Fixing eBay Junk - Nasty NES-101 Toploader Grey Screen - Part 1

I bought an NES-101 Toploader which wouldn't play any games. In this video, I open it up, show you how it looks inside, and do some troubleshooting. This will probably be a 2 or 3 part series, depending on how much work is involved in fixing it. Stay tuned for the conclusion!

[@TechThatYT]

Man I really love this series. I've been binge watching these videos for a day for now and I've pretty much watched all of them 😂. Keep up the videos

[@RetroRepairs]

TechThatYT thanks! Really glad you like them.

[@TechThatYT]

RetroRepairs haha thanks in actually still watching this video

[@TechThatYT]

RetroRepairs you've inspired me to try and get a broken console. Think I'm going to go for an Xbox one, Gameboy or a ps3

[@RetroRepairs]

TechThatYT good luck with whatever you get. If you've never tried something like this before, id start with something old. Gameboy is a good option, they're usually repairable, and lots of mods and replacement parts available. Something modern like a ps3 can be tough, the boards aren't very repairable, and parts can be expensive for a new drive or something.

[@RetroRepairs]

TechThatYT when I first started this, I only wanted to deal with cart-based systems. Once I got comfortable, I got into some newer stuff like the Sega saturn. Keep an eye out for a lot of multiple consoles, usually your best value that way.

[@MatthewMaulwurf]

Dude, you're gonna hit 800! Congrats!

[@bradleylutz3219]

This is a great video. Looking forward to the conclusion!

[@YangGuang]

We should chip in and get this man a tripod. :-) Great work sir, keep it up.

[@atariforever2002]

4 words. Work bench & camera tripod. Make your life easier. Enjoy your vids. Keep up the good work.

[@wolarts]

I have that exact same yellow screwdriver and I too have issues with dropping it sometimes. Maybe those screwdrivers just give bad luck.

[@NotQuiteHere]

Do you typically sell these for the price they should be sold for? NES toploaders are hard to come by.

[@death2all79zx]

Any progress on this? Looking forward to seeing part two!

[@RetroRepairs]

Im waiting on some parts and tools to come in. Hopefully soon

[@MatthewMaulwurf]

Should I buy and refurb consoles like you do? I've been thinkin about it

[@RetroRepairs]

Matthew Maulwurf that's hard for me to say. Alot of fixes are very easy, some are a bit more technical. I got into it as a cheap way to build my collection by buying a cheap "broken" console and fixing it.

[@CroMaLaka]

Matthew Maulwurf, it can be a gamble pretty much. It can be fun, too. I don't go and exactly fix broken Nintendo electronics, but I've recently bought some Nintendo security screwdrivers, and went and cleaned most of my stuff. Luckily I didn't break anything. Also I went and bought two wavebirds that were disgusting on a Facebook group for $50. I went and took them apart and cleaned them by hand. Then I decided to do it with everything that I had... It was a long many days.

[@RetroRepairs]

CroMaLaka I did the same. Cleaned a couple games that didn't work, then after seeing all the crap I cleaned off the contacts, decided to do it to all my games. Took quite a while.

[@MatthewMaulwurf]

hmmmm... I'll think about it!

[@expgretaillegacy]

I’m starting to get into game console repair.

[@CroMaLaka]

Nice job on 800 subs.

[@RetroRepairs]

CroMaLaka thanks. It's been fun

[@Dessan01]

2 years later 67K subs lol

[@RetroRepairs]

:D my goal was 100k. Crazy that it's within reach.

[@8bitbubsy]

The small green turning device is in fact a variable capacitor, and it has to do with the waveform coming out of the main xtal/crystal clock. I'd not replace it if I were you, because it's tweaked to a certain value at the factory. I'd pay attention to the crystal clock first, since it was in a heavily corroded area, and you'd most likely get a symptom like this if there was no main system clock. Also, the voltage you get from ground could be AC coupled into the shielding of your TV, which goes through the RF as well. You want to use ground as reference when measuring the DC voltages in the system (I didn't see you do that), so black probe on a ground point, red on source.

[@RetroRepairs]

Thanks for the tip. I recently picked up a probe which should be able to detect a clock signal.

[@BFCEightyNine]

The brown gunk looks like rust maybe?

[@echangwang1821]

Just a quick question, do you know how to retrobright old hardware? It makes it so the ugly yellowing in electronics goes away.

[@RetroRepairs]

Silley Doggo I've done it a couple times. Check out this video I did. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fWiTgXh8m7OXiNk

[@stinky817]

Did you ever get this straightened out?

[@MrMalky1550]

difficult repair this but before you go onto the chips and things have you tried to replace the crystal? i noticed the corrosion was focused around that area? when will we see part 2?

[@RetroRepairs]

I'll try and hunt down a part for that. I've got a bunch of part 2 recorded, but waiting for some parts that refuse to come in. Have to reorder.

[@RetroRepairs]

I tried replacing the crystal today, but no good. I'm convinced one of the ICs is dead, so I'm going to try desolder the chips, install sockets and try some known working ones.

[@MrMalky1550]

i saw the video still worth a try eh. i think the right vram is done after watching you get a pulse on line 6 of the pins on it. good luck keep the vids coming :)

[@TheRoon04]

Should definitely make an eBay account I would be your best buyer lol

[@Rundle77]

Why aren't you wearing gloves from this stuff???

[@megmclachlan6229]

I got a top loader Famicom in the mail today, that was a little glitchy playing games. I took it apart, cleaned it with 99% ISP and now all I get is a grey screen. Sigh………

[@home-space]

Looks like this has been left outside in the rain for quite some time.

[@rwdplz1]

Looks like the console was in a flood. Hopefully not sewer backing up... I saved all the chips off a bad NES-001 motherboard for exactly this kind of repair job.

[@c4rt00nk1d]

I used to use an empty pen molded into the shape of the security screws to open my gameboy games

[@RetroRepairs]

Yeah, I've seen that, but seems like a pain, especially if they need some convincing to come out.

[@sagiriizumi8079]

I saw the Gametech guy do a similar board. He Washed it in the sink with soap and water because of the bridging issue. But it's probably a dead PPU chip in this case. Not the end of the world. Better do the Composite Video Mod since the RF is probably fried.

[@RetroRepairs]

Sagiri Izumi that's the plan. Once I replace the chip, going to switch to composite out

[@thecaptain2281]

CLEAN that board! Get all of the corrosion off that board BEFORE working on it. Troubleshooting 101!

[@ronaldhenson3379]

Looks like rust on the bottom shell of that bottom rf shielding and bottom of the nes top loader

[@Rufio1617]

You ever get this one to work?

[@RetroRepairs]

Not yet, waiting on some parts to come in.

[@ronaldhenson3379]

I remember the top loader nes

[@Showmeflipper]

Part three???????

[@ryanrohauer5940]

i would have vinegar bathed and cleaned the board thoughly then replaced the capacitors

[@SonicMatrix64]

$45? Really? These people are such jerks, how the fuck are you going to seriously charge $45 for such a disgusting thing?

[@NukTap]

I'm sorry, did you just say NES system? Okay, Mister ATM machine. I'll see you at the ISS station, tomorrow at 11 AM in the morning.

[@RetroRepairs]

Jack Newton ok. You bring the coffees

[@oatmealsnickers]

Grade A 30 year old, rust.

[@expgretaillegacy]

That thing is extremely crusty…

[@ronaldhenson9170]

looks like rust

[@rjkyle]

Great video but good lord please buy a tripod.

[@MachineChrist6]

Rusttttt

[@iulianispas8634]

Coca-Cola

[@thewarzoneking]

Trash juice

[@thewarzoneking]

Rust