FAULTY Sega MASTER SYSTEM | Let's Have Another Go!

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions on my previous video. And big thanks to Reece who sent me over a working Master System so I can compare them!
Armed with a working one, will I be able to fix my faulty one? Or at the very least diagnose the fault?!
Hope you enjoy!
Steve
PS. I'm not an expert in repairs at all. I do this for fun, and it may not be the best or safest way to go about repairing broken stuff. I'm pretty good at melting plastic though. Please don't copy me - I'm an idiot.
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[@StezStixFix]

Stupid White Noise

[@hrr597]

Stupid Patreon Raps

[@akilumanga]

Well executed Samara "jump"-scare there. Blink and you'll miss it. :)

[@CrashFan03]

getting an av cable (or better yet a scart cable if you have a tv with scart) would probably alleviate the white noise. it'll look better too

[@CorumSilverhand]

A little bird told me they'd sent you a Wera chip lifter a while back & you're usin' tweezers to lift chips.!? 🤣

[@ikkezegtie]

I (from the Netherlands) was at a party today and the guy on the couch next to me, whom i never met before, was into electronics. I told him that i wanted to buy some materials and try to learn how to diagnose and repair faults on PCB's and was watching a channel almost daily that i really liked. Then he said: is it by any chance STEZSTIXFIX ? So 2 strangers talked for 20 mins about your channel and how much we liked it and how much we like you. how about that?

[@janskeet1382]

Thank you Reece. 💕 That was very sweet of you.

[@Fox-Tech]

4:02 The CPU is the Zilog chip to the left, as the master system uses a z80. My guess is what you're looking at is the video controller.

[@StezStixFix]

Ah, that makes sense! I really should've known that! 😬

[@ej2095]

Agreed it is the video controller

[@309electronics5]

​@@StezStixFixthe z80 had "cpu" written on it on the sega its the main cpu, on others its a sound coprocessor :)

[@CarlosGanhao]

Finally :D now he knows :D and yes it’s the video controller ;) Sega 315‑5124 / Yamaha YM2602 (Mark III, Master System) the 315-5124 is a TMS9928 VDP combined with a SN76489 sound chip. And strangely still sold in some parts of the world :O

[@lookitskazzy]

Yeah the Z80 is the CPU, the Sega chip is actually the PPU.

[@KosherSaltCz]

Im really impressed with how he comes up with the intros to the songs every video.

[@LunchMeatTrump]

I just found this channel recently. I know nothing about chips and electronic repairs or any of it. Idk if it is the rap, the angelic singing at the end, or the work itself but I am here for it!

[@YudaHnK]

Right, is magic here

[@IntheBay85]

Ok, fine you won me over. I like the Patreon raps now, and listened to the whole thing.

[@Mikelp73]

Not a big fan, myself. Ok I’m big but you know

[@TeraByte38]

same. but in the last video. mabye when i will hear this i will like it too.

[@TeraByte38]

ok, the rap in this vid is kinda mid

[@ide5587]

I love them raps

[@jables1303]

One of us! One of us!

[@fartking2845]

In the end I believe what you did was the best solution. Its best to keep that second console as your main, and use that junk one for parts. Its not like you can buy new chips for that master system anyway. Sure its repairable, but at what cost? Perhaps its best to move on.

[@garymucher4082]

Could always use your multi-meter and test the power pins and grounds on each chip to verify your idea about all the chips are shorted. Easy to do and worth the trouble seeing as well... JMHO!

[@Kiowan918]

Not sure that'll help as it may not be shorted to the ground terminal, it could be shorted to any of the pins on the chip but there's no real way to know if any of those should normally be live or not, if the chips are fried the internal chip circuit is destroyed so could be multiple shorts. I think his estimation is correct, likely all the chips are destroyed and it's not possible to fix. The only way he could fix this is if he had a donor board with another unfixable problem like a broken PCB which he could take all the chips off.

