FINALLY I got a working Game Gear...

A little after I posted my EPIC fail for the rehousing of the ASIC from one of my dead Game Gears, I went looking around online and found that Retrosix had some 1 ASIC RePCBs available, with the ASIC already installed. I bit the bullet and ended up investing in it.

I got it in the mail after a few weeks.

 It came with the power and audio cables, EXT connector, and the ASIC installed. I just don't have it in me just yet to really work on the SYF board... but I'm not giving up on it just yet.

The one thing I needed to install was the cartridge connector. To get a more flush installation, I used some nuts and bolts that were extras from my Anet A8 build to hold the cartridge connector to the mainboard while I soldered it.

I was planning on using the FunnyPlaying LCD screen I tried to install (and failed) many years ago. I stopped myself because I didn't understand where each point on the board goes to. I was already too exhausted to try to figure it out, so I ended up ordering a CleanScreen board, again from Retrosix.

 Here's part of the install. There are some 3D printed brackets that holds the screen in place that I installed, followed by the screen itself. After getting it in the brackets and secured to both the mainboard and the CleanScreen board, I just needed to install the special ribbon cables from the CleanScreen to the RePCB.

...but I didn't have them...

 I emailed the seller and after some back and fourth, I got some replacements sent to me. There's more to the story here, but I'll add it at the end.

 

 

After waiting a week, I got the ribbon cables and installed them. I installed the SYF power and sound boards into the other half of the shell. I attached the cables to their respective board and closed up the shell to test a game in the new board.

 

Finally! I have a working Game Gear....kinda. I was testing this using USB-C for power which, as you can see, is working just fine. The beauty of the new power board, other than the USB-C connection, is that a rechargeable battery can be installed. A rechargeable battery and a new LCD screen means more time for Game Gear fun.

But...when I installed the battery, it would fine for one session. If you turn it off and try to turn it back on, all you would get is a black screen.

...

I took the battery out and tried with the USB-C cable again. It worked fine. Flicked the power switch on and off again with the cable in and no battery installed, it gave me the black screen again. 

...

I didn't want to fight it anymore, so I ended up ordering a CleanJuice power kit from Retrosix. Because I didn't want to take any more chances with a failure, I also ordered a CleanAmp for it at the same time.

After another week of waiting, I got, hopefully, the last of the puzzle pieces that I need to get this blue Game Gear working again.

 

CleanAmp and CleanJuice installed. I installed just one of the 2 batteries in to test and make sure that the boards work. I was greeted with the Sega logo starting up Sonic 2, so as far as I was concerned, I was done. Just to test that I wouldn't have the same issue as the SYF power board, I flicked the power button off and on again...and was greeted with a black screen.

...

I. Was. Done.

I almost gave up, but then I remembered a thread on Reddit that mentioned the same issue. There was a little switch on the board that is set on from the seller. That switch should be set to off. After switching it to off, happy to say that it FINALLY works as it should. I tested by flicking the power switch on and off, with the USB-C cable in AND charging the batteries, and with the batteries on its own. Safe to say that everything works.

 There were a few minor issues. First one is the power switch. With the CleanJuice board, it seems that with the stock power switch cover, it hits the edge of the case just right that it's hard at times to turn the console on. It's easily overcome by pressing down on the switch while flicking it on. 

 The other issue was the battery compartments. The rechargeable batteries that come with the CleanJuice kit kinda fit in the compartments fine, but very snug. It also made the battery cover bulge a little. I started by removing the ribs in the compartment. I used flush cutters to remove parts of the ribs a little at the time. I also took some of the plastic that locks the battery connectors off.

 The compartment looked a little rough after cutting out the ribs and locking tabs. I used a flat head screwdriver to scrape down the leftovers of the ribs to a not so rough look. It looked smooth enough so it wouldn't puncture the batteries. Both compartments were modified like this, so now it fits a little better and the cover is flush on the back.

 I'm charging it now. Nice little orange light to show it's charging. We'll see how well it works. 

So, at this point, it works. Granted, it's not what I originally planned, but it's working as a modded Game Gear should. That's all that matters to me. I will possibly revisit redoing that SYF board in the future, but nothing immediate. 

Now, about the issue with the CleanScreen. This was an email back and fourth. The seller mentioned that the ribbon cables should have came with the RePCB board, and asked for a pic of everything that came with the RePCB. I checked the box that the RePCB was sent in, the envelop it was in, pretty much everything from the shipment, and sent a pic of everything. The seller said that the ribbon cables were small and I could have dropped them or misplaced them. I said that I checked everywhere and I didn't see it. I also mentioned that I didn't recall seeing it while I was unpacking the RePCB. I FEEL that at this point, the seller reluctantly resent the ribbon cables to me "as a courtesy". I did thank the seller for taking care of the situation. The seller replied that it was "a courtesy", and then mentioned that the ribbon cables were put in with the power and audio cables.

