Sega Game Gear with no video or sound - can we fix it?

Bought a cheap Sega Game Gear off of eBay that doesn't show anything on the screen and has no sound, but does seem to be doing something. Let's try to fix it!
This is a pretty common fault with old consoles, especially Game Gears, as the old electrolytic capacitors dry out or leak electrolytes over time and cause these faults. If you have an old Game Gear exhibiting dull or blank screen, or quiet/crackly sound, this is the video for you!
Any feedback is welcome, as always.
Buy me a cider - www.buymeacoff...
Big thanks to all the staff at Console5, their wiki is great resource that I've used in many of my repairs!
Tech wiki: console5.com/w...
Store: console5.com/s...
Equipment used!
Soldering station: Hakko FX-888d
Desolder braid: goot wick CP-2015
Soldering flux: CAIG Brand RSF-R80-2
Multimeter: Jaycar QM-1321
Toolkit: iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit (www.ifixit.com...)
Credits!
Music: Out Run - Magical Sound Shower
Font: VCR OSD Mono by Riciery Leal (www.dafont.com...)
Putting up with my weird hobbies: My wife
Disclaimer!
I am NOT an expert, I have genuinely NO idea what I'm doing, and mostly just glue things together and use a lot of Google-fu until stuff works. I've been tinkering with electronics since I was a kid, but have no formal training and will probably do things incorrectly. If you learn something from this, that's awesome, but trust me - I'm learning too!

[@bluegiger]

Not putting loose screws in a lid or container is a recipe for a lost screw... and a sore foot later. I used a similar trick cleaning the 4 carbies on a Honda CBR250... 4 separate containers. Each piece from a carbie went into it's numbered container. HUGE head-ache saver.

[@silvestronsbitsandbytes]

Yep these days my silicone mat has magnets in it, and I have a separate metal magnetic tray for when I need more space

[@bluegiger]

@@silvestronsbitsandbytes I need to invest in a magnetic tray. When I want screws to stay in place, and mapped out, I tend to use some paper masking tape and stick them to that. Taking "before I screw everything up" pictures has also saved me more than once.

[@1977Bonishow-man]

Rough job you did there, lucky you didnt ripp of any pads my friend 😉

[@SacredMilkOG]

I do the same thing to keep track of my screws. Love IFixit. Omg, you got the idea from the same place.... he uses quadrants xD I'm subbing just for that. Also, it's an underrated movie. The vibes, Lara's playlist... man it brings back memories. Was giving your vid a look over though, I have one of these guys and I need to source the caps first.

[@silvestronsbitsandbytes]

Might not be the "best", but it is a classic ;) Cap kits are easy to come by for the GGs, I sell them in my store if you're in Australia, Console5 and RetroSix have the rest of the world covered for you. My main piece of advice is to wear a mask and have good ventilation when you're doing it! The leaked cap fluid smells TERRIBLE when you're cleaning the pads with fresh solder, no matter how hard you've scrubbed it off.

[@SacredMilkOG]

@@silvestronsbitsandbytes definitely agreed, a classic indeed. :) And yeah, thanks for that tip. XD I already popped 'em open and thankfully- it looks like just the sound board looks in rough shape. Power board looks okay. But that sound board amd the main board- they need some TLC. I think I'm going to order both a replacement sounds board and a cap kit just in case. But Console5 is out of stock on the boards themselves. I will take the time to order the cap kit from them soon though. 👍

[@staceyfwood1984]

I have a game gear with exactly the same problem. Do you fix them for people?

[@ennesimo84]

Hi I’ve 2 gamegear and I’ve replaced all capacitors but I’ve vertical Lines on first and blank screen on second

[@jamesb9578]

lol at 6:46 you see it run and hide :P

[@silvestronsbitsandbytes]

Almost like it knew I was coming for it!

[@donfurioso3566]

Never pull off caps like that. Hurts to see that. Use hot air or soldering iron.

[@silvestronsbitsandbytes]

Yep, you are 100% right - I was a bit ham-fisted on that one. Learned a lot since then!

[@kingforaday8725]

On my Game Gear the sound works using headphones but not the built in speaker. Any ideas?

