Games played: Earthworm Jim (0:01), Magical Hat Flying Turbo Adventure (0:06), Power Stone (0:16), Soul Calibur (0:29), Elemental Master (0:56), Cotton 2 (1:50), Alien Crush (2:00), Dracula X (2:40), Castlevania Chronicles (5:50), Super Mario World (19:35)
Magic Hat Turbo is was/is such a great game. I imported it back in the day, from Diehard Gaming (thee magazine guys), based on speaking with one of their employees at the time. I believe it was either Tim or Dave. I was really impressed by the platforming (pre-Sonic), and the vibrant colors, which would be completely changed in the transformation to DeCap Attack.
If that's a physical copy of Castlevania Chronicles I am extremely jealous. As a massive Castlevania fan, that's a noteable hole in my collection (both in terms of ps1 games and Castlevania). Can never seem to find a good deal on it no matter how much I look.
I really started collecting around 2019, that year I found an NES near a trash bin in my neighborhood and from then on I had a quest to see if it worked/if I could get it to work. First I got a couple of games for the NES and was very saddened to see that it indeed did not work. I eventually then decided to open up the machine and clean it out. I tried it again and it still didn’t work. I tried various cleaning techniques, none that worked. I then did some reading and saw that replacing the pin connector could do the trick, so I ordered one right away. It arrived, I replaced it, but yet again it didn’t work. I sort of gave up at this point thinking I couldn’t ever fix it. But I still had some hope which is why I never threw it away or sold it (I did end up just getting a working NES on eBay so that I could play the games I bought xD). After about a few months of really starting to collect retro games, and opening more consoles, I got a bit more experienced and thought it’d be a good idea to open up the NES again. I now noticed that there was clearly one wire within the circuit board that lead from the pin connector port into the main machine that seemed corroded. Within the next few days I brought the console over to a friends house that knows how to solder. We found where that wire was supposed to connect in the circuit board so we desoldered the points and then soldered a new external wire so that the connection could be made. We plugged it into his tv, put in contra, and then (after a bit of cleaning of the Contra cartridge) the NES finally worked and displayed the beautiful Contra main menu! After that point we put in the good ol’ Konami code and had some fun. I felt so accomplished driving home knowing that I, with help from a good friend, was able to fix not only an important console with regards to the history of gaming but also the console that started me on my game collecting journey. Sorry for the long read, but I hope you enjoyed it!
You might look into replacing the capacitors too, they fail over time and can leak onto the board. It can effect picture quality (lines, color, static)
I found a working xbox in the trash in the alley behind my house . Its was clean as a whistle on the inside and out . Plus it works great so I gave my other one to my co-worker .
Just want to say as I start this video. I feel like learning to repair and maintain the games and consoles in our collections is essential to keep them alive to enjoy for years to come
It's crazy you don't have more subs. Love your sense of humour, presentation and the content is always entertaining as well as informative and thought provoking.
Recently I recapped my Sega Game Gear and was super paranoid doing it with the understanding that I may ruin it all together, however I took my time and carefully followed the instructions that came with the kit. The euphoria that I experienced when I was finished and that Game Gear fired right up like new was incredible! Since then I've had a lot more confidence opening up my retro consoles and game cartridges and cleaning and/or repairing them with much success. Finally my OCD, perfectionism and attention to detail has come in handy! I highly recommend trying to repair your own consoles and games. You may be good at it, but you'll never know unless you try!
Reheating the solder fixes a problem referred to as ‘cold solder’. What happens is the solder connections get brittle after time and the legs on the chips won’t actually be touching the pads anymore because the solder ‘broke’ So reheating the solder causes the solder to flow and reconnect the leg to the pad.
As a person who buys and repairs consoles I have to say it’s pretty awesome. Definitely a money saver and you always get that sense of satisfaction when it’s up and running. It’s not for the faint of heart if you don’t know proper soldering and I wouldn’t recommend it offa eBay now with the costs being so high. Get it local if you can! 😎
I really liked this one. I hope you do more episodes about the insides of things. I kinda got into collecting older consoles when I found 3 broken Wiis for practically nothing on the floor of a game store. I got them all going, gave them away as gifts, and kept on buying broken old consoles. Having these old consoles is nice, especially knowing they were all doomed. It's nice to know they can keep on going and have a second life 😊
Being able to repair your consoles only adds to the rewarding feeling that gamers have and can be proud of having done for the preservation of the collection! Repair, and share your notes so other people can repair too! On a side note soldering takes practice, anyone can do it, it just takes practice.
I recently bought a bundle of 5 broken PS1s for $35. 4 of them just needed a spindle and the last one was completely toast. You're absolutely right about resurrecting an old console and it giving it character. There's just something about the accomplishment. Thanks for your awesome vids!!
I also highly recommend using a white pencil eraser to clean pin contacts. It does an amazing job, it's not overly abrasive, and it doesn't leave a thin layer of film as isopropyl alcohol will do. Also please leave the Brasso and other harsh stuff in your shed! :)
funny timing, today i just spent all day trying to remove the faulty clock capacitor from my original XBOX, since i wasn't able to get around to doing it until now and it still works after reassembling it! love your videos, bird!
I recapped all my consoles and resurface all the disc games that needed it but I did mistakes on the way like some pads coming off and stuff but if you are going to fix your consoles, don't cheap out too much on soldering equipment
Scott is constantly fixing consoles and maintaining them. These are all great tips. We have saved many a PS3 and Xbox 360. More often then not it’s the optics drive or laser in those. Adding new thermal paste is also something we definitely recommend and cleaning the fans. NES is often the pins and buy a new one and replacing it is so easy. Our best successes will be in an upcoming video, but it was a lot of PS3’s for dirty cheap. Another great video retro bird. Oh btw, can I borrow you PS1?
At my small town school we were actually taught how to solder. I’ve never actually done it outside of school though. I’ve always paid someone else to solder stuff for me. I decided that I am going to buy a soldering tool next time I need something soldered.
Depends on the person I guess. Years ago I learned how to fix an old CRT for retro gaming, and that passion inspired me to go to college for computer science/electrical engineering. To this day I love fixing (and modding) my systems as a side hobby! Recently learned how to solder 34 gage wire for a modchip. Working with circuits adds a lot of satisfaction to my favorite hobby, it feels great to play games on something you fixed yourself!
I've been fixing and improving my consoles for about 7 years now. Learning soldering really isn't bad and was beyond well worth it for me. Today I fixed my sega genesis by replacing the sound amplification chip, i.e the Sony CXA1034. The sound on the console died and I discovered that it was the amp specifically by trial and error, specifically testing to see what points on the board were still giving me L and R audio signals. I then read online that this chip tends to go bad and, when it does, it will often be very hot to the touch when the system is on. I felt the chip in my console and it was very hot indeed. I bought a chip off eBay, waited 2 weeks, and replaced it today. Worked first try. Pro tip when removing bad chips: clip the legs off so you can desolder them one by one. Then clear out the holes with your favorite solder sucking device. My genesis has never sounded so good to my now quite biased ears!
I’ve been soldering since I was 10 - when I took apart my RC truck, “borrowed” a soldering iron, and tried to double the voltage to make it faster (it worked, but I wired it wrong and doubled the range lol). I’ve been into soldering ever since and have done pretty much anything and everything. If you have no experience soldering , are on the fence, or don’t want to learn how to do it properly. You can definitely make things much, much worse if you don’t know what you’re doing. I love and recommend diy - so if you’ve never done soldering before, especially on PCBs, try practicing on a different project to get the basics down. There’s tons of DIY soldering kits to mess around with. If it goes poorly, have a pro fix your actual expensive hardware.. @Retro Bird - a common tool list would be great! I don’t have those specific screwdrivers and have had to improvise..
I've found that many sellers on eBay sell all the tools you would need in a set together. If you just search something like "nintendo tool set" they will pop up and generally cost around 7 or 8 bucks.
I bought a new soldering iron and tried soldering with it for like 3 years. Every single attempt was a failure. I couldn't get anything soldered it was so frustrating. I found out after about 3 years of being a complete noob that the soldering iron DOESN'T WORK... i was using a defective iron for 3 years and literally HATING soldering at that point because it never worked. Now i bought another new HAKKO and its so easy. I can not believe for 3 years i was using a defective iron and was just struggling trying to get it to solder
My new favorite fix i learned was the N64 joysticks. This company called Kitsch-Bent makes identical replacement parts and they work great. Combined with re-lubing them, they feel new again. And re-lubing Dreamcast controller joysticks also helps a lot
@@RetroBirdGaming so more detail then for you or anyone reading this. I highly recommend them, but i did have to file very small edges of the plastic to get them gliding smooth. I'm extremely happy with the end results, it is worth the effort, but you will have to adjust small things if you feel the joystick dragging after installing the kitsch bent parts. I had no videos showing me this when i purchased the parts but even i was able to get the plastic parts gliding smooth with some minor mods. The parts are only a few bucks. Well worth it.
