Nice work. I was always worried about shorting traces whenever I soldered anything. Although I don't have a lot of experience soldering these type of electronics and you seem to be nailing it!
I grab magnet wire off very small old transformers or small battery wire. It looks like bare wire but has a non conductive coating. Makes for awesome trace work. Good job!
Would this have been a little easier if you just did a jumper wire from solder point to solder point ? Cos I know it looks easy enough on the video, but that an insanely small repair area, kinda tough for a new repairer who would attempt this themselves
If you have a nice small piece of wire, then yes, that is an easier way. Im out of the proper sized insulated wire for that, so i opted instead to run a bare wire along the trace
@@RetroRepairs excellent job either way, makes me want to start looking at faulty items to buy and restore, I just know that easily fixable ones are not that easy to come by. Lol great work, keep at it.
dismantle a small transformer (like phone charger, or something like that). The coils are covered with pretty tough elastic lacquer. works perfectly - no need to strip insulation too - just burn it off right away while soldering. You get a ton of thin, insulated, easy to cut, bend and solder wire.
I had an odd but similar issue with an nes I owned. Played great for a good 10-15 minutes. It was my testing console, so I never really played further on most games. Eventually, when I did, after about that time length, the controllers started f*cking up. A and B would become start/select, and vice versa. Didn't matter the controller or game. It would stay that way too, until a couple of hours passed, then youd get 15 minutes of normal, and back to button swap. Never could find anyone else with a similar issue, but by this video, it looks like it could've been something similar.
people normally coat trace repairs to stop them corroding again or grounding out, the best thing to do is just use some matte nail varnish either top coat or green
Small traces aahhh. My nightmare. In that cases I often prefer just to solder an additional small wire to the two spots that needs continuity. I know this method is better but unfortunately not for my big hands
Instead of trying to cut that tail bit and risking more damage to the board, have you ever tried to just bend it back to the solder and solder it down? Just a little tip so you don't accidentally damage your boards. Also, for the people that have the time: If you get something you have to repair from any game store, I highly suggest remelting every solder joint on the board to avoid any future problems.
My only thought is that I'd probably just release the solder holding it in place and have to start over. I made a effort to make sure not to dig my cutters into the board, which is why it took a bit to snip it
Using enamelled coper wire instead of "recycled" strand wire would make your life easier. Would reduce the risk of creating shorts because only the ends of the wire would be conductive. You can easily "remove" the thin layer of isolation with a drop of solder. Just as a suggestion.
I can inagine putting epoxy over a repaired spot could cause problems when you have to come back to the spot... I leave them as they are after repair. Good video!
That's always been my thought too. I think of opening Super Mario Bros/Duck hunt with the black blobs encapsulating the ROM chip, and think that there's nothing i could do to fix something like that
Solder adheres to copper very well but it is rather difficult to bridge gaps with solder alone without it being a big globby mess. It would have to be a very small break to bridge a gap with just solder. And with how small the traces are in the area, tracer wires is usually be better course of action.
The above answer pretty much exactly sums up my thought. You just really can't get enough solder on a trace that small to count on reliably bridging it.
I have this same issue but do not see any damaged traces. All pins related to the controller and u7 chip have continuity... any ideas on where to look or how to troubleshoot?
I've got a bunch of 30ga magnet wire coming, but as of now the only stuff i had was what i showed in the video. I didnt like using the whole piece, just looks way too big.
6 ปีที่แล้ว
@@RetroRepairs I understand your way to do, but i think that way with more wire are much friendlier for newbies like me. If i do like in video it's much risk i damage other traces, or do short circuit because there is really not much room for soldering. I'd like see tutorial with easiest way to "repair" broken traces for not experienced people. It really be helpful, and who knows, maybe someday i try some of your ways to do :) For now, i go tu sub your channel and look for more tuts in future.
Agreed. Using a jumper cable would be much easier for someone that don't do this often. Could at least have mentioned that technique in the video. Other than that - good vid!
Great repair!! I'd say the glue just covers the copper to prevent from oxidizing again. They say clear nail polish works too, but I'd go with hot glue.
I keep an eye out for ebay listings where they're selling a lot of various broken systems, games, controllers, etc. Individually, especially with shipping, it's not worth buying these, but in a lot, the price can be right.
@@RetroRepairs Yeah, I find people charge crazy prices for old broken consoles, sometimes more than a working one. I try to keep an eye out for lots too but I don't see that many. Where I am there aren't many flea markets either, but oh well I'll just have to get them bit by bit.
@@mickmickymick6927 That's definitely always a problem. I regularly see broken SNES consoles being sold for $30 + shipping. You can find a working one for not a lot more than that. Just outrageous. Especially, since alot of the time, the issue with the SNES is a dead CPU, which is not an easy fix if you don't have the proper rework equipment.
