I Bought A Broken SEGA Game Gear On eBay...Can We Fix It?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ส.ค. 2020
- The SEGA Game Gear was a handheld from the 90s that compete with the Game Boy while attempting to push better specs and a backlit screen. Unfortunately for these handhelds they tend to break down over time and the screen inside isn't great by today's standards. Today I wanted to take a look at a Game Gear I ordered on eBay that is broken and attempt to fix and even upgrade it.
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#SEGA #GameGear #eBay - เกม
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I watched your video, ordered the capacitor kit and fixed my brothers game gear that hasn’t worked in over 20 years. I have never done anything like this before and was amazed at how easy it was thanks to your video! Thanks!
Oh man. That's awesome, I have one just like this in the garage and tempted to try it
They're caps from a 30 dollar Amazon kit. Enough to fix 30 consoles haha. It's not always caps either. It's as if no one uses a multimeter hahaha
Why am I getting the feeling *just now* that Spawnwave is the electronic Bob the Builder? Every time I see one of these titles of “Can we Fix It?” my immediate response is “Yes We Can!” 🤣🤣🤣
2 hours ago djruhfbdbfjjrnr ok
Yes we can
Not fix it, face it your a failure and you break everything
Tronicsfix is the Bob the builder of TH-cam electronics. His motto is "if its not broke, i can fix it until it is"
@@thomashernandez6536 but can he fix a crt? Now that would be impressive. Gotta keep my Trinitron going strong
@@retrosoul8770 that tvs are made to last. i have mine for more that 25 years. and still work. its my tv for playstation 1, 2, megadrive, gamecube.
Replacing the screen with a modern one dramatically increases battery life too. The vast majority of the battery drain from the Game Gear was from the CCFL backlights for the awful screen. Btw, the original screen is also an LCD, just not a modern one. I think what you meant to say is the old CCFL backlight screen is being replaced by an LED backlight screen which is what all modern LCD's use. This is where the power consumption difference comes into play, LED's use FAR FAR less power while also being brighter. LCD's themselves have also gotten a lot better, they have much better controllers with much lower response time (hence the lack of ghosting). The wavy lines on the video are just a result of the camera not playing nice with the polarization filter on the screen...that won't appear in person.
You sure do know a lot
I wonder if you could buy some of that led tape (in white) I see online just put a strip Behind The Game Gear wear the Iite used to be and then Sauder it somewhere so you get 9 volt it says 12 volts but I've gotten it to run off a 9-volt battery.
it's not the screen, it's only the backlight. McWill's screen draw around 450mA whereas a simple brightness mod (such as Retrosix's) can save 100 to 150mA compared to the original current draw (around 270mA).
the McWill mod hosts a whole microcomputer with 1 or 2gigs of RAM to decode the graphics data coming from the VDP, and then it encodes them to the proper signals for the screen. It's a very complex process that draws A LOT of power (the McWill's processor being much faster than the Game Gear's) and one can actually feel how much warmer the whole system gets. I'd recommend Retrosix brightness mod over the McWill's any day of the week, mainly because I like to save power.
I've replaced just the old CCFL backlight with the cheapo plastic backlights from Console5 and boosted the battery life by at least 4x or 5x times what it is stock.
now im thinking about doing the whole 9 on my game gear...started several months ago on the capacitors but my soldering iron didnt come with a small enough tip..found a micro soldering iron on amazon..its coming in a few days..if i can get the game gear to work again, i might do the screen too.
I bought a recapped and fresh glass Sega Game Gear in May during quarantine. Goodbye Covid, hello childhood!
@@rap6439 I have a string of LEDs that run off of 12 volts but I've gotten them to light up off of nine volts so I wonder if you could find a way to use them. You can cut them in three-piece increments.
Same with the dreamcast
Say hello battery’s lol 😆
Just bought a recapped and glass replacement system. Version 5 system. The mcwill upgrade screen mod is better but it costs almost $400 Canadian so yeah I'll have to get that done later
where you find it
To be fair, the ghosting on sonic on GG wasn't a bug but a feature. It really made you feel the speed.
