Can I fix this Sega Cart?

[@Tronicsfix]

Nice work on this repair! You should definitely try to fix the cracked one...just make sure to film a video trying to fix it!

[@jamesburchill7522]

Sadly, Sega games don't need the perfect amount of thermal paste.

[@tomoxford8815]

Refreshing to see a video that just gets straight into it without several minutes of intro logos and waffle :)

[@toysintheattic2664]

It’s because she’s not American

[@VM-hl8ms]

@@toysintheattic2664 not that americans don't have very interesting channels, but yeah, i get what you are saying... 😄

[@x7heDeviLx]

@@toysintheattic2664Being succinct or concise isn't a characteristic that's limited to any one country. For example, the Retro Man Cave takes a long time to get to the point, with help of PCB way of course and StezStix Fix's rap of Patreon followers doesn't seem very efficient, however entertaining. It's interesting how some people like to stir up a "us vs. them" attitude towards anything.

[@toysintheattic2664]

@@x7heDeviLx I appreciate what you are saying, but it is a very American characteristic

[@ulysees321]

This channel is knocking it out the park, keep up the good work and the solid video production and this channel will grow in no time

[@ChuckTomasi]

Great job fixing this. Something to consider to repair that PCB is to create a new PCB based on the old one. Sites like EasyEDA make it pretty easy to create simple PCBs like the one you showed.

[@NeigeFraiche]

I was thinking the PCB design might be available to download somewhere already, then send that to a PCB fabricator

[@ChuckTomasi]

@@NeigeFraiche Great idea. It would make it much easier. I wouldn't be surprised if it's out there.

[@benjaminvlz]

Or you can just buy a reproduction PCB that's already made.

[@OriginalGrasshopper]

My new favorite retro gaming KZbinr!

[@aaronvogt335]

That’s because she is hot!

[@KingBuzzo-r2s]

​@@aaronvogt335 has to be. Sure can't be because of the deep amount of content LMAO

[@dylanherron3963]

@@KingBuzzo-r2s This YT channel's first upload was 3 weeks ago, my dude. The amount of try-hard men that just immediately start clocking small content creators is wild. We get it man, you're really, really cool.

[@TheDarkHour684]

Hi Kari! I lived through all these games and systems in the 80s and 90s, and it's great to see the new generations preserving them! Good luck with your channel!

[@utubeuser1024]

Hi Kari, just found your channel yesterday - I watched the Sinclair ZX Spectrum programming video and subbed after that - Didn't realise you've only got 4 videos - I'm sure your channel will grow fast! I played many a Mega Drive game back in the early 90s - mainly at my neighbour's house until I got my own Mega Drive II in 1998 - It was great to see you repair that game with such care and precision - I've never actually seen inside a Mega Drive cartridge until now - thank you and keep up the great content!

[@f3rns]

20 years old seems so long ago. I’m loving this channel. First video recommended by KZbin, loving the repair station. If I’m honest I never learned to solder.

[@OneManManyPlans]

Ahh 20 seconds in and the memory of popping open a case with the cartridge and manual (in my case it was a Sega Master System 2) just came flooding back. DVD's and downloading games just don't feel the same. Glorious! (Thank you!)

[@janwiersma1449]

welcome to KZbin Kari. just four video's old and allready such a great followers list. You are goeing to kick it very far. your first vid popped up right away in my algoritm. and I subbed right away, not even realising You just started. You are a pro. I am really interested to see what your line up of computers is. and Your further retro interests. keep up the good work.

[@byronneedham529]

Hi Kari, Great video 👍Welcome to the retro community 😀It is so good to see someone younger with such passion about older consoles and computer, looking forward to some more content from you.

[@paranoidgenius9164]

A brummie lass😊 I'm a retro guy, & I cannot recall ever coming across a cracked or snapped cartridge PCB even when I worked at a gameshop! Sure I've repaired PCB's with worn & broken tracers & blown capacitors & reflowed solder joints, & I have replaced spent SRAM button batteries but never have I seen physically cracked PCB's nor that I ever wanted to!😅 When cleaning the PCB contact pins, rub up & down on each pin instead of how you, & many others I've seen do, I see it as bad practice because micro strands of cotton could become snagged on rough edges, then when you insert the cartridge into the Mega Drive, the snagged cotton could creat a short accross pins, or the cotton could stick inside the Mega Drive's cartridge slot which may interfere with the proper operation between cartridge & console. No matter how unlikely this is to happen through normal use, the risk factor is always present.