Why do traces under solder mask get corroded? Did the solder mask itself fail? Does solder mask not really prevent oxidation? Is it because Nintendo boards always seem to have tons of flux on them and there is no such thing as true "no-clean flux" no matter what the marketing people tell you? (You should ALWAYS clean your flux, even if it's marketed "no clean.") If I have a working NES/SNES/whatever, should I consider applying conformal coating to prevent these strange oxidation issues (perhaps after doing a recap just because conformal coating would be a pain to remove if I were to later need to recap)? P.S. The warping effect your TV is doing to the image is sooooo distracting, any chance you could use 4:3 mode on your TV in the future? Sorry for my being "that guy."
I'll try and tackle these one are a time. First, it could be that the mask gets scratched and moisture penetrates in, or corrosion forms near an exposed part. Something like flux can definitely accelerate the problem. Leaky electrolytic capacitors can also cause problems. Second, I'm not sure if there's anything you can do to coat the board, best option might just be to make sure the board is really clean and take care of it. I doubt this corrosion just forms on its own Lastly, about the tv, i cant. This is a super cheap tv, which doesnt support that. Believe me, I've already tried.
6 ปีที่แล้ว +1
In my opinion, in this particular case, trace are broke because of some sort of "user" damage and not done itself. If you store your console properly and not expose for bad conditions like moisture, i think there is really no way to breaking traces itself.
@@RetroRepairs Gotcha, thanks for the quick reply (and thanks for at least trying regarding the aspect ratio). I guess I won't worry too much about mine then. I did clean the board off recently with alcohol and a soft toothbrush.
In this video, the only gadgets I'm really using is a soldering station. I use a Hakko FX-888D. It's a nice inexpensive station (inexpensive meaning under $100), but good quality. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a reliable station. This repair could also be done with a cheap plug-in soldering pencil too, but nice to have a decent station with variable temperature.
Thank you, RetroRepairs, much appreciated nes console repair.
The NES MAX rock's!
Nice work. I was always worried about shorting traces whenever I soldered anything. Although I don't have a lot of experience soldering these type of electronics and you seem to be nailing it!
I grab magnet wire off very small old transformers or small battery wire. It looks like bare wire but has a non conductive coating. Makes for awesome trace work. Good job!
Would this have been a little easier if you just did a jumper wire from solder point to solder point ? Cos I know it looks easy enough on the video, but that an insanely small repair area, kinda tough for a new repairer who would attempt this themselves
If you have a nice small piece of wire, then yes, that is an easier way. Im out of the proper sized insulated wire for that, so i opted instead to run a bare wire along the trace
@@RetroRepairs excellent job either way, makes me want to start looking at faulty items to buy and restore, I just know that easily fixable ones are not that easy to come by. Lol great work, keep at it.
That's what I was thinking. Being able to do trace repair is a great skill to have either way though.
dismantle a small transformer (like phone charger, or something like that). The coils are covered with pretty tough elastic lacquer. works perfectly - no need to strip insulation too - just burn it off right away while soldering. You get a ton of thin, insulated, easy to cut, bend and solder wire.
I had an odd but similar issue with an nes I owned. Played great for a good 10-15 minutes. It was my testing console, so I never really played further on most games. Eventually, when I did, after about that time length, the controllers started f*cking up. A and B would become start/select, and vice versa. Didn't matter the controller or game. It would stay that way too, until a couple of hours passed, then youd get 15 minutes of normal, and back to button swap. Never could find anyone else with a similar issue, but by this video, it looks like it could've been something similar.
people normally coat trace repairs to stop them corroding again or grounding out, the best thing to do is just use some matte nail varnish either top coat or green
Sparks N Zeros 🤔
Small traces aahhh. My nightmare. In that cases I often prefer just to solder an additional small wire to the two spots that needs continuity. I know this method is better but unfortunately not for my big hands
Instead of trying to cut that tail bit and risking more damage to the board, have you ever tried to just bend it back to the solder and solder it down? Just a little tip so you don't accidentally damage your boards. Also, for the people that have the time: If you get something you have to repair from any game store, I highly suggest remelting every solder joint on the board to avoid any future problems.
My only thought is that I'd probably just release the solder holding it in place and have to start over. I made a effort to make sure not to dig my cutters into the board, which is why it took a bit to snip it
@@RetroRepairs Nah, I can tell you have the skill to one and done something like that.
I have a nintendo that has a problem similar to this. But no matter what I do I can't find the issue on the board.
Using enamelled coper wire instead of "recycled" strand wire would make your life easier. Would reduce the risk of creating shorts because only the ends of the wire would be conductive. You can easily "remove" the thin layer of isolation with a drop of solder. Just as a suggestion.
Merry Christmas!
Good job getting the Nintendo entertainment system working again
My favorite parts are flux pen
You should try fixing those spare parts machines. You can find parts for them online.
I can inagine putting epoxy over a repaired spot could cause problems when you have to come back to the spot... I leave them as they are after repair.
Good video!
That's always been my thought too. I think of opening Super Mario Bros/Duck hunt with the black blobs encapsulating the ROM chip, and think that there's nothing i could do to fix something like that
No IPA for the purpose of cleansing that filth of a flux they've used some time ago? Well-well.
Thumbs up, but it's the warning thumbs up ;)
Welcome back bro!
Great Video as always. May I ask why you needed to put a copper wire there? Why would solder alone not be enough?