Good tip for those gamebit screws if you haven't got a screwdriver is take a pen, pull the ink out, use something like a lighter to soften up the clear empty pen casing and place it down on top of the screw for a few secs until the pen plastic hardens. Used this method on my game gear and it works surprisingly well as a temporary makeshift screwdriver.
Wow so simple and worked, thank you
Really shows us how much display & electronics overall have advanced. It's pretty cool to play these updated systems its made me appreciate these older gen systems so much fun.
I just bought a soldering iron kit from Amazon and might just get a “broken” Game Gear from EBay in a few weeks that way I can finally build some skills in the soldering scene. Super excited!!
iVirtualPlays thanks for the great advice, can’t wait to finally start learning, I’ve put it off for too many years.
iVirtualPlays awesome, much appreciated, I’ll keep the recommendations in mind. I take it you have been doing this for a while.
iVirtualPlays wow, that’s awesome. Glad to get some pointers from a pro then!!
Seems like everyone has their particular console or consoles that evoke their fondest childhood memories. For me it's the GG and the C64. I always got hand-me-downs and cheaper consoles, and got made fun of at school for it, lol!
Isn't it weird how the memories of the games are so much more than the crude graphics and tinny sound? My memory of Land of Illusion, for example, is of this huge magical place inhabited with strange creatures; even PGA golf seems like a real place. And each game is attached to particular memories. Jungle Strike is my grandad digging the garden in the summer; Lemmings is sending a cheat I discovered to Sega Mean Machines magazine, composed on an old typewriter (recently even found the published cheat on Internet Archive!). The GG was a present from my step dad, long gone. Replaying the games today, I suddenly unlock memories of being with him, memories that have otherwise remained lodged away in my unconscious.
People who dismiss gaming nostalgia as juvenile are missing the point - it's about more than just the games, fun though they are. For the generations that grew up with games, they are interwoven with the fabric of our selfhood, including important relationships.
I agree my grandparents got me my first game gear as a kid and both of em are gone now decided to pick up a game gear to keep that memory forever
That screen was hd back in the day 😂
Back then, we had lower standards. It's crap now, but a colour backlit handheld was amazing in the early 90s. Granted, most of my memories playing the Game Gear was with it plugged into the wall cause of how battery hungry it was.
It looked better back in the day as well. They start ghosting and the backlight dims as they age. Still didn't look great by todays standards but not as bad as his example here.
not even 144p
@@dmtd2388 The Game Gear's resolution is 160x144, so it's in the class of 144p.
@@AmartharDrakestone Oh wow. That's the exact resolution of the original gameboy. Weird how the screen looks wider than that of the Gameboy though
Perfect timing, also just bought a broken gamegear few weeks back to do the samething. Great video. Thanks for sharing. Keep them coming !!!!!
The brightness wheel works as a switch between the LCD-screen and the VGA-Out (once installed) !
Yep, I was just about to post this.
I loved the Sonic music during the time lapses haha! Great stuff Spawn Wave
When I was a shitty kid, I dropped my Game Gear and it stopped turning on. So I sold it at a flea market. I hope they were able to get it working somehow.
By the looks of this video, there was not much that could have broken off the game cube internally, EXCEPT the fluorescent light tube. Even that flimsy LCD could have survived. Without a CCFL powering on, nothing would be visible to the user. I doubt they were able to do anything to get that working, save having some soldering skills, and a replacement fluorescent tube handy.
Phenomenal vid! I haven't soldered anything in over 20 years, but your vids have inspired me to get a kit and start practicing on some old systems I find on ebay. Thanks for that! Something I'll do when I get more space.
Good on ya! I concede to the master of fixing consoles.
I have a couple Game Gears I still need to do cap replacements. Just, well, need to.
These refurbishing videos are really cool and interesting. I love seeing how you clean these retro consoles up and upgrade them too! Best part of these videos is seeing how a console goes from not great quality to amazing!
