Trying to FIX: 3 x Faulty Nintendo Game Boy Games
My Mate VINCE
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Hi, this ‘trying to fix’ video shows me attempting to repair 3 faulty Nintendo Gameboy cartridges which have already had repairs attempted on them.
Sorry there is no quick version of this video.
Remember that this is just for entertainment and I am not an expert in these repairs. The processes in the video may not be the best way, the correct way or the safest way to fix these things.
I do love fault finding and trying to fix broken things so I hope that comes across in this ‘Trying to FIX’ series.
Many thanks, Vince.
Sorry there is no quick version of this video.
Remember that this is just for entertainment and I am not an expert in these repairs. The processes in the video may not be the best way, the correct way or the safest way to fix these things.
I do love fault finding and trying to fix broken things so I hope that comes across in this ‘Trying to FIX’ series.
Many thanks, Vince.
30.09.2021
American here, everyone I've ever known pronounces it more like Kill-o-gram as well.
Good work bro enjoy watching you Chanelle 👍
Anyone know what that little touch screen laptop is he uses
the big chip on the right in pokemon games is the ROM chip. and the big chip on the left is the SRAM for the save game data.
Hey Vince. A normal working game also freezes like that sometimes. Usually fixable by taking the cartridge out and in a few times.
That says to me, there is potentially some play between the top and bottom cartridge for the motherboard!
I would try to put something under/over top it in between the two plastic covers to keep it more still… (Aim it to hit the gameboy's pins better)
Guess it's a good idea to mark the chips with a silver marker to keep track of them.
I love the crossing over of retro repair channels
When you start to see multiple shorted chips in one board, that's a classic over-voltage/reverse voltage or other similar damage symptom, especially when they're sharing the same voltage supply. Once you found two shorted chips I suspected all the chips. Half the chips don't fail on a board for no good reason. One maybe, two out of four, no. Didn't surprise me they were all dead at all – glad to see you didn't give up!
Vince, don't sweat your accent. People can get over it. You do great work, thanks!!
1:01:13 Vince: “It’s not even showing the gameboy logo anymore…”
Me: “That game cartridge has gotten so bad it made the gameboy forget it’s own name.”
Dear God… you have inhuman patience.
Missing the mb3ca chip that's also attached directly to the same cap through the plated through hole, just quickly saying it's the big chip that's the short, was right but still 🤷♂️
The pins on the other side are to help hold down the real pins on the game board, they are there to the vias have something to attach to, and if the vias weren't those the pins would be damaged more easily
Didn't swap the 4th chip, might as well, 3 other chips are broke, might as well guess the 4th is too
Great job on this one… You are persistent, I give you that, Sir….
Your pronunciation is quite clear to the average american… I think people are trolling you….
Killer Ohms, Kilohms, Kilo Ohms… Keeel Ohms…. whatever. We know what you mean….
You should have removed the battery before you started shorting pins/traces together with your soldering iron….
hears a good vid on hpw to fix gb cards > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaG69Ff1Fhg
in electronics we tend to pronounce it KIL-OHMS and MEG-OHMS without the A. As for the silver game, I expect you can probably get the chips but you would need some way to program the ROM and the file to put in it. in any case the contacts are knackered. great result though :). enjoyed watching that. and you're becoming an expert on removing and reinstalling these SMD packages
Great fix video Vince. 🙂
Bro great video they ups and downs were better than the results don't stop doing these
you need to program the rom with the game
Your obsession for "shorted to ground" is …. insane! You must remember that when a component is in a circuit other components or configurations around it can influence your readings (for example the battery, the circuit needs to be disconnected from the battery and also you didn't measure the battery – battery can also shorten by age). Good example is the first capacitor you taken out and was not shorted. If you want to compare two cardridges, it has to be the same manufacturer, same game and same production date (same batch) and disconnected from any power source.
Because cardridges are expensive to manufacture, manufactures can use slightly different components or quality (also depends on availability) to lower production costs. And… measure the battery first and take out battery. Clean the circuit (use a toothbrush and isopropate alcohol 96%) let it dry and replace the battery and try again (use a fresh battery with alligator clips to be able to test the cardridge). Cleaning/Measure/Soldering when there is some power in the circuit is never a good idea.
