There's Something FISHY About This GAME GEAR

[@WhtSqurl]

I love that you don't have a loud and obnoxious intro, like every other youtuber. Love your content!

[@diegog1853]

Great fix for a great system. For future reference, you can use the same AC adapter for a megadrive model 2 on it, so that you don't blow through 6 AA batteries in a few hours. Very handy for testing too.

[@realdeal8225]

Listening to to that super kick off intro brought me back to my childhood!! I still have my Game Gear now somewhere. Here in England I had a T.V adapter cartridge that allowed a 8 year old me to watch M.o.T.d on my game gear on Saturday nights 😃

[@ulrichs.3228]

For a brief moment, I thought you'd say "it's easy to see what is wrong with this one -- it's upside down (flip) well that was easy to fix". (Also, totally in love with the purple bubble wrap envelope.) (Also also, thank you to the whims of KZbin for sending your excellent channel across my screen, I love the almost ASMR qualities.)

[@fuzzybobbles]

The missing connector is a common one JST HX two pin. They are fairly standard on a lot of electronics. THe 3 and 4 pin ones are used as balance leads on multi cell li-po batteries used in radio controlled models.

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks Fuzzy, appreciate the info! 👍

[@Mymatevince]

Nicely put together video Steve, and the SMD caps look like a winner. Good job mate :-)

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks Vince, much appreciated mate. Yeah, those SMD caps definitely make life much easier 👍

[@jonmayer]

The leaky caps may have made an awful sound from the speaker and they snipt it to solve that. Also, why did you rip all those components off? You're lucky no pads lifted from that. Nice you got it all working though. The CF backlight appreciated that power.

[@garethdowds4024]

Hi Steve, loving your work. My older brother put a deep scratch from corner to corner on my Gen 1 Gameboy some 30+ years ago. Brasso wadding works a treat for removing scratches from the screen, also works really well on wrist watch lenses. NICE!

[@Compliment_Thief]

Sorry lil buddy he doesn’t care….😔

[@vectrex28]

I'd suggest dropping some white vinegar on those pads to neutralise the corrosion first before cleaning it up with IPA, that's what I do when I repair a Game Gear at least (Going for all models). Love to see another one of these live another day

[@STHelton1]

Great Job. SMD practice paying off. Would love to see an LCD mod for this thing.

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks Taylor! Yeah, the soldering practice helped me out a lot on this one. I've ordered up a McWill LCD screen for it, and will definitely be looking to fit it when it arrives. Looks complicated, but I'm sure it'll be fun! 😁

[@chris-pike]

Good to watch another of your fixing vlogs there Steve on the Game Gear that you manged to repair - Nice 1 👍

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks Chris, really appreciate it! 👍

[@halgroda6967]

Omg the cracking as you rip those off.....

[@nanotechit9772]

Don't know how you ended up on my recommended BUT I am 5 episodes deep and LOVE your channel. Cheers bro

[@antonnym214]

I subscribed immediately. You do good work, and you have a nice relaxed tone.

[@raegar]

Great job Steve. I remember these things used to absolutely eat through AA batteries. Would love to see the screen mod and I wonder if there’s a decent option for a rechargeable lipo battery upgrade?

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks Jamie, yeah those AA's will be gone in no time. I think with an LCD screen, it won't eat through them nearly as fast, but a LiPo upgrade would be sweet. I don't see why it wouldn't be possible, as far as I know it would need 5v, so it's gotta be an option. Will look into it, thanks for the inspiration! 👍

[@yabeeba_com]

you can replace the power board with a new one with a usb-c connector and included rechargable battery pack. with a screen replacement you can easily get 12+ hours runtime without the heat generation from the original screen, while the unmodded gg lasted only very very few hours. the screen eats up most of the energy. and while you are at it, replace the soundboard too. now you can charge your game gear everywhere with usb-c, have tons of runtime, great picture and sound ...

[@MrFatboy192]

Probably easier to just get the game gear emulator on a 3ds!

[@Isekai_Fan]

@@StezStixFix Also a USB charging mod!