When you said florescent tube, I didn't think you actually meant a "florescent tube". That's nuts it was in a handheld device .
Love watching videos like this. It's just so entertaining and helpful since I've been doing some on the side repair work trying to get my own thing started.
Watching you work is oddly relaxing and satisfying. Probably because I'm learning about something other than just doing math all day. I like your channel you're doing great!
Dude, thank you. Never soldered before but bought the parts on eBay and the materials on Amazon. I was shocked the video turned on after replacing the 8 capacitors on the mother board. Next will try the audio but thanks for giving me some confidence to try to fix it myself!
How come every time you put out one of these videos I feel like I can do it despite having no experience or knowledge how to
Knowledge you can get anywhere and experience just by doing it. I think all you need is steady hands and not be afraid (or be very afraid?) of making mistakes. Just watch a ton of videos and you will find out what to do and what not to do. That's how i fixed and modded joy cons and game boys :)
@@DontpushtheBbutton Basically wht I did when building my 1st pc. lol
a game gear is a easy repair equipament. you dont need great skill to desolder those caps. on anything else. pay just attention for the caps position.
@@Daigon95 assembling is a better term though, and that is much much much easier especially with modern PCs, you don't even need to screw the CPU anymore. Just clip it on.
Audio on my game gear crapped out years ago but last I checked it turned on. The screen was the best/worst part of this thing. A wall adapter was a requirement while playing at home a car adapter for the road. Not exactlly the most portable system but it was a blast to use. Favorite games I had was Sonic 2, Jurrasic Park and Ecco the Dolphin. Great vid... great job!
Thanks for this! Just took out my old game gear out of storage and I was surprised to see it didn't turn on. Did the same as you in the beginning. Surprised because last time I remember using it it was working plenty fine. It HAS been over 20 years since I last used it though so, yeah...
I came for a possible reason and a guide to fix and while I haven't checked inside mine yet you got me pretty reassured that I can fix it! Now to get myself a soldering iron... And learning to use it before I attempt this. Lotsa projects I've been holding out on because lack of iron so hopefully I get a lot more done.
Thanks again for sharing your expertise, on top of the daily content I tune in every morning!
Thanks for making videos like this! I've been selling my broken systems on ebay and pretty happy with the prices they fetch!
That scratch near the screen would bother me so badly
I'm the same way I would have to touch that up it just draws your attention way to much.
Yup. I would have to sand it a little then buff it out to a shine with high grit sandpaper.
Say no more
Love these restoration videos...one time I would like to see a restoration on something that in the end, couldn't be fixed. It will make me feel better about all the projects I got in over head on lol
I'm not into modding or a tech person at all and I still enjoyed this. Great video man.
this came at a great time Spawn, I have a blue gamegear with lines through the screen and garbled audio that was given to me, that I was looking as my next project. I just finished a atomic purple GBA SP shell swap with a funnyplaying screen that turned out beautifully. Got me super pumped to jump into another project soon. keep up the awesome inspirational work.
Great work, love the revision with the new screen it looks like a blast. TBH the first thing I would do if I were to get a GameGear would be to implement some sort of rechargeable battery solution... thinking about the money and waste associated with 6 AAs for a few hours of gameplay makes my skin crawl.
You can buy rechargeable AAs.
@@ZachAttackIsBack definitely the easiest solution. I was just imagining a Game Gear with a USB-C port, clearly I'm getting carried away :)
@@avva4090 it's very power inefficient. the GG uses three power rails (9V, 34V, 5V) and a Vref (1,28V) to help the unit understand when the batteries are ging to die, all provided from its SMPS. using a Li-Ion solution would need a dedicated SMPS able to provide the same voltages (except Vref, knocked down to the same 9:1,28 ratio but with 4,2V), replacing the original one, otherwise you should boost the 4V2 or whatever voltage from the batteries up to 9V used by the SMPS to create the 5V and 34V rails, so it's at least two conversions. then there's the 5V -> 200 or so volts on the board to light up the CCFL. installing a McWill mod gets rid of the 34V rail though, and the 5V doesn't get boosted anymore. but still, if you want to install a lithium ion mod you should create a purposefully designed SMPS or else there would be some power waste.