[@qwerty1weir]

brummie?? 😂

[@daviddowsett1658]

@@qwerty1weir She don't sound Brummie + I can not see a cup-a-soup anywhere ...

[@dionvandenberg]

That's pretty sound advice. Thank god I've never shorted out one of my precious Mega Drive games this way. I'd be a very sad little Sega nerd.

[@paranoidgenius9164]

@@dionvandenberg I wouldn't call myself a nerd, & its true for other cartridge based consoles, & yes, I've been very sad in my life.

[@erick103]

This is an awesome series! I hope you do more! I recently started finding old, broken games on Ebay as well and it's been a fun journey to get some of my favourite, childhood games back and running.

[@AndyDo]

I love Comic Zone.... so unique and so well done. GEMS didn't even hold it back...the music was solid in spite of it. Cool stuff!

[@dionvandenberg]

Dear lord, GEMS still makes my fillings pop out everytime I hear it's vile creations of audible evil.

[@OniRubberNinja]

Very late to the party, but you are doing an excellent job! One thing that you missed (and this is to help out whomever reads this comment as well) is that both the chip and the board are marked for the chips correct orientation. If you look on top of the chip you will see that there is a shiny indent in the center of one side. That is called the "notch". If you look at the drawing of the chip directly on the board, you will see that there is a little u shaped "notch" on one side of the drawing. The notches should always be on the same side. Check out 4:20 in the video. Notch is located on board on the left side. You have the two green via's and then notch is just to the right of them. Hope this helps when looking at boards in the future. It is always of the upmost importance to have them match, otherwise power could enter where it isnt supposed to and blow the chip!

[@fremandn]

The number on the top right of the PCB might be the PCB part number and the stamped value might be the PCB Assembly (PCBA) part number which would consider the ROM as well. So your PCB is probably the same part even if it's from a different run. That might be a handy way to start a database if they don't exist already. Thanks for keeping the editing and story-telling efficient. I prefer the straightforward discussion and presentation of the techniques and problem solving process.

[@voodoomotion5855]

Awesome video! Years ago before KZbin and before there were cheap PCB services, I etched my own PCB by masking the traces and using an acid to dissolve the excess copper. I designed the layout in Adobe Illustrator, then printed the circuit in reverse using a laser printer. To transfer it, you simply lay the paper onto the board and iron it, until eventually the toner ink sticks, then soak it to carefully remove the paper 😂 It work but a very nerve racking process. My PCB was for an Atari 800xl that I converted into a PC keyboard 😀 I feel guilty for doing it now I've watched so many repair videos 😢 but it's very retro and could be plugged into an fpga 😀 I'd recommend a site like PCB Way, especially if it's double sided. Look forward to seeing you try a repair!

[@sandwich2473]

Oh dang very nice :O the board seems relatively simple, you might be able to just solder wires to the various components without having to clue the board though that'll make it all rattly

[@Cooper_246]

Cool, I didn't recognize the game at first but when you played it I vaguely remembered seeing it in a Sega magazine back in the day. Good job fixing it.

[@interghost]

What game did you kill to fix it lol... just curious?

[@SuperBobHoskinsBros]

What a gorgeous and practical looking soldering station! I especially like the cleaning sponge compartment

[@robmthe1st]

Hi Kari, Love your content so far! Looking forward to seeing much more!

[@Nas_Atlas]

Such an enjoyable video with a happy ending. I had to check what the value of the Comix Zone cartridge was and it seems with your repair and the manual included you should have easily doubled the value with your work! Well done!

[@davidelliott8016]

British retro repair KZbinr! As a 48 year old fellow brit who remembers the retro stuff from new, I'm subscribing😂

[@Eric-Retro-Stuff]

Great video! I think the small cartridge PCBs with the single large rom chip are oddly beautiful.

[@MrDirkles]

It's all refreshing to find an interesting and genuine you tube channel

[@alinayossimouse]

Thank you for making this channel, I hope to see many more videos from you. I love learning about all the ins and outs of old games, and your videos have already taught me more tangible bits than many other (retro) gaming youtubers

[@tonybennett7145]

Fab video Kari. You certainly cover a good range of topics and, everything is explained and covered very well. Good job young lady. 👍

[@EgoShredder]

Watching soldering in videos like this is actually something I enjoy. It's a form of ASMR I guess.

