[Cartridge port issue stopped working again after cleaning]

Okay okay big news.

I reinstalled the original connector that I had bent the pins on. Pop in a cart, it works once, AGAIN. Just for good measure I cleaned all the carts again. Now suddenly more of them work consistently. And when they don't work when the tray is down, I leave it up and they do.

 

I'm not sure if that means I bent the pins a little bit wrong, but hey it works.

 

I get the feeling this won't be the last time I'll have to do some sort of basic cleaning/maintenance on this thing. If I have issues later, I'll look into that that pin 4 lockout chip issue.

 

Also, in regards to the screen powering off, I meant that it blinked on and off. My mistake.

 

Thanks for the help, couldn't have done it without you guys! Seriously, I probably would have gotten too frustrated hahaha

[This kid just became the first person to beat Tetris, it seems]

How come no one congratulates me for playing Tetris for an hour?

Oh, probably because I give up after ten minutes.

[Cartridge port issue stopped working again after cleaning]

Update #2

I replaced the cartridge slot with one of these (https://www.amazon.com/Sunjoyco-Replacement-Connector-Cartridge-Screwdriver/dp/B07HP2FFDN?th=1 ) against @Tanooki's advice. Probably should have listened to the guy. It had 1500 positive reviews, so it seemed like it should be okay. Popped it in, didn't work, here's my notes post-installation:

1. I used 3-4 different carts to test it, all of which worked on my Retron. None worked, at all. At least the original cartridge connector worked sometimes, if rarely.
2. Anytime I'd put a cart in, some of the pins would get a little pushed out the back about a mm or two. I would push them back in, but eventually one of them wouldn't go back.
3. Seemed like the carts couldn't ever sit just right.
4. Bear grip! Hard to get carts in and out. Who would have thought?

Current plan:

1. Reinstall it one more time, might be out of seat (doubt it, I was pretty careful, but its possible).
2. Look over the board. Are there any common issues I should look out for? I'll mainly be looking for damaged traces and bulging caps.
3. Send the connector back for replacement. I could have just gotten unlucky. With that many positive reviews, they have to work sometimes.

 

Sometimes the NES repeatedly turns off, sometimes the screen is just white/gray.

 

The new connector definitely was trash, so all it really did was add new possible issues to this whole project.

Again, let me know if you guys want any pics or anything.

 

EDIT

I looked at the new connector and it looks like some of the pins inside got pushed inside. Not sure if it was my doing or if it was just cheap. Either way, it's going back. Still gonna look over the board, depending how that goes, I may try these guys one more time. Seems like it has the best reviews out of all of them, so I'm hoping I just got unlucky.

[Cartridge port issue stopped working again after cleaning]

On 12/24/2023 at 10:25 PM, Tanooki said:

If it's a legit pin connector and not the modern modern chinese garbage an option I fall back to when one is touchy is boiling it in water.  Pop the pin out, put a paper towel in the bottom of a small pot and let it come to a boil.  Using tongs (or whatever) put the 72pin in and set a 5min(minimum) clock to it.  When removed shake it out a lot to get much water off it, then use a NES cleaning kit or make one (credit card, thin silky glasses wipe) and give it the old in-out like 10x and see if any funk comes with it, if it does repeat, if not, dry some more and get it back in the system.

 

I'd suggest using a safety pin on the lower part of the connector that touches the carts themselves and pulling each of them upward until they momentarily touch the upper row and release.  That'll put it more where it should be, then the super heating will add to it along with a deep cleaning.

 

I've had utterly so called dead systems run utterly reliable doing this repeatedly

 

 

DO NOT buy a replacement 72pin that Nintendo didn't make, they're universally basically sub par.  Just get one, do what I said to tension then clean it, and go for it.

 

 

Okay here's my first update:

• I boiled the cartridge port for 20-30 min with a break in the middle to dry off
• I cleaned the pins (credit card + cloth) using contact cleaner
• I bent every pin on the cart port

Popped in a cartridge, didn't work the first time, worked the second, and the stopped from there. The port now has a very tight grip on the cartridges, it's actually a little difficult to get them in and out. I'm thinking my options from here are

1. Check the board for bad connections
2. Replace the cartridge port

The part that confuses me the most is that every time I reinstall the port, it works exactly once. I'm gonna examine the board for bad traces as best as I can for now.

If you have any other ideas or want to see pictures of anything that might help let me know. I'd love to get this bad boy working. Thanks for the help so far!

 

[Cartridge port issue stopped working again after cleaning]

Hey everyone, I recently nabbed an NES of the side of the street and surprise surprise, the cartridge part isn't cooperating. I gave it a very good cleaning using rubbing alcohol and contact cleaner (maybe I should have used Deoxit instead?) and it worked momentarily. However, after I swapped out the cart, it stopped working again (power LED blinks, screen turns on/off or is just white). It still works, but only on very rare occasions. I also tested both carts on a Retron and they worked great.

 

When I cleaned the pins, I made sure to push them all back into place. I am thinking it is possible that they may have gotten pushed out of place again by swapping cartridges, but I am not sure. I'm just wondering if anyone else faced a similar issue and there's some sort of fix or if the cartridge port just has to go.

 

I've heard mixed reviews about replacement cartridge ports, so I'm hesitant unless someone has a solid recommendation. Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

[Is my Odyssey 2 too far gone?]

6 minutes ago, Caleb Garner said:

From another O2    however that other O2 had other issues..  

 

However you could likely source a new CPU online.  Google intel 8048

• CPU: Intel 8048, 5.37 MHz

 

 

Looks like there's a handful of different 8048's available and I'm trying to figure out what the difference between all of them are. I believe the one in the Odyssey² is the P8048H but I'm not sure how it differs from the base model.

 

When I googled it, apparently the 8048 was generally used for a keyboard controller, so that's a bit confusing, too. 

[Is my Odyssey 2 too far gone?]

On 5/24/2023 at 9:29 AM, Caleb Garner said:

yea IIRC I had that EXACT same problem with mine and I think a new CPU chip fixed it.  

Where did you get a replacement?

[Is my Odyssey 2 too far gone?]

1 hour ago, metarog said:

That could be several things but in my experience the most likely culprit is the 8048 chip. I’ve had about 20 O2s in my life and about a quarter had that chip burned out. 

It is a proprietary IC so not easy to find loose. 
You might try to check the voltages coming out of the voltage regulator just in case as that does go bad although not nearly as often as the 8048. 
 

The bubbling of on the bottom of the board is fairly normal for O2s. 
 

 

Is this one the proper chip? 

https://www.radwell.com/Shop?source=GoogleShopping&IgnoreRedirect=true&ItemSingleId=453188

Some of the numbers on top are different but I don't actually know what most of them represent. 

If not, what's a good place place to find something like this without having to worry about getting ripped off?

[Is my Odyssey 2 too far gone?]

Spoiler

Formatting on mobile is terrible idk how to make this box go away

Ive already tried reseating and cleaning the two chips, along with cleaning the cartridge and cartridge ports. The bottom of the board looks pretty rough, not sure if something happened to it or it's supposed to look like that.

Been looking for damaged traces but haven't seen anything, and the caps all look good