with a brightness mod on the McWill you can squeeze up to 12 hours from 6x good branded rechargeable AAs, so no need to go 100 more miles when you can do it in 100 metres or so. I recharged my Bonai AAs only once in a month (not playing a lot but 1 to 2 hours each time is more than enough), and they're still pretty crappy compared to Panasonic friggin Eneloop Pro.
You can use a power adapter with the game gear and plug it into the wall. That's what I did as a kid.
I think you need more of this kind of video. I like watching what you do to the game and getting it repaired. I have seen a lot of other videos on youtube and none of them are as good as yours, except one, but I have not seen much from the YT. Anyways, I would like to get one and see if you can get mine to like yours.
This is a great video I love what you did with the screen great job man 👍🏾
I refurbed my game gear years ago but haven't gotten around to doing my mcwill. Glad I waited for you to make a video.
Excellent work man! You really know your stuff. Made respect. Its a Game Gear Pro now.
If they can build a miniature Dream Cast in this build that would be sick or even put a Wii on this with a larger screen
doing it with a wii would be more like early wii portables
I dont know, the Dreamcast is a very hot machine... need a very good heat cooling system.
Lookup the Wiiboy.
Someone already turned a Nintendo Wii into a Gameboy. I was gonna watch that video after this one actually. Haha
I've seen someone put a gamecube in an atari lynx shell so it could be possible
There are a couple of retro gaming handheld consoles that can play Dreamcast, n64, and ps1 games using roms on their respective emulators
This is a great video, I love watching soldering and doing it myself. Damn you really know what you're doing
Well done video. Congrats.
I did this mod last month to a dying GG with gone caps and screen. I also installed a 3.7v 18650 Lithium battery with usb charging circuit stepping up voltage to reach 9v.
Now waiting for a everdrive to have a full gaming experience.
Mortal Kombat was my favorite game when I had a GG back in the 90's. Awesome refresh vid, makes me want to get a GG and do the same.
Cap replacement on this generation's consoles is a great way to improve your systems. I had a Genesis model 2 that had not great mono only audio out. After replacing the caps, stereo sound is back, and it sounds way better. *Even more so after a Triple Bypass*
I really like it when you do these types of videos thanks
My Lynx needs some mods like that, class, great work. BTW, I was getting anxious with the batteries connected and the covers off, drives me crazy.
I used the wrong dc adapter for my neo geo pocket colour and ever since when I tried to power on I get nothing there red led just flashing. So probably fried the power I don’t know if I’ve ruined the screen also but before it was in mint condition, I was gutted. I’d love to see you repair one of those because there way to expensive to buy in the same condition as I have. Always really enjoy your tech videos . I have no idea actually happened it powered up made a funny sound then crashed and from there on nothing. Keep up the great work :)
Challenge spawn to repair it. Seen a commenter a few comments up challenge him, try!!!!
Great video. I love seeing the actual surgery of it all.
excellent video, the sega game gear is my favorite portable console and for me the best in its time, what I like most about this portable console is its backlit color screen and its powerful sound that there was no GB that equaled it, until the arrival of the ultra-bright GBA sp that surpassed it in everything except the sound that is very low compared to the gg, 16 years later.
Much respect for doing this mod. I did a recap earlier this year and I sold it on ebay with a powerback I installed lithium batteries in to. The guy who bought it was very happy.
very power inefficient but ok.
@@waltercomunello121 wym
I recently came into possession of a Game Gear and was really disappointed when it didn’t turn on after putting new batteries. I was thinking of popping it open to see inside so this video is a definite help. Thanks. Now to just figure out what I’m doing lol. I’m also kinda conflicted with the screen. Seeing how it looks now vs what it can be, I don’t have the confidence or knowledge to do such a surgery but it definitely looks amazing.