[@JoeyDoesTech]

Great editing and video production pal. Bet you were happy to see this working 😁 Good job pal 👏

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks mate, appreciate that. Yeah, really happy getting this one working, can't wait to pimp it. 😁

[@Olivia-mh8wq]

Man, I remember having one of these as a kid. I also remember not being able to play it very often because my parents didn't want to keep shelling out money for the batteries lol

[@leonidaspereirafilho499]

As I was watching this, that is exactly what I thought! Man, having to buy batteries would eventually get very pricey for a console like this!

[@chriss4365]

No ac adapter back then?

[@Olivia-mh8wq]

@chriss4365 nope, not for that thing. Though weirdly enough, I actually still have the ac adaptor for my game boy color. It still works.

[@chriss4365]

@@Olivia-mh8wq Nice, I have my color sp and ds. They all still work. My sp still has the factory battery pack. Just bought a game gear to fix amazingly it still works and you can play it if you tilt it right you can see the screen. Looks to have all original caps.

[@Olivia-mh8wq]

@chriss4365 that's awesome! My sp and ds have both stood the test of time and still work as well. My game gear has been lost for decades, but I still have a single game from it for some reason.

[@PhoenixNoKiseki]

I like this channel, Steve is a very chill dude who likes repairing stuff. It makes for a very relaxing watch. Good work Steve.

[@willkra]

Your skills are getting there!:) Your videos are very well produced, and a joy to watch. Keep `em coming!

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks Willy, I really appreciate that! I had a lot of fun on this one. 👍

[@SEGAGuys]

You’ve got a new subscriber. Love the delivery of your videos, very relatable and laid back with a touch of good old British humour. Great stuff!

[@MightyJabbasCollection]

I hope this doesn't sound like a backhanded compliment, but... Your video quality and lighting have really improved in your recent videos! I think I've watched them all. I would absolutely recommend one of the LCD replacement kits. Macho Nacho Productions on KZbin has a number of videos about this kind of modding that might be useful.

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks Jabba! I really appreciate that, I've been working to try and get my video setup better, and I'm starting to get there! I'll definitely check out more of Macho Nacho, thanks for the tip. I saw one of his vids the other day, and boy does he know how to edit a video together! Should be good for some more inspiration for me! 👍

[@gb7767]

You can use white vinegar to cleanup and neutralize the electrolyte leakage from the caps. Rinse with distilled water and finish up with IPA. Glad you are making use of tea-breaks :D

[@StezStixFix]

Haha, thanks G B. Very good shout on the white vinegar, I'll definitely give that a go next time 👍

[@glenshearer6219]

Enjoying the content. Would love to be educated a little in what something is. This video talks about capacitors a lot. Maybe a bit on what their job is while you’re doing the rest of the talk

[@electronicengineer]

You did a really nice job of repairing this Sega Game Gear! Great attention to detail. Congratulations on the awesome outcome sir! Fred

[@glennmaxfield6618]

I'll bet when the caps went down on the sound board it made a din of a noise so they cut the speaker out and played the game without sound until the video caps went down and made it un playable.

[@AsheramK]

Had the very same thought. It must've bypassed the volume control as well.

[@AustinLineKJB]

I was thinking that too, but why cut the connector off instead of unplugging it?

[@itwasnottheboots]

My first thought was a parent that was sick of hearing all the noise. 😆

[@Ea-Nasir_Copper_Co]

@@AustinLineKJB Because the kid kept reconnecting them?

[@AustinLineKJB]

@@Ea-Nasir_Copper_Co that's a good possibility, but the kid would have to open the console each time.

[@BakedPrawns]

You deserve more than 1.2k subs. You’re one of my favourite fix channels 👍🏼

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks Kane, I really appreciate that! 😊

[@speedwaynutt]

58k Subs June 2022

[@mehgoodenough]

I just have to say, the shots from the microscope on this vid are so crisp and superb, well done Sir!!

[@davebarnes2601]

I am enjoying your content, keep up the good work. But for the love of solder pads please stop using the twist method to removed caps! Get a tweezer iron or used the 2 iron method!

[@ShALLaX]

Came here to find this comment, you’re incredibly lucky you didn’t rip up the solder pads and traces. Also: tin your wires! They’ll solder so much more easily.