[@CallousCoder]

So I shouldn’t fear adding more in my videos? To me it’s so dull to watch 😂 so in my last “building a zx” I only focussed on the complex usb interface 😂

[@EgoShredder]

@@CallousCoder I like doing soldering myself too, although I can imagine if it were a job it could lose its edge after years of it! 😁

[@joshcarter-com]

You really need the solder fumes for the proper experience. 😊

[@CallousCoder]

@@EgoShredder lol 😜 I just replied to the lady that she can drag solder the pins. It’s a process I came up with in 1993 when as an intern I had to assembly all the cards for the Dutch open tower telescope. They all had 2 times 60 or so pin back plane connectors. Several 68000 CPUs and I was getting so bored. That I started to experiment as to how I could speed up that tedium 🤣 But I still find it very zen and relaxing these days. Especially smd soldering. As I don’t need to flip the board and wrangle either leads. 😃

[@sega-re-trop-vieux]

So good to see a lady that is fan of Sega and being able to repair a cartridge! I subscribe!

[@Prizm44]

Yeah, a real female for once that's into this stuff. Not a bait-and-switch "female" like it usually is 🙄

[@dexx2233]

ah nice!! another repair channel, also funny... on almost every youtube channel i've seen, there is that SAME desoldering gun that i also use (for hobby).. i'm extra happy to have one now because i know it's a good unit... and good job on repairing that game!! ;)

[@swingstylez]

Which gun is it? Does it go "moo" when heard at normal speed?

[@jaycee1980]

The ZD915 "moo gun" is very common indeed.. and it's very good for the price

[@JRussellRetroGaming]

I seen some beyond repaired game cartridges. But never seen one where it's broken in 3 pieces like that. Strewth! Glad you been able to repair it with a donor PCB board for it. Phenomenal video and repair work herem. 👌🏻👍🏻

[@longlifemilk77]

I love watching your videos always entertaining and informative

[@ReaperCH90]

I like the irony that you are a lot younger than me but are very interested in tech that is a lot older than I am.

[@GeorgesChannel]

Great video again, Kari, and congrats to your growing channel! Well deserved! And this time you also put some gameplay at the end :) You could have soldered a socket into the donorboard to have have the chips easy swappable!

[@andrewweller5119]

i have a NOW TV box with a screaching fan and after watching your vids i thought sod it, i will have a go at repairing it. I removed the fan, cleaned it up, reinstalled everything and bingo, good as new. you have saved me at least £70 buying a new one. i am now looking round the house seeing what else i can fix hahaha.

[@frozencore8159]

Need someone like Kari in my Life both of us work with electronics, i love this Job

[@billmurphy7430]

Nice work and you have a great channel! Those ROM pcb’s were mostly simple two layer designs. Most times I can fix them by bridging the cracked traces with very small wire soldered in place. Then a bit of Silicon RTV sealant will hold the board together if the cracks are in a non-structural area. Many times I don’t have spares so the original needs to be fixed.

[@Adam_22-k3e]

Just found your channel. Plus Comic Zone is so great and underrated :)

[@danerd8978]

Howard Drowsin's sound track is awesome as well!

[@AbdullaSulaimani]

You brought back a lot of memories with this game. Good luck fixing it!!

[@SirBennyMiles]

I don't like that the algorithm took so long to finally show me one of your videos. Good job on finding the matching donor board. Keep going 💪🏼 Sincerely, your new Subscriber 😁👍🏽

[@erllun]

Loved the open shots. This girl is incredible!

[@kir0nz]

Finally. Someone who can say soldering without sounding like it has double "d" in it.

[@Kuli24000]

sole-der is british. sod-der is american.

[@kir0nz]

@@Kuli24000 but you do not say sodd when you have sold a house.

[@Kuli24000]

@@kir0nz Doesn't matter. How do you say soldier? Sole-jur. English is what it is.

[@kir0nz]

@@Kuli24000 you cannot hear the "L" sound in soldier?

[@danpreston564]

Yeah, the sodder pronunciation is American.

[@StevesRealWorld]

I would’ve used a few jumper wires since I don’t have a stack of donor boards, but loved your video, hope you put out a lot more repair videos

[@ugzz]

This was great, and grats on a first try! I keep wanting to go back and watch your back catalogue.. but then I see there's just a few vids, and that makes me all the more excited to see what's next!