...Keep in mind that I had the seller install EVERYTHING except the cartridge connector. The seller also installed the power and audio cables. At that point, I had a feeling that the cables were not put in the envelope with the RePCB, and because it's so small, I was at fault for not double checking and potentially losing the cables in the first place.

...whatever. It was replaced, I got it installed, everything works...

E N D   O F   S T O R Y.

 

 

Forgot to mention that I replaced the old, scratched up plastic screen lens with a glass one that I originally got when I ordered the FunnyPlaying LCD screen mod. Nothing special: push the old one out, clean up the adhesive with 99% alcohol, stick the new one on, done. But there one more thing that needed to be done after everything was installed and running...

So satisfying. #SavorThePeelies

Tried and failed..again...

I swear, I have the worst luck with Game Gears. 

So, I attempted to transplant a Game Gear ASIC to the replacement board that I was able to get. However, I had the hardest time getting it to solder in.

To start off, I did manage to desolder the cartridge connector and external port connector from the dead Game Gear.

Next, I attempted to remove the ASIC from the dead board. It's that square IC near that gold circle.

Since the board was dead, I broke off the part of the PCB that had the ASIC on it. The PCB sat a lot better on the little heating plate that I got a while back.

I used a Chromebook charger to power up the heat plate. I tried to get it to go up to 250°C, but it topped out at 148°C. I used a hot air rework wand to help coax it out. After a few minutes, it came off clean.

I started prepping the new board for the ASIC. The first attempt was...bad. I did try to line up the pins and solder them in place, but it would move just enough to get misaligned. This ended up getting pins crossing over and touching the adjoining pins. I tried several times to fix it, but it got worse. I used the hot air again and removed the ASIC to try again. Before I went for a second attempt, I bought a digital microscope.

It took a few days for the microscope to arrive. As soon as it did, I got back to work. I reattempted to solder that ASIC in. With the microscope, it made it much easier to solder the ASIC to the new board. All was going well until I got to the final side that I needed to solder in. For some reason, it kept bridging pins. 

 I'm just not good at fine pitch soldering. I still need practice. Even with this microscope, I just couldn't get it to sit properly. I changed soldering tips to a blade tip and tried again, using the blade to separate the pins a little better. All was going well until...

I applied too much heat and I ended up ripping up some traces from the board. 

Oh, don't worry, I'm already upset with myself. 

I thought I'd try finishing up the installation by installing the old LCD board I tried to install and failed 2 different Game Gears. Unfortunately, all I got was a white screen. 

Again, still upset with myself. 

I removed the ASIC again with hot air, and took a few days away from this project. I may attempt to fix those traces and re-reattempt to solder that ASIC in. Until then, but because I just want a decently modded Game Gear up and running, I ordered a pre-populated board.

Maybe I might try fixing my Atari Lynx II next? I don't know. I don't think I have the mental capacity to do any mod or repair work during the holidays. It's just getting busier and busier at work, and I just don't have the energy when I get home to work on these. I'll more than likely post about getting that new Game Gear board installed before the end of the year. Maybe after the new year, I'll look at fixing, at least, the Lynx.

Some new projects coming up in the *near* future...

So, remember a while back when I accidentally killed 2 of my Game Gears? Well, one was dead even after a recap and I killed the other one trying to install an LCD mod. Well, I might be able to revive at least one of them for now. 

I was able to pick up an SYF Game Gear mainboard from High Score! Tech supply a few weeks ago. I've been checking the site daily since August to check availability of the board. Randomly, I checked the site late one night before I went to bed and saw that they were available! I was gonna scoop up 2 of them, but the site owner mentioned that he will be carrying the v2 revision of the board soonish. So, just that I have at least one to revive (the one that wouldn't work even after the recap), I ordered one.

 I did get it after a week or so, but I haven't started the process just yet. I plan on getting a different LCD screen replacement in the near future. Once I'm able to get it, I'll start the rebuild process. 

 As much as I want to get this project done, I'm not looking forward to some of the things that I need to do. Primarily, I need to remove the ASIC from the dead Game Gear mainboard, the cartridge port, and the external port. The external port and cartridge connector are through-hole parts, so desoldering those would be easier. The ASIC, however, needs to be removed from the mainboard using a combination of a high temp heat pad and hot air rework.I did get some tools that will make that IC removal easier, but I'm still a little apprehensive about the removal.

Since I was in the mood, I ended up getting another GameCube to mod. I didn't feel like going to PRGE again this year, but my niece was going. I asked her to look for one for me. She did manage to find one for me, but I forgot to mention to look for a certain model for me. I wasn't specific about looking for a DOL-001; the one she found for me was a DOL-101. That's on me, I wasn't thinking.