[@fadetonoir6152]

You're right, it won't necessarily be the power pins that are shorted, but pinouts for all of the components exist so it should be relatively quick and easy to check each chip and see if anything that shouldn't be ground is ground, to sort out the good chips (if any) from the bad. And it should be pretty cheap and easy to find replacement parts as well, as most of the components are pretty generic (e.g. the CPU is a Z80, same as the Spectrum, ColecoVision and many others).

[@Tim0Tim0]

11:41 you should build a small 'solder fume extractor' and pipe it out the window. use low power, try a nice Noctua fan, so the fan isn't making so much noise in your video. 👍👍👍 stay healthy!

[@lookitskazzy]

Yeah there's a ton of visible smoke in the videos, really need a fume extractor and a filter

[@kenshiku]

Yes! It gives me a bit of anxiety seeing it. Even if it isn't "smelly", it's still quite dangerous! This needs to be raised as a concern.

[@ladyj2552]

I am a kid of the 80's and wanted to get any "better" systems that was out. Ur videos and shorts are a memory fun house! 2 this very day I have my OG Nintendo, and Super Nintendo. Anything after these were😂 for the "Rich kids." My kids and I played my systems and they gave up because they said "We need more buttons!" Ur channel rocks and I thank you!

[@aassddff365]

I think the chip you're pointing to as shorted is the VDP. Get the pinout from smspower and check to see if it's really faulty. That's the only chip that doesn't have a replacement.

[@nikthomas5399]

I bloody LOVE your channel mate! It's my comfy go to show along with Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing and The Repair Shop ❤

[@geicoworker]

Dang it. I was really hoping you could get this one to work. Keep up the great work Steve, love the channel!

[@IntheBay85]

Stupid faulty Sega Master system 😠

[@SkyJINKirov93]

Greetings from Bulgaria!, Love your videos! Everytime you got me with the " FAADE " 😂

[@HoldMeBack]

Your videos are very therapeutic for me. I love your dedication and hard work you dedicate for us. Much love

[@JBEEUD]

Two things. 1. I would go back and do an ohms check (not continuity) on the power pins of the big chip (the one that others have pointed out is the VDP) just to make sure that that is where the short is. 2. You didn't actually confirm that both RAM chips are bad. They were bad as a pair, and still when you swapped one of them for the original. But the game WAS STILL RUNNING with both situations. I would agree that one of them is bad, but I think the first one you swapped back to the original is good. The best way to tell (and for future reference) when there are multiples of the same chip is to swap one of the good chips for one of the suspect chips, and keep swapping the same one chip for each of the suspect chips. That way you know the rest are always good and any failure you see is always the suspect chip being bad.

[@syu001]

absolutely love your videos. what kind of background do you have? or is this purely a hobby for fun? tempted to try to repair things myself

[@AndGoTinker]

Came across your channel not that long ago and binged watched everything! Love your content. Inspired me to dust off the multimeter and soldering iron and get back into tinkering.

[@carlconstantdeflon2373]

You know it's a good day when our main man Steve posts a video! Thank you so much for your content mate!

[@Gummispoiler]

Never stop with the intro songs, Saint Steve...

[@TisboreArt]

Good effort buddy. Reece has really nice penmanship!

[@I_SuperHiro_I]

American accent Steve would blend in here and no one would be any the wiser.

[@zKaltern]

Get an RPI, stick in the case, solder wires where needed and close lid. Assuming you only ever play Wonder Boy, and that's the only game that loads when you power it up... you'll never know the difference. You're Welcome :D

[@StezStixFix]

Excellent idea. 👍

[@proudofyourroots9575]

no, just no. terrible ideas. never know the difference? are you mad? what pi boots tyo a game as quick as a sms? none

[@zKaltern]

@@proudofyourroots9575 It was not a serious suggestion... 🙄(although there's probably a way to put the RPI in Sleep mode and wake up when the console button is pressed...)