[@TripEllex]

Sorry for the years-long replies to these, Steve. I just today found your channel and wanted to chime in. And I hate to be that new nitpicker guy, but watching you remove those SMD caps almost gave me a heart attack lol. How you didn't destroy those delicate pads underneath, I don't know. Had one stubborn cap on one of my Game Gears that didn't come off and was forced to do it the same way you did rather than with the hot air, and it tore that pad right off.

[@beardedbikepacker]

You make soldering these tiny parts look so easy 👏👏👏

[@skypirate4806]

It’ll be great to replace that LCD Screen for a brighter one. I’ve just replaced my PSP screen for an IPS type, and it’s so bright, that it hurts my eyes, so I had to turn the brightness down. I’d definitely like to see you change this one, and see the difference. Great video. ❤️👍👍

[@rubberduck4966]

You have a brutal method for "desoldiering" old SMD Caps...

[@stevenmckeown3222]

I got one from eBay listed as FULLY WORKING but the sound was really Tinny and it stunk realy Acrid when I opened it as the Electrolytic Caps on the Audio PCB had popped! Quick Cap swap and it was perfect but hell yeah, It loved eating 6 AA Batteries per day!!

[@followthetrawler]

Great fix, but be prepared to replace those MLCC capacitors again - scourge of modern electronics. For the screen, I would try and get hold of some Polywatch from Amazon - about £3. It's what watchmakers use to get scratches out of acrylic watch 'glass'

[@RBKing80]

I was hoping you would get one of these. An LCD replacement would be amazing. I definitely want one of these myself

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks RB! I've ordered one of the McWill LCD screens for it, and a few other bits, so I'm definitely gonna try and mod it when they arrive. I think it'll look awesome! 👍

[@BigBlueandWhite]

I have couple times needed to open controllers and other devices and decided that I'll never become device fixer. That's why I like to watch your videos because it's like watching an artist bringing life to game consoles.

[@sullah1986.]

Hi great video, can you tell me what flux are you using ?

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks Sullah, it's Chip Quik SMD291 👍

[@sullah1986.]

@@StezStixFix Ok, thank you

[@andrasszabo7386]

Capacitors are always dying in the game gear. Even if the capacity is normal, the ESR goes higher. When using that ESR meter, always look at the ESR, too.

[@jtveg]

Great work. Well done. Thanks for sharing. 😉👌🏻

[@LilyBloomVee]

You've gotten really lucky there: Usually if you have leaky caps on the right spots it can also happen that the corrosion can damage the screen permanently, as in you get vertical colored lines across the screen which meant the components on the ribbon cable got damaged and cannot be replaced. Mine unfortunately has experienced this issue.

[@ManaDrain315]

Can you get a replacement ribbon cable and screen for it?

[@LilyBloomVee]

@@ManaDrain315 A whole new screen, yes, however I'm not 100% sure if the screens are compatible from one to another boards, seeing that I have an early rev model and the late rev models are more common these days. Tho it is possible to just replace it, yes!

[@Ibubbas]

This is cool I have an old game gear laying around I read about the capacitors, but mine also has corrosion around the battery connections because 12 year old me left batteries in it for 20 years lol. I may tear it down and try my hand at a repair and maybe upgrade it. gonna watch your other video on the screen upgrade. I am a novice but I love messing with things it already doesn't work so I guess im not out much if I mess it up.

[@clivekapijimpanga7990]

You're very good at soldering!

[@matthewkesterson]

on the "lens" could you just buff it like a headlight restoration kit?

[@TheAkashicTraveller]

That initial power issue may just have been the power switch, I know GBA's get like that and just moving them back and forth a few times fixes it most of the time.

[@whatislovebutonelonggame5406]

i used to watch TV on this thing(there's a TV tuner for Game Gear) while working in a convenience store, so much memories. btw, polywatch can probably save your scratched screen

[@StezStixFix]

Yeah, I remember the TV tuner. Was tempted to get one, but it's kinda useless with everything being digital. Although I guess I could do a Vince and play Fortnite on it or something! Thanks for the Polywatch recommendation, that's a very good shout! 👍

[@danielvazquez7482]

Let me help with the cut speaker wires. I’m a parent and grandpa who’s listened to the repetitive, loud sound sometimes for hours. There you have it. Although I now use a spongy texture material to adjust these sounds, back in the day I/we simply eliminated it.

