This is a trouble-shooting guide on how
to repair handheld games when they are misbehaving. Don't throw it
away - you might be able to fix it yourself. I cannot guarantee
that this guide will help in fixing your broken game, but in many
cases it will. For examples of some handheld components, I have
included pictures of one of my favorite lcd games -
Burgertime.
If you decide to open your game because it is broken or even just to
look at the vintage solid state components out of curiosity - use
caution and proceed at your own risk - miniarcade.com cannot be held
responsible for broken games or electronic shock. For the most part
it really is quite easy and safe, but in any case here are a couple
of tips:
To open the chassis - look for the small screws on the bottom or
back of the unit. When separating the
pieces of the
chassis - do not try to force anything because you might break a
wire or even worse, crack the plastic body. Once opened, most likely
you will have to remove a few more screws in order to get the screen
or controller areas apart. Some
controller
boards have up to a dozen or so
loose parts
(joystick, buttons, springs, and switches), so don't lose any of
them and try to take note of how they are assembled. If you get
frustrated when trying to re-assemble the pieces, just remember that
patience and common sense are your best friends. When screwing
things back together, tighten the screws firmly but not too tightly.
One final tip - always make sure you have fresh batteries in a game
before coming to the conclusion that it is broken in some way.
Vintage electronic games will do strange things when the battery
juice is running low.
This repair information might be basic to you if you have ever
tinkered with electronics, but hopefully it will help some fellow
gamers out there. If your repair involves soldering, then here is a
good
online soldering guide to help you get started. Good luck!
Controls
1. The joystick or
buttons have to be pressed very hard to move the player
2. When pressing
the joystick or buttons, the player moves 2 or 3 positions instead
of 1
3. The player does
not move or hesitates to move when a joystick or button is pressed
Sound
4. No sound, but
images are appearing on the screen
5. No sound, and
nothing is appearing on the screen
Images
6. No images are
appearing on the screen, but there are sounds
7. No images are
appearing on the screen, and no sound either
8. Only some of
the images are appearing on the screen
Other
9. The battery
terminals have corrosion on them
10. The batteries
fit very loosely in the compartment when the door is closed
11. The batteries
must be squeezed tightly against the terminals to get the game to
work
1. The joystick or
buttons have to be pressed very hard to move the player
Contacts need to be cleaned. Just about the most common problem with
handheld games, and relatively easy to fix. Once the you have the
game open, take apart the controller assembly. This step might not
be necessary, depending upon the game, but the objective here is to
get the actual joystick or buttons separated from the small, metal
contacts on the controller circuit board. Once this is accomplished,
it is time to clean.
You will need a pencil eraser, rubbing alcohol, and some
non-abrasive paper like toilet or tissue paper. Take the eraser and
rub in a circular motion on the bottom of the rubber contact pad.
This will refresh the surface so it triggers the metal contact with
more accuracy. Now dab some paper with alcohol and clean the bottom
of the contact pad again. Then dab some more paper with alcohol and
clean the metal contact on the circuit board where the contact pad
rests.
Even if only 1 or 2 of the contacts were misbehaving - you might as
well clean up all of the contacts while you have the controller
assembly apart. If one contact turned flaky, you can be sure others
will follow suit - so clean 'em all!
2. When pressing the joystick or buttons, the player
moves 2 or 3 positions instead of 1
Contacts need to be cleaned. Same
repair as #1
3. The player does not move or hesitates to move
when a joystick or button is pressed
Contacts need to be cleaned. Same
repair as #1
4. No sound, but images are appearing on the screen
The sound can sometimes be fixed easily, but sometimes it can't! It
really depends upon the source of the problem. The common
cheap speaker
found in a handheld game is comprised of 2 very thin, metal disks.
One disk is about half the diameter of the other and rests atop it.
The speaker is usually attached to the back part of the chassis, and
sometimes it is contained within a simple baffle system that you
first have to open, as is the case with the coleco tabletops.
The most common source of the problem is that one of the 2
speaker wires
are disconnected. Each wire should be soldered to the speaker disks
at one end (such that each disk has 1 wire attached to it), and to a
circuit board terminus on the other end. Usually when a speaker wire
is broken, it is only 1 end of 1 wire that is disconnected, so it is
easy to determine where to re-solder it (either to a speaker disk or
to a spot on the circuit board). On the other hand, if both wires
are disconnected from either the speaker or circuit board, then you
are going to have to do some trial and error soldering to see which
wire goes where. If it isn't obvious where to re-solder it on the
board, then look closely in the vicinity of the other wire that is
still attached and you should see the spot where it goes.
