This NES Is Worth $200 - But It's Broken - Top Loader Repair + Mod

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This NES Is Worth $200 - But It's Broken - Top Loader Repair - I'm working on my first ever NES-101 Top Loader, which can be worth about $200, if I can get it working again. Right now it won't accept and play a game. Once I get it working again, I'm going to do an AV mod for better video and sound quality.
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Tools I Use:
-Protech Toolkit: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/90il5y
-Torx Security T8: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/AEcBvZL
-PH00 Phillips: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/YGVSSv
-Tweezer Set: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/t0VrlcX
-Electric Screwdriver: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/2wbHzJ
-Thermal Paste: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/q2Prd
-Canned Air: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/CPYy
Equipment Used:
-Hakko Hot Air Station: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/y2JDR
-Nozzle for hot air station: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/zpEWlT
-Hakko Soldering Station: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/MTL0qb
-Hakko Air Filter: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/Gqznh
-Digital Microscope: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/fAw8d4Q
-Stereo Microscope: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/WBO3b
-Kester Solder: Amazon (paid link) geni.us/ETXUh
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TronicsFix does not make any claims of the safety of the projects, techniques, or resources listed on this channel and will not take responsibility of what you do with the information provided by this channel. Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not TronicsFix. Please do not attempt anything contained in this video unless you accept personal responsibility for the results, whether they are good or bad.
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[@bloink3511]

I haven’t commented in a while but I just wanted to check in and remind you just how much I personally benefit from what you do. I know countless people can also say the same. I hope you are doing okay. Your resilience has been remarkable. Thanks for being you ♡

[@dmitchell1713]

You are so right

[@TheDrunkardHu]

Amen!

[@wazzysgarage5623]

Seriously! This!

[@Tilt_TM]

My grandparents had one of these when I was a kid. Their basement flooded some time in the mid 2000s and I'm 90% sure that the restoration crew stole it and all of the games. They claimed it was "water damaged" even though it was on top of a table and nothing else that high up off the floor had to be replaced. TWO copies of Mario/Duck Hunt, TWO zapper guns, 4 controllers, Mario 3, Skate or Die, TMNT III, and a couple of other games. I was so mad then, and I'm still mad about it to this day.

[@Tronicsfix]

Wow, I'd be mad too.

[@volvo09]

Bummer NES games are very durable, even if they did get wet they likely would have worked after a quick cleaning when dry 😢

[@checob224]

I'm surprised you didn't claimed before they came.

[@Tilt_TM]

@@checob224 I was in 7th or 8th grade at the time. I didn't know it happened until after the restoration was already finished.

[@delta250a]

@@volvo09 From experience unless they are immediately cleaned they rust.

[@cathousegames5901]

Thanks for using my kit for this. Pretty clean install! :)

[@Mr_Waffle.]

I'm so impressed that a mod like this exists, hats off to you!

[@thesegacampgamerandwerecam7504]

Glad to see you feeling Better! Don't film yourself Disassembly these if your in Pain! we want you to feel better too!

[@d4n93r]

I think you forget about pain if you do something you love

[@deraminator945]

What happened?

[@danieldaponte1819]

@deriminator he stepped on a lego. Also the chemotherapy.

[@deraminator945]

@@danieldaponte1819 oh damn... must have been a hard lego brick

[@nickvandyke2105]

I just fixed my 37th system as of yesterday. I love bringing consoles back to life and have found a big love in doing so. I wanna thank you for all the videos, you have helped me out a lot! Definitely the only channel I go to when I'm stuck on something. Thanks! ❤

[@thomasandpaigec209]

I still have my original top loader from when I was a kid (38) now, and my kids were playing it this morning. Works like a charm.

[@P5ychoFox]

I always check the comments to see all the positive wishes for Steve’s health. It’s brilliant to see.

[@mrferniehernandez]

what happened to him? I havent seen this channel in a while.

[@sweatypalms9682]

@@mrferniehernandez diagnosed with lymphatic cancer

[@TOTKHub]

15:15 i got so much anxiety when you cut that pin 😂

[@SkittleKicksPlays]

Back when these top loaders came out I was working at Toys R Us. They never sold because by this point Playstation, N64, Sega Saturn, and NEO-GEO were the hot ticket items for the Christmas season. As for me, I prefer the OG NES. It was the very first game system I ever got from my parents.

[@sc3ku]

I can’t believe the the Saturn and Neo Geo were ever “hot ticket” items 😜…compared to the Top Loader, I suppose!

[@RealLoganHall]

I didn't know until just now that I could feel and hear the static sound of the old CRTs through a video like this. That took me way back.

