Sega Game Gear Repair: Fixing Leaky Capacitors on 3 Consoles | Retro Gaming Restoration
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- Опубліковано 7 лип 2024
- Join me in this exciting episode as I take on the challenge of repairing three Sega Game Gears with leaky capacitors! As a retro gaming enthusiast, I'm passionate about breathing new life into vintage consoles like these, and I'm thrilled to share my experience with you.
In this video, I'll walk you through my journey of fixing these classic handheld consoles, from identifying the issue with the capacitors to successfully restoring them to their former glory. Though this isn't a step-by-step tutorial, you'll get a first-hand look at the repair process and gain some insights into the world of retro gaming restoration.
If you're a fan of Sega classics or just enjoy the nostalgia of retro gaming, this video is perfect for you. You'll see how perseverance and a bit of technical know-how can bring these cherished consoles back to life, ready for hours of gaming fun.
Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more retro gaming content and console repairs. And if you have any suggestions or questions about this Sega Game Gear capacitor repair adventure, feel free to leave them in the comments below. Happy gaming!
Thank you to @RoseTintedSpectrum for the lovely gameshow voiceover intro!
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00:00 Introduction
00:40 First Look
02:27 Game Gear #1
02:52 A look around the insides
06:00 Recap main board #1
11:44 Recap power board #1
13:06 Recap sound board #1
18:47 Testing Game Gear #1
20:45 Recap main board #2
23:17 Testing Game Gear #2
23:46 Machine number #3
24:23 Recap main board #3
25:26 Recap sound board #3
31:06 Testing Game Gear #3
32:13 Goodbye
#SegaGameGear #CapacitorRepair #RetroGaming #ConsoleRestoration #GamingRepairs #VintageConsoles #GameGearFix #SegaClassics - Наука та технологія
Good video. For your conundrum with the soundboard capacitors. For that style and your "pincer", look up Solder Tweezers. Most people don't realize it's a thing and they're fanTASTIC.
The reason to not use Ceramics is not because they are not polarised, it is to do with how the dielectric (the bit that makes a capacitor a capacitor) works. Regular electrolytic capacitors have a stable value of capacitance across their voltage range - but the MLCC ceramics that have large capacitance values do not.
For example a 10uF 16V ceramic may only actually be 4.7uF at 16v, or even worse. The value of capacitance changes depending on how much voltage is applied across them. In the audio stage, this changing capacitance can give you very audible distortion.
Worse still, they can be affected by temperature, and change capacitance with that.
The wikipedia article for "Ceramic capacitor" has a lot of info on all of these things if you're really interested. The TLDR from an experienced electronics engineer is - dont replace electrolytics with ceramics.
I do appreciate the effort you go to highlight the different components on the board. It's a great way to help people learn.
Thank you!
Not gonna lie, I LOVE recapping Game Gears. It's so satisfying to get clean solder pads after cleaning up all the electrolytic junk. I'm more in the electrolytic replacement camp, but that's just me being picky.
It's a very satisfying job isn't it? Probably not so much fun when the corrosion goes past a certain point...
On balance, I would probably agree that electrolytics are the better choice. But ceramics seem to work just fine. I dunno. I would be very interested in hearing what the original reasons for putting them in there were, and if those reasons still stand up today.
Great video, thanks for the detailed process and confirmation that ceramics work just fine. One very useful tool I have used to remove surface mount capacitors is something called "desoldering tweezers", which is essentially just two small soldering irons connected together in a single handle, with some angled tips that help get into tight places. I purchased a set of temperature-controlled desoldering tweezers from Amazon for about $50, but they are available from all the usual online stores for about the same price. Those work wonders on electrolytics, diodes, resistors, caps, fuses, and even LEDs, making the process go very smoothly. For troublesome or multi-pin parts, a little Chipquik low-melt solder and lots of flux help the process along. Great channel and content, Cheers!!
Thank you Thomas! I will have a look and see if I can find some temperature controlled tweezers, they would be very handy!
Nice work as always. The game gear was the very first system I ever opened up to work on. This brought back happy memories of burning fish, delightful 🤣
Mmmm fish! It's the kind of smell that stays in your nose for hours 😂
Ive used a hot air station on the sound board. Using kepton tape on the plastic pieces, avoiding direct heat with them. Works really well, and yet to have a cap explode. 3 game gears thus far.
The best arrows on the Internet. Thanks Lee please keep it up your vids are the best
I've told all the other youtube channels and they said they want a word with you 😳🤣
Thank you Ross!
I recently used the same soldering technique for SMD resistors and caps and it was easier than putting solder down on one pad first.
It just felt right doing it this way
Great work so far, looking forward to more
Cheers Ralph! Looking forward to making more
Nice work! My GG is long overdue a cap change.
Better get in there! It's dissolving right now! 😂
Such an useful video for me! Thanks so much for documenting all your process!
Great! You know where to find me if you have any questions 😁
Most excellent as always, anticipating the new episodes in earnest 🙌 👏
Thanks mate! Will be a little while, got some other things coming up first
Excellent stuff. Very nice and clean work! Glad you went with the ceramics. Luke from Retrosix knows his stuff!
Can't wait to see the screen replacement in the next video.