As a guy who tried to fix his PS2 after it stopped reading discs, I did not have any success. I went thru three third party lasers to try and fix the issue. I might try it again, but I gave up and just went ahead and bought another PS2 that was the fat model so I could install a hard drive with ISOs I installed to it. So now, I don't have to worry about discs. I did have success, however, fixing a PS3 that was overheating. I looked at several videos before taking that on. It was not easy, but I did it! I've fixed an NES that stopped reading cartridges by swapping out the PIN connector. On a final thought, I do believe everyone should learn how to solder. Such a valuable skill. I was lucky: I learned how to do it when I was in an electronics career field in the US Air Force.
Absolutely learn how to fix it! Start with cheap and or disposable items before working on the good stuff. I was able to get a $160 UHD player that was “broken” for $30 that I fixed myself. I’ve also learned how to solder from replacing batteries, and was able to use that skill to build my own controllers!
This one hit pretty close to the mark for me. I would love to say "YES, absolutely! Do EVERYTHING to keep your console alive!" at the top of my lungs but in reality you should only fix your own gaming equipment, console or not, if your experienced enough to know how not to screw it up. I'm pretty good at upkeeping my own equipment but it's not an endeavor for the faint of heart sometimes. I've repaired/refurbed many types of controllers ranging from one N64 controller (rebuilt the stick assembly), ALL PlayStation variants minus the DualSense, ALL Xbox variants especially the 360, a couple Dreamcast controllers, a few GameCube controllers and even a Wiimote. The hardest ones to deal with is easily the DualShock family, every single generation has some kind of wierd build design that totally different from most other controllers and they're all hard to deal with. Different revisions also make it harder to source parts. As for consoles, I've done my fair share of repairs for a bunch that I still own. I've replaced my PS2's clock battery, opened up a 32X to deep clean since it wouldn't start properly beforehand, disassembled my GameCube shell to replace some broken parts for the CD lid, opened up an NES to replace the cartridge pin connector and replaced the laser assembly for my Dreamcast, og Xbox (more on this one below) and the PS3 slim. The PS3 slim in particular was moderately tough. The blue ray laser went out, so I ended up replacing the entire laser deck which took a fair bit of digging into the console. My worst repair experiences by far have always been with the og Xbox. Not in terms of how tough it is though since ripping apart an Xbox is actually pretty easy. Rather because these things have been pretty unreliable on my end. I just have terrible luck with the OG Xbox. Every Xbox I've ever owned has had some sort of hardware failure. My first had a defective hard drive (impossible to fix and cannot be replaced without a mod chip), the second had its voltage capacitors on the motherboard blow out preventing it from being able to turn on or off without taking the power plug in and out of the wall, a third had a failed DVD drive that couldn't be repaired plus corrosion from a blown clock capacitor and a fourth had a burnt-out power supply. My current Xbox, technically my fifth, is actually a frankenstein of all four previous Xbox consoles that I had. I just took all the good parts I could salvage from the failed consoles and reassembled them together to make a whole new console. In other words, it took FOUR bad consoles just to make a single good one. It's comprised of the DVD drive from the first, the power supply from the second, the motherboard and hard drive from the third and the shell from the fourth (since it was the one in the best condition). To add insult to injury, I've had to replace the drive belt for my frankenstein projects DVD drive twice. I actually still had enough parts from all that to make two more good Xbox's so I sold the best of those two and kept the last for further repair since it was the one that had bad voltage capacitors. That one, dubbed the Voltage Capacitor Princess, is currently sitting in my closet waiting for replacement capacitors to run good again and will serve as my spare if I have another failure with my current console.
One common reason for failure to power up is a dirty power switch. Simply cleaning the contacts of the power switch often does the trick - either taking the switch apart, or by spraying the inside of the switch with electrocleaner. I've fixed a few game consoles and even a couple of old calculators using that method. Sometimes "reflowing" bad solder connections will help. I have a tabletop vfd Frogger machine that I got off eBay several years ago, and it failed to display graphics on one line, sometimes 2 lines, making the game unplayable. I took it apart, found the connections where the display is connected to the mainboard, and reflowed them. I simply put a soldering iron on these connections, till they melted, and let the solder "refreeze". The game has worked flawlessly since then. As for cartridges, your suggestion on using a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol usually does the trick. Sometimes I've found it helpful to use a Q-tip with a very thin layer of dielectric bulb grease to improve the connections. I had a Bally Astrocade that had trouble reading cartridges even after using rubbing alcohol. I put a thin layer of dielectric bulb grease on one of the problem cartridges, and it seemed to improve the issue for all the other cartridges as well. You can get dielectric bulb grease at any auto parts store - when you buy headlights/tail lights, they often include a small packet of grease - or you can buy it separately for a buck or two. Whatever you do, DO NOT USE WD-40 to try to fix a connection. Back in 2005, I had a ColecoVision that wasn't reading cartridges, and I sprayed in some WD-40. That completely fried the system beyond repair! Hope these tips help, and happy fixing!
To the list of simple fixes you can try on your own, I'd add cleaning the battery contacts of "broken" DMG game boys. It's so easy to do, and 99% of the times it'll bring the little guys to life. This is how I acquired mine, I got one that was dead, cleaned the contacts, replaced one extremely rusty one, then gave the guy a good refreshing clean, a new glass screen lens, and it's absolutely glorious. Looks and plays like new.
Man it's nice to hear someone talk on this and encourage people to at least try to learn to do these repairs after a healthy bit of research without shaming them for not knowing where to start. These consoles mean so much to too many people for the knowledge of getting them working to only be held by a small percentage of the people that use them, or for those people to occasionally be difficult or outright hostile when beginners come to them with questions. Fixing up my old Game Boy years ago is the reason I know how to solder among other skills, but I don't know that I'd have gotten nearly as far as I have or would've even decided to keep learning had I not spoken to people online with enough patience to answer my questions and explain processes without making me feel bad about it.
Never fixed anything myself but my best friend is an engineer and he's helped me out a few times! I brought a broken psvita and he repaired it for me, which saved me a lot of money as it was also one of the rarer special editions.
So I got in to retro gaming from this channel, I binged a bunch and then I remembered that I had a broken NES in my attic and broken Sega Game Gear under my bed. So I pulled them out and did some research as to what to do to make them work. Found Macho Nacho Productions channel and Long Island Retro Gaming channel and found out that it would probably be the lock out chip that was bad on the NES. Took a pair of pliers and clipped a prong on that chip, worked like a champ! My Game Gear found out the capacitors were bad, so I bought a soldering iron and got to work! Never soldered before and yes it was intimidating and I had to redo it several times but I did get it to work! Now I need to buy a new LED screen and it will be like new! So yes you can do the work on it and yes it is very intimidating but a little courage and perseverance and you too can make old tech work like new! So thank you Bird for all you do to encourage the hobby! This was a great video, funny too so keep up the hard work!
I've "fixed" a controllerwith a hammer when the sticks on a crummy 3rd party GameCube controller finally made me lose my patience. Ah, the sweet satisfaction of seeing multiple pieces of plastic shrapnel fly in all directions....truly bliss.
I appreciate this video, especially about selling broken consoles instead of throwing away. Lots of no long produced items you can salvage from broken consoles. Because some one was selling components of a 2600 console that I needed on ebay, I got mine up and running.
I just fixed the modded PS1 I got on eBay for $40. The laser went out and I figured out I could use my childhood PSONE laser to replace it. So it feels cool that the modded PS1 I got a couple years ago is now using a part of my childhood console from 2000 to work! Bought a broken Sega CD (no power) which was just a $3 fuse replacement to fix. My favorite fix was a broken NES I got in 8th grade 2002 from a friend. I never repaired it until recently, all I had to do was bend the pins on the cartridge slot to be tighter. Feels more fun playing on a machine you helped save from the trash bin.
This was a great video as always, I think what scared me the most was swapping the power supply jack on my SNES, it wasn't hard per say but I was holding my breath while I soldered the new one in bending plastic as I go.... Worked like a charm though!
20:47 Dang that is a CLEAN looking Genesis. My PS2 (slim) had a problem reading discs. I looked online and set something nice and heavy on the disc cover. Problem went away instantly.
I'm currently in the process of collecting the tools and equipment to begin repairing, restoring and refurbishing as much video game media as I'll be able to learn. I've had a few people hand me over games and consoles that they've had sitting in storage that will be great projects to help me contribute what I am able to the preservation of retro media
Love You to the Tube & love your videos! You can learn a lot & the more you know the more you grow! Since You to the Tube I've always see what I can or can not fix. I do have to say I always just bring my broken consoles to a local pawn shop who mainly sell Retro Games. Seeing Mario on the window is a dead give away they are a gamers pawn shop! You get 2 options this way. 1st pay for there services to fix it for you or 2nd have them buy a broken system so they can sell in the near future. Either way it goes back to a gamers home!
My original PS3 CECH-A01 model. Down to the circuit layer to re-paste the Cell CPU. Cried when I got to the "grill cage" component. That machine was built like a beast. So. Many. Damn. Screws.
Completely right my friend. I started fixing consoles with my original childhood Xbox. I successfully replaced the disc drive and it inspired me to buy buy broken consoles I didn't have, to fix them. Next, I ordered a PS2 and PS3 set that was damaged. Got them both working and total cost for everything was less than $40. I unsuccessfully tried to fix my game gear, but it's all worth trying and great to know how to do.