[@weaseloaf58]

Congratulation on finishing the treatment! Recently I AV-upgraded my original Famicom, using a single 3.5 jack without drilling. It turned out great :) I’m so happy to see you still making videos! Best wishes from Russia! :)

[@vadenk4433]

I remember seeing these in stores for cheap. But Super Nintendo had already been out a few years and no one needed a new NES because we all had the original NES. They're definitely cool now though

[@nunomarques3689]

Hi, just a tip if i may. You should get a small vise so you can attach boards like that small one, it makes soldering way easier and with more quality. Thank you for your videos

[@Fireballof3]

I remember seeing these toploaders back when they were on sale in the 90s. I kept thinking "I guess if you're NES was dead and you didn't want a SNES, this would be a thing..." But most people were fine with the existing NES in their house or were getting a SNES. It was a smart redesign with almost no market for it.

[@mikem2808]

I got mine cause my cousin destroyed my original. I had a snes but I still had a ton of nes games

[@lam9374]

Greetings from Greece Steve...wishing you a speedy recovery!

[@brunobarks6544]

Thinking of, and praying for full recovery my brother. Much love. God bless 🙏

[@darkmastertime]

nice to see again mate, love to see you fixing this old tech! You are strong, i know you will beat all your problems! greetings from france!

[@jesuszayas7]

So cool to see that kind of tech. And good to see you too!!

[@tony--james]

I picked one of these up with the box/manuals almost mint, low use, for 30 bucks at a thrift store in 2005... the box says NEW DESIGN for the first time game player, NES-101 still have it..

[@therealtimmy13]

Glad to see you again! Learn something new every video and I genuinely hope you know how much impact you have in the community. Best repair videos on the interwebs, and we’re in a time and age where there’s a lot of them out there. The best. Hands down.

[@GameKollector]

I have 5 of the NES Top Loaders…1 complete in box and 4 loose and about 8 dog bone controllers. I dunno know why but I like these things and never want to get rid of my extras.

[@bookwormbon482]

Hope you're feeling okay, thank you for making all the videos you have for us

[@Tronicsfix]

I'm slowly feeling better. Glad you're enjoying the videos!

[@chaos3297]

Thx to you I’ve been recently getting into soldering/attempting to fix my electronics before just buying a new one, i would say i hope you get better, even though you inspire all of us by going through what your going through without even seeming like your even sick. luv you and lookingg forward to the future videos

[@Spartan122S]

Glad to see more retro consoles Steve and good to see you’re doing alright! Keep up the good works and take care!

[@Tronicsfix]

Hey thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@setfire7371]

Amazing man! I had a surgery 3 years ago (getting rid of the tumor) and the chemo therapy immediately afterwards. Man was I KO. I hope you will become soon healthy and strong again 💪🏻

[@azure1259]

I've enjoyed so many of your videos and been so impressed with your knowledge and skills. I'm equally impressed with how bravely you're dealing with adversity. Wishing you all the best for a full recovery.

[@coolmeisemeisenmann1416]

Man, haven't watched your videos for a long time and got instantly shocked how you look. :/ I hope you can recover from it and I wish you power to fight, the best health and everything you need to overcome whatever illness you're suffering from. Best regards from Germany.

[@robertkennedy8503]

I'm happy to see you feel good enough to keep making videos Steve, when I went through cancer it demolished me for awhile, I hope you are doing progress with your treatment.

[@BearBoulder]

This takes me back. My mom gave me her old NES back when I was a kid and it was luckily one of the mustard and ketchup connection top loaders! I didn't realize how lucky I was back then considering their value now. Miss playing SF2 and Mario on it.

[@zabdanger]

We love and best wishes... I've been a gamer since 80's, having had modded ps1, OG xbox, and every handheld i love seeing the effort and the mystery of the process... my knuckle head just buys them and never knew the process... Thanks Steve

[@oncerunts1913]

Ive been a long time watcher of you, youve helped me progress in my self repair skills and overall knowledge. It absolutely ruined me hearing about your condition, just wanted to thank you and wish you the best on your journey.

[@80aj]

Today I fixed my wife's Beats Studio3 headphones because of you. And the thing is, these headphones had sentimental value. Thank you for this channel man. Thank you so much. And Ifix it for the manuals they provide!!

[@jsparrowthegamer7729]

those old tv bring back so many memories

[@lewishamilton3557]

Bought one of these when I was 16. Still have it, and I am 38. Great video.

[@jodierye3011]

I think this is one of your best videos. Can we see more where you take the old retro consoles and modify them for modern hardware, like HDMI video and USB-C power. A WII upgrade video would be fantastic.