When the game gear was around i had my original gameboy (which still have) and my sega master system.
What a cracking video! This has made me go on a search for modded Game Gear's! I always wanted one as a child, but was always told "NO!". Apparently, the Master System, Mega Drive and Mega CD were enough ;)
I actually have a Game Gear still waiting to be recapped and I really wanted to do that screen mod 2 so it was really awesome to see that you did it because now I see how good it is to
That screen looks so gorgeous, I still have my GameGear from childhood, it is in very good condition, turns on and sounds all working fine, except that the screen is damaged, it shows some green lines and tiny points (pixels dead) all around , Replacing the screen like this would be the perfect solution, I might look into this at some point, do you have any link pointing to detailed instructions on how to do this? Thanks for such a cool video!
This is amazing man keep doing stuff like this
Who is that in your profile's header/cover? Is that allowed on TH-cam? Holy areoly
This was my first hand held. This was a fun system to play with on the go! So much better looking now. Also power rangers was amazing as a kid.
Thank you for this video. My Game gear hasn't worked in probably 20 years. I still have it (sentimental), and now I have hope for it working again someday.
Perfect timing. I've been doing a lot of handheld modding to keep me busy during the pandemic and I have my sights on the Game Gear. The McWills kit is a fair bit more expensive compared to the Game Boy IPS screens but it does look really good.
How big is your collection now Jon?! That was super cool. What was once old is now new again.
That was excellent. I get frustrated with tedious things but I'm now debating on looking to buy a broken system
I also have a Game Gear that's not working either. It's in excellent condition. No missing battery lids. No corrosion on the battery terminals. This video gives me hope to one day make this awesome piece of technology work again. As a bonus, I also have the TV 📺 tuner. The antenna is half broken. Unfortunately, there's hardly any analog TV channels out there. There's hope after all, for old tech. .
Nice work! I wonder if plugging in the wrong AC power pack would have caused the capacitors to blow?
Would you be interested in trying to fix my CDX? I'd pay for the recaps and other parts, you make the video and we both win.
@spawnwave
Do it, please. I genuinely wanna see this.
I like this idea too 👊
Has this happened yet?
@@Hero-3 nope. Still broken even after a recap :/
@@SuperNicktendo he can only repair items that already have how to repair videos.
I will definitely be doing this to my Game Gear. Screen and sound both having same issues. I’ve never soldered anything but I’m up for a challenge. Love fixing my old tech to give it new life.
Good video, although I would suggest using Deoxit contact cleaner in squeeze tube for any small PCB work. It cleans better and actually improves the surface IMHO.
Really does suck when it comes to old systems, sometimes.
Cases like this where over time, something inside screws up and makes the system not work the way it was supposed to work. Yeah, there are ways around this for almost any old system or in this case any old handheld, but not everyone is into console surgery.
I had a couple game gears over the years that display is light years ahead of the original hazy foggy display. Very Nice!
Spawn Wave, I have this very system. I was about to toss it. How much would you charge to re-vamp mine? Loved watching your video. Thank you.
Sheesh, I remember mucking around with these years ago. I still have my consolised one, one where I used a NDS backlight to replace the original backlight and replacement led screen (not the newer fancy one).
My favourite was the consolised for sure.
I use to live in fear of seeing that power light starting to blink, loved the game gear though lol.
Just watch your video and pretty informative. Found my old Sega Game gear but seems challenging for me. Can you recommend a place to have it fix or are you repairing them as well. Thanks.
This is exactly what I need. I had messaged you in a video about possibly helping with my GG. I’d like to point out it was a nice touch with the Sonic music during repair, enjoyed that very much. Spawn Wave can you help? I’ll pay for any repair but this is exactly what I need. I can’t do this on my own. If you can possibly point me in the right direction I’d greatly appreciate it. Thanks, man, really enjoy your videos.
I need to recap & after seeing McWill I want to do that, looks a little difficult but might be a good winter project!
