The 7800 Mod Mess Mixup Fixup - pt. 6
Get comfy! These next two entries are going to be a bit on the long side.
There's some saying in some profession or something somewhere where they say something like, "the first rule of whatever is to do no harm". Or something.
This poor 7800 has been through enough grief without incurring any more damage. But as they say, "You can't break any eggs without making an omelette". Or something.
As I was cleaning up the case of the 7800, I decided to try to polish some of the marks and scratches out of the aluminum, using Flitz (which is a non-abrasive metal polish I've used before).
Unfortunately, I inadvertently removed a little bit of the red ink from the rainbow stripe in the process:
Now, this wasn't meant to be a "bring it back to like-new condition" restoration, but it was still a bit of a bummer. Fortunately, John was cool about the whole thing, saying he liked the "vintage, faded" look. If I had an airbrush, I'd take a shot at repainting it. But the metal is all scratched and dented anyway, so it's never going to look "factory fresh" unless you go to some pretty expensive lengths. Not gonna happen.
Anyway, there are a lot of other issues with the case besides the aluminum plate - namely a bunch of holes drilled into the case that I won't be reusing. John really didn't like the location of the previous mod's three RCA jacks, plus there was a gaping hole for the HDMI port (formerly where the RF out was), the now-unused channel switch hole, and more holes where a previous mod had apparently been.
Oh, and a hole for the "HDMI on/off" switch. So... yeah - the case was far-from new. But again, this isn't a restoration. It's a repair. And while I'm intent on fully undoing the horrible mod that was done, the scars are a part of the history of the console. So I'll replace/repair/patch what I can, but the goal is to get the console properly functioning.
But these are pretty bad. So we're going to do at least something about them.
Besides the holes, two of the screw posts in the top of the case are in bad shape. One is completely broken:
The other has a massive spiral crack running around it:
So it's time to bust out my favorite plastic-repair kit: J-B Weld and paste wax. Johnson doesn't make their paste wax anymore (for some reason), so I had to find a lemony substitute (my old can got lost in a recent move):
For the half-missing post, I made a mold out of painter's tape:
Filled it with epoxy:
And screwed the wax-coated screw into it:
For the other post, I filled it with epoxy and troweled some epoxy into the crack from the outside:
And drove in the other waxy screw (neatness doesn't count as much as strength):
For the other holes, I cleaned up outside where they were drilled, and covered them with painter's tape:
And filled them up with epoxy from the inside:
After they dried, and the tape was removed, I had some nice, solid patches:
I did the ones on the back in a separate pass, since they're at a 90° angle to the first ones:
For the big former-HDMI hole, I needed to do something a little different. I approximately shaped the tape into a rectangle with a notch in the top:
This is so I could fit a Molex Micro-Fit 3.0 connector through it. I'll get more into that in the next installment.
After letting the epoxy cure 24 hours, it was time to see if I could back the screws out. I used a very snug-fitting screwdriver tip, and applied a lot of downward pressure while slowly turning the screw. After a few very nervous moments, the screw finally broke free and backed out, leaving threads behind:
The broken post worked as well. I'd later go back and add more epoxy to the outside to further strengthen it:
The other holes needed a little clean-up, some shaping and filing, but were solid:
Well... except for a few voids. Guess I need to trowel it in there a little more enthusiastically next time...
After a little carving and filing, I ended up with the hole that I needed for the Molex connector to fit through:
I'm not mounting the connector here - I just need it to be able to fit it through:
The posts got filed down and cleaned up a bit, and held the screws nicely:
I test-fit the case back together to make sure they held, which they did:
I'm not going to over-tighten them though. I suppose someday I should test just how much stress one of these can handle before it breaks:
After getting the case patched-up and cleaned-up, I tackled cleaning the cartridge slot. I've described this before for the 2600, but here's a 7800-specific version.
First, I found some cardboard about the same thickness as a typical 7800 cartridge circuit board. Then I measured the cartridge slot, and started cutting the cardboard with an X-Acto knife to fit:
I trimmed it until it fit while still contacting all of the contacts in the slot:
Then I gave it a good soaking with some contact cleaner:
Then I just worked it up and down in the slot multiple times:
Yep... those were pretty dirty contacts:
On both sides:
I can re-use it over and over, just by trimming off the worn/dirty part.
I also went through and used contact cleaner on all of the console's switches. Surprisingly, they were all in good shape, so I didn't need to worry about replacing any.
So now the console is modded, fixed, patched, and cleaned! What's left? Reassembly! Coming real soon!
Published 1/29/23 at 12:22:AM
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