That’s how I got back into retro gaming. I decided to figure out why my NES hardly worked. Turns out it was mostly cleaning and refurbishment of the 72 pin connector. After that I fixed everything else and started to buy broken consoles that normally are expensive. That how I got such a good deal on my Master System and PC Engine briefcase unit!
Fixing a broken console can be one of the most wonderful feelings in the world to me. I did a hot air rework on my red ringed original xbox 360 and was able to get the gpu and ram chips resoldered and the console booted right up after. Even better it has an operating system from like the early 2000s so it's like a time capsule of my middle school years. The feeling of contentness afterwards was simply awesome. Sometimes working on a broken console can be a great experience and you get to learn new skills, plus you may get your console back.
I always had video game consoles, but I've been more used to fixing PCs for most of my teenage years, since they're kinda modular. But when I decided to try fixing my old consoles, it scared the hell out me for them not being similar to PCs at all. Luckily, most of the problems they had were related to dirtiness and overheating, which caused loud noises. I got to lube up my PS2's disc drive, and I also successfully delided my PS3's CELL CPU to replace the thermal paste. It felt so satisfying to not hear those loud noises both consoles were doing before!
Good to see a video like this because this was like the final sign to affirm within myself that I need to go back to school and venture into the computer IT / networking field. I mean a few weeks ago I came across a PlayStation 3 Slim console from my passed on uncles house and when I turned it on , harddrive , wifi, optimal system performance even the fan sounded great , just the disc drive didn’t work. I went on UA-cam and watched a bunch of videos . Some people said change the two lasers . Some people said the disc tray shielding was dented ( which mine wasn’t dented ) , some said it’s the motors inside of the casing to move the eyes are dead or needing grease , some said you need to realign the disc feeder. ^ now even though if you know exactly in each of those instances are wrong is either a free fix or a fix less then $10 , I decided to spend triple the amount of $10 and also make it a much easier labor endured project and just replace the whole disc drive entirely by finding a working OEM drive which eBay happends to be the cheepest for that answer . Now I’m able to play all my downloaded games that if available are now obtainable again , bought myself ultra street fighter 4 on disc , still getting to pop in even a blu ray or a dvd movie if I wish. It’s really awesome. Which brings me back the the fat ps3 consoles. I had a 60gb fat and an 80gb fat and both were repaired during the 7th generation when they were on the market 3 times either by a private retro game store or GameStop themselves and then would eventually break again. I got sick and tired of it and kept loosing all my fighting games that were on there back then but arnt on the PSN store today like marvel vs Capcom origins and such and decided to begin collecting for the Sega Saturn. I wanted the original games but did not want to use the physical discs on the console if I didn’t have to because I had a modified PlayStation 1 in the late ninties growing up with a disc burner and thought to do the same with Sega Saturn. Got very lucky with the timing not only because the games were much more affordable again even some of the heavy hitters but also Pseudo Saturn was really making a presence in the mod scene in 2016 when I began Saturn collecting and watched online how to make action replays flash into pseudo Saturn by disc swapping methods. Because the Saturn market was cheep at the time even for used saturn consoles. I was getting the console between $28-60 used with all wires , 2 controllers and Atleast 2 games even if they were disc only. That summer I must of broken 3 saturns ripping them apart and mastering the disc swap / flashing to eventually play my backed up games and then at that point learned how to properly dismantle a Sega Saturn either it be model 1 or model 2 and also what does what where in the console , other common issues to troubleshoot , also to avoid modding the doors on future owned Saturn consoles because it’s bad for the drive as well as watching what ram carts you use that can in time damage your ram slot on your Saturn as well. By the end of the summer of 2016 I knew I had to figure out how to go into the IT field as a career change ( and also expand my Saturn library to where it is today which japenese or English titles , I got everything I wanted and while it was cheep 👌 ) I’ve saved consoles too that most people would throw out like putting an ODE in a non disc reading PlayStation 2 fat or greasing laser lines for the laser to jump up and down on within a Dreamcast console . You got to want to open the console you want to work on and like retro bird mentioned , if you know you can’t do it … DONT DO IT and let somebody that you know that can do it. Like I’ll probably never learn how to fully open up a fat ps3 , fix what I need to inside and then successfully put it back together. The 1 Wii I opened up and the one Xbox One I opened up that were non functioning by the time I got the shell off of the two consoles the shell was snapped into peices and they’re was so many metal brackets and screws that I wound up loosing in the process of putting back together on both the Wii and the XB1 , it looked like it fell out of a moving vehicle on the Highway . I know that where the line is drawn for me . Consoles that are easier to take apart and put back together shell , screws and inner components is more of my grounds of labor I will perform.
Never had the friend that could fix this stuff so I became the friend and am actually doing it as a part time job for my local game shop. It's given me multiple experiences that I had researched plenty and put into practice to see if I could. There's some things I still don't know how to do and the shop isn't willing to put more money into as well as customers not wanting to be charged so much for the work. In the end I don't regret learning and love the work I do
I was one of the lucky ones that learned to solder in school. Best fixed console was an original PS3 the PS2 backwards compatible. Was my holy snarkes it worked.
This is a very interesting topic! I've never really had a console problem, but I did open up a Switch Pro Controller to replace the left joystick due to a drift problem. There are many easy-to-follow guides on UA-cam for lots of specific gaming equipment. If you grew up during the 8-bit or 16-bit days, we all blew into the game cartridges to get them to work. Sadly, the moisture from your breath probably did more harm than good to the game's contacts. Little did we know that NES games sometimes wouldn't load usually due to warped connector pins in the console itself. 😅
There's lots of jobs that are so easy I don't even really think of them as fixing. Cleaning cartridge contacts or cleaning a disc is just part of acquiring old games, and I put about as much thought into it as removing old price stickers. I actually did learn soldering in high school, though I've never done it since then. I've got a bunch of CR-2032 batteries that could do with replacement, so I've really got no excuse. This video might be the motivation I need to get my Unirally cart working again.
You brought up sodering not being taught in schools. I'm proud to report that some junior highs and high school do indeed teach students how to solder. That's actually how I learned, it's one of the few things I still remember from Jr high.
I'm two years late to this conversation, but I just did some work on my Gameboy Color this weekend. I replaced the speaker with a better one and replaced three surface mounted capacitors. I also cleaned the volume wheel and power switch contacts. This coming weekend I'll be getting a clear blue shell to replace the cheapo aftermarket one it currently has. I'm definitely a big advocate of learning how to do these kinds of things - there aren't many places to go or shops that specialize in this kind of work. It's up to us, really.
First off awesome video I know this is old but I wanted to leave my 2 cents. Regarding the heating up solder in old games and allowing the juices to flow this is great advise for stubborn games that don’t work after cleaning every contact you can. This solder joints can crack over time and even a tiny gap will make them not work or be intermittent. “Reflowing the solder” allows the solder to fill those gaps and complete the circuit. Finally the first console I fixed was my original Blue GameBoy Pocket. The batteries had blown up leaving it full of corrosion. Even after cleaning it all out it didn’t work. But before giving up I followed the path of the circuit trace coming off of the battery + coming in and it went to the power switch. I looked at the power switch more closely and found that it had wicked some of the corrosion from the batteries and filled up itself with corrosion. So I desolated the switch and found replacements. Once the new switch was in the GB worked as well as it did in middle school. And that’s when I got hooked on repairs and modding.
I'm glad you liked the video and I totally know what you mean about getting hooked after that successful GB repair. Attempting a repair that goes successfully creates a feeling like no other!
Can you do a video about juggling multiple games at once? always struggled with this and I find your videos give fantastic advice on juggling lifestyle / collecting / actual playing of the games. Thanks brother
I just successfully repaired a Neo Geo AES that I bought over a year ago, with the help of a microscope. Turned out to have a couple of corroded traces that couldn't be seen with the naked eye. Sometimes having the right tools can really help!
"Waking up a cartridge". I never knew this was a thing until now. This happens very often when I've left a game pak in storage for 15 or 20 years. It doesn't work right away, but after a few attempts at booting it, it suddenly works normally, and you can play it for dozens of hours with no problems. Now I still don't know why, but I do know that it is real.
Fixed my GameCube about a year ago, it had been in storage and skipping discs like crazy. It really was as simple as the ol' q-tip and alcohol fix (though it did take several attempts). Recently too I solved an issue with my PS3 slim continuously freezing in the middle of a Ratchet and Clank game. I opened it up cleaned out the dust, did a Restore File System in safe mode, and it was still doing it. Turns out it was because the HDMI cable was going through my crappy multi-port external switcher. For that system I game on a monitor that only has one HDMI port.
My biggest piece of advice for fixing retro consoles is to get good equipment. A T12 soldering iron, de-soldering gun and hot air rework station is a must if you plan on changing capacitors, chips or definitely if you want to "mod" a console. The "modification" statement is a whole different discussion, as I know there's a divide in the community when it comes to keeping consoles stock or upgrading them for quality of life improvements. Great video with many pertinent points!