I wish you had the time to do more of these. Great! XD
Spawn can you do a updated video on the new xl? Think it would be cool and helpful in this format 🙂👍
I'd love to see more of this type of content! It is so interesting to see systems get fixed and upgraded.
I noticed in one of your videos you were using a heat fan to work on the consoles? What brand was it? I want to cop one, but want to make sure I get a good one. Thanks, man!
I remember doing that capacitor make over i did also years ago, it did revived my game gear, i did also mod the lights from the original fluorescent bulb to LED bulb , did make the battery last longer...
Games looked so nice back then I can't believe they weren't HD - memories are a weird drug
Well, compared to the OG Game Boy, the Game Gear was HD.
Nice! Too bad the LCD kit didn't come with a plug for the removed top security screw. I wonder if adding a sugar cube speaker would kick it up a notch! 👍😎
Wow I can’t believe the difference in that screen. That’s really amazing.
I just found a game gear in very nice condition at Goodwill for $15. It was dangling from a wall outlet under a table, facing the wall and I barely noticed it. Wrong power source, but it shows a bit of life with batteries. Can't wait to dive into this.
I'm really impressed by your work, where can I learn to do stuff like this ?
Best way I've learned to do basic soldering is on led strips. Almost all the common mods to systems thankfully have tutorials on youtube as well
Oh wow I want to fix my game gear now, where did you buy the kit/parts from?
Love this. Didn’t have a SNES or Genesis but I loved my Gamegear!
Inside and out that is the cleanest gamegear I've ever seen.. holy cra*. Especially on the outside, all the ones I see have dirt or dust cached in all the little nooks, all scratched up.
Damn, they took care of that one.
cool.
There are a battery mode also.
I am just waiting on the analogue pocket. It will do a bunch of hand held consoles. I missed opportunity getting one. Ill prob pick one up eventually.
The Game Gear was ahead of it's time. If they could have figured out how to make it more efficient with batteries and it had more titles it would have blew the gameboy out of the water. It was such a superior system to the gameboy.
I don't have a game gear yet but i hope to find one to restore soon enough. that looks so cool with the screen mod!!! I bet the battery run time is a lot more improved with out that backlight.i remember when i had a game gear it would eat batteries so fast do to that backlight.
Don't be too worried removing the old screen. If you rip the pads there's little vias above each pad. Some through hole soldering can be done with 30awg wire and a fiber glass pen.
Looks like the power board is working for now at least. I'd start with the sound board first just. It's quick and can confirm your system doesn't have additional problems. Then the main board then the power board.
We have come along so far in three years with repairing Game Gears. You should revisit this with the BennVenn HD and the easy install ribbon.
Damn that is sexy! I had this same feeling when I started doing mods to my GameCube, installed HDMI output, and got an mCable (now use mClassic, Cable stays on my switch dock). I had only played on composite before, so the image clarity/sharpness and color was just wow!
Neat, my gamegear has the exact same issue, have a link to the capacitor kit?
28:58 I did not know that the movie version of the Power Ranger game was done again by Banpresto like the first one. Its gameplay is the same as the older game, so this is awesome! I loved the first game, and it seems I would love this one all the same! :D
Funny I came across this as I am in the process of getting ready to recap my GG that died on me. Screen will come later, but man I am excited to get this working again.
Nice work!!
prices are insane lately. i used to buy game gears to refurbish for $12 shipped. $35 is nuts.
Nice job. I wish they have a IPS for the GG. I still have no sound and have the caps. But too lazy to do it..
its even better when you put scanlines on etc by pressing start and the other 2 buttons at the same time, I've done lots of these, and removing the bits of the board for the screen is the trickiest part..
I love new tech coming to improve on old tech 🙂
Cool video tech talk spawn wave
Nice 👌
Would like to see an Atari Lynx upgrade
I just did a video showing my modded game gear, it makes such a dynamic difference. If you can change out the screen with a modern one, you definitely should.