Solder adheres to copper very well but it is rather difficult to bridge gaps with solder alone without it being a big globby mess. It would have to be a very small break to bridge a gap with just solder. And with how small the traces are in the area, tracer wires is usually be better course of action.
The above answer pretty much exactly sums up my thought. You just really can't get enough solder on a trace that small to count on reliably bridging it.
The alternative is running an insulated wire directly from the two solder points this trace connects to, bypassing the trace altogether
I see. Thank you both for replying. I don't know much about this stuff, but I enjoy watching these types of videos anyways.
@@A_I_M Any time! That's what these videos are here for, for people such as you to learn. :3
I have this same issue but do not see any damaged traces. All pins related to the controller and u7 chip have continuity... any ideas on where to look or how to troubleshoot?
Great fix on video as always
Why don't you use some kynar cable, soldering it from one pin to another? It's a way easier, less risky, and in my opinion faster.
I've got a bunch of 30ga magnet wire coming, but as of now the only stuff i had was what i showed in the video. I didnt like using the whole piece, just looks way too big.
@@RetroRepairs I understand your way to do, but i think that way with more wire are much friendlier for newbies like me. If i do like in video it's much risk i damage other traces, or do short circuit because there is really not much room for soldering. I'd like see tutorial with easiest way to "repair" broken traces for not experienced people. It really be helpful, and who knows, maybe someday i try some of your ways to do :) For now, i go tu sub your channel and look for more tuts in future.
Agreed. Using a jumper cable would be much easier for someone that don't do this often. Could at least have mentioned that technique in the video.
Other than that - good vid!
I have an n64 that controller #1 doesnt work. How can i fix it?
do you sell one of these not working nes or after you fix? were i live is soooo expensive
I do, but normally local only. It would cost more than its worth for me to ship one.
@@RetroRepairs oh okay 😔 thank you ❤
Have you tried blowing on the controller ports?
No but i tried cleaning the tv with brasso. Didn't work either
Great video
Great repair!! I'd say the glue just covers the copper to prevent from oxidizing again. They say clear nail polish works too, but I'd go with hot glue.
Can I send you a broken fake snes controller to fix?
thanks
Where do you get the broken NESs?
I keep an eye out for ebay listings where they're selling a lot of various broken systems, games, controllers, etc. Individually, especially with shipping, it's not worth buying these, but in a lot, the price can be right.
@@RetroRepairs Yeah, I find people charge crazy prices for old broken consoles, sometimes more than a working one. I try to keep an eye out for lots too but I don't see that many. Where I am there aren't many flea markets either, but oh well I'll just have to get them bit by bit.
@@mickmickymick6927 That's definitely always a problem. I regularly see broken SNES consoles being sold for $30 + shipping. You can find a working one for not a lot more than that. Just outrageous. Especially, since alot of the time, the issue with the SNES is a dead CPU, which is not an easy fix if you don't have the proper rework equipment.
Why do traces under solder mask get corroded? Did the solder mask itself fail? Does solder mask not really prevent oxidation? Is it because Nintendo boards always seem to have tons of flux on them and there is no such thing as true "no-clean flux" no matter what the marketing people tell you? (You should ALWAYS clean your flux, even if it's marketed "no clean.")
If I have a working NES/SNES/whatever, should I consider applying conformal coating to prevent these strange oxidation issues (perhaps after doing a recap just because conformal coating would be a pain to remove if I were to later need to recap)?
P.S. The warping effect your TV is doing to the image is sooooo distracting, any chance you could use 4:3 mode on your TV in the future? Sorry for my being "that guy."
I'll try and tackle these one are a time.
First, it could be that the mask gets scratched and moisture penetrates in, or corrosion forms near an exposed part. Something like flux can definitely accelerate the problem. Leaky electrolytic capacitors can also cause problems.
Second, I'm not sure if there's anything you can do to coat the board, best option might just be to make sure the board is really clean and take care of it. I doubt this corrosion just forms on its own
Lastly, about the tv, i cant. This is a super cheap tv, which doesnt support that. Believe me, I've already tried.
In my opinion, in this particular case, trace are broke because of some sort of "user" damage and not done itself. If you store your console properly and not expose for bad conditions like moisture, i think there is really no way to breaking traces itself.
@@RetroRepairs Gotcha, thanks for the quick reply (and thanks for at least trying regarding the aspect ratio). I guess I won't worry too much about mine then. I did clean the board off recently with alcohol and a soft toothbrush.
Can you tell which exact gadgets you are using for fixing?
In this video, the only gadgets I'm really using is a soldering station. I use a Hakko FX-888D. It's a nice inexpensive station (inexpensive meaning under $100), but good quality. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a reliable station. This repair could also be done with a cheap plug-in soldering pencil too, but nice to have a decent station with variable temperature.
Im one of the first few hundred people here
Generic comment
Third
Do a xbox
I've got one with a flaky av port, might try and tackle that one soon
Cool I can't wait😊
First
Retro repairs upload? *drops everything to check out the goods*
Show me your goods big daddy