[@tanelhunt8829]

Thanks, Steve for uploading, I have watched you for years, and I have exitement every friday, when you upload, I just wish that you upload more frequntly, love to watch you fix stuff, and you seem a warrior, you'll soldier on that illness and defeat it, much love, thanks brother

[@mfc902]

Hi, something I’ve used before to avoid those pesky q-tip hairs is a soft makeup sponge. It’s solid foam, non-abrasive, and can help remove excess fluids.

[@KBDxTokyo]

I hope all is well brother, I’ll never forget that you and your videos inspired me to become a refurbisher and to believe in myself and my skills 🙏🏼❤️ much love always

[@liquidsteel8131]

Good to see you again! Many prayers for you!

[@Mampersand]

FWIW, I would recommend taking the time to desolder the PPU and just lifting the pin vs snipping it. That way if you want to reverse or upgrade to a RGB mod it’ll make the process a little cleaner.

[@deeranfoxworthy6069]

Hope you're doing well!! What a nice tune-up video on one of my favourite consoles! When I bought my factory made composite NES toploader years ago, I was told that it was not a retail option. It was a service that Nintendo had made available where you could send back your RF toploader and they would 'fix' it with a composite port and send it back to you. If I remember correctly, they offered this fix because the RF didn't provide a good quality audio or there was a hum. The composite port that's in it looks pretty much like the SNES composite port, not RCA plugs like that. So I guess it is sort of a factory option?

[@johnday6973]

Love your board repair videos! Inspired me to attempt a mother board repair. Replaced a blown capacitor but unfortunately didn't fix it. Still a fun repair!

[@cruzrdz6411]

I’ve been watching your videos for a long time. This is the first time I comment. I wish the best in your recovery. Sending prayers your way, friend. Cheers from Mexico. 🫡

[@DankMilkGamerz]

I bought the master Ifixtit tool kit myself. Its coming next wednesday!

[@Tronicsfix]

You're going to love it! Such a good toolkit.

[@andygoss3117]

The Japanese version had the multi out like the Snes, N64, Gamecube. That was modded by someone else.

[@scottsmall9898]

Great quick video but full of information. Btw you are looking pretty good and hope your health is improving. I'll continue to pray for your recovery.

[@michaelwalsh3474]

To answer your question at the beginning, that's a modification. In Japan, Nintendo made the AV Famicom and it had the familiar AV port from the SNES, N64 and GameCube in back instead of the RF coaxial jack. Why it was Japanese only and North America got the coaxial, only they know.

[@adrianterencehand]

My head nearly fell off in shock at the transition during the capacitor swaps, for the tiniest fraction of a second it looked like the board folded and broke in two 😮

[@bikkiikun]

Great, that you have your equipment in the description box. You might also want to add the capacitors (capacitor number, make, type and values).

[@CurtisSmith-w5u]

One of your best videos for sure! I can't get enough of the channel. Rooting for you and Mrs. TT during this very difficult time in your lives. P.S. love the collaboration with Austin Evans.

[@NotApplicable-um9re]

Just watched Louis Rossmann perform electronics repair and I don’t think he was nearly as careful as you are. I know who I would rather send my valuables to. Thank you for sharing your work.

[@kalmtraveler]

no need to bash people - Louis's company has helped tens of thousands of people over the years. You can just compliment this guy here without needing to simultaneously try to put someone else down.

[@aftermathsample305]

You're a genius Steve! Well done! That's the best Super Mario Bros ever! I remember playing that in '94 when I was a child and my parents were off to work. Memories.

[@dustyshoopman845]

That one with AV jacks on it is a modified one. The ones that were factory completely replaced the plastic piece where the RF connection is with a SNES style one that just has a standard Nintendo AV multi out port. The only way to get one back in the day was to call Nintendo and file a claim about any video issues(jailbars) you were having. You would then send them your top loader and they would either replace the port part with the multi out or just replace your whole system with one that the already put a multi out in.

[@lukehyoshy]

Hi Steve! I noticed your voice is a little hoarse, I hope the treatment is going well. I know it's very difficult and tiring and yet you continue to bring these impressive repairs. We are all rooting for you. Get better soon, bro. A hug from Brazil!

[@CallegriaofSoulbound]

You are looking good dude. You still got that cherish cat smile that we all love. Keep moving bro, I am proud of you and your work ethics.

[@ZeroCiaran]

Nice tune up and upgrade to the top loader. Always enjoy watching your stuff even though I hardly comment. I read the health page on your website, glad you're doing well and wishing you the best through the treatment!