[@JamesUK-je4ew]

Loving it and learning so much. Thanks. Regards

[@djm9937]

As always, great fun :)

[@sergiojimenez3415]

Your channel is awesome. I fixed a ps5 after watching your channel and just diving into trying things.

[@seanf12012]

The Master System was amazing console.

[@lTinyl]

It's a fun Saturday when we get a video!

[@rimmersbryggeri]

Zilog is the processor the one you assumed was is probably the videochip. I have a master system 2 that is a no start and its a shorted electrolytic on that.

[@fizzyade]

The master system uses a centre negative power jack (I think the mega drive 1 does as well - although mine doesn't because I changed the polarity internally so I would use the same supply with the MD2 as well) like the ZX spectrum. I suspect somebody at some point and put a much more common centre positive power supply in because they found a 9V one not realising that the polarity matters, that would explain why everything is dead. I also don't use the original power supplies where the power supply is external, I always buy a modern replacement because it's just not worth the hassle or potential dangers of a supply that's been sat around for decades, while these systems don't have RIFA's in them it's just not worth risking anything including the life of the machine you're trying to use, a lot of these supplies were unregulated as well.

[@TommyMurphy999]

Another excellent fix 👏 👍

[@Wii1235]

We need an album of all the raps you have done! 🔥

[@DeathMetalDerf]

Mainly commenting to appease the almighty algorithm. I hope everyone is well and having a great day.

[@PaulSC1985]

Great channel and content steve ur 1 of our own keep up d good work

[@wallysprint]

I have to admit, you really put some effort into your songs and it shows.. Kudos to you !

[@ncc1701deee]

Unexpected Samara appearance scared me at the end. 😢 I'm a grown man. But that movie still gets to me.

[@baorozzo]

May this board rest in pieces 🤣 It ‘s better to have tried and failed than not tried at all. Keep it up!

[@dodgydruid]

We had a Wonder Boy arcade machine in our local south London boozer, we would have a crowd of us increasingly drunk trying to find the end and very good fun then they put a Play10 next to it and we would be double manning Wonder Boy and SMB but the Play10 was a cash vacuum... so only time anyone played it was when they was flush or very drunk.

[@Mr-Mag00]

RIP Sega system for you took the shock like a champion! 😂 I was the Intellivision system when I was young, still have it.

[@isitafox]

Immediately started bobbing my head to the music then you turned doing the same 😂

[@ricardoalon3826]

You figured it out, persistent prevailed. Great Video!

[@ironmangler]

Such a good console... good game two!

[@CH11LER.]

I have a challenge for you. Use the stupid, broken, and fried board to make a fresh master system. All new resistors and caps, use modern chips instead of finding the old style ones, find replacement cpu and anything else that is fried, and mod it to have HDMI. It would probably be one hell of a build, but it would also be fun to watch.

[@JC-jw2kw]

The raps are hilarious. Love this channel 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@petereldergill2942]

My first thought was to put the good chips in the faulty system. Glad you're trying to fix it and not me 😁

[@Miika.v]

you were a random video in the sidebar after I watched a "my mate vince" video, so now i have subbed

[@just_golds]

My very first console and I absolutely loved all the Wonderboy games think 3 games came out and at the time the only place I could get games was from Toys R Us.great memories,good times late eighties.

[@Mr.NiceGuy80]

I used to have one of these back in the 90s. It was a pretty good time til I got my driver's license and I didn't play video games again until about 6 years ago. Lol

[@OzzieOzbalik]

Yessss I was waiting for this video 😊😊😊

[@Adrian1981]

Your expression at 10:46 is priceless

[@patrickstoute4085]

Well,.. you did your best. There is probably someone that can help you later on. But dont throw it away... These days, solutions are closer then ever..