[@juweinert]

Hey. Did you realise you replaced electrolytic (polarised) capacitors with ceramic (non-polarised) caps? Do you simply not care or did you do it for a specific reason? You also have to make sure to properly heat (contact) BOTH sides of the solder joint. I saw a few cold looking joints there...

[@DxDeksor]

Removing the caps the way he did isn't very safe either (for the pcb)

[@TheOriginalSAKY]

I know very little but I was concerned that a solder was going to be ripped off the pcb.

[@retrobear9367]

Is that petroleum jelly you're using as flux?

[@jackfry]

Love your channel. So glad I found it and happy to see your channel is growing so rapidly now.

[@DanBird]

I’ve been learning about electronics and soldering over the last year and these sort of videos are a great help. I’ve been watching Cod3r and he recommended you and I’m glad he did.

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks Dan, I really appreciate that! I'm also still learning but I'm definitely getting better, and having great fun doing it! 👍

[@dave_s_vids]

I wonder if the knackered sound board was causing odd sounds to come out of the speaker so they just snipped the cable and carried on playing in silence? Why not just unplug it though?!

[@markray3263]

Great video. What is that board vice you use and where can I get one?

[@Hammarsand]

6:28 I have that connector 😅

[@dom_the3166]

Full solid state cap replacements blow my mind, they're so clean.

[@McSynth]

Excellent job - I admire your tenacity !

[@intraverseneptune1476]

I always wondered what caused that electrical fishy smell, now I know. I first encountered that fishy smell at an aunts house in the early 1990's, which seemed to originate from a ceiling light? Any ideas?

[@FrankJCarver]

The fishy smell Steve encountered from his device, is from the old capacitor's electrolytic fluid. The fishy smell you encountered from your aunt's house will indeed have come from the ceiling light, but that is because the ceiling light connector is made from a substance called 'bakelite', which when hot (because of the heat of the tungsten bulb), gives off a fishy smell. Always use LED bulbs, because they don't heat up, unlike tungsten.

[@stevesmith7009]

Love you channel. Is there a reason you don't use a fume extractor? I thought it was encouraged / advised for good health. Cheers mate.

[@JeffreyGroves]

How are you able to use non-polarized caps in place of the old polarized caps??

[@ddacombe4752]

nice video. you could try one of those 3M auto headlight cleaner kits to remove the scratches from the lens

[@rod370]

Hi, Somebody (A parent) might have cut the speaker wires off to stop it making a noise. As they got fed up of the sound of Game Gear. While trying to watch the TV. Well that's my guess.

[@coll8ctor]

Liqiud metal rules! Dude, don't skip the soldering, that's the best part!

[@strat5520]

As a father, I know what happened to those speaker wires. "Turn it down"..."Turn it down"..."Turn it down, NOW"..."Turn it down!"....Thats it, time for that Game Gear to see God!

[@gadgetmind]

The gold pads (I think you said test points) are factory test points and you'll often seen teeny marks in the middle of them where pogo pins made contact.

[@Mad-Arawak]

Do you have any recommendations on any training videos to solder? Thinking to get a little kit.

[@MondayNightRAWsRKO2024-xk9ew]

They make new shell casings as well for these! I'd totally restore it now that you got it working again, as these Game Gears were always cool portable systems! I still own mine and the Sonic games are still fun

[@mik301080]

You could buff out the scratches using Brasso polish with a damp cloth

[@clivesilk3501]

my brother had one in 1993 when he was 10 .. he loved it

[@ToxoRetro]

Good going Stez! That "fish paste" was well hidden. Also your soldering practice proved helpful too. I wonder if the "fish" was leaking caps after all - usually they swell up before spewing it's chemicals, but maybe they just leaked out the bottom. Touch wood quick, I've never had to change a cap in that state so don't know the smell. My original Xbox (a late revision without the clock cap issue) has some slightly bulging caps, so I'd better do those soon...

