PSA - Be sure you know the quality of services you are paying for!!!

[CrossBow]

I've got a Game Gear that was sent to me to get a new LCD upgrade installed. Normally as part of something like this and especially with Game Gears, I require that the console get new capacitors to be sure everything in regards to power where needed is clean and all worn out leaking caps are replaced. In the case of the Game Gear, it isn't an option really as they all need their caps replaced due to the poor quality of the capacitors made in the 90s.

So due to circumstances, the owner of this GG was having issues getting the screws removed from the console. They were required to open it to be sure which model main board they have so the correct LCD kit could be ordered. Well, they sent it to a 'tech' that offers Game Gear services on ebay and they were able to remove the stuck screws and also provided a recap of the console as well. For some reason, they weren't willing to install the upgraded LCD for the owner. The owner contacts me to ask if I'm willing to install the upgraded screen for them as the system has just been recapped and is working fully in stock condition at this time. I agreed to handle the request.

I receive the GG and then proceed to test it before doing anything to be sure everything appears to be working correctly. It was...mostly. I noticed that audio would sometimes seem to cut out and sounded more distorted than usual at louder volumes with this GG. So I opened it up and was not exactly prepared for what I found inside....

That is the audio board. I won't go into too much detail on this as I think the picture will say most of what needs to be said. But the main issues are two things here: 

1st, they use cheap no brand capacitors that in all fairness likely work just fine but for how long or how well I can't say.

2nd and worst issue is that no attempt was made to clean up the original pads and leaking electrolyte from the original capacitors or the flux that was used. You can see this with all the dark yellow to brown spots on the board. 

The fact that the caps are radial vs the SMD that was originally used isn't a huge deal but they could have tried to use smaller sized caps vs this mess. This required them to bend part of the metal shield for the cartridge port section for this to fit. 

I wish it ended there... but here is a pic of the left side of the main GG system board. Now to be honest, the soldering here is likely fine and again the caps are doing the job as the system is working. But the lack of any attempt to clean this up around the solder work is really lazy and will cause problems further down the line as even flux can be corrosive over time.

Last is that it doesn't appear that the actual power board for the console was even touched. I state this because the small plastic cover for the battery terminals for it was stuck fast and hadn't appeared to be have been removed before. Also, the solder joints and bottom portion of the PCB appears aged. Given the lack of cleaning on the spots they did work on, I would have expected some brown flux residue but nothing like that on the power board. Also, the caps on this board I'm pretty sure are factory and were a brand that Sega was using in the GGs back then.

I will likely redo that cap located at C1 on the bottom of the PCB because it is a bit off kilter. But again, that is factory work.

Well, in an attempt to make a point and see if I could correct the audio issues, I went ahead and redid the audio board with SMD caps of more exact spec that was used and it did correct the audio dropouts and distortion I was getting. Here is what the audio board looks like now cleaned up as best as I could...

So now the question is... should I just redo the capacitor work on this entire GG? It is working so I do plan to at least try and clean up the board more. That will also give me a better look on the solder joints that were done to see if anything looks weak or suspect. But I also feel bad for the owner as I don't know what they paid for this service and I don't need to know nor did I ask who did this.

Remember, you should always ask for references and pictures of work done in the past by any person you are reaching out to for services. If they aren't able to provide or offer, then you might want to look elsewhere so you can have a better idea on what you are paying for.

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by CrossBow

[OniDensetsu]

Glad you got that mess cleaned up. Id redo the entire thing if my hands were on it. Cheers Crossbow!

[CrossBow]

17 minutes ago, OniDensetsu said:

Glad you got that mess cleaned up. Id redo the entire thing if my hands were on it. Cheers Crossbow!

That has been the general concensus from others I've shown this too as well. The problem is that recapping a GG is pretty time consuming. The parts is only like a $10 kit which comes to less than $1 per cap, but the time to remove the old, clean up the board well, and especially reinstall with careful forming of the leads so it all fits nice, is time consuming.

There is a quote already paid for that was only for the LCD installation, Wasn't planning to charge for the audio board as I had those as spares on hand that would work, but for a full recap and redoing what someone else already did, that will cost them extra. They would rather I just clean up the board and inspect the work for any loose joints and go from there. 

I mean, even if a few years down the line it starts to have issues, it can be recapped then in a more proper manner since at least the originals are gone and aren't going to cause problems now. It could be argued the owner would save money spending the extra to have me do it again and not worry about it. But then none of us can really offer any warranties anyway since we are dealing with 30+ year old stuff here and what works great today, could develop an all new unrelated issue tomorrow that couldn't be forseen. And while these caps are generic and not of a brand I know of, they could still do the business just fine for many years to come...