Because the cardridges were dirty and the circuit was powered by the battery, it is possible there are some faults in the stored saved gamedata (a plausible reason why it wont work). I think you overcomplicated the way to fix and make things worse by working in the wrong order and maybe come to false conclusions by measure it wrong.
For me it was very frustrating to watch this video, hopefully this info will help you to do it differently in future. Start to learn reading datasheets, it will help you allot to understand what is actually going on. Keep on fixing 😉
you have to apply 3v and 100-300ma current to vdd and see what is heating up,and replace. it takes no much time
Hi Vince do you remember having a game boy colour and playing these pokemon games in your childhood and the agony of losing your progress when the save battery went dead. What could be next on your series on trying to fix. Very enjoyable series on your channel. Keep up the good work
I’ve sent 5 of my game boy games through the washer and dryer as a kid and miraculously still worked afterwards
this what we call pakpandir haha,of course al chip in that line short..cause by overvoltage maybe…need all change
best channel ive seen in a long time
It’s driving me nuts I swear there’s a solderball right next to the silicon joining a ground pin and another pin on the right side of the silver rom.
The crystals would be specific to the Pokemon games. I don't think you'll find a crystal in most Game Boy Color carts. However, the Pokemon games do have time-based features which depend on having a real-time clock.
Video was definately wasnt boring i thought you had it 3 times😂
Should've started testing against the chip you had in the gameboy at the start of the video. That game works and boots properly.
Could the plastic ring around the battery affect it it looked like it got melted off with the heat gun
Or is the game controller it’s self busted
With pokemon gold have you considered turning the game boy on then inserting the cartridge?
Awesome work, sir! I love the long videos. I love that you'll chase the fault until you're fed up with it or it's fixed. I (and I'm sure many other viewers) get to learn quite a lot from your processes that would be lost in the shorter formats.
Not once did he blow into the cartridge worked everything for me as a kid
Yes, it does look enjoyable in the video.
Have you considered using a board preheater when performing repairs on devices utilizing surface mounted components? Should make removal even easier and faster and can actually help protect the components/boards you're working on. Just a suggestion, love your content and newly subscribed! -Brandon, microminiature repair technician/electronics technician
you should try blowing the cartridge lol. but seriously, swapping from gold to silver shouldn't make any difference, imo. unless maybe there were revisions to the cartridge, and you're messing with a v1 and v1.1 in between the 2 of them. idk if those are physically different, or if they simply have different coding in the rom files, but that could be my only guess between the chip/board swapping doing nothing. still, haven't finished video yet, so i'm gonna continue after this post
"No wonder that piece of junk failed, it says made in japan!" – Doc. E. Brown (November 13th 1955)
Why you never measured the battery?
Why you leave the battery on the board when you're working on it like that in the first place?
A warning for you squares, don't watch this video if you don't want to get caught.
huh, I have a Gold that is doing the same, I wonder if its the SRAM on mine.
What is the Brand of your multimeter? Can you recommend one for me?
Okay… so in the end there was a Silver ROM in the Gold cart the whole time? The previous owner must have been more confused than Vince.
I love how you dont give up!
Gameboy games, old ones, need to put in and out a few times, the Nintendo Logo will always show up wrong the first time. It is corrosion on the pins and this will rub off if you wiggle it in and out or do the eraser trick. So, I think you have to know these games won't work if the battery is low, sometimes they won't save, sometimes they won't even boot up. Batteries die after 5 to 12 years. But many user swap it by them selve, with poor solder knowledge. So on Pokemon, because it is famous, first check the Battery and check a short on GND to VCC. Changing between same Generation (red/blue or gold/silver) will work, Chips are the same.
Site note: the Nintendo logo in the beginning is saved in the game rom, the Gameboy itselves checks this logo bit by bit if it is on the screen, if it don't match it won't boot. this is some kind of copy protection by unlicensed use of a Brand name.
Love watching these repair jobs, I really enjoy them. The longer the better, keep them on while I’m working on my own things, or doing college stuff.
Saw Vince in the reflection of the game boy and I'm shocked he doesn't look like Edd China
all games are pokemon… this means avoid pokemon games on game boy they suck
gen 3 on game boy advance seemed to ber alot more stable
using a faulty board for reference ha ha trial and sorry and missing things i picked up sorry mate got to go
Omg I miss the Gameboy days so much. Only 22 and already getting nostalgic ffs