Repair/Mod General - Game Tech Wiki

>>3801831
Nothing can be done to make the plastic less brittle. The only solution is to work around that issue.

First you have to realize these screws are self tapping screws. This means they for a lack of a better word "Drill" the threads into the plastic as you screw them in.

Second, you have to realize they've been in these holes for over 25 years. They're not going to come out easy.

My trick is I tighten the screw ever so slightly until I hear a pop, then, I unscrew it. This has worked most of the time to remove a screw unless the plastic is truly too brittle.

Remember when putting the screw back in to turn it to the left until you feel a click, this is the screw lining up with the threads its made in the hole.

This step is very important because if you just go screwing the screw back in, its going to be making new threads in the hole, stripping the hole and making it harder for a screw to be re-inserted in the future if you need to make changes.

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>>3801831
Working on the vectrex I recently aquired. Lots of rust along the bottom, speaker dead, busted some screws in half trying to unscrew them. Replacement speaker arrives on friday, soldered in an external speaker in the mean-time.

I have a Turbo CD that the gears have seized up on. There is a youtube video that makes it seem fairly simple to fix, but I don't trust my self not to break it. If it was something cheap like a PS1, then I'd have no problem. But Turbo CDs are expensive and hard to find.

>>3801831

I'm working on a SNES to NES controller; basically just going to splice the cable to a NES extension cable.

>>3803610

Update: it works.

Most of you probably knew that, but just in case someone was wondering...yeah.

>>3805661
Neat. I had done a NES to SNES before for use on my Tristar NES to SNES adapter and confirmed that worked, so it makes sense that the reverse would be true as well.

>>3801831
There's no practical solution to brittle plastic in console cases. One of the main causes of brittleness is the plastic absorbing moisture. You could probably bake your case in a vacuum chamber to remove that. But if you break the case opening it it's too late.
You could try putting a little lubricant on the screws and letting it soak in for a few days. That might help them come out easier.

>>3805668

Yep, the pinout is the same. How is the Tristar?

>>3805713

>Bake your case in a vacuum chamber

Like...a pressure cooker?

>mfw I'm actually considering putting my av famicom's yellowed shell in my pressure cooker

>>3805718
It works pretty much flawlessly so far. Even plays CV3 surprisingly.

>>3805959
>pressure cooker
The exact opposite and thousands of times more expensive. Like I said, not practical.

Not really a "repair" question but I'd rather not make a new thread.

A friend of mine started playing Majora's Mask recently, and saved right around the first dungeon. When he started the game up again, none of the save data (including an earlier game) showed up. He resets, and this time the save files are there, but buggy things happen (Link instantly dies at the beginning, inventory full of ocarinas). Resets again, and all the original data is there and the game plays normal.

Any idea what the hell happened? This probably sounds like some creepypasta bullshit to everyone (of course it's MM of all games), but I'm genuinely interested in how the game fucked up like that. There have been a few other bizarre crashes/freakouts with that particular system on other games.

>>3805980

Sounds like the battery is dying...or the cart is fucked up somehow.

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>>3805987
Battery was what I guessed, but MM doesn't even have one. Any other reason you think it's the cart in particular (besides the obvious fact that it's haunted)?

>>3806003

You can check that capacitor in the middle of the board...some of the contacts on the right side of the MM cartridge look weird. Check the contacts on the other side of the board as well.

If everything is good, then test another game. If it does the same thing, then open your console, and...idk. You'll cross that bridge when you come to it.

>>3805980

Now that I think of it, maybe it's your reset switch.

>>3806018
>>3806020
Whoops, I should have mentioned that cart is from a pic I grabbed off Google. Other games have experienced occasional weird crashes but nothing as severe as this. We might open the system up and see if there's anything particularly messed up. Thanks for the heads up on the reset switch.