[@lastsipahi]

Playing that game is harder than fixing it :) Good job btw.

[@stevenA44]

Nice job! Watching you solder just makes me smile. I subscribed a few minutes ago.

[@maddrugamers]

I repair my cartridges, consoles and computers myself too! Great content! Hello from Brazil!

[@Thekidfromcalifornia2.0]

This is techincal and informative. Really great job! Yay for a chunky PCB!

[@germantapia9349]

Keep up with this amazing job. Maybe I'm getting old, but I love to see young people into retro tech

[@kwest9747]

Fascinating video. What an amazing way to transition scenes this game has!

[@NachtmahrNebenan]

Someone seemed angry not to win and then smashed the cartridge. Great work, Kari 🚀

[@jaycee1980]

More likely it was left on a floor and stood on!

[@crunchyfrog555]

If it helps anyone who comes across snapped or cracked PCBs and doesn't have something like a donor board, I tend to go for resin or a decent glue to fix the board then use copper tape bolstered by solder to remake the traces. With smaller cracks, just patch wires should work fine, but if you have a full break and need something a bit more robust long term, this method works well. And for cleaning pins on carts I always use a stiff pencil eraser (one of those more abrasive feeling ones tend to be the best) followed by isoprop. This really works well if there's some oxidization that might be a bit stubborn, especially if you pick up a cart that's older and maybe hasn't been used for ages.

[@VideoInvasion]

Brasso works really well cleaning the contacts too.

[@tonybennett7145]

Not sure if you use one but, I've found gentle use of a ink eraser is goor for cleaning cartridge connector pins/connectors.

[@PixelTheRetro]

Nice work! Glad to see other young people being interested in retro and not just guys lmao

[@dionvandenberg]

Doing the lord's work right there, saving one of the best Sega games.

[@JeffisWinning]

I subscribed because she can fix video games, is wearing a Sonic shirt, and her voice is awesome.

[@hermespymander9167]

damn this channel is such a gem pls don't stop :)

[@BSS44r]

Great video, great advice, great mindset AND beautiful as few, can't wish for more. Subscribed and eager to see other stuff you fix :) Nice job!

[@Tigsi_Retro]

Just discovered your channel. Nice fix on the Mega Drive cart. Looking forward to more retro repair vids 👌

[@FC9k]

If repairing the board, I'd recommend you do the gluing after the soldering. All you need is a little careful scraping, followed by flux, solder, and bits of copper wire. You can reinforce with epoxy or something if you wish, after you're done with the hot work.

[@rickseiden1]

Nice fix. They look like two sided boards. Have you ever considered using something like JLCPCB or PCBWay to recreate the board? You'd spend probably about $20-$30 (sorry for being US centric) with shipping for 5 boards. Also, this is the first video I've watched of yours, so please forgive me for explaining something you already know.

[@southamptonscifi4012]

I lovely satisfying video for a lazy Easter Sunday afternoon.

[@sword4truth1977]

really awesome fix ,hope to see more , to the donor cartridge game name "Viewpoint" ,your sacrifice was not in vain :)

[@boilerhousegarage]

I hate it when charity shops rip people off with broken stuff! Comix Zone sells for £30 up to £50 for a minter, so an obviously damaged one should be £3-5 "sold as seen," not £25.

[@TonySpike]

Its great seeing someone who looks old enough to be my daughter knowing more about repairing Mega Drive carts than i do Their is hope for this generation yet 😂

[@syntaxjak]

Comic Zone was one of my favourite Sega games growing up! Good times great vid!

[@tgsredfield]

I used to play this game a lot when I was a kid. Super difficult but also a lot of fun and it has a very unique style

[@ToruKurosawa]

That's bad luck, like you said the condition looks good initially. I like the fact that you are using the actual hardware to play these games. I still have the original Mega Drive and games but I save time and just play them on PC with emulators.

[@MINDoSOFT]

I loved this game ! But it was brutal ! You couldn't save your progress in those days. Now with emulators and quick saves it becomes more playable-forgiving. :)

[@makoto4341]

Nice fix, because it's the most practical way of doing it. I would have spent hours trying to patch the original PCB, but this is a better solution (which is doable, but hell to do, been there, lol). Subbed

[@patprop74]

love the fact you are sitting in a OSB finished work space, Is it a converted shed? or part of the house where you live? and don't get me started on the uses of rediracking lol :P

[@garfythecat]

So satisfying to see tech being repaired, looking forward to more!