Love your videos, Bird! This one was particularly useful and insightful. I've been reorganizing my game collection recently, and after I noticed the CD lid on my original Playstation wasn't closing properly, I decided to crack it open and give it a thorough cleaning. Not only did I fix the problem with the lid, but I cleaned out all the dust that had accumulated inside the console over a 25-year period. 😅 On top of clearing out the dust, I cleaned the disc laser, and now my original Playstation runs a lot better than it has in years. I'd like to do a similar cleaning with my original PS2 at some point. But I'm afraid of ruining the console's warranty sticker (even though the warranties on PS2s have long since expired!😂)
I don't collect but I once replaced a fuse on my SNES. There a simple voltmeter with a continuity test helped. Starting with the simplest problem. Was happy that it only was that. Oh and 3 or 4 Gameboys with display lines. This was not so complicated.
I used a NES power supply with my Atari Jaguar and popped a capacitor and two ICs. Got the replacement parts from Console5, followed a great tutorial online, and fixed the Jaguar myself. Granted it took me three hours and a lot of retries, but it still works today!
I started messing with broken gameboys (all kinds from DMG-Advance) in 2020, I'm not an expert by any means but I'm friends with repair specialists and even an electrical engineer so I've managed to pick up quite a bit. I'm comfortable soldering SMD components and I'm beginning to learn how to repair traces. I've even moved ROM chips between PCBs. It's a fun and frustrating addition to my favorite hobby because now when I see a console sold as junk I just want to get inside it to see if I can fix it.
I fixed my nephew's DS Lite. His bottom screen wouldn't read inputs anymore, so I bought a replacement screen for $4, popped that sucker open, and plugged in the new one and it worked with no problems. Until he wound up breaking it again a few months later. Kids these days...
Back in the day I learn how to repair various issues of my classic consoles ruining them in the process, on those days if I screew it, just went to a garage sale or flea market and got another one with a bunch of games 😅.
I'm just starting to collect older consoles, and really have no idea what I'm doing but recently managed to repair my NES successfully so it gave me a boost in confidence hah. Now I'm realizing the real skill is going to be learning how to repair CRTs lol
I'm an electronics tech and all my old systems died.. but then i fixed them all.. But you really should know troubleshooting and the basics of electronics which is a huge topic to learn
Late to the party, but I have something to add. Years ago, my Wii started buzzing something fierce. A buzz that woke the neighbors. So I watched some UA-cam videos that suggested bending a metal piece backward to prevent the buzzing. After a trip to Walmart for a tri-wing screwdriver, I opened up my Wii and got gun-shy about bending its innards. So I stuck some matchbox cardboard between the two metal pieces creating the buzz, and my GameCube-compatible Wii is silent as a monk to this day. Thanks to UA-cam, and thanks to my own half-assed problem-solving, I’m playing PAC-MAN World 2 in meditative bliss.
Oh, and I also recommend using something called an Eliminator in your NES system. Clean your system with that, then wipe the Eliminator's silicone "pins" with a paper towel + isopropyl alcohol, and repeat this until no more dirt comes out of the NES. Now clean all of the game carts BEFORE using on your cleaned NES system and you may never have another glitched or blinking game ever again. I've been doing this since 1989 and I'm using my original NES system. My 600 NES carts almost always start on the first try.
WRT "Soldering being Easy" I usually find it's a combination of it's easy to learn/acquire the required skills, and that it's not half as scary as it might seem.
I have been fixing games and consoles since the 90s, even turned refurbishing them when bought as is for parts as a side hustle before the pandemic. Lot of times the fix is super easy and costs $0. in parts. Just a little cleaning and or fix a solder spot.
In a pinch I replaced a save battery on donkey Kong land 3 on gb with electrical tape. But It definitely annoys me knowing the tape is on the board. Every retro gamer needs to learn to solder for preservation sake lol
I've not fixed one, but I did sell on a partially broken handheld Turbo Express. It powered on, booted games okay, but the audio was impossibly quiet and the screen wasn't displaying anything. Amazingly someone paid me nigh on £190 for it. Sure it'd be worth way more working and I could've / should've tried fixing it... but it'd sat with me in that state for so long, I grew to accept I was never going to do it!
I bought my PS3 Phat broken. The pawn shop said it doesn't play disc games but still worked. Sold it to me for $60 and all I had to do was replace the disc drive and it was super easy and cheap! 😃🤘
I've never fixed my own consoles. I always bring them to somebody I know that can fix them. That's either a friend or a tech guy in specialized stores.
everyone who's tempted to do soldering, especially for older consoles, please watch the old "Pace Worldwide basic soldering" tutorial videos. they're all here on UA-cam. they layout the principals of soldering in such a clear way, you will better understand how you achieve the results.
Fixed my Sega Saturn laser. Initially I tried adjusting the laser but that only temporarily fixed it. Decided to go for the full replacement and it was reasonably achievable. Have attempted to fix numerous controllers to mostly no avail. Also not confident enough to try soldering.
I’m willing to dip into things like recapping (game gear), replacing gameboy cartridge batteries or screens for handhelds, and cleaning. Anything like a chip going bad or needing to rewire is off the table but I find most of the issues are simple. It’s extremely satisfying to have learned to do all these things off of UA-cam and have a game or console start working for you. I’ve saved a ton of money that way. Pokémon games for example, people assume they are broken when they don’t save and sell them cheap, but I have them working in 5 minutes. If something is significantly cheaper, even if I haven’t tried to fix it before, I’ll be willing to buy it and give it a go. I got a game gear with battery pack for less than $20 and repairs cost me about $6 to recap. Sounds harder than it is, because I’m not close to an expert so a lot more people can do this than probably think they can
The problem with disc resurfacing is that you can only do this a few times before the disc is rendered unplayable since each time the buffing will shave off a bit of the substrate layer. And it's not like this is kept track of during the life of a game disc as it changes hands to people, stores, and so on.
That crank thing he showed in the video does the opposite though. It puts on a layer of paste of some sort to fill in the scratches. I had mixed results with those things back in the day. Some it made work again but others it made worse. But it was our only option back in the late '90s/early '00s, back when buffing discs wasn't offered as a service (at least in my area)
It also makes the clear middle ring part look messed up, and they're more likely to crack in that spot after resurfacing since taking layers off makes the plastic less durable.
I've always been far too leery of trying to fix a console myself. I feel like I'd screw it up beyond repair. I am admittedly far from being someone who could provide tech support. I see you picked Jack for Powerstone; he's always been my favorite. The whole Jack the Ripper/Praying Mantis duality. Just strange and original.
Thankfully, I haven't had any issue with my systems which require soldering. I had a PS1 which kept auto triggering the reset button at random. Ended up discovering that something had dropped into it while in storage, pooled & left a stain on the motherboard in that area which was occasionally causing a short circuit & all that was required was cleaning that off. Then I had a PS3 which started having issues running. Turns out all it needed was to be taken apart & cleaned. At one point, it also regularly cut to black or tv static while playing games. In that case, it turned out the HDMI cable was faulty & I just needed a new one. A few weeks ago, the disc drive wasn't properly initiating a disc eject & kept getting stuck. Wasn't even broken- the day was too hot & the parts had expanded to the point where they were catching. I waited a few hours & it was fine.
Games played: Earthworm Jim (0:01), Magical Hat Flying Turbo Adventure (0:06), Power Stone (0:16), Soul Calibur (0:29), Elemental Master (0:56), Cotton 2 (1:50), Alien Crush (2:00), Dracula X (2:40), Castlevania Chronicles (5:50), Super Mario World (19:35)
Magic Hat Turbo is was/is such a great game. I imported it back in the day, from Diehard Gaming (thee magazine guys), based on speaking with one of their employees at the time. I believe it was either Tim or Dave. I was really impressed by the platforming (pre-Sonic), and the vibrant colors, which would be completely changed in the transformation to DeCap Attack.
If that's a physical copy of Castlevania Chronicles I am extremely jealous. As a massive Castlevania fan, that's a noteable hole in my collection (both in terms of ps1 games and Castlevania). Can never seem to find a good deal on it no matter how much I look.
@@deadtbh9868 I’ve never seen it for a good price for over 10 years, even symphony isn’t silly expensive
Thanks 🙏
I really started collecting around 2019, that year I found an NES near a trash bin in my neighborhood and from then on I had a quest to see if it worked/if I could get it to work. First I got a couple of games for the NES and was very saddened to see that it indeed did not work. I eventually then decided to open up the machine and clean it out. I tried it again and it still didn’t work. I tried various cleaning techniques, none that worked. I then did some reading and saw that replacing the pin connector could do the trick, so I ordered one right away. It arrived, I replaced it, but yet again it didn’t work. I sort of gave up at this point thinking I couldn’t ever fix it. But I still had some hope which is why I never threw it away or sold it (I did end up just getting a working NES on eBay so that I could play the games I bought xD). After about a few months of really starting to collect retro games, and opening more consoles, I got a bit more experienced and thought it’d be a good idea to open up the NES again. I now noticed that there was clearly one wire within the circuit board that lead from the pin connector port into the main machine that seemed corroded. Within the next few days I brought the console over to a friends house that knows how to solder. We found where that wire was supposed to connect in the circuit board so we desoldered the points and then soldered a new external wire so that the connection could be made. We plugged it into his tv, put in contra, and then (after a bit of cleaning of the Contra cartridge) the NES finally worked and displayed the beautiful Contra main menu! After that point we put in the good ol’ Konami code and had some fun. I felt so accomplished driving home knowing that I, with help from a good friend, was able to fix not only an important console with regards to the history of gaming but also the console that started me on my game collecting journey. Sorry for the long read, but I hope you enjoyed it!
