I was recently gifted a Sega Game Gear and was not surprised to find that it wasn't exactly in tip top shape.
The capacitors on these are approaching 20 years old, and apparently the Game Gear shipped with a complete set of dodgy, cheap caps. Consequently the sound and video are now suffering.
If you have one and can only see an image after it has been switched on for a while, and then only from a strange angle, and if the sound if very low or scratchy the chances are your caps are at the end of their life and need replacing.
Mine was exhibiting these exact symptoms.
This was after I had it switched on for about 5 mins and viewed from a 30 degree angle. If you looked at it from any other angle, it ghosts out completely.
The sound is also very faint even on full power, but is fine when using a headset.
A video of it booting up, prior to my fixing it up.
Game Gear Before Cap replacement
Popping the case open is fairly straightforward, there are only 6 screws and one "security screw". I had to remove this with needle nose pliers, but once they are all out the case comes apart very easily.
Next is unplugging the 3 cables that join the top and bottom half of the casing. They come out quite easily with no problem.
Once the case is seperated, it is fairly straight forward to start replacing the capacitors. I noticed a couple of mine had started to leak, so I was careful to mop up and clean any residue.
This is the first Cap I removed, just to the right of the blue cable connection. The caps are lightly glued to the surface but break away quite easily with minimum force and the use of a pair of pliers. Once the contacts are desoldered, a quick clean and both pads primed with some fresh solder. Trimming the new cap legs down to a usable length it takes a few seconds to solder them in, being careful of course to keep the correct polarity. As a clue, the longer leg is positive.
For my motherboard revision there was a total of 11 caps to replace which didn't take too long TBH. Although I did have to do a little further manoeuvering and trimming a bit later on so that I could close the case.
I also wanted to replace the capacitor responsible for the sound. This is on the upper part of the shell and was a little trickier.
Once this is all completed, it was then only a job of a few minutes to put the case back together again, replace the screws and get ready for a test.
Game Gear after Cap replacement
I think that is what is called a result.
I had a good half hour playing Outrun, and whilst it's not exactly Arcade quality, it's a fun little system and comfortable and simple to play.
Battery life is the killer though, but luckily the PSU lead is about 6 feet long!
I love it when a plan comes together.
The capacitors on these are approaching 20 years old, and apparently the Game Gear shipped with a complete set of dodgy, cheap caps. Consequently the sound and video are now suffering.
If you have one and can only see an image after it has been switched on for a while, and then only from a strange angle, and if the sound if very low or scratchy the chances are your caps are at the end of their life and need replacing.
Mine was exhibiting these exact symptoms.
This was after I had it switched on for about 5 mins and viewed from a 30 degree angle. If you looked at it from any other angle, it ghosts out completely.
The sound is also very faint even on full power, but is fine when using a headset.
A video of it booting up, prior to my fixing it up.
Game Gear Before Cap replacement
Popping the case open is fairly straightforward, there are only 6 screws and one "security screw". I had to remove this with needle nose pliers, but once they are all out the case comes apart very easily.
Next is unplugging the 3 cables that join the top and bottom half of the casing. They come out quite easily with no problem.
Once the case is seperated, it is fairly straight forward to start replacing the capacitors. I noticed a couple of mine had started to leak, so I was careful to mop up and clean any residue.
This is the first Cap I removed, just to the right of the blue cable connection. The caps are lightly glued to the surface but break away quite easily with minimum force and the use of a pair of pliers. Once the contacts are desoldered, a quick clean and both pads primed with some fresh solder. Trimming the new cap legs down to a usable length it takes a few seconds to solder them in, being careful of course to keep the correct polarity. As a clue, the longer leg is positive.
For my motherboard revision there was a total of 11 caps to replace which didn't take too long TBH. Although I did have to do a little further manoeuvering and trimming a bit later on so that I could close the case.
I also wanted to replace the capacitor responsible for the sound. This is on the upper part of the shell and was a little trickier.
Once this is all completed, it was then only a job of a few minutes to put the case back together again, replace the screws and get ready for a test.
Game Gear after Cap replacement
I think that is what is called a result.
I had a good half hour playing Outrun, and whilst it's not exactly Arcade quality, it's a fun little system and comfortable and simple to play.
Battery life is the killer though, but luckily the PSU lead is about 6 feet long!
I love it when a plan comes together.
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I think this will be one of my next projects since I have 4 or 5 of these. More soldering practice. :wink:
Could we get the password?
