unless you live in Peru & store your NES in an oven...it doesn't generate anywhere enough heat to damage itself.

As Keith mentioned, pick yourself up a new connector, give everything a cleaning contact wise...& if your happy enough to remove the pin (link in my sig) then your NES should more than likely be fine.

wnolan1992

EnterNow wrote: »

Agreed Keith, its 99% the 72 pin connector. OP I seriously doubt the NES overheated itself at any stage, not unless you live in Peru & store your NES in an oven...it doesn't generate anywhere enough heat to damage itself.

As Keith mentioned, pick yourself up a new connector, give everything a cleaning contact wise...& if your happy enough to remove the pin (link in my sig) then your NES should more than likely be fine.

keithgeo wrote: »

had that issue before with messed up graphics,replace the 72pin connecter it will be grand. when you remove the old connecter clean the connection part on the main board before you put on the new one.

consoles reseting itself over and over is usually(not always) a sign you are trying to play a game from a region different than the console. eg a US copy of Mario on a PAL nes. ive had this happen a few times, the fix for this one is to make the console region free. EnterNow has a great guide up on how to do this. either way removing the pin in enternows guide will stop the console doing that restarting buisiness!

I appreciate the advice guys, cheers.

Will give repairing it a shot.

Optimus Prime

Make sure you clean the games too! No point replacing the 72pin if you dont clean the games!

Dale Parish

Just bought an Amiga A500; only realized afterwards that there was no power supply (don't have the console yet, got it from eBay); does anyone know what the pinout looks like as well as the ampage and voltage?

Steve X2

Just testing out a PS2 slim I got a while back.

It has 2 flickering horizontal bars across the screen.
I've tried it with different video cables and TV's but its the same on them all.

The bars are on every screen(game, menu etc) but the do move around a bit.

I've tried this with 2 brand new PS2 RGB vid cables and a couple of standard ones I have here and its the same on them all.

The picture quality looks really good on the RGB cables apart from these lines

Anyone have any ideas or is it just knackered?

Here's a video of the problem:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1hgKVhrobI

Myrddin

Looks possibly ground/shielding related?

Could it also be a display setting on your tv, like colour formatsettings etc?

polyfusion

Steve SI wrote: »

Just testing out a PS2 slim I got a while back.

It has 2 flickering horizontal bars across the screen.
I've tried it with different video cables and TV's but its the same on them all.

The bars are on every screen(game, menu etc) but the do move around a bit.

I've tried this with 2 brand new PS2 RGB vid cables and a couple of standard ones I have here and its the same on them all.

The picture quality looks really good on the RGB cables apart from these lines

Anyone have any ideas or is it just knackered?

Here's a video of the problem:

If you have other devices plugged into your TV and powered up, or sharing a powerstrip, try disconnecting them. I see an identical issue on Xbox/TV when a laptop connected to the mains, is connected to an Xbox with a network cable. When the laptop is running off it's battery, the interference goes away.

Steve X2

So I tried the PS2 on a couple of TV's while only plugged in to its own socket and the tv in another. Same issue.

Now, I forgot to mention the important fact that the PS2 did not have a psu so I grabbed one from Ebay. It's not official so maybe this is causing the issue?

Its this one:
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/290621393075?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

What do you's think?

.

Steve X2

Found a brand new official PS2 Slim PSU in a press and tried it out (was one of those replacements they sent out to loads of people years ago after doing a recall on loads of dodgy PSU's, still sealed in its box

)

No more lines on screen and everything looks brilliant in RGB.

Happy days.

Be wary of non official PSU's I guess.

.

Pyongyang

Nice work tackling the PSU. Do you have the console connected via RGB Scart or AV Scart? Or did you connect it via component?