[@dragonknight3103]

My 1st console I ever owned the memory’s ❤❤❤

[@chrisstokoe3169]

U na what Steve I love most of the retro shit u fix man it takes me back but actually I just love how u do a vid every thing about it never stop till u can't help it man

[@jeebsy718]

the intro song was an absolute vibe

[@stonedsavage7814]

Hello stez I'm a big fan of your channel but as a electronic technician I need to very slightly criticise your soldering to hopefully improve it when you add the solder to the joint it cools the joint down quite a bit so it's always best to keep the iron on the pad for a little while after you add solder but your solder joints are still shiny so they are still very good just what I learned in tech school

[@simonlunt353]

Well Steve you are not the wonder boy now but like you said I will chalk this one up it’s what I call a bug bear when you can’t find out what the problem is but you put your best foot forward and tried who knows if can get some new chips you may have some luck well done and see you soon 😊

[@NowInAus]

He’s better off finding the magic frequency to bring Dave back to life.

[@JamieLee2k]

Wonderboy is my favourite game of all time, I had to comment, I must be the only person in the world that loves this game.

[@jimbeam275]

I always wondered, with the mooing solder sucker, is there a chamber that stores all the solder that you have to clean out??

[@ZENERVOLTAGE]

It's a glass chamber/tube with a rubber or silicon bung one end with a small circular filter compressed next to it by a spring. You do have to clean them out regularly. Can be annoying, but if you spray a thin layer of silicon spray inside the glass and wipe it around the walls of the tube, it's a lot easier to clean.

[@BuyitFixit]

Pity about that Steve, great effort for trying though. Unfortunately we can't fix everything...👍

[@Mr-Dice]

I had a problem with one of these . I was sold a dodgy system that would freeze 5 seconds after turning it on . There's an R1 and R2 resister right next to the cartridge slot . One was crushed which i had to replace . I soldered it on the opposite side to avoid the same thing happening again . I forgot what the mark version was but it was a poor design putting resisters next to a cartridge slot . I think it was a mark 3 .

[@apierc1]

I'm surprised your first port of call wasnt thermally examining the good MS to see if their chips heated to the same level 🤔

[@GrumlyFPV]

I already had the Disclosure song in my head when you said White Noise ^^

[@TheBrynu]

you need a oscilloscope to do some signal tracing

[@vincesieber8828]

Steve, sorry if you've answered this on one of your other fantastic videos, but what temp do you keep your iron at when soldering? Thanks!

[@samouflage99]

I'm gonna have to play that jam you made at a Euro club somewhere if the stars align!

[@TheAdamRBell]

Thumbs up for the Disclosure outro 🎧

[@MayaPosch]

With all the hot spots showing up inside the ICs on the thermal camera during the last video it was pretty clear that they were all cooked... it's still quite amazing that the power supply on these Sega consoles will just demolish the rest of the system if one part fails... unless it got hit by a lightning strike via the antenna cable or so, which took out everything? Good chance the PCB is basically e-waste at this point, as well as the ICs, though it'd be interesting to do a full fault analysis.

[@lookitskazzy]

The power supplies on these old systems are unregulated, they depend entirely on the voltage regulator to prevent overvoltage. Still, my assumption was that the regulator would fail closed. Zapping every chip on the board is pretty f-ing spectacular, which makes me suspect something else happened. Or Sega just didn't add any overvoltage protection in the circuit.

[@kwirkkwirksn1090]

Hey Steve, I have a question, what kind of flux do you use, your soldering always looks very smooth. Thank you in advance!

[@idm8885]

Well done uncle Steve

[@stuartcarson9378]

I would love to know how much time you spend on music production? Also do you have a day to day job?

[@danjason2167]

Lol that track is better than most music played on radio 1 extra.

[@FiveStringCommando]

That “Wonder Boy” game is also known as Adventure Island on NES.

