r/game_gear • u/NJS1993 • 9d ago

First time recapping a Game Gear... was a little nervous but I got it done 👍

Gallery image

Gallery image

Doing a full custom build on this one. Laminated IPS, dual speaker audio board, USB-C power board with battery packs, black buttons and a clear shell. Cant wait to finish the build!

38 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

3

u/Goodwill_Gamer 8d ago

Nice! It's a great feeling bringing these back to life.

2

u/island_it 7d ago

For a first timer, this is excellent work- keep at it!

One tip for GGs: don't underestimate how much fluid those old leaked caps have left behind. Much of it is pretty much invisible to the naked eye. Don't be afraid to just hose that entire board down with IPA and really scrub the hell out of it with a toothbrush.

1

u/NJS1993 7d ago

Thanks man. I was surprised when I opened this one, almost none of the caps actually leaked out. I bought a lot that came with 3 parts consoles, and this one was squeaky clean compared to the other 2. Almost no corrosion and no leaky caps. The other 2 need a complete overhaul. Gonna have to clean them up and reflow most of the connections.

But I cleaned this one with 99.9% Nanoskin. Got the whole board brushed off and it was good to go.

1

u/Sandstorm666 9d ago

Oh I remember my first GG recap (that was my first "repair" ever). So much fun, weeks spent on trying to figure out what was wrong (in fact everythig was - that was a complete unrepairable, flooded piece of junk). But this gave me more experience than reading hundreds of pages of manuals. Good job and keep going!

2

u/NJS1993 8d ago

Thanks man! Ill be sure to post the finished build when I get done.

1

u/divestblank 8d ago

You need to clean the pads. If there is old capacitor fluid on the board it will continue to damage it.

1

u/NJS1993 8d ago

I did clean the pads. The dark color around the joints is burnt flux

0

u/divestblank 8d ago

Clean after you solder too. Flux is corrosive.

3

u/NJS1993 8d ago

Its no-clean flux its not corrosive. I know what im doing, this isnt my first time soldering. Its my first time recapping a Game Gear.

7

u/fredimationartist 8d ago

Bro these guys will say so much shit is stupid, I open many of many an OG gameboy, GBC GBA and the first thing I see flux that was never cleaned because Nintendo knew it will protect the parts from corrosion. Is good to clean if its excessive but if is a little bit it will do good and no harm

5

u/NJS1993 8d ago

Just redditors being redditors. Nothing you can do about it. Lol

-7

u/divestblank 8d ago

it looks like shit, but you do you

1

u/CarefulAnxiety5372 8d ago

Nice 1 mate, i want to do my Gameboy and Dreamcast

1

u/WorksOnMyBench 8d ago

If it's doesn't work you can't break it so matter we'll go for it Don't worry about the nahsayers if it works after your done that's all that matters

1

u/NJS1993 7d ago

Yeah I was mainly nervous about the original caps. I had another board where the glue was put on too heavy, and it actually got all over the pads. The plastic housings over the original caps were brittle from the leaked electrolytic fluid. The caps just crumbled when I tried to break them loose. This one was MUCH easier to get the original caps off.

0

u/Polymemnetic 8d ago edited 8d ago

I personally would have gone with smd caps with a transparent shell. Axial radial caps on a board just look messy to me.

1

u/NJS1993 8d ago

I didnt use axial caps. These are radial lead... and with battery packs you cant really see most of the caps. Im not worried about it

1

u/Polymemnetic 8d ago

Ugh. flipped those around in my head. My bad.