Vince's Ebay Repair Thread - (Console Repairs & Mods)

Man of Honour
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Back from Gibraltar and itching to fix something but the parts for the master system aren't here yet. Might start with a laptop while I am waiting for parts but I dunno... I have a skylake gtx970 6gb laptop that's got some power issues and also a 1050ti with no power on the PC side, that might be fun to fix. I do still have some consoles including some retro so what do people think I should fix? Current options are:
  • Atari 520stfm (I know it needs a part or two so I could start by stripping it down and doing some diagnostics)
  • Laptop (intermittent power issue, it makes a weird sound and shuts down)
  • 1050ti (no power)
  • OG Xbox (not tested and not sure if there is a game in it or not)
  • 3DS Charge port replacement
  • ASRock B450 HDV - no power (blew the board and the cpu!)
Should probably start with a console given this thread is in the console section and perhaps open another thread in GD or general hardware for PC/laptop/gpu board repairs what are peoples thoughts?
 
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Man of Honour
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Just read the whole of this thread over Christmas. Mega jealous! Current day job as a software developer leaves me missing proper hands on work. I've done 3 or 4 soldering repairs this month but I'm itching to do some more advanced board level stuff.

Looks like we'll be moving house in the next few months but as soon as that's done I'm filling out the tool set with hot air and one of these:

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/1005002547115609.html

Basically it injects power to anywhere on a board and allows current to flow, and you can figure out where a short is. Can even use a thermal camera to highlight exactly which component has failed or is receiving too much current.

Especially useful for complex stuff like laptops but probably good for graphics cards too, or anything that charges. Learned about it after binging on this guy's videos:
Sorely tempted to start buying bits now but I'd only struggle to keep it all tidy before we move. I've got a laptop board with a charging/power MOSFET issue so I know what project 1 is :) Then it'll be the box of 3x PS2s!

You will come join us repairing all kinds before long I am sure of that :D
 
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Back from Gibraltar and itching to fix something but the parts for the master system aren't here yet. Might start with a laptop while I am waiting for parts but I dunno... I have a skylake gtx970 6gb laptop that's got some power issues and also a 1050ti with no power on the PC side, that might be fun to fix. I do still have some consoles including some retro so what do people think I should fix? Current options are:
  • Atari 520stfm (I know it needs a part or two so I could start by stripping it down and doing some diagnostics)
  • Laptop (intermittent power issue, it makes a weird sound and shuts down)
  • 1050ti (no power)
  • OG Xbox (not tested and not sure if there is a game in it or not)
  • 3DS Charge port replacement
  • ASRock B450 HDV - no power (blew the board and the cpu!)
Should probably start with a console given this thread is in the console section and perhaps open another thread in GD or general hardware for PC/laptop/gpu board repairs what are peoples thoughts?

I like repairing anything tbh :) we could make a new one or just put all in here and move thread to gd
 
Man of Honour
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I like repairing anything tbh :) we could make a new one or just put all in here and move thread to gd

Decided to test the xbox by hooking it up to a capture card. it works and has a game in it :( - I don't have a pad for it though :cry: The pad in the lot i got is apparently for an xbox S. The thing fired straight up no issues at all. I guess I need a pad to see if it will actually play a game and not die but I think it's going to be just fine tbh. Likely not in need of repair at all.

Will just leave the thread as it is for now and throw everything in here, if it gets PC parts heavy or starts drifting miles away from consoles ill shout and get it moved.
 
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Decided to test the xbox by hooking it up to a capture card. it works and has a game in it :( - I don't have a pad for it though :cry: The pad in the lot i got is apparently for an xbox S. The thing fired straight up no issues at all. I guess I need a pad to see if it will actually play a game and not die but I think it's going to be just fine tbh. Likely not in need of repair at all.

Will just leave the thread as it is for now and throw everything in here, if it gets PC parts heavy or starts drifting miles away from consoles ill shout and get it moved.

sounds good to me :)

on a side note, what do you use if anything to get minor scratches out of plastic, i use a bit of polish then wd40 to get the shine, some scratches are a nightmare :)

got a psp on route now too not loading umd and tempermental power button :)
 
Man of Honour
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Man of Honour
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Xbox that didn't read disks now has a controller and reads disks :) there is a potentiometer on the laser that should be set to a resistance of around 3.7ohms - The one in this xbox had been fiddled with and somebody set it to the max setting of around 5 ohms which could very well mean I need a new laser but I'm not sure yet.

Took a few pics of the strip down. The game I have is heavily scratched (proper gouges in places) so ain't nothing reading that, got a few games coming so I'll likely sell it on as soon as I've properly tested it on a few games. It now reads dvd's perfectly though and it didn't before.

Also I didn't know you need a specific "thing" to play dvds on the xbox but it tells me you do when I put a dvd in so can't even test that.





I'll put a few more pics up when I revisit it when a game gets here.

the USB capture card I bought I have also already managed to break as I stupidly tugged on it quite heavily so will now have to fix that as well. I only bought it to test the consoles because we only have one TV in the house and if the wife's watching that it's good to have something else to plug into.
 
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Awesome work there fella , now Xmas is out the way I’ve got some more time to work, everything I’ve ordered from the bay is taking forever! Nothing until the 4th Jan !

component tester arrived today, one I shown in the disco. I’ll put some pics up here when I test after dinner
 
Man of Honour
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Awesome work there fella , now Xmas is out the way I’ve got some more time to work, everything I’ve ordered from the bay is taking forever! Nothing until the 4th Jan !

component tester arrived today, one I shown in the disco. I’ll put some pics up here when I test after dinner

Sweet you grabbed one. I think I did as well so I'll 3d print some cases when mine gets here. Want a case for yours?
 
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Mine came with one :) came with some cables too for attaching if needed. Also charging cable as built in battery.

CE0-B2419-F864-428-A-904-A-87024-F91-B335.jpg
 
Soldato
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Back from Gibraltar and itching to fix something but the parts for the master system aren't here yet. Might start with a laptop while I am waiting for parts but I dunno... I have a skylake gtx970 6gb laptop that's got some power issues and also a 1050ti with no power on the PC side, that might be fun to fix. I do still have some consoles including some retro so what do people think I should fix? Current options are:
  • Atari 520stfm (I know it needs a part or two so I could start by stripping it down and doing some diagnostics)
  • Laptop (intermittent power issue, it makes a weird sound and shuts down)
  • 1050ti (no power)
  • OG Xbox (not tested and not sure if there is a game in it or not)
  • 3DS Charge port replacement
  • ASRock B450 HDV - no power (blew the board and the cpu!)
Should probably start with a console given this thread is in the console section and perhaps open another thread in GD or general hardware for PC/laptop/gpu board repairs what are peoples thoughts?
You really should start a pc thread -‘this ones been amazing ^^

Would love to get into this kind of thing but wouldn’t know where to start
 
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You really should start a pc thread -‘this ones been amazing ^^

Would love to get into this kind of thing but wouldn’t know where to start

get yourself a multimeter and start ripping apart and checking voltages and continuity etc . Best way to learn is head first :) data sheets around for most parts and schematics for others , start with somthing easy . Old nintendos are easiest I’ve done . Sega like to make more of a challenge :)
 
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