[@markianclark9645]

FiveStringCommando...i was "Wondering" if anyone would comment this...sorry...i've played most of the NES version and got stuck around 80 to 90%...i'd like to know if this SEGA port was easier...a bit different or exactly the same...i'd have to get into it i suppose unless i find a KZbin video first

[@patrickphillips973]

I say gonna have to get a new idea for patron rap when it gets to a ten minute rap each vid. Lol great vid as always

[@brendanvogele2531]

Hey steve, quick question. Do you use a flux core solder, or not?

[@UnCoolDad]

Send the broken one off to someone else like Vince or Cod3r and see what they think.

[@thebrabman]

I sent a fortune playing Wonder Boy at the amusement arcade when I was a kid

[@NemeZisUK]

Exactly the same as my first Master System

[@theantithesis1]

Thank all the gods of the nine hells that you marked which was which.

[@Nobe_Oddy]

Sad conclusion...but glad its settled

[@mrcodez]

Not knowing much about those chips, once the chip is "fried" there is no way to repair the actual chip? Are its internals damaged?

[@lookitskazzy]

No

[@fartking2845]

Data sheet on those chips should help answer some questions. All chips can be tested for efficiency. You need a logic probe mate. ❤

[@bobsmarts3074]

White Noise - class tune :)

[@matthewhaddon599]

I managed to repair a rather high end Sony SACD (SCD9000ES) player a while ago...the voltage regulator board had gone faulty and fried one of the other cicuit boards....as it was fairly rare and expensive I had to replace the part with another one from a donor in the USA...but it worked...then I fairly quickly sold it....don't think I made money. I'm surprised Sony hadn't built in any safeguards to prevent the problem.

[@crtgamer2355]

WOW! Wonderboy's music is really slow, is that because it's 50Hz?

[@michaeljones7183]

Nice

[@mrdooman]

Did you put the 'faulty' ram in the right way??

[@Kiowan918]

You can see in the video he did, it was just the one good chip he put in back to front. The fact the bad ram gets super hot so fast is just evidence of a short inside it.

[@titer28]

I grew up with the canadian version of the sega master, and the pal 50hz version that you have is much slower than the US version, I knew that this was the case but not that much...

[@physalis17]

What's the song playing when you are soldering? It's very pretty

[@Schush]

I always stop up on assorted ram chips here and there so instead of desoldering to test, you can just piggyback the associated chip to test.

[@ebenolivier2762]

Samara jump scare there at the end!

[@vartaxe_1210]

you need buy one chip verifier or one chip checker, exist software for this anyway for it can do your job more easy

[@user-qh9ct3mg6z]

❤ ste he's a wonder boy, I loved that stupid game 👍

[@denniswoycheshen]

"Wonder Boy! Won't you take me far away from the mucky muck, now?!"...

[@mikaoj71]

Adrians digital basment maybe fix this? 😉

[@t1d100]

I liked the soldering song.

[@foxyaus]

Apparently these came preloaded with 1-3 games (you might wanna cheek them out) depending on the model this was allso mainly sold in Brazil till 2015 it was not very popular in Australia or america I had too google it as I have never seen this system before 😮 It's basically a beefed up NES

[@Inugamiz]

Wait... so the PAL versions are slower than the NTSC versions?

[@chibisf4]

yes round about 20% but there is a super easy mod if you want to fix it

[@indask8]

Later games often have their speed and music modified to match the NTSC version, they are still 50hz but they don't have sad music anymore.

[@michaelc752]

Yes because It's 50hz

[@hyaenaGemah]

You know, I wonder if you could repurpose the board from the faulty system to make a franken-master system. That is, if you could get some of the chips and components online somewhere, and also check if the Z80 on the Game Boy is compatible with it or not.

[@wisher21uk]

KZbin Philip Bryden has just fixed one of them yesterday, unlucky Steve can’t win ‘em all 😊

[@jackgerien6210]

Steve, shake the dust from your saddles on this one and move forward with your head held high.

[@simonscott1121]

Old power supplies are a menace. If you ever trip over a commodore 64, DO NOT use the original supply - they have a habit of failing, and when they do, they spike upwards in voltage.