Urchlay Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 This happened a while ago, but as long as I'm in a talkative mood I might as well post about it... I used to have my 5200 sitting on the coffee table in the living room. Originally, I'd only put it there while actually playing it, then move it to a cabinet in the bottom of my entertainment center to protect it from drunks (I really did catch someone trying to use it for an ashtray once...) Well, after doing that for a few days, I got tired of moving it, so it ended up sitting on the coffee table. I should have expected that someone would spill coffee in it, I guess... Fortunately, I was there and saw it happen: a tiny bit of coffee (with cream and sugar) got spilled into the cartridge port. I unplugged the power supply and stuck a paper towel in the cart port to "wick up" the liquid. Unfortunately, part of the paper towel got waterlogged and broke off inside the slot, where I couldn't reach it. I panicked... Fortunately, I had an X-acto knife handy... only this wasn't so fortunate: I was trying to get the knife under the little pieces of wet paper and pull them out, but I managed to snag one of the cartridge connector pins. It went "Sproing!", and now it sticks straight out from the port I have another 5200, so I can still play... but the 5200 I killed was one I've had since 1987 or so, that I've repaired a couple of times, that I managed not to lose even though I moved 7 times in 1997, and that has sentimental value... If you're thinking of replying to this and saying "Wow, what a dumbass", don't bother: I've already called myself worse. I wish I could take a picture. The pins are normally bent down and into the slot, but this one has lost its bend, and I wasn't able to bend it back into shape (I gave up after 5 minutes, when it occurred to me that I might break the thing due to metal fatigue if I kept trying to bend it). So "Never stick a knife into your cartridge port" is the lesson I've learned (you'd think it'd be common sense, but I have to learn everything the hard way apparently). So... does anyone know if I'm likely to ever get this 5200 to work again? I could probably get a replacement cart connector somewhere (I know you can still buy them for the NES), but it'd really suck to go to all the trouble to buy a new connector and solder it in place, *then* find out that the coffee, cream, and sugar has destroyed the motherboard. It looks OK (I've since taken it apart and cleaned it out), but I haven't tried to power it up (with or without a cart) since it happened. It sat overnight before I cleaned it, for the simple reason that I was too pissed off to see straight when it happened. If I'd tried to take it apart right then, I would have probably destroyed it and/or stabbed someone with the screwdriver. Another annoying side effect: I'm now terrified of keeping my consoles out in the open, so they're all safely in the closet... where I can't play them ...that got longer than it should have, sorry about that. I just had to get it off my chest... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 I see no reason it won't work. You don't even need a new cart conector relly just bent it back in place and it should be fine. I doubt the sugar destroyed any traces or poped any caps. Give it a try I bet it still works fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 And in the future, use tweezers to get chunks out. I had a piece of cardboard wedged in my NES slot and yanked it out with tweezers during a major cleanup. Scary thing is it still worked, though it was finnicky even for an NES and the carts didn't seat quite right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdement Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 I'd remove the board and wash it in clean water. Sugary drinks could cause corrosion. When electronics get something spilled on them, I believe the best thing to do is remove all power, disassemble it, and wash it. I've washed motherboards several times and haven't had anything die on me. I wash them in the shower, then rinse them with distilled water to remove mineral deposits. Tap water will leave some residue as it dries. This is probably harmless, but rinsing it in distilled water will prevent that. I give boards about 24hrs to dry, even though that's probably overkill for an exposed board. The primary concern is water trapped underneath sockets and other places you can't see (and where there isn't much air), so I prefer to put the board over some heat (like on a lampshade) to help it dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2600lover Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Water on a motherboard? IMO, doesnt sound like a good idea. Just the thougth of electronics and water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory DG Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 As long as there's no electricity running through it when water is applied, it'll be fine. Just be sure to dry it off throughly afterwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2600lover Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 O ok. Yeah make sure you let all the little holes and that stuff dry out. I have a funny story, one time when I didnt let it dry.......................well I'll save this for another time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbanes Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Water on a motherboard? IMO, doesnt sound like a good idea. Just the thougth of electronics and water. This is still a good way of thinking, even if it doesn't matter with the 5200. Some electronics have capacitors that can discharge even when they're unplugged. (I've heard of a few people being zapped by television repairs.) If you don't understand the electronics of a specific device and haven't gotten trustworthy advice from someone who does, steer clear of mixing your electronics with conductive liquids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow460 Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Water is not conductive at all, though. In fact, it's a great insulator. Make sure you use distilled water to test this for yourself, though, as tap water conatins many impurities that do conduct