Absolutely worth it to read this entire story. I love this. I bet playing Contra never felt so satisfying!
Quick little story for ya! Nice one mate
I'm just glad it had a real ending and not a non-ending!
You might look into replacing the capacitors too, they fail over time and can leak onto the board. It can effect picture quality (lines, color, static)
I found a working xbox in the trash in the alley behind my house . Its was clean as a whistle on the inside and out . Plus it works great so I gave my other one to my co-worker .
Just want to say as I start this video. I feel like learning to repair and maintain the games and consoles in our collections is essential to keep them alive to enjoy for years to come
I think you're going to like what I have to say then :)
get an ifixit kit and a nice soldering iron flux and other stuff also hoard broken systems
@@RetroBirdGaming does that thing at 16:23 really work?
It's crazy you don't have more subs. Love your sense of humour, presentation and the content is always entertaining as well as informative and thought provoking.
Recently I recapped my Sega Game Gear and was super paranoid doing it with the understanding that I may ruin it all together, however I took my time and carefully followed the instructions that came with the kit. The euphoria that I experienced when I was finished and that Game Gear fired right up like new was incredible! Since then I've had a lot more confidence opening up my retro consoles and game cartridges and cleaning and/or repairing them with much success. Finally my OCD, perfectionism and attention to detail has come in handy! I highly recommend trying to repair your own consoles and games. You may be good at it, but you'll never know unless you try!
Reheating the solder fixes a problem referred to as ‘cold solder’. What happens is the solder connections get brittle after time and the legs on the chips won’t actually be touching the pads anymore because the solder ‘broke’ So reheating the solder causes the solder to flow and reconnect the leg to the pad.
These issues also are much more common on the handheld games as they tend to have a little flex to them.
As a person who buys and repairs consoles I have to say it’s pretty awesome. Definitely a money saver and you always get that sense of satisfaction when it’s up and running.
It’s not for the faint of heart if you don’t know proper soldering and I wouldn’t recommend it offa eBay now with the costs being so high. Get it local if you can! 😎
I think I speak for many of us, when I say that knowing people like you are out there helps us sleep at night :)
can you fix a ps2 fat with broken sound if you can I'll send it over
I really liked this one. I hope you do more episodes about the insides of things.
I kinda got into collecting older consoles when I found 3 broken Wiis for practically nothing on the floor of a game store. I got them all going, gave them away as gifts, and kept on buying broken old consoles. Having these old consoles is nice, especially knowing they were all doomed. It's nice to know they can keep on going and have a second life 😊
Being able to repair your consoles only adds to the rewarding feeling that gamers have and can be proud of having done for the preservation of the collection! Repair, and share your notes so other people can repair too! On a side note soldering takes practice, anyone can do it, it just takes practice.
100% It absolutely comes with a very rewarding feeling :)
I recently bought a bundle of 5 broken PS1s for $35. 4 of them just needed a spindle and the last one was completely toast. You're absolutely right about resurrecting an old console and it giving it character. There's just something about the accomplishment. Thanks for your awesome vids!!
I also highly recommend using a white pencil eraser to clean pin contacts. It does an amazing job, it's not overly abrasive, and it doesn't leave a thin layer of film as isopropyl alcohol will do. Also please leave the Brasso and other harsh stuff in your shed! :)
funny timing, today i just spent all day trying to remove the faulty clock capacitor from my original XBOX, since i wasn't able to get around to doing it until now
and it still works after reassembling it!
love your videos, bird!
Good timing indeed!
I recapped all my consoles and resurface all the disc games that needed it but I did mistakes on the way like some pads coming off and stuff but if you are going to fix your consoles, don't cheap out too much on soldering equipment
Scott is constantly fixing consoles and maintaining them. These are all great tips. We have saved many a PS3 and Xbox 360. More often then not it’s the optics drive or laser in those. Adding new thermal paste is also something we definitely recommend and cleaning the fans.
NES is often the pins and buy a new one and replacing it is so easy.
Our best successes will be in an upcoming video, but it was a lot of PS3’s for dirty cheap.
Another great video retro bird. Oh btw, can I borrow you PS1?
Sometimes a disk drive will die and just replace them with ODE's
At my small town school we were actually taught how to solder. I’ve never actually done it outside of school though. I’ve always paid someone else to solder stuff for me. I decided that I am going to buy a soldering tool next time I need something soldered.
Depends on the person I guess. Years ago I learned how to fix an old CRT for retro gaming, and that passion inspired me to go to college for computer science/electrical engineering. To this day I love fixing (and modding) my systems as a side hobby! Recently learned how to solder 34 gage wire for a modchip. Working with circuits adds a lot of satisfaction to my favorite hobby, it feels great to play games on something you fixed yourself!
I've been fixing and improving my consoles for about 7 years now. Learning soldering really isn't bad and was beyond well worth it for me. Today I fixed my sega genesis by replacing the sound amplification chip, i.e the Sony CXA1034. The sound on the console died and I discovered that it was the amp specifically by trial and error, specifically testing to see what points on the board were still giving me L and R audio signals. I then read online that this chip tends to go bad and, when it does, it will often be very hot to the touch when the system is on. I felt the chip in my console and it was very hot indeed. I bought a chip off eBay, waited 2 weeks, and replaced it today. Worked first try. Pro tip when removing bad chips: clip the legs off so you can desolder them one by one. Then clear out the holes with your favorite solder sucking device. My genesis has never sounded so good to my now quite biased ears!
Awesome story!
I had an electronics class in high school as en elective. it was great as it taught me the basics of soldering and enough to do a few basic fixes.
Soldering isn't too difficult once you learn the technique. De-soldering can be a pain because old solder often times doesn't want to leave easily.
You simply add a little more new solder and make it mix.
It should be easier to remove afterwards.
@@ShinryuZensenThank u for the advice. I will try it!
I’ve been soldering since I was 10 - when I took apart my RC truck, “borrowed” a soldering iron, and tried to double the voltage to make it faster (it worked, but I wired it wrong and doubled the range lol).
I’ve been into soldering ever since and have done pretty much anything and everything.
If you have no experience soldering , are on the fence, or don’t want to learn how to do it properly. You can definitely make things much, much worse if you don’t know what you’re doing.
I love and recommend diy - so if you’ve never done soldering before, especially on PCBs, try practicing on a different project to get the basics down. There’s tons of DIY soldering kits to mess around with. If it goes poorly, have a pro fix your actual expensive hardware..
@Retro Bird - a common tool list would be great! I don’t have those specific screwdrivers and have had to improvise..
just got my soldering iron and screw driver today
I've found that many sellers on eBay sell all the tools you would need in a set together. If you just search something like "nintendo tool set" they will pop up and generally cost around 7 or 8 bucks.
I bought a new soldering iron and tried soldering with it for like 3 years. Every single attempt was a failure. I couldn't get anything soldered it was so frustrating. I found out after about 3 years of being a complete noob that the soldering iron DOESN'T WORK... i was using a defective iron for 3 years and literally HATING soldering at that point because it never worked. Now i bought another new HAKKO and its so easy. I can not believe for 3 years i was using a defective iron and was just struggling trying to get it to solder
Bought a ps1 (slim) for $0.99 on ebay, not reading discs, replaced a capacitor and it works perfect now.
I'd say a bigger issue though is storage. Humidity can eat away at consoles and games in a way that's very hard to repair later on.
Also Rust too
My new favorite fix i learned was the N64 joysticks. This company called Kitsch-Bent makes identical replacement parts and they work great. Combined with re-lubing them, they feel new again. And re-lubing Dreamcast controller joysticks also helps a lot
I may need to do that!
@@RetroBirdGaming so more detail then for you or anyone reading this. I highly recommend them, but i did have to file very small edges of the plastic to get them gliding smooth. I'm extremely happy with the end results, it is worth the effort, but you will have to adjust small things if you feel the joystick dragging after installing the kitsch bent parts. I had no videos showing me this when i purchased the parts but even i was able to get the plastic parts gliding smooth with some minor mods. The parts are only a few bucks. Well worth it.
As a guy who tried to fix his PS2 after it stopped reading discs, I did not have any success. I went thru three third party lasers to try and fix the issue. I might try it again, but I gave up and just went ahead and bought another PS2 that was the fat model so I could install a hard drive with ISOs I installed to it. So now, I don't have to worry about discs. I did have success, however, fixing a PS3 that was overheating. I looked at several videos before taking that on. It was not easy, but I did it! I've fixed an NES that stopped reading cartridges by swapping out the PIN connector. On a final thought, I do believe everyone should learn how to solder. Such a valuable skill. I was lucky: I learned how to do it when I was in an electronics career field in the US Air Force.