[@allfather885]

Looking good, Mr. Clean! Congrats on finishing treatment. Crossing my fingers for good news and guessing you’ll start getting some fuzz on that noggin within the next month or so.

[@DarkBowser64]

The OEM composite out 101 NESes do exist, and there is proof of them existing. They are just *absurdly* rare because you had to specifically call Nintendo and complain to them that you were very unhappy with the video signal coming out of the top loader, and they would take your NES and replace it with a different one that had an AV Multi-Out port like the SNES and later (no RF at all), presumably reused parts from the AV Famicom retrofitted into the 101 NES. And of course, people rarely ever called Nintendo for that sort of thing, let alone at all. So there is surely only a very small handful of them out there. I've always wanted to get my hands on any top-loader just for reliability's sake. Real good video! And be well!

[@coondogtheman]

Steve I bought one of the iFix it screwdriver kits and I love it. So handy. It even has a SIM card ejection tool.

[@joshualake237]

I really liked the editing on the capacitor changing. Reminds me of oceans Eleven hiest music.

[@zoke101]

Informative and great as always! I'm rooting for you! Cheers from Sweden! 🍻

[@MikeWayson]

Good job on the repair buddy much love to you and wishing for a speedy recovery ❤

[@asufan23]

Instead of a magic eraser you can use glass stove top cleaner and just a q tip to polish the game contacts.

[@katotornado4312]

You’re videos genuinely bring me happiness

[@danielcordero901]

Steve, I love that you’re still making good videos. Hope you the best, man.

[@RadSalacan]

I didn't see if anyone commented this yet or not but...To my knowledge in North America they never released factory A/V toploaders. They did however offer an "upgrade" to the multi-out style of connector used by the SNES if you sent your toploader in to Nintendo. I'm not %100 sure on that, but it's what I've been told in the past.

[@awilliams1701]

for pass through caps in the 80's and early 90's, there is a difference of opinion. They aren't as bad as SMDs. My argument is they CAN leak and will go bad eventually. Why not replace now to prevent damage later. Other people seem to think that having 50 year old caps and leaving them alone is perfectly fine. If you change them you risk damage. I've damaged traces, but never on a cap.

[@riceshaddow]

I don’t think I heard of a top loader nes, pretty cool to see you repair it!

[@Tronicsfix]

Yeah, I didn't even know these existed until recently.

[@MSUHitman]

It released in Oct. 1993 in the US & December 93 in Japan. No European release.

[@riceshaddow]

@@MSUHitman interesting, good to know!

[@riceshaddow]

@@Tronicsfix you and me both 😂

[@tuuhoang5757]

Love that you guys are fixing old NES systems, they don't deserve to be e-wasted. I really have no idea what Nintendo of America people were thinking by only giving these RF out!??? The Japanese AV Famicoms on the other-side of the pond came with the AV out connector that SNES used!!! I find it so dumb they took so much effort to redesign the NES over the Famicom yet they just lazily changed on the Cartridge connector and only gave RF out for the Top loader compared to the superior designed AV Famicom model lol. Good to see Steve up and doing videos between treatments!!!

[@seanhalpin2071]

Very happy to hear your health update. 🙌 Thoroughly enjoy your vids 📼

[@HinLee-vz8td]

Happy to see you again, I learnt lot of things from you, thank you. You can fix everything, so you can fix yourself too.

[@istvanbally2817]

Sending prayers. Hang in there!

[@DrewBellUK]

Hope you’re feeling okay mate!! Glad to see you still doing what you do!

[@billyhorn7886]

great job on the mod. you make it look so easy :) Good luck with your healing process!

[@lukey110685]

This is great! There is a Tim Worthington RGB mod which is a challenge to do but gives great picture quality and there is also not a lot of good videos of the mod, maybe it worth checking out! I’d love to see you do it! Hope things are going as well as can be atm dude!

[@Kenjitsuka]

Once more I wish you all the best, Steve! You can do it!!!

[@Erik-rc7iy]

Great to see you again! Keep up the great videos, stay strong and keep pumping out more videos!

[@Pioware]

Great stuff, personally I really enjoy repairs and modding of retro stuff ❤

[@SuperXeroNine]

I am praying for you. God bless you!

[@Mr.Sequiro]

My dad had gotten me one of these when I was a kid, said he got it from some shady guy selling it out of the back of his truck for 50 bucks. (this was early/mid 90s) the one of two items I truly regret ever selling off, at the time wasn't worth much. Now they are worth so much.