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks Toxo! Yeah, it was weird that none of them were bulging, but there was leakage under pretty much all of them on the main board, so it must have seeped out of the bottom 😳. I can still smell it, even when watching the video, it is ingrained on my nostrils forever! 🤣

[@nonchip]

those smd ones tend to leak past their pins often yeah. probably because they don't have the usual "K"-groove in the top (which is often used in bigger caps as a deliberate point of failure to prevent kaplosions)

[@ToxoRetro]

@@nonchip interesting stuff. 🤘 Always wondered why there tended to be a "K" on top of electrolytic capacitors; figured it was just a manufacturer's mark. A crumple zone makes far more sense.

[@nosarcasm1]

Do somebody remember the smell from open a brand new box of a Game Gear? I remember it very well. Had to open two for playing against my father.

[@Compliment_Thief]

Great packaging they shipped it to you in! Really protective! 😂🤣💀

[@frazahmad5268]

Great job. Fun and hilarious great edutainment. I feel like ebaying a broken game ⚙ gear and fixing one myself. So I can also have afro capacitors rejuvenate the game gear. Great Great work.

[@StezStixFix]

Haha, thanks Fraz! I do love the Game Gear, it feels so nice in the hands. I really want to get an LCD screen for it, and maybe a few other mods. I think it'll look amazing! 👍

[@frazahmad5268]

@@StezStixFix Will defo look amazing with the upgraded screen. I think retro six do some shells for them too. I loved the game gear as a kid playing on friends and relatives game gears, I was the one with the DMG-01 good times.

[@frazahmad5268]

@@StezStixFix look forward to the next update

[@n1ck211]

👍 when's the merch coming out ? I can picture it now the logo would be a pair of glasses with the channel name above them and underneath the strap line "Ahhhhhh the unmistakable smell of FISH" 😂🤣😂🤣 I love the retro stuff, currently playing with a retropie, creating themes n stuff 👍👍

[@StezStixFix]

Haha 😄 I think I might just make a tee shirt with that on! Love the retropie stuff, I like Batocera as a frontend too, so simple and looks slick. I'm actually tempted to try and fit a Pi into this game gear, I've heard it can be done and I think it would be awesome. Might need to level up my skills a bit first though! 👍

[@n1ck211]

@@StezStixFix yeah that's the ultimate goal is to stuff it into a handheld 👍 you can buy kits but waiting to pull the trigger on an easy one lol

[@Echo121.the.spacelord]

I've had to replace the compactors on mine and it works great 👍

[@djlancematthew]

I’ll dig through your videos because I know that this is an older one, but I watch someone on another channel put a newer LCD screen in their game gear and the picture was amazing in comparison to the tube screen that’s in there. In the future video, if you haven’t done it already, will you try that?

[@artk2219]

Even if you never do the screen swap, replacing the fluorescent backlight with an LED backlight is a must. That CFL baclight is the single reason for the game gears terrible batter life.

[@gat1986]

How did you know which coloured cable went to which side on the speaker?

[@OBMStudios]

Did u ever add a new screen and new front panel for this??

[@andrasszabo7386]

You think those capacitors smell like fish?? Try to recap the power board in a Toshiba T1200XE laptop from 1987!! It is a horror movie.

[@moosesugar]

would be nice to see how to do a lcd mod steve and your soldering is getting well good i enjoyed this fix

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks Jon, I really appreciate that! I do feel like I'm getting more comfortable with the soldering. 👍

[@parklife4130]

I love the music on your videos, it's like a cross between Monkey Island and Fifth Element.

[@Beaps73]

Awesome job man, love the kinda monkey Island music also and the cuts, batteries in, screws in hahaha. Where did you get that magnifier screen, I need one in my life haha

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks Beaps! Yeah, I'm a big Monkey Island fan. I'd use the original music if I could get away with it! I got the microscope from Amazon, really helps me out with the SMD stuff! 👍

[@TheOriginalNCDV]

Chances are the speaker was making a continuous buzzing or crackling sound due to the failing components. Hence cut the wires.

[@tutmondigo]

Betting someone took it apart to look once and accidentally left the speaker cable out when the case was snapped shut.

[@mrsiborg]

I'm guessing that sound board connecter was harvested for another unit after the power failed.

[@TheAussieRepairGuy]

Fun fact, the "u" in "uf" is actually the greek character "Mu" or "µ" which represents micro - for microfarads.

