Everett1954 Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 Hi, I just picked up a Game Gear without any cartridges. Should I see anything on power up? Splash screen? With Fresh batteries, the power light come on along with backlight for a couple seconds then goes out. I turned up the contrast but nothing. Does it need a cartridge plugged in to display anything? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Popp Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 4 hours ago, Everett1954 said: Hi, I just picked up a Game Gear without any cartridges. Should I see anything on power up? Splash screen? With Fresh batteries, the power light come on along with backlight for a couple seconds then goes out. I turned up the contrast but nothing. Does it need a cartridge plugged in to display anything? Thanks Yes, you need a cartridge to display anything. Keep in mind, most game gears that you will find have bad capacitors, and will have display and/or audio problems. They can usually be repaired with a $7-$10 capacitor replacement kit, but you won't know if it works until you get a game to test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everett1954 Posted July 15, 2019 Author Share Posted July 15, 2019 Thanks for the quick reply Jeremy! Ill pick up a game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JEFF31 Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 Hope everything is working... If your in to the GG (eventually) then I'd highly recommend the McWill upgrade... IT IS FANTASTIC (but not cheap $175-$200) Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everett1954 Posted August 1, 2019 Author Share Posted August 1, 2019 I got two cartridges and it appears to work..what is the McWill update and where can i get more info about it? Everett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derFunkenstein Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 On 8/1/2019 at 1:06 PM, Everett1954 said: I got two cartridges and it appears to work..what is the McWill update and where can i get more info about it? Everett On Google, which is where I got this link. https://www.retromodding.com/products/mcwills-sega-game-gear-lcd-upgrade FWIW, that seems to be the going price, and it requires some soldering. But it's better than spending $300 for a McWill-modded GG on eBay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted August 4, 2019 Share Posted August 4, 2019 Console5 also sells McWill kits as well for the same price. Installing these kits is another matter completely. Installation into a Lynx II isn't too bad, but installation on a GameGear treads into more advanced territory. Several SMD parts have to be removed, and some replaced along with pretty tiny points to solder the wires to on the game gear itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdollatari Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 I had one recently that had the capacitors done but the screen left me wanting not to mention it sometimes had issues with carts reading. Next time I want one fully overhauled with mcwill. Nomad may be of interest also! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 It is worth mentioning that the McWill kit is $120 by itself from Console5. The other expense is having an installer put it in for you unless you can install it yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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