>>3806035

Before you do, try cleaning the cartridge connector with ammonia and see if anything changes. If not, open it up

>>3801831

Thanks for starting this thread again OP. It would have been helpful when I was taking apart my PVM

Not sure if I'd call it a repair question but I guess it's to not have to do repairs later. I'm looking to import a Japanese PS1 but I've never imported an actual console before. Will I have to worry about voltage differences or use some kind of converter for the power? I live in the United States.

Also if it's cheaper I'd like to just get the console itself. I own an American PS2 so can I just use all the same cables from that? I've noticed I can use my PS2 cables with my PS3 but I'm not sure if the same applies to the PS1.

>>3806232
As far as power goes I'm led to believe that you should be okay using 100v equipment on 120v. Mains voltage can actually vary quite a bit, it's the frequency which is tightly regulated and a psu usually has a good bit of safety margin built in. It may heat up a little more so keep an eye on things and don't leave it switched on for days at a time. Basic stuff really.

Output cables are fully interchangeable between the first three generations of PlayStation. PS1 doesn't output component but uses those pins for RGB so you can use a component cable to hook up to a PVM or similar so long as you get sync from the composite RCA on the back of early models or use one of those GunCon breakout dongles.

Just out of interest, what draws you to a Japanese model? The only advantage I can think of is the separate S-Video port on the earliest PU-7 mainboard revisions but this renders your cable question moot...

>>3803429

i think you answered your own question.

buy a cheap ps1, probably $10 or less from anywhere, test to see if its working, take it apart then put it back together again. make sure it still works.

cdrom drives are pretty similar, so it should be good practice. you can do it multiple times. or even pick up a cdrom drive for a pc and do that too,as well as the ps1, to get more experience.

>>3806003
MM uses flash memory. Not sure if that is the problem you are having but I heard if the flash memory goes its basically unfixable. If it is holding a save at all it probably isnt the flash maybe? Have you tried cleaning the connectors on it and the N64 extensively?

>>3806232
Japanese ps1 uses same voltage and video as US version. Only difference is the power cable connector doesn't have the little square part on it (both sides are round). So if you don't have the Japanese power cable you have to shave the corners off of a US one and it works fine. I have done this before so can confirm.

>>3806326

Most of the games I want on the system are Japanese and I'm learning Japanese. Since the system is region locked and I don't know how difficult it is to bypass I figure I'd go with a Japanese model.

>>3806451

I think I have that sort of cable with both sides rounded lying around, actually.

>>3805980
Pull out and reseat the ram expansion.

>>3806372
They're really not similar inside. Your advice isn't very good.

>>3806650

That sucks. My advice was predicated on it being similar.. if/since it isn't I concede to your point.

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I'm getting horizontal streaks on the monitor of my astro city arcade machine, particularly on white background. Is this something I could fix with the chasis pots or is the monitor itself on the way out?

>>3807081

Did you try turning the brightness down?

I got the same streaks when turning it too high on my PVM

>>3807081

Also see if you can adjust the contrast

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Just got a fight stick (pic related) and it seems to work well, however sometimes going down and forward with the joystick doesn't work (backwards and up works flawlessly as well as all the buttons). What's the most likely cause of this?

I was gonna just take it apart and have a look but I figured it'd be best to have someone's opinion first.

>>3808426
Clean the contacts inside first thing. That'll almost certainly fix it.

>>3808426
>most likely cause of this?
It's a shit stick. Cleaning it will solve the up/down problem though.

>>3808618
Didn't think it was a great stick or anything but I was under the impression ASCII is a good 3rd party brand all things considered. Mostly got it just to have a fight stick.

I'll report back once I actually clean it.

>>3808728
As far as plastic fightsticks go it's about as good as you'll find. I'm sure it'll clean up fine.

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What is the best way to clean the black 'pads' on a controller pcb where the buttons get pressed?

Alcohol, Copper contact cleaner, white vinegar?

Pic is from the net but I have a few controllers that actually have little holes in the black contact part that go down the actual pcb. Has any one used a trace fixer pen on these with any success or is that not the right thing to do?

>>3808984
Alcohol 91% and a q-tip.