Mostly clean. That poor plastic connector on the sound board got a bit melty! 😂
@@MoreFunMakingIt I didn't see anything officer.. honest 👀
Btw, after looking for a safe way to remove those smd electrolytics, and read a lot of opinions, I'm convinced the best way is the push-and-twist method. Just a little downward push, and twist the cap to fatigue the leads, and break them. Then it's pretty easy to remove the rest of the leads. I hope it helps. Cheers!
I'm not a fan of that method either. If I can melt the solder without too much heat I'll always use the 2 iron method first.
@@MoreFunMakingIt Yes, I like the two soldering iron method too (or soldering tweezers), but the problem with smd electrolytic caps is that the pads are too long and under the device, so they require a lot of heat. And being a single layer on top of the substrate (as opposed to the through hole ones, that have more to hold to), there’s a high risk of lifting the pad. That why in my case I prefer the other method. Those smd caps are really difficult to remove, honestly. Cheers!
Thanks for demonstrating on recapping the Game Gear as I gotta work on mine for future proofing cheers.
Glad to help :D
You are absolutely brilliant!
So is your comment! 😁
Great video, I always look forward to your work! And I now want a Game Gear URGGGG lol
Thanks mate! I will keep my eyes open for you!
Also don't beat yourself up about using the sidecutters to remove the failed SMD's, when they've failed that badly you're never going to melt the solder so I've pretty much always just cut em off the board, in almost every occassion if the pads failed/been eaten away choosing to cut away the cap won't change what its like underneath, in addition its pretty much guaranteed that the legs of the amplifier chip and the ferrite ring will need removing and cleaning and reflowing or they just crack from the board when the console starts getting hot (or you get really crackly audio), that also goes for a lot of the transistors (Marked as Q) on the mainboard, its surpising how often the leaky caps hit those and cause unusual glitchy 'white screen of death' behaviour.
One last tip is i never do the soldering with the motherboard in the shell anymore, too many slips of the iron melting the shell equalled lesson learned, plus the caps electrolyte often flows to the other side of the board and causes short circuits so even if working you can adjust the brightness and see the GG shut itself off or it just shut off after getting hot. the entire board whether corroded or not needs decontaminating with alcohol to be sure. plus its a good opportunity to clean the often faulty button contacts.
That's all amazing advice. I must admit when I was editing this I was cringing at how close I got to the plastic shell with the iron!
6 philips screw and 1 gamebit screw also six small philips screws and 2 big screws
I’ve got a couple of Game Gears using ceramic caps on the main board with no issues at all so I think they’re the way to go there.
My ceramic capped sound board on the other hand gets noticeably distorted at high volume so I prefer some carefully folded miniature electrolytics there mounted parallel to the board. Or SMD electrolytics
I think you're probably right. I had read somewhere the electrolytics were recommended on the sound board to stop unwanted signals "leaking" back where they were unwanted because of the lack of polarity in a ceramic. I did wonder if that made sense though. Do electrolytic caps act in the same way as diodes?
I had the most issue with the sound board too. it was the only one where I pulled a pad. Luckily the tracks are easy to get to
The replacement boards are actually very reasonably priced anyway. I imagine quite a few people would struggle on those ones, especially if they're glued down
@@MoreFunMakingIt mines working fine now. But it is interesting seeing the new boards being made for them I was looking recently at modern replacement for the main board. You just have to add the chips over. Handy if it’s beyond repair.
A board transplant is something I'd like to do, that looks fun.
@@MoreFunMakingIt Me too just waiting for a suitable donor.
ah excellent! been looking forward to this :D Ive fixed hundreds of these things by now but I've never lost my passion for working on them, although it never stops stinging when you do all the work and the screens still knackered
Rate my workmanship 😂
At least a broken screen is a great excuse for an upgrade
Great… thanks!
My sound board had a bad via. That took some finding!
I bet that was super satisfying when you finally found it!
Does my Game Gear survive? Tune in next time!
Spoilers! 🤣
Hilarious! Love it!
😍
Was Sega a player in the Capacitor Plague of the 2000s or did they just buy the cheaper and faulty Taiwanese caps?
these were most produced around 1992, so it was more a decision to use unproven capacitor formulations (much like NEC in its PC Engine hardware), by the time of the Dreamcast sega had learned their lesson and its rare those need recapping
So you did this without a microscope ? I didn't think it was possible, because it's so small and you need a very steady hand.
A steady hand does help, but its not too small. Some of the tiny quad flat pack chips with .65mm and smaller pitch legs needs a scope! Hoping to show some of that soon.
Can all surface mount capacitors be mounted either way unlike others that are labeled positive and negative ?
no, and infact you can get bipolar versions of electrolytic capacitors too, it really depends on the application meaning you should always check the markings
What sparks said. But I would add that in general the ceramic smd caps can be mounted either way round.
@@MoreFunMakingIt That clarified things, cheers.
Did anyone try to use WD40 to remove corrosion? It works great on leaking batteries contacts; don't know if it works on capacitors corrosion...
That might work, but I would be worried about what it would do to the other surfaces it contacted inside the machine. IPA seems to do a great job anyway so probably better to stick with that :D
@@MoreFunMakingIt Good point!