[@silvestronsbitsandbytes]

Without seeing the board myself, my three guesses would be; If you haven't replaced the capacitors, definitely do that. If you have, there might have been a damaged trace from the probably-leaked caps that needs repair. It could also be the switch inside the headphone jack that disables the speakers is permanently closed due to a short. Good luck!

[@tokin420nchokin]

Could be the jack itself

[@Luis08.10]

So I had the same issue with my Game Gear and proceeded to replace all the caps (Motherboard,Powerboard and the Soundboard). After replacement,my screen is completely black,I still have no sound but it turns on. Any Idea,what it could be?

[@Luis08.10]

Sound is there if I put earphones on. But the speaker looks like the owner before me did a Hiroshima there.

[@silvestronsbitsandbytes]

Hmm, without seeing it it would be hard - sounds like multiple problems! Possibly the connection between the sound board and speaker are just broken along the way somewhere from corrosion? As for no display, it's also possible that it's displaying but the backlight is dead so you're not able to see it? I'd recommend joining the Console Repair Discord (discord.gg/console-repair-discord-754165317961383997) and ask about it in the #game-gear channel, give a good description of the issue and work done so far, post some photos etc. Very knowledgeable folks in there!

[@Luis08.10]

@@silvestronsbitsandbytes so for the Display I was thinking and found out it was the Fuse on the left sids of the screen,when measuring it with a multimeter and fivin power to the board I can see everything :D. The sound issue is a misterium,as it is there with headphones.

[@silvestronsbitsandbytes]

Oh that's awesome! Yep, there's two backlight fuses, one on each side of the board, so you might wanna check that the other one is fully healthy too (as low resistance as possible). For the speaker, you can check between the speaker pins and the sound board with continuity mode - if it's not making continuity there must be a break in the circuit somewhere.

[@Luis08.10]

@@silvestronsbitsandbytes Thank you I will try it! If I don't come wide I will post something on the Server. I already joined but forgot it.

[@bluegiger]

Are you in Australia, by any chance?

[@bluegiger]

Sorry, I asked this question then checked your about info. I'm in Brisbane and would be keen to learn more about repairing these systems.

[@silvestronsbitsandbytes]

I learned by buying dead units off eBay and trying to fix them! It's getting a bit harder now as even non-working stuff is pulling a high price, sadly

[@bluegiger]

@@silvestronsbitsandbytes I am meeting a chap tomorrow to get some games for my system. He also has some other bits that he's not sure if they work I told him parts are welcome! I'd like a busted controller so I can cut the cord and experiment with custom controllers. A switchable "rapid fire" is something I want to sketch out. Thinking I'll have a toggle so when you press the button, it gates in the output of a 555 instead.

[@lkskun]

I saw some arabic text on the box. Pretty interesting.

[@silvestronsbitsandbytes]

The arabic text is on a sticker placed on the box by a company called Dotts Electronics, and some Google Fu reveals they were the official distributor of Sega products in the 90s - segaretro.org/Alesayi_United This box (unsure if it matches the console) looks to have originally been purchased in the UAE region! Good eye! I didn't even notice that and it led me down a bit of a rabbit hole. I feel like an Antiques Roadshow expert now :-)

[@lkskun]

@@silvestronsbitsandbytes So are you saying the Game Gear had an official middle eastern release!?

[@silvestronsbitsandbytes]

@@lkskun Sure seems that way! I wonder how it made its way to Australia!

[@tommyabdalla3727]

@@silvestronsbitsandbytes Yes there was a Middle Eastern launch. I bought one from Egypt, Abu Dhabi, and Australia. Every one of 'em had a different package. I don't know what happened to the Middle Eastern ones, probably donated or ended up in the bin. But the Aussie one I picked up from eBay, the backlight is lit but nothing on the screen? I am still sussing it out.

[@silvestronsbitsandbytes]

It's almost always caps in the GG, they're practically guaranteed to fail unfortunately

[@ronaldhenson9170]

Try replacing the audio board problem solved

[@silvestronsbitsandbytes]

No need to replace the whole board, a simple clean up and replacement of the capacitors are all that's needed in this case.

[@SacredMilkOG]

He's right, and just replacing the board itself is a sloppy fix. You end up with spare broken boards in the end that could have been salvaged. The parts aren't exactly available with ease.

[@RBKing80]

Sayga not Seega lol