Dang right you should
Retro Bird One Of The Many Retro Gaming Gods Thank You For All You Do
Absolutely learn how to fix it! Start with cheap and or disposable items before working on the good stuff. I was able to get a $160 UHD player that was “broken” for $30 that I fixed myself. I’ve also learned how to solder from replacing batteries, and was able to use that skill to build my own controllers!
This one hit pretty close to the mark for me. I would love to say "YES, absolutely! Do EVERYTHING to keep your console alive!" at the top of my lungs but in reality you should only fix your own gaming equipment, console or not, if your experienced enough to know how not to screw it up. I'm pretty good at upkeeping my own equipment but it's not an endeavor for the faint of heart sometimes.
I've repaired/refurbed many types of controllers ranging from one N64 controller (rebuilt the stick assembly), ALL PlayStation variants minus the DualSense, ALL Xbox variants especially the 360, a couple Dreamcast controllers, a few GameCube controllers and even a Wiimote. The hardest ones to deal with is easily the DualShock family, every single generation has some kind of wierd build design that totally different from most other controllers and they're all hard to deal with. Different revisions also make it harder to source parts.
As for consoles, I've done my fair share of repairs for a bunch that I still own. I've replaced my PS2's clock battery, opened up a 32X to deep clean since it wouldn't start properly beforehand, disassembled my GameCube shell to replace some broken parts for the CD lid, opened up an NES to replace the cartridge pin connector and replaced the laser assembly for my Dreamcast, og Xbox (more on this one below) and the PS3 slim. The PS3 slim in particular was moderately tough. The blue ray laser went out, so I ended up replacing the entire laser deck which took a fair bit of digging into the console.
My worst repair experiences by far have always been with the og Xbox. Not in terms of how tough it is though since ripping apart an Xbox is actually pretty easy. Rather because these things have been pretty unreliable on my end. I just have terrible luck with the OG Xbox. Every Xbox I've ever owned has had some sort of hardware failure. My first had a defective hard drive (impossible to fix and cannot be replaced without a mod chip), the second had its voltage capacitors on the motherboard blow out preventing it from being able to turn on or off without taking the power plug in and out of the wall, a third had a failed DVD drive that couldn't be repaired plus corrosion from a blown clock capacitor and a fourth had a burnt-out power supply. My current Xbox, technically my fifth, is actually a frankenstein of all four previous Xbox consoles that I had. I just took all the good parts I could salvage from the failed consoles and reassembled them together to make a whole new console. In other words, it took FOUR bad consoles just to make a single good one. It's comprised of the DVD drive from the first, the power supply from the second, the motherboard and hard drive from the third and the shell from the fourth (since it was the one in the best condition). To add insult to injury, I've had to replace the drive belt for my frankenstein projects DVD drive twice. I actually still had enough parts from all that to make two more good Xbox's so I sold the best of those two and kept the last for further repair since it was the one that had bad voltage capacitors. That one, dubbed the Voltage Capacitor Princess, is currently sitting in my closet waiting for replacement capacitors to run good again and will serve as my spare if I have another failure with my current console.
In Canada, soldering is actually taught in high school.
One common reason for failure to power up is a dirty power switch. Simply cleaning the contacts of the power switch often does the trick - either taking the switch apart, or by spraying the inside of the switch with electrocleaner. I've fixed a few game consoles and even a couple of old calculators using that method.
Sometimes "reflowing" bad solder connections will help. I have a tabletop vfd Frogger machine that I got off eBay several years ago, and it failed to display graphics on one line, sometimes 2 lines, making the game unplayable. I took it apart, found the connections where the display is connected to the mainboard, and reflowed them. I simply put a soldering iron on these connections, till they melted, and let the solder "refreeze". The game has worked flawlessly since then.
As for cartridges, your suggestion on using a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol usually does the trick. Sometimes I've found it helpful to use a Q-tip with a very thin layer of dielectric bulb grease to improve the connections. I had a Bally Astrocade that had trouble reading cartridges even after using rubbing alcohol. I put a thin layer of dielectric bulb grease on one of the problem cartridges, and it seemed to improve the issue for all the other cartridges as well. You can get dielectric bulb grease at any auto parts store - when you buy headlights/tail lights, they often include a small packet of grease - or you can buy it separately for a buck or two.
Whatever you do, DO NOT USE WD-40 to try to fix a connection. Back in 2005, I had a ColecoVision that wasn't reading cartridges, and I sprayed in some WD-40. That completely fried the system beyond repair!
Hope these tips help, and happy fixing!
To the list of simple fixes you can try on your own, I'd add cleaning the battery contacts of "broken" DMG game boys. It's so easy to do, and 99% of the times it'll bring the little guys to life. This is how I acquired mine, I got one that was dead, cleaned the contacts, replaced one extremely rusty one, then gave the guy a good refreshing clean, a new glass screen lens, and it's absolutely glorious. Looks and plays like new.
Wow. Enough material for multiple videos condensed into one. No wonder, its one of your longest videos, kudos!
Man it's nice to hear someone talk on this and encourage people to at least try to learn to do these repairs after a healthy bit of research without shaming them for not knowing where to start. These consoles mean so much to too many people for the knowledge of getting them working to only be held by a small percentage of the people that use them, or for those people to occasionally be difficult or outright hostile when beginners come to them with questions. Fixing up my old Game Boy years ago is the reason I know how to solder among other skills, but I don't know that I'd have gotten nearly as far as I have or would've even decided to keep learning had I not spoken to people online with enough patience to answer my questions and explain processes without making me feel bad about it.
Never fixed anything myself but my best friend is an engineer and he's helped me out a few times! I brought a broken psvita and he repaired it for me, which saved me a lot of money as it was also one of the rarer special editions.
I swapped the cartridge slot on my NES, since then I started enjoying the console much more. It only required a screwdriver, so really easy to fix
So I got in to retro gaming from this channel, I binged a bunch and then I remembered that I had a broken NES in my attic and broken Sega Game Gear under my bed. So I pulled them out and did some research as to what to do to make them work. Found Macho Nacho Productions channel and Long Island Retro Gaming channel and found out that it would probably be the lock out chip that was bad on the NES. Took a pair of pliers and clipped a prong on that chip, worked like a champ! My Game Gear found out the capacitors were bad, so I bought a soldering iron and got to work! Never soldered before and yes it was intimidating and I had to redo it several times but I did get it to work! Now I need to buy a new LED screen and it will be like new!
So yes you can do the work on it and yes it is very intimidating but a little courage and perseverance and you too can make old tech work like new!
So thank you Bird for all you do to encourage the hobby! This was a great video, funny too so keep up the hard work!
Thank you Jonathan and I am so glad to have wonderful folks like yourself be a part of this hobby!
I've "fixed" a controllerwith a hammer when the sticks on a crummy 3rd party GameCube controller finally made me lose my patience. Ah, the sweet satisfaction of seeing multiple pieces of plastic shrapnel fly in all directions....truly bliss.
top solder tip: if you mess up a solder joint let things cool down before you try again. You CAN over heat components.
I appreciate this video, especially about selling broken consoles instead of throwing away. Lots of no long produced items you can salvage from broken consoles. Because some one was selling components of a 2600 console that I needed on ebay, I got mine up and running.
I just fixed the modded PS1 I got on eBay for $40. The laser went out and I figured out I could use my childhood PSONE laser to replace it. So it feels cool that the modded PS1 I got a couple years ago is now using a part of my childhood console from 2000 to work! Bought a broken Sega CD (no power) which was just a $3 fuse replacement to fix. My favorite fix was a broken NES I got in 8th grade 2002 from a friend. I never repaired it until recently, all I had to do was bend the pins on the cartridge slot to be tighter. Feels more fun playing on a machine you helped save from the trash bin.
This was a great video as always, I think what scared me the most was swapping the power supply jack on my SNES, it wasn't hard per say but I was holding my breath while I soldered the new one in bending plastic as I go.... Worked like a charm though!
20:47 Dang that is a CLEAN looking Genesis.
My PS2 (slim) had a problem reading discs. I looked online and set something nice and heavy on the disc cover. Problem went away instantly.
All hail Retro Bird 🐦🕊️
you're the funniest retro dude on yt.
I'm currently in the process of collecting the tools and equipment to begin repairing, restoring and refurbishing as much video game media as I'll be able to learn. I've had a few people hand me over games and consoles that they've had sitting in storage that will be great projects to help me contribute what I am able to the preservation of retro media
That's awesome!
Love You to the Tube & love your videos! You can learn a lot & the more you know the more you grow! Since You to the Tube I've always see what I can or can not fix. I do have to say I always just bring my broken consoles to a local pawn shop who mainly sell Retro Games. Seeing Mario on the window is a dead give away they are a gamers pawn shop! You get 2 options this way.
1st pay for there services to fix it for you or 2nd have them buy a broken system so they can sell in the near future. Either way it goes back to a gamers home!