I have sent these pics and expressed my concerns to the owner before posting any of this online. Again, the current decision is to clean it up, and continue on.

 

[OniDensetsu]

I understand the time = $ thing. I just say id redo the entire thing because once it leaves your hands any issues down the road will be blamed on the last person to work on it even if it wasn't there fault & someone else's shoddy work. Hopefully the client understands.
Eww what kinda caps are those that tech used Lol my god! It's like they recycles them from something else? idk. 

[CrossBow]

The client does understand. The honest thing here is that the original quote for service of work would double if I end up recapping it and the client would rather push through. My other concern is that just undoing what has been done, could reveal loose or burnt off pads that would then require more additional work. 

There is a reason many of us usually charge extra compared to our normal fees when we have to go back over and redo someone elses work. It is because in  many instances, it ends up taking more time to do than it would have originally before it was even touched.

Like all systems I service, it will receive the standard 2+ hour burn in time before I box it back up and send it on its way. That is really the only thing I can do to verify functionality before it leaves my hands. This is how I've found issues with both a Sophia and an F18A boards I recently installed. They initially were working fine. But then 10 min later odd thins would start to occur. The F18A ended up needing to be sent back and had to be reflowed as apparently some of the SMD ICs had loose connections. The Sophia was working for a few days and survived for a half day burn in test. Then a Month later when I got back to that console, no output from the DVI at all but analog outputs were working. So that too has been sent back and a replacement on the way. No Idea why that Sophia suddenly stopped working a month later, but I'm glad I tested it again before calling it good.

 

[CrossBow]

Thought you guys might like an update. I was able to clean up the crud a bit and get it looking a little better. Good thing I did as 2 solder joints weren't that great and came loose that I then removed the cap, cleaned up the pads a little better and then soldered back into place. So here is what that looks like now...

New LCD is working and looking pretty snazzy as well!

[Jinroh]

Very good. 🙂 You got it cleaned up very well, and the screen looks very nice.

Do you recommend any particular re-capper?

I can't solder anymore since surviving my stroke (can't even write anymore with my dominant hand), and was thinking of getting my Game Gear modernized.

[CrossBow]

9 hours ago, Jinroh said:

Very good. 🙂 You got it cleaned up very well, and the screen looks very nice.

Do you recommend any particular re-capper?

I can't solder anymore since surviving my stroke (can't even write anymore with my dominant hand), and was thinking of getting my Game Gear modernized.

Well obviously I can suggest myself LOL! But I'm sure there are quite a few techs out there that can provide such services. Just have to ask around and see if there is someone close to you to try and save on shipping etc. I will say that in my opinion, I would stay away from those that recap using ceramic SMD style over the standard electrolytics. Yes the ceramic type will certainly last longer, but they aren't the correct type of cap that was designed to be used. I've installed a few and while they technically do work, I did experience some odd glitching on graphics in a few games and especially constant hissing from the audio. 

My guess is that is why there are other replacement boards you can purchase for the GG such as power boards that provide you with USB-C for power and have charging circuits on them to have LiPOs installed vs the older AAs... etc. There are even replacement audio boards you can purchase. But I've never had any issues using standard electrolytic caps and the original boards provided any leak damage is cleaned up and the caps are installed in a proper manner. 

One interesting thing about the GG is that you will heard a lot of folks refer to the caps in it as being early SMD style and that actually isn't true at all. They are standard radial electrolytic caps in a square housing with the leads bent to solder onto SMD pads. So using standard radial caps is just replacing with what was in there originally but with higher quality ones that should last much longer than the originals did. 

The pic above is what that board looked like after I cleaned all the old flux off it..etc. But it isn't what one of my normal recapped GGs would look like. Here is one I did most recently to give you an idea of how they really should look with proper quality brand caps.

 

 

 

[Jinroh]

3 minutes ago, CrossBow said:

Well obviously I can suggest myself LOL! But I'm sure there are quite a few techs out there that can provide such services. Just have to ask around and see if there is someone close to you to try and save on shipping etc. I will say that in my opinion, I would stay away from those that recap using ceramic SMD style over the standard electrolytics. Yes the ceramic type will certainly last longer, but they aren't the correct type of cap that was designed to be used. I've installed a few and while they technically do work, I did experience some odd glitching on graphics in a few games and especially constant hissing from the audio. 