The other, less common source of the problem is that a circuit on
the board is shorted out. This is most likely the case if both
speaker wires and the speaker look normal, and you don't see
anything else obviously wrong. This is a serious problem and hard to
track down. Sorry - but if something (like liquids, physical abuse,
or usage in extreme temperature ranges) shorts a circuit or
component, then you may be out of luck on this one.
5. No sound, and nothing is appearing on the screen
A seemingly dead game, but maybe not! Oh, that horrible feeling when
you turn on a vintage handheld game for the first time and then
nothing happens. Your first thought is maybe disappointment or
perhaps anger at the person who sold you the game. But don't jump to
any rash conclusions until reading this repair section. The possible
causes of a dead game are numerous, but the best and easiest to
troubleshoot is the power source.
If you using are using an AC-adapter: Are you 100% sure that the
wall outlet works? Are you 100% sure that the adapter works? If the
adapter is vintage, then it is definately suspect as they fry easily
if plugged into the wall for too long. Are you 100% sure the power
adapter is the correct voltage? The voltage requirements of the game
are usually printed just below the jack, and the AC-adapter should
have the voltage output printed on it too. If you are unsure about
any of this, then try batteries.
If you are using batteries: Are you 100% sure the batteries are new
and fresh? Are you using the right type of battery? This may be a
dumb question in regards to alkalines (AA, C, D, etc...) because
their type and size is obvious. But on the other hand, if the game
takes lithiums (LR-44, LR-43, etc...) then sometimes the battery
type can be hard to determine because many of these batteries look
alike. 95% of the games that take lithiums use either LR-44 or
LR-43. The only noticable difference between these 2 battery types
is that the LR-43 is thinner. But the way that they provide power to
the game differs, so just because the shoe fits doesn't mean wear
it.
If you have determined the batteries are both fresh and of the
correct type, then lets talk about the
metal battery
terminals inside the battery compartment. Is there any sign of
corrosion on them? Does the metal seem dull or non-shiny? If so,
then they must be cleaned - take a look at
repair #9 to
restore them. Do any of the battery terminals look bent out of
shape, broken, or missing? If so, then the terminals must be fixed
or adjusted - take a look at
repair #10.
If you are unsure about the condition of the batteries or terminals,
then you can also try an AC-adapter if you see an outlet on the
game.
6. No images are appearing on the screen, but there
are sounds
This problem can be nerve racking, because you know the game works
to some degree, but you still can't play it! It is near impossible
to fix the screen if it was shorted out or fried, but sometimes that
isn't the cause so don't give up hope.
Often times, you can determine if the screen component is busted
just by looking at it. If the game in question is LCD, then look
around for any liquid crystal bleeding. Do you see black ink spots
on the screen when it is turned off? If so, this is a very bad thing
and usually reason enough to give up hope :( If the game in question
is VFD or LED, then you will have to first disassemble the game to
search for clues. If you don't want to open your VFD/LED the game
just yet, then read the rest of this repair first. Once the VFD/LED
game is opened, look closely at the screen or LED lights. Is
anything cracked or obviously broken? Do you see any sign of
burning? A burnt screen or light would have brown areas on it,
usually in the vicinity of where it connects to the board. Are any
LEDs missing, bent, or burnt? If you answered 'Yes' to any of these
questions then usually your screen doesn't have much hope.
If the screen looks OK, then maybe the problem is the power. If you
using are using an AC-adapter, are you sure the power adapter is the
correct voltage? If you are using batteries, are you sure the
batteries are the right kind and are fresh? When the power being
sent to the game is too high or low, it might be enough for the
sounds but not the images or controls. Simply verifying the
batteries or adapter will often fix the problem.
If that doesn't fix it, the only other thing that I know to check is
the battery compartment and terminals. If the terminals are
corroded, loose, or bent, then perhaps SOME power is getting to the
game but not enough to illuminate the screen elements.
Repair #10 and
Repair #11
discuss some possibilites in this area. If none of this information
helps, then I am sorry to report that your screen is most likely
dead and buried. Since the game does power up to some extent, the
game could be sold or traded for its parts.
7. No images are appearing on the screen, and no
sound either
A seemingly dead game, but maybe not! Same
repair as #5
8. Only some of the images are appearing on the
screen
This problem can be nerve racking, because you know the game works
to some degree, but you still can't play it! It is near impossible
to fix the screen if it was shorted out or fried, but sometimes that
isn't the cause so don't give up hope.