My original PS3 CECH-A01 model. Down to the circuit layer to re-paste the Cell CPU. Cried when I got to the "grill cage" component. That machine was built like a beast. So. Many. Damn. Screws.
Completely right my friend. I started fixing consoles with my original childhood Xbox. I successfully replaced the disc drive and it inspired me to buy buy broken consoles I didn't have, to fix them. Next, I ordered a PS2 and PS3 set that was damaged. Got them both working and total cost for everything was less than $40. I unsuccessfully tried to fix my game gear, but it's all worth trying and great to know how to do.
game gears are hard
That’s how I got back into retro gaming. I decided to figure out why my NES hardly worked. Turns out it was mostly cleaning and refurbishment of the 72 pin connector.
After that I fixed everything else and started to buy broken consoles that normally are expensive. That how I got such a good deal on my Master System and PC Engine briefcase unit!
Fixing a broken console can be one of the most wonderful feelings in the world to me. I did a hot air rework on my red ringed original xbox 360 and was able to get the gpu and ram chips resoldered and the console booted right up after. Even better it has an operating system from like the early 2000s so it's like a time capsule of my middle school years. The feeling of contentness afterwards was simply awesome. Sometimes working on a broken console can be a great experience and you get to learn new skills, plus you may get your console back.
I always had video game consoles, but I've been more used to fixing PCs for most of my teenage years, since they're kinda modular. But when I decided to try fixing my old consoles, it scared the hell out me for them not being similar to PCs at all. Luckily, most of the problems they had were related to dirtiness and overheating, which caused loud noises. I got to lube up my PS2's disc drive, and I also successfully delided my PS3's CELL CPU to replace the thermal paste. It felt so satisfying to not hear those loud noises both consoles were doing before!
One difficult, lengthy fix I did once was replacing the fried power supply on my first 360 with a power source from a PC!
Good to see a video like this because this was like the final sign to affirm within myself that I need to go back to school and venture into the computer IT / networking field.
I mean a few weeks ago I came across a PlayStation 3 Slim console from my passed on uncles house and when I turned it on , harddrive , wifi, optimal system performance even the fan sounded great , just the disc drive didn’t work.
I went on UA-cam and watched a bunch of videos . Some people said change the two lasers . Some people said the disc tray shielding was dented ( which mine wasn’t dented ) , some said it’s the motors inside of the casing to move the eyes are dead or needing grease , some said you need to realign the disc feeder.
^ now even though if you know exactly in each of those instances are wrong is either a free fix or a fix less then $10 , I decided to spend triple the amount of $10 and also make it a much easier labor endured project and just replace the whole disc drive entirely by finding a working OEM drive which eBay happends to be the cheepest for that answer . Now I’m able to play all my downloaded games that if available are now obtainable again , bought myself ultra street fighter 4 on disc , still getting to pop in even a blu ray or a dvd movie if I wish. It’s really awesome.
Which brings me back the the fat ps3 consoles. I had a 60gb fat and an 80gb fat and both were repaired during the 7th generation when they were on the market 3 times either by a private retro game store or GameStop themselves and then would eventually break again. I got sick and tired of it and kept loosing all my fighting games that were on there back then but arnt on the PSN store today like marvel vs Capcom origins and such and decided to begin collecting for the Sega Saturn. I wanted the original games but did not want to use the physical discs on the console if I didn’t have to because I had a modified PlayStation 1 in the late ninties growing up with a disc burner and thought to do the same with Sega Saturn.
Got very lucky with the timing not only because the games were much more affordable again even some of the heavy hitters but also Pseudo Saturn was really making a presence in the mod scene in 2016 when I began Saturn collecting and watched online how to make action replays flash into pseudo Saturn by disc swapping methods. Because the Saturn market was cheep at the time even for used saturn consoles. I was getting the console between $28-60 used with all wires , 2 controllers and Atleast 2 games even if they were disc only. That summer I must of broken 3 saturns ripping them apart and mastering the disc swap / flashing to eventually play my backed up games and then at that point learned how to properly dismantle a Sega Saturn either it be model 1 or model 2 and also what does what where in the console , other common issues to troubleshoot , also to avoid modding the doors on future owned Saturn consoles because it’s bad for the drive as well as watching what ram carts you use that can in time damage your ram slot on your Saturn as well. By the end of the summer of 2016 I knew I had to figure out how to go into the IT field as a career change ( and also expand my Saturn library to where it is today which japenese or English titles , I got everything I wanted and while it was cheep 👌 )
I’ve saved consoles too that most people would throw out like putting an ODE in a non disc reading PlayStation 2 fat or greasing laser lines for the laser to jump up and down on within a Dreamcast console . You got to want to open the console you want to work on and like retro bird mentioned , if you know you can’t do it … DONT DO IT and let somebody that you know that can do it. Like I’ll probably never learn how to fully open up a fat ps3 , fix what I need to inside and then successfully put it back together. The 1 Wii I opened up and the one Xbox One I opened up that were non functioning by the time I got the shell off of the two consoles the shell was snapped into peices and they’re was so many metal brackets and screws that I wound up loosing in the process of putting back together on both the Wii and the XB1 , it looked like it fell out of a moving vehicle on the Highway . I know that where the line is drawn for me . Consoles that are easier to take apart and put back together shell , screws and inner components is more of my grounds of labor I will perform.
Never had the friend that could fix this stuff so I became the friend and am actually doing it as a part time job for my local game shop. It's given me multiple experiences that I had researched plenty and put into practice to see if I could. There's some things I still don't know how to do and the shop isn't willing to put more money into as well as customers not wanting to be charged so much for the work. In the end I don't regret learning and love the work I do
I was one of the lucky ones that learned to solder in school. Best fixed console was an original PS3 the PS2 backwards compatible. Was my holy snarkes it worked.
As someone who repairs a wide variety of retro consoles I really enjoyed this one. All true 😃
Glad you liked it!
This is a very interesting topic! I've never really had a console problem, but I did open up a Switch Pro Controller to replace the left joystick due to a drift problem. There are many easy-to-follow guides on UA-cam for lots of specific gaming equipment.
If you grew up during the 8-bit or 16-bit days, we all blew into the game cartridges to get them to work. Sadly, the moisture from your breath probably did more harm than good to the game's contacts. Little did we know that NES games sometimes wouldn't load usually due to warped connector pins in the console itself. 😅
My school did teach soldering but it was in shop and most kids just screwed around in shop classes. Lucky for me I payed attention
There's lots of jobs that are so easy I don't even really think of them as fixing. Cleaning cartridge contacts or cleaning a disc is just part of acquiring old games, and I put about as much thought into it as removing old price stickers. I actually did learn soldering in high school, though I've never done it since then. I've got a bunch of CR-2032 batteries that could do with replacement, so I've really got no excuse. This video might be the motivation I need to get my Unirally cart working again.
You brought up sodering not being taught in schools. I'm proud to report that some junior highs and high school do indeed teach students how to solder. That's actually how I learned, it's one of the few things I still remember from Jr high.
All right! I figured there must be at least some schools that teach it!
I'm two years late to this conversation, but I just did some work on my Gameboy Color this weekend. I replaced the speaker with a better one and replaced three surface mounted capacitors. I also cleaned the volume wheel and power switch contacts. This coming weekend I'll be getting a clear blue shell to replace the cheapo aftermarket one it currently has. I'm definitely a big advocate of learning how to do these kinds of things - there aren't many places to go or shops that specialize in this kind of work. It's up to us, really.
I like the way you talk, multimeter and testing for contuity is also important
First off awesome video I know this is old but I wanted to leave my 2 cents.
Regarding the heating up solder in old games and allowing the juices to flow this is great advise for stubborn games that don’t work after cleaning every contact you can. This solder joints can crack over time and even a tiny gap will make them not work or be intermittent. “Reflowing the solder” allows the solder to fill those gaps and complete the circuit.
Finally the first console I fixed was my original Blue GameBoy Pocket. The batteries had blown up leaving it full of corrosion. Even after cleaning it all out it didn’t work. But before giving up I followed the path of the circuit trace coming off of the battery + coming in and it went to the power switch. I looked at the power switch more closely and found that it had wicked some of the corrosion from the batteries and filled up itself with corrosion. So I desolated the switch and found replacements. Once the new switch was in the GB worked as well as it did in middle school. And that’s when I got hooked on repairs and modding.
I'm glad you liked the video and I totally know what you mean about getting hooked after that successful GB repair. Attempting a repair that goes successfully creates a feeling like no other!
Can you do a video about juggling multiple games at once? always struggled with this and I find your videos give fantastic advice on juggling lifestyle / collecting / actual playing of the games. Thanks brother
I just successfully repaired a Neo Geo AES that I bought over a year ago, with the help of a microscope. Turned out to have a couple of corroded traces that couldn't be seen with the naked eye. Sometimes having the right tools can really help!
Awesome overview. Was always unnecessarily intimidated by some of these fixes. This helps!