[@dockholiday06]

Wow that was amazing so cool I wish I would of finished college doing what you do for a living not sure if I would have the fenise and patience as you do your the best at what you do love the video I learn so much from you

[@mikeberry9766]

Glad to hear about your health update Steve. Always enjoy your videos! Keep up the great work!

[@IanZainea1990]

Usually if you're doing mono, you take the left channel (white) not the right channel (red). The colors on the wire (as you know) are just colors, so as long as the source and destination match, you can ignore the colors. Again, I'm sure you know all this. But for anyone who might not.

[@fifthnail]

Amazing job!! You owned this one, you took the risk, and you got rewarded. Two questions, 1) does the mod increase value, and buy how much 2) when can we see the fix on the other NES?

[@Tronicsfix]

Yeah, this mod does seem to increase the value based on the prices I see on eBay. As far as the other fix...I'm not sure. We'll see how this video does. If a lot of people watch and want to see more I'll make another one.

[@fifthnail]

​@Tronicsfix fantastic! I will make sure I like and comment this video to make sure we get the follow up video.😉

[@kalmtraveler]

Nintendo did make some AV NES units but as I recall they were not sold in stores - only offered to customers who complained about the unit no longer having AV output like the original NES had. These replaced the RF out with the SNES/N64 style AV connector.

[@McKluskie]

hope you are feeling better, thanks for the video.

[@Tronicsfix]

Thanks for watching it!

[@RTDragonCommando]

There weren't 101s with separate RCA jacks from factory, but Nintendo did make them with the multi-out used on the SNES. iirc you got one like that if you warrantied a top loader later in the production life of the 101. I'm not sure you could buy them in store that way ever though, and they're really rare today, I've never seen one in person despite repairing consoles for a number of years back in the day. Though people have built mods to convert any top loader to that style.

[@Veloward]

Oooh, not only repaired but also upgraded! Would be cool if you made more upgrades on other consoles!

[@mint_kyuu99]

There was a NES top loader that had the SNES multi-out from the factory, but nowadays that one is quite rare and expensive since it was released really late. There was also a board revision that had better video out through RF, but it's also quite rare. The one you have with the AV jacks is modded.

[@just_delightful]

Looking great Gary! Thanks for the fixer-ups!

[@EEVOL]

I love your videos man! Thanks for taking the time to making these!

[@Tronicsfix]

Glad you like them! Thanks for watching!

[@winchestersingerharvelle83]

Great work Steve , VERY Nice Modifications 😊👍 💯✔️

[@BCProgramming]

I don't think any version of the Top Loader NES had anything other than RF, however The Japanese/Famicom version the AV Famicom, used the standard Multi Out which allows Composite. (No S-Video or RGB without modding further, however). The only evidence for a NES with composite from the factory is somebody on a forum about 10 years ago who claimed they had sent it to Nintendo for "repair" and complained that it didn't output composite and got back a system with a Multi-out port, but it seems to be entirely based on that anecdote that anybody believes them to exist at all.

[@lookitskazzy]

Happy to see and hear you're doing better! A few notes: - top loaders from NTSC-U region are RF only. Japanese units have composite. - you really don't need to recap these. They're not like other systems which are notorious for cap failures. You can sometimes cause more issues than you solve with unnecessary recaps. - top loaders are more reliable because no ZIF connector and no lockout chip. - there are easier less destructive ways to add composite to these. In fact you can add composite with no cutting using a 3D printed backplate and a reproduction of the official Nintendo multi out port. I'd recommend that rather than mangling factory housing and cutting pins off the PPU. You can purchase the kit for 20 dollars from laser bear and it's way less work than the kit you used.

[@Mike-cs1ft]

I never ever knew they made these NES consoles, I thought the OG NES was the one and only

[@lushG678]

You should finish the mods that they tried to make, would be a cool video!

[@lushG678]

I didnt reach the end of the video lmaooo, my bad

[@mosestelaiti9548]

Hope you're doing well sir ❤❤❤ massive respect for your effort

[@TheBoboTheIceMan]

'Lets get this back together enough to test." I know where you're going, but all you gotta do is plug in and go. No heatsinks, no fans. It was ready right out the gate. I mean, that's what I used to do on my old NES when I'd fix it as a kid. If it worked, back together it went.

[@WolfOfValhalla903]

Hope you're doing well brother ❤️ again another great vid

[@titiwin25]

2:52 The only iconic tool a Nintendo needs ... THE BLOW !!!!!! 😂

[@MyRegardsToTheDodo]

Except that you shouldn't do that. The moisture in your breath actually corrodes the pins over time.

[@MrJoliverio]

@@MyRegardsToTheDodoBut always works kkk