Often times, you can determine if the screen component is busted
just by looking at it. If the game in question is LCD, then look
around for any liquid crystal bleeding. Do you see black ink spots
on the screen when it is turned off? If so, this is a very bad thing
and usually reason enough to give up hope :( If the game in question
is VFD or LED, then you will have to first disassemble the game to
search for clues. If you don't want to open your VFD/LED the game
just yet, then read the rest of this repair first. Once the VFD/LED
game is opened, look closely at the screen or LED lights. Is
anything cracked or obviously broken? Do you see any sign of
burning? A burnt screen or light would have brown areas on it,
usually in the vicinity of where it connects to the board. Are any
LEDs missing, bent, or burnt? If you answered 'Yes' to any of these
questions then usually your screen doesn't have much hope.
If the screen looks OK, then maybe the problem is the power. If you
using are using an AC-adapter, are you sure the power adapter is the
correct voltage? If you are using batteries, are you sure the
batteries are the right kind and are fresh? When the power being
sent to the game is too high or low, it might be enough for the
sounds but not the images or controls. Simply verifying the
batteries or adapter will often fix the problem.
If that doesn't fix it, the only other thing that I know to check is
the battery compartment and terminals. If the terminals are
corroded, loose, or bent, then perhaps SOME power is getting to the
game but not enough to illuminate the screen elements.
Repair #10 and
Repair #11
discuss some possibilites in this area. If none of this information
helps, then I am sorry to report that your screen is most likely
dead and buried. Since the game does power up to some extent, the
game could be sold or traded for its parts.
9. The battery terminals have corrosion on them
THE most common problem with vintage battery powered electronics.
Always remove the batteries when you are finished playing or else!
For handhelds with large power consumptions (VFD tabletops using C
or D batteries) the corrosion can start building up on the terminals
within weeks. I must admit this has happened to me before - you
leave batteries in the game when finished because you assume you are
going to play it again within a day or so, but then you forget and
don't play the game for a month - ouch! For smaller LCD game & watch
styled games using lithiums, it can take years for the corrosion to
build up. If you are reading this repair then you most likely
already have corrosion problems, so here are some cleaning tips.
Luckily, you don't have to disassemble the game to clean the
battery
terminals. Depending upon how extensive the corrosion is, this
might only take a few minutes. If the metal terminals merely look
dull or non-shiny, then just take some sandpaper and scrub to
refresh the surface. If the corrosion is heavier, looking foamy and
built up, then use hydrogen peroxide. You can use the peroxide a
number of ways: remove the terminals and soak them in the peroxide;
carefully pour the peroxide directly on the terminals; lightly apply
it using cotton balls. The method you choose and the number of
applications depends upon the extremety of corrosion.
Make sure not to break the terminals - they may be very brittle if
corrosion is heavy. Also, if the corrosion is heavy and has spread
to the circuit board then you might need to arrange a funeral for
the poor little game. Once the corrosion eats and shorts the
circuits on the board there isn't much chance for a recovery, but
the damage may be superficial so open it up and clean it off - you
just might get lucky!
10. The batteries fit very loosely in the
compartment when the door is closed
If this is the case, the game usually won't work because it isn't
getting power from the batteries. Do any of the battery terminals
look bent out of shape? If so, then carefully bend them back such
that the batteries fit snugly in the compartment. If the terminals
look corroded or damaged, be very careful bending them back because
you might break them!
Are any of the battery terminals broken or missing? If broken off
and you still have them, then try to solder, glue, or re-attach them
somehow. If they are simply missing, then you will have to obtain
the terminals as parts from another game (one that truly is dead)
and re-attach them. If you are unsure about the condition of the
batteries or terminals, then you can also try an AC-adapter if you
see an outlet on the game.
If the game in question is an LCD game-watch styled one, then read
Repair #11 for
some more ideas.
11. The batteries have to be squeezed tightly
against the terminals to get the game to work
This is usually only a problem with small, LCD, game & watch styled
handhelds. First off, make sure you are not using LR-43 batteries
when the game actually requires LR-44 batteries. LR-43's are thinner
and will cause this problem if incorrectly used. Otherwise, here is
an easy solution - cut out a small piece of paper and fold it up
such that it fits inside the compartment on top of all the
batteries. You might need to fiddle with the thickness of the paper
by folding it more or cutting it smaller. Just make sure that the
battery door can be fastened shut without too much force, and the
game should purr like a kitten :)
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pcb and screen, controls missing
to show the contacts underneath |
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other common controls - a slider
switch (top) and a button with contact pad |