"Waking up a cartridge". I never knew this was a thing until now. This happens very often when I've left a game pak in storage for 15 or 20 years. It doesn't work right away, but after a few attempts at booting it, it suddenly works normally, and you can play it for dozens of hours with no problems. Now I still don't know why, but I do know that it is real.
I'm enjoying your videos man. I'm surprised that you haven't passed 100K subs already.
Thank you! I appreciate it :)
I wanted to learn electronics repair so I recently bought 16 broken NES systems on ebay. I have fixed about 10 of them so far!
Fixed my GameCube about a year ago, it had been in storage and skipping discs like crazy. It really was as simple as the ol' q-tip and alcohol fix (though it did take several attempts). Recently too I solved an issue with my PS3 slim continuously freezing in the middle of a Ratchet and Clank game. I opened it up cleaned out the dust, did a Restore File System in safe mode, and it was still doing it. Turns out it was because the HDMI cable was going through my crappy multi-port external switcher. For that system I game on a monitor that only has one HDMI port.
My biggest piece of advice for fixing retro consoles is to get good equipment. A T12 soldering iron, de-soldering gun and hot air rework station is a must if you plan on changing capacitors, chips or definitely if you want to "mod" a console. The "modification" statement is a whole different discussion, as I know there's a divide in the community when it comes to keeping consoles stock or upgrading them for quality of life improvements. Great video with many pertinent points!
Love your videos, Bird! This one was particularly useful and insightful. I've been reorganizing my game collection recently, and after I noticed the CD lid on my original Playstation wasn't closing properly, I decided to crack it open and give it a thorough cleaning. Not only did I fix the problem with the lid, but I cleaned out all the dust that had accumulated inside the console over a 25-year period. 😅 On top of clearing out the dust, I cleaned the disc laser, and now my original Playstation runs a lot better than it has in years.
I'd like to do a similar cleaning with my original PS2 at some point. But I'm afraid of ruining the console's warranty sticker (even though the warranties on PS2s have long since expired!😂)
I don't collect but I once replaced a fuse on my SNES. There a simple voltmeter with a continuity test helped. Starting with the simplest problem. Was happy that it only was that. Oh and 3 or 4 Gameboys with display lines. This was not so complicated.
Never fixed any game consoles but I did learn how to take apart, fix and clean my Sega Genesis controllers so that they worked like new! ☺
I used a NES power supply with my Atari Jaguar and popped a capacitor and two ICs. Got the replacement parts from Console5, followed a great tutorial online, and fixed the Jaguar myself. Granted it took me three hours and a lot of retries, but it still works today!
I started messing with broken gameboys (all kinds from DMG-Advance) in 2020, I'm not an expert by any means but I'm friends with repair specialists and even an electrical engineer so I've managed to pick up quite a bit.
I'm comfortable soldering SMD components and I'm beginning to learn how to repair traces. I've even moved ROM chips between PCBs.
It's a fun and frustrating addition to my favorite hobby because now when I see a console sold as junk I just want to get inside it to see if I can fix it.
I fixed my nephew's DS Lite. His bottom screen wouldn't read inputs anymore, so I bought a replacement screen for $4, popped that sucker open, and plugged in the new one and it worked with no problems. Until he wound up breaking it again a few months later. Kids these days...
Back in the day I learn how to repair various issues of my classic consoles ruining them in the process, on those days if I screew it, just went to a garage sale or flea market and got another one with a bunch of games 😅.
I'm just starting to collect older consoles, and really have no idea what I'm doing but recently managed to repair my NES successfully so it gave me a boost in confidence hah. Now I'm realizing the real skill is going to be learning how to repair CRTs lol
I'm an electronics tech and all my old systems died.. but then i fixed them all.. But you really should know troubleshooting and the basics of electronics which is a huge topic to learn
Late to the party, but I have something to add.
Years ago, my Wii started buzzing something fierce. A buzz that woke the neighbors. So I watched some UA-cam videos that suggested bending a metal piece backward to prevent the buzzing.
After a trip to Walmart for a tri-wing screwdriver, I opened up my Wii and got gun-shy about bending its innards. So I stuck some matchbox cardboard between the two metal pieces creating the buzz, and my GameCube-compatible Wii is silent as a monk to this day.
Thanks to UA-cam, and thanks to my own half-assed problem-solving, I’m playing PAC-MAN World 2 in meditative bliss.
Oh, and I also recommend using something called an Eliminator in your NES system. Clean your system with that, then wipe the Eliminator's silicone "pins" with a paper towel + isopropyl alcohol, and repeat this until no more dirt comes out of the NES. Now clean all of the game carts BEFORE using on your cleaned NES system and you may never have another glitched or blinking game ever again. I've been doing this since 1989 and I'm using my original NES system. My 600 NES carts almost always start on the first try.
WRT "Soldering being Easy" I usually find it's a combination of it's easy to learn/acquire the required skills, and that it's not half as scary as it might seem.
I have been fixing games and consoles since the 90s, even turned refurbishing them when bought as is for parts as a side hustle before the pandemic. Lot of times the fix is super easy and costs $0. in parts. Just a little cleaning and or fix a solder spot.
My 2nd nes came from outside of a house in a trash pile that got rained on for 2 days straight. Out of my 4, it's my 2nd best working one
In a pinch I replaced a save battery on donkey Kong land 3 on gb with electrical tape. But It definitely annoys me knowing the tape is on the board. Every retro gamer needs to learn to solder for preservation sake lol
I've not fixed one, but I did sell on a partially broken handheld Turbo Express. It powered on, booted games okay, but the audio was impossibly quiet and the screen wasn't displaying anything. Amazingly someone paid me nigh on £190 for it. Sure it'd be worth way more working and I could've / should've tried fixing it... but it'd sat with me in that state for so long, I grew to accept I was never going to do it!
the super nintendo box reference is all too painfully real
I've only ever fixed Gameboy games & GBA games myself. Great video! You told me about the q tip and alcohol method.
I bought my PS3 Phat broken. The pawn shop said it doesn't play disc games but still worked. Sold it to me for $60 and all I had to do was replace the disc drive and it was super easy and cheap! 😃🤘
I've never fixed my own consoles. I always bring them to somebody I know that can fix them. That's either a friend or a tech guy in specialized stores.
everyone who's tempted to do soldering, especially for older consoles, please watch the old "Pace Worldwide basic soldering" tutorial videos. they're all here on UA-cam.
they layout the principals of soldering in such a clear way, you will better understand how you achieve the results.
I learned the hard way about a year ago by breaking a Super Gameboy due to not using the proper tools. I'm still hurt. Always get the proper tools.
Fixed my Sega Saturn laser. Initially I tried adjusting the laser but that only temporarily fixed it. Decided to go for the full replacement and it was reasonably achievable. Have attempted to fix numerous controllers to mostly no avail. Also not confident enough to try soldering.
I’m willing to dip into things like recapping (game gear), replacing gameboy cartridge batteries or screens for handhelds, and cleaning. Anything like a chip going bad or needing to rewire is off the table but I find most of the issues are simple. It’s extremely satisfying to have learned to do all these things off of UA-cam and have a game or console start working for you. I’ve saved a ton of money that way. Pokémon games for example, people assume they are broken when they don’t save and sell them cheap, but I have them working in 5 minutes. If something is significantly cheaper, even if I haven’t tried to fix it before, I’ll be willing to buy it and give it a go. I got a game gear with battery pack for less than $20 and repairs cost me about $6 to recap. Sounds harder than it is, because I’m not close to an expert so a lot more people can do this than probably think they can
Cutting the leg that controls the 10NES chip to get rid of annoying reset/connection problems on the NES.
The problem with disc resurfacing is that you can only do this a few times before the disc is rendered unplayable since each time the buffing will shave off a bit of the substrate layer. And it's not like this is kept track of during the life of a game disc as it changes hands to people, stores, and so on.
That crank thing he showed in the video does the opposite though. It puts on a layer of paste of some sort to fill in the scratches. I had mixed results with those things back in the day. Some it made work again but others it made worse. But it was our only option back in the late '90s/early '00s, back when buffing discs wasn't offered as a service (at least in my area)
It also makes the clear middle ring part look messed up, and they're more likely to crack in that spot after resurfacing since taking layers off makes the plastic less durable.
I've always been far too leery of trying to fix a console myself. I feel like I'd screw it up beyond repair. I am admittedly far from being someone who could provide tech support. I see you picked Jack for Powerstone; he's always been my favorite. The whole Jack the Ripper/Praying Mantis duality. Just strange and original.
Thankfully, I haven't had any issue with my systems which require soldering. I had a PS1 which kept auto triggering the reset button at random. Ended up discovering that something had dropped into it while in storage, pooled & left a stain on the motherboard in that area which was occasionally causing a short circuit & all that was required was cleaning that off. Then I had a PS3 which started having issues running. Turns out all it needed was to be taken apart & cleaned. At one point, it also regularly cut to black or tv static while playing games. In that case, it turned out the HDMI cable was faulty & I just needed a new one. A few weeks ago, the disc drive wasn't properly initiating a disc eject & kept getting stuck. Wasn't even broken- the day was too hot & the parts had expanded to the point where they were catching. I waited a few hours & it was fine.