I've been doing research about fully modding a 101. There are many mods I can do to it that takes a little more effort (read: a lot of soldering). I've already saved some stuff that I'm planning to buy so when I'm done with the Game Gear, I can start on the GameCube. Hopefully, the Game Gear rebuild will be done without many hiccups. 

Stay tuned! 

Not dead...

I have trigger finger on my right middle finger. It sucks. It's hard to write, 10 key, type, even hold a soldering iron.

I'm probably gonna go see the doctor again to either get a cortisone shot or to arrange surgery for it. Either way, it might be costly.

Just took a vacation with the kids back to Maui, with a few days on Oahu. The only game related thing involved with that trip is that I added another game to my collection; one that I've been seeking out in the wild for a while now. 

 

 

What's nice about this was that it was less than any other place I've looked at and it was complete! There's a few more for me to collect to complete it.

 

I've been wanting to resurrect the 2 Game Gears that I killed trying to update the screen mod to it. There is a replacement mainboard that let's me transplant the ASIC and some other components, adds rechargeable batteries with USB-C power, and updated LCD screen. I've just been patiently waiting for the boards to be available again. 

I guess that's it for now. I guess I'll update when I'm able to get those Game Gear replacement boards and start that repair/update.

Some PlayStation things going on...

My co-worker and I have been discussing mods for PS3, PS2, and PS1. He's been thinking about modding all his old PlayStations. So I've been suggesting some YouTube videos that I have followed. He managed to get his PS3 modded and working perfectly. That made me take a look at all my old PlayStations. 

There are some new PS2 mods recently, the newest one being Multi-purpose Memory Card Emulator (MMCE). It uses either an open source PS2 memory card (SD2PSX) or the Memory Card Pro 2 from 8-bit Mods. I opted for one that I found on Aliexpress from BitfunX that is based off the SD2PSX. I followed a tutorial from Tito of Macho Nacho Productions to get my SD card set up and read for when the memory card came in. 

I got the SD card loaded with the proper files and put it in the memory card as soon as it arrived. I did all the settings that Tito mentioned in his tutorial on OPL, but it wasn't loading the games I had on the memory card properly. To make it work, I had to change the timing settings that Tito mentioned back to what the original settings were. 

I also spent some time to get my old setup on the PS2 updated. With my old Free McBoot memory card, I updated it so it would work a bit better with my 1TB hard drive and also another old SD to memory card to load games (MX4SIO). I really don't use the MX4SIO as much anymore, but it probably will come in handy if I need to test a game or something in the future. It wasn't much when I purchased it (~$20), and I did buy it from a well known creator in the retro gaming community, so the cost is justified.

I then moved on to the PS3. It's been a while since I've played with the custom firmware (CFW) that I had installed back in 2018...at least that's what the last homebrew I installed said. I first took care of updating all the apps that I needed for installing and playing backups. It took a few minutes to get that all up to date and tested. 

I went and tried to remember how to install disc images to the hard drive. I've tried both disc images and package (pkg) files. I had to check some YouTube videos on how to get the disc images on the drive, but the pkg files needed a better refresher course on getting to work. I had to install a few more apps to get the downloaded pkg files to work properly.

I spent the last few days getting games installed and tested. The main game I wanted to really play through was a game called Folklore. I remember trying the demo and thought it was a pretty neat game. I spent a few hours playing it and having fun. 

I'm planning on getting my PSP and PS Vita updated as well. It's been some time since I've messed around with them. I'm really not worried about my PSX, as I already have one modded with an XStation ODE. I have another one that needs to have an XStation installed, but I'll have to do that on another day.

2025 is a GO!

Looks like I missed a whole month of stuff to post...anyway.

 

 

I managed to finally get my hands on a Mister! This is a lower cost board that does the same things the OG DE-10 Nano does. I really can't explain fully what it does off the top of my head, but THIS WEBSITE explains it better than I probably could.

I got this since a lot of retro gaming enthusiasts highly recommend it. After playing around with it for a few days, I'll agree. It works way better than my old Raspberry Pi 3b does playing retro games. The fact that the Mister plays N64 and Saturn, often hard to emulate consoles, nearly flawlessly sold me. 

I've been working on getting my office in order. So far, I've got most of my HDMI connected consoles all on switches connected to my main HDTV. So far, I have a PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch, an Amazon Fire Cube, and the Mister connected to it. I have several ports open so I can connect my RetroTINK 5x Pro, RetroTINK 2x Pro, or OSSC at any time.

Lastly, I've been 3D printing some display mounts for my completed LEGO Star Wars builds. I've had my X-Wing hidden from view for a while. It's nice to finally have it displayed on a shelf with other Star Wars builds. I also printed some stands for the Speed collection cars that display them a lot better than just laying flat on my shelf.

At this point, I really don't know how much I'll be posting in 2025. It's not that I'm not doing projects (I am, but not at a daily pace). I'm just tired. I'll post if I feel something is post-worthy. For now though, let's welcome 2025!