My guess is that is why there are other replacement boards you can purchase for the GG such as power boards that provide you with USB-C for power and have charging circuits on them to have LiPOs installed vs the older AAs... etc. There are even replacement audio boards you can purchase. But I've never had any issues using standard electrolytic caps and the original boards provided any leak damage is cleaned up and the caps are installed in a proper manner. 

One interesting thing about the GG is that you will heard a lot of folks refer to the caps in it as being early SMD style and that actually isn't true at all. They are standard radial electrolytic caps in a square housing with the leads bent to solder onto SMD pads. So using standard radial caps is just replacing with what was in there originally but with higher quality ones that should last much longer than the originals did. 

The pic above is what that board looked like after I cleaned all the old flux off it..etc. But it isn't what one of my normal recapped GGs would look like. Here is one I did most recently to give you an idea of how they really should look with proper quality brand caps.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for the info @CrossBow. 🙂

I was not sure if that was something you regularly did, replacing the caps since you said it's a pain. 😛

Good info about which caps there should be using to replace too! The job you did is very nice, it looks OEM to me. 😄 I always thought Electrolytic should be used, but I am surprised some people use Ceramic SMD. Good info on your experience with Ceramic jobs. Would be a pain to get glitching or erratic games from the Caps, then have to get them redone later.

[CrossBow]

1 hour ago, Jinroh said:

Thank you so much for the info @CrossBow. 🙂

I was not sure if that was something you regularly did, replacing the caps since you said it's a pain. 😛

Good info about which caps there should be using to replace too! The job you did is very nice, it looks OEM to me. 😄 I always thought Electrolytic should be used, but I am surprised some people use Ceramic SMD. Good info on your experience with Ceramic jobs. Would be a pain to get glitching or erratic games from the Caps, then have to get them redone later.

Well, most folks just live with it, or in the case of the audio, the new audio boards supposedly remove the hiss issues using ceramics. But again, that is because they are designing a new board specifically for the purpose of using ceramics when the originals weren't. So just depends. And yes, recapping a GG is more time consuming that other consoles but still not that big a deal and I always recap GGs that come to me unless they have been done recently already by someone else as was the case with the one I posted about. Although the caps they used are of questionable quality and the way they were done was a messy, they did seem to be doing the job and the person that owned this GG wasn't expecting it to have to be recapped, so I only cleaned it up, recapped the audio board to fix the issues I mentioned it was having and installed the new LCD upgrade that it was originally sent to me for.

But yes, recapping the GG is mandatory at this point if it hasn't been done already. You should see what the caps looked like on that second one I posted before I redid them...ugh. Caught that one in time.

 

[Jinroh]

Very good advice. 🙂 Mine is surely due. I'll have to check mine and see how it is before I can get someone to modernize it. 😄 Don't want them leaking all over the motherboard. 😛

[CrossBow]

10 hours ago, Jinroh said:

Very good advice. 🙂 Mine is surely due. I'll have to check mine and see how it is before I can get someone to modernize it. 😄 Don't want them leaking all over the motherboard. 😛

Yeap...cause it could very well look like this inside...

This is what most of the OG caps in GGs look like at this point. Notice the yellowing appearance where the caps are soldered to the board vs actual shiny solder? That is the electrolyte having leaked out and corroding the leads, solder, and solder pad underneath.

 

When you crack the glue loose that holds the caps down, you can really see what this starts to look like...

 

Looks tasty ehh? Now this is a typical GG. I've seen some that were worse where the leads were basically eaten through and in some more extreme cases, traces on the PCB that get eaten away due to the corrosion. So yeah... GG recaps are mandatory at this point for pretty much every model. This is all a result of the great capacitor plague of the 90s due to formulae stealing and corp espionage. I remember reading all about it when it happened back in the day.

[Jinroh]

On 8/11/2023 at 10:09 AM, CrossBow said:

Yeap...cause it could very well look like this inside...

This is what most of the OG caps in GGs look like at this point. Notice the yellowing appearance where the caps are soldered to the board vs actual shiny solder? That is the electrolyte having leaked out and corroding the leads, solder, and solder pad underneath.

 

When you crack the glue loose that holds the caps down, you can really see what this starts to look like...

 

Looks tasty ehh? Now this is a typical GG. I've seen some that were worse where the leads were basically eaten through and in some more extreme cases, traces on the PCB that get eaten away due to the corrosion. So yeah... GG recaps are mandatory at this point for pretty much every model. This is all a result of the great capacitor plague of the 90s due to formulae stealing and corp espionage. I remember reading all about it when it happened back in the day.

 Definitely not a pretty sight. I can see that's no fun to clean up. Glad there are capable people like you though who can keep them running and out of the garbage bin. 🙂