[@JohnnyWednesday]

Three videos and 10k subs! you're clearly blessed by KZbin

[@JimmyRussle]

pretty girl doing legit nerdy things.....instant success.

[@bastian6173]

@@JimmyRussle for some guys it's foreplay to what they do later tonight and they don't even have to feel guilty about it ;D

[@hrdcpy]

Gotta find your niche

[@IM1deadMONEY]

She's cute, British accent, good at soldering and fixing things, is it really some miracle?

[@inf0g]

⁠@@IM1deadMONEY looks like German accent 🤔

[@albini86]

Nice coincidence, I finished the game a few days ago. Pretty challenging game and one of my childhood favourites!

[@jeanlawson9133]

Great job...I find it quite satisfying to repair most things in our life.... Scotty in Alabama 😎

[@pferreira1983]

I can now tick off my bucket list I've seen someone take apart a copy of Comix Zone and restore it back to working order. Nice! 👍

[@rjarpa]

Too brave to do all this work, I always suffer when I need to fix or work with electrics circuits. Great job.

[@jackfry]

Damn this is top tier content! Great stuff keep it up Kari 😊 subscribed

[@toonnut1]

I used to love playing wonderboy on my megadrive as a kid. Good memories

[@CptSparky]

Great video! I think the title is a little bit misleading. I imagine sega cart to be something different. The first game cartridges of the SG-1000 until the Master System were called Sega Cards because they looked a bit like a credit card ;) Would be cool if you'd consider changing it to Sega Mega Drive cartridge or something like that, considering Sega had the Master System, Game Gear and Mega Drive and Mega 32X cartridges. And even the Saturn has a cartrige slot.... ;)

[@justAlexander]

"Well done, Kari!" FYI: ROM chip pin count is defined by game size in bytes. Comix Zone is 2 MiB game. Therefore PCB of any 2 MiB game must be suitable.

[@Dtr146]

DUDE! i support more types of people doing videos about fixing stuff! rock on!

[@futuristica1710]

The music at the end of the video is the soundtrack to my life.❤

[@speed488]

Since the bottom part of the board is not broken, the PCB should be fixable. Simply removing the solder mask and bridging the traces should be sturdy enough since the traces are so wide. It should keep a good mechanical bond.

[@okuratnywidz3196]

You very quick started with your channel :) You have very big subscribes this impressive

[@AgentSmith2K]

How have I only just found your channel. Awesome content!

[@CodeXCDM]

Good game to salvage, too. Fun title, but was released at the end of the Genesis life cycle, so it was probably skipped by many.

[@citizenscriv]

Bravo ! I see a bright future for you Kari 😀

[@awall1701]

Would be interesting to see the results in terms of repairability of the PCB. Nice job with swapping out the chip.

[@Omri_Makes]

nice work 👍🏼 i prob would’ve panicked and added a socket on a donor board instead of soldering the rom directly to it

[@shinigami146]

Enjoying your videos so far. Keep it up!

[@carrioncrow8191]

Found my Toejam and Earl cart, but cannot find my old GENESIS. Hope it pops up soon. Great video’

[@lordsofkobol7385]

Top tier repar job! I have a smd cart broken the opposite way on that it's the rom itself which is corrupted. It loads and then crashes after a short time. Funny thing is that sometimes it loads the pal version and somethimes the ntsc-j. It's Gauntlet and I read that it's to do with the cheap chips that they used in that specific megadrive release.

[@jonothanthrace1530]

Congratulations on a successful cart surgery! 👏

[@seanloughran6714]

That was awesome, I never would have thought to just swap the ROM.

[@shoot_the_glass5654]

It blows my mind there are people out there younger than myself that are enthusiastic about retro games and I grew up with 8 bit and 16 bit gaming.

[@umbrellacorp.]

Awesome video and great Skills. 😎👍👍💯

[@jameznm]

That was nice to watch something and someone different, I'll check out your other videos.

[@dylanherron3963]

So sick, ending the video with "I've never played this game before, so I'm excited." That's so based that you did a PCB swap before testing a game you've never played hahaha.