electricity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Water is not conductive at all, though. In fact, it's a great insulator. That is a myth, google it and if you still don't believe it, stand in a bathtub full of distilled water and drop a plugged in toaster into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbanes Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Distilled AND Deionized water is a poor conductof. (Though it's by no means an insulator!) Unfortunately, water has a lot of trouble staying that way, meaning that you'd do best not to assume the water is non-conductive. Just pouring the water over the metals contained on the circuit board is enough to start ionization. The moral of the story is, ALWAYS ASSUME THAT THE WATER YOU'RE USING IS HIGHLY CONDUCTIVE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Just pouring the water over the metals contained on the circuit board is enough to start ionization. Precisely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaManFan Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Which for the millionth time people is why you don't BLOW IN YOUR CARTRIDGE. What's the difference between saliva and water? Saliva will corrode your contacts EVEN QUICKER. </end rant> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Which for the millionth time people is why you don't BLOW IN YOUR CARTRIDGE. What's the difference between saliva and water? Saliva will corrode your contacts EVEN QUICKER. </end rant> Yep, people think they are "cleaning" the contacts and that is why the game fires up when they blow in it and in all reality all they are doing is making temporary better but damaging conductivity between the contacts of the cart and the pins of the conector VIA spit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2600lover Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Water on a motherboard? IMO, doesnt sound like a good idea. Just the thougth of electronics and water. This is still a good way of thinking, even if it doesn't matter with the 5200. Some electronics have capacitors that can discharge even when they're unplugged. (I've heard of a few people being zapped by television repairs.) If you don't understand the electronics of a specific device and haven't gotten trustworthy advice from someone who does, steer clear of mixing your electronics with conductive liquids. Thank you jbanes!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82atari5200 Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 I once split a beer on a hard drive. Luckly I was able to remove the motherboard on the bottom wash it let it dry and plug it in 2 days later and it still worked. I've spilt beer in just about everything. Just got to clean it throughly. Usually gets me so upset I have to drink another beer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atariman Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 Water is not conductive at all, though. In fact, it's a great insulator. That is a myth, google it and if you still don't believe it, stand in a bathtub full of distilled water and drop a plugged in toaster into it. I've heard something along the same lines as shadow460. It isn't the water itself that conducts the electricity, but the ions suspended in the water. A little something I found when I googled it: "Resistivity/conductivity is the most convenient method for testing Dl water quality. Deionized pure water is a poor electrical conductor, having a resistivity of 18.2 million ohm-cm (18.2 megohm) and conductivity of 0.055 microsiemens. It is the amount of ionized substances (or salts) dissolved in the water which determines water's ability to conduct electricity. Therefore, resistivity and its inverse, conductivity, are good general purpose quality parameters." that was from http://www.myronlproducts.com/deionizedwater.htm Assuming someone DID fill a bathtub with distilled or deionized water, it would be grabbing the soap residue and other stuff and wind up with a nice, healthy supply of ions, etc. If you still don't believe me, get a clean room, pefectly cleaned, sterilized bathtub full of distilled/deionized water and drop a plugged toaster into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyman Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 My Ex's Rabbit crapped in the cart slot of my 5200. The thing had good aim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow460 Posted December 16, 2006 Share Posted December 16, 2006 My Ex's Rabbit crapped in the cart slot of my 5200. The thing had good aim. Did he step into a bucket of distilled water and touch a live wire first? I've actually done experiments with water before. The tap water at my high school was a poor conductor. However, I still refrain from standing in water while working on anything electrical. That said, yes, I Wash electronic devices under running water, but it depends on what it is. an IC, sure, I'll wash those if they need it, but I won't wash an entire board like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsoper Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 I've wash boards at work, we use organic core solder which has messy acidic flux. Take it into the bathroom, run hot water over it, scrub with soap and a toothbrush, rinse, shake water off, dry with paper towel, then compressed air, then 120 degree oven (or car dash during summer). The alkaline nature of the soap really attacks the acidic flux. I don't think I'd try any boards with adjustable components like pots though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerry32 Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 I see no reason it won't work. You don't even need a new cart conector relly just bent it back in place and it should be fine. I doubt the sugar destroyed any traces or poped any caps. Give it a try I bet it still works fine. i agree it should work and i thought i had a problem with my a5200 controllers 1 would not go down and the other would not fire using the left fire buttons finnally after 1.5 hrs and plenty of patience i managed to repair both controllers now they are nice and snug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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