[@xKillkenny81x]

Do you use any form of fan for the fumes when soldering? Thought the fumes are very toxic.

[@root42]

not super toxic, bit depending on the flux used it can irritate your lungs. better to use good ventilation anyway. also here you are usually soldering only small and few parts. so no huge problems.

[@PorterB]

I have an original game gear which developed the typical fault of no more sound and vertical lines of stuck pixels after around 9 years. Rather than fixing it I bought a £30 Linux handheld emulator that plays all 8 and 16 bit games at 60 FPS on a 3 inch IPS screen. Oh I also got a further £10 reduction on it due it being a different colour than advertised so yay.

[@BrunakoPAO]

Mate, capacitors don't always show esthetic failure ;) and if they are, it's for safety (like when they get fat huhu) loved your vid and great work !!!

[@lukedorrington7455]

What braid do you use Steve? I bought some generic braid from ebay and it was awful, I'm looking for a reliable braid that will work

[@StezStixFix]

Yeah, I've also had some horrible braid. The one I'm currently using is MG Chemicals Superwick: amzn.to/3KU2pXw

[@lukedorrington7455]

@@StezStixFix Thanks I will give it a try

[@Caluma122]

Smort! The screens on these were notoriously bad. So sounds like a good upgrade.

[@scucci]

You've got a good nose... That "fishy" smell is a great indicator of a failed, leaky capacitor. I repair pinball and arcade machines and after doing this for so long, I can tell if a capacitor is failing on a pinball machine as soon I open the backbox. Especially on WPC systems... there are 2 capacitors that are more likely to fail than others and when I smell that "fishy" smell I know I'm going to have to remove the driver board, replace those capacitors, and probably repair the traces under them. Sometimes you don't smell it until it heats up, either through use or when you're soldering near it. ... But as soon as you smell it, you know you've got a bad cap.

[@infectiouswardster8141]

Hi mate. Love your microscope. You got a link to it somewhere.

[@jimmyramkisoen191278]

Realy nice job!

[@StezStixFix]

Thanks Jimmy, much appreciated! 😊

[@SimonNemeth]

Every time I watch one of these opened there's always capacitor vomit everywhere. I hate old caps. I have a few older keyboards and it's the main thing that goes wrong. I had to have my JP8000 recapped when I got it and it ended up costing way more than it's worth.

[@StezStixFix]

Is that the Roland? Nice. Yeah, I think most manufacturers cheaped out on the caps back in the day. Shame really, as that leakage can really kill the board if unattended for too long.

[@SimonNemeth]

@@StezStixFix It certainly is.

[@dadwillfixit1907]

Great job mate 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻

[@StezStixFix]

Thank you! Much appreciated 😊

[@mexesrexes4495]

Maybe, disabling the speakers allowed the then dying capacitors to keep supplying juice until the unit gave out.

[@nintariplays5654]

I know it's pretty common for people to pull caps off the board then desolder the rest.....but I have nightmares of traces and pads being pulled off the board every time I see someone do it.

[@robotjeans]

This was such an amazing device when it was released, way beyond anything else in the US market release. I never understood why it did so poorly in sales.

[@AcAwesomeAndrew]

One word: price. It was far more expensive than a gameboy. The color and backlit screen not to mention improved processing compared to the gameboy increased the cost significantly.

[@Naomi_Thornock]

Because it ate batteries as a snack. My family had a game gear we sold it at a yard sale and kept the Gameboy simply for the fact it ate batteries so quickly.

[@brandonkick]

Price, and library. I had a game gear as a kid before I had a gameboy. When the neighborhood kids came over, everyone wanted to play the gameboys (they brough theirs over) and you felt "stuck" with the game gear. Gameboy just had a better game library, and a much larger game library. Plus it rode the coat tails of the NES with portable versions of Tetris, Super Mario Bros and so on. It was also far cheaper, used less batteries, was more portable. You could almost get two gameboys for the price of one game gear. If you had more than one child, or were buying for more than one, it was a no brainer which to pick.

[@MrRobarino]

The way you pry the capacitors off with a pair of pliers has a high risk of ripping off the solder pads. I wouldn't do it that way.

[@mkemp7524]

Hi Steve, are you are fan of the Macc Lads? Keep up the good work