VGCollect Forum
General and Gaming => Hardware and Tech => Topic started by: jobocan on July 10, 2011, 06:05:41 pm
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I found a Sega Master System for cheap, but the seller says it's not working (though he doesn't give any info as to what may be wrong with it/what happens when he tries starting it up). Do you think it would be hard/expensive to fix? Do you know what problems a Master System would commonly get? Or should I just wait until I can find one that works?
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Super cheap it is most likely a fusible resistor same as on the Sega CD. You can bypass it to test it and make sure there aren't anymore problems then put a replaceable fuse on the board later. Only takes like 5 min to replace.
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How cheap? A SMS shouldn't run you more than $20 - $30 in the first place.
I say skip it unless you can get more info.
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He's asking 15$. It includes Great Baseball, Hang-on/Safari Hunt and Super Tennis, and he also includes a Megadrive with no wires (not sure if it's a japanese or european megadrive though).
The only point where I'm not sure is the whole "the SMS doesn't work" part.
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like $0.05 worth of materials and a bit of Yankee ingenuity.
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I sell a lot of game systems online and I sell the SMS for $69.99 with two controllers the phaser and Hang-on/Safari Hunt. $15 is a good deal in my opinion, I'd buy it. Plus you get the chance to learn how something works which is priceless.
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$15 isn't bad for the lot and like @dccloth said it won't take much to fix it. Even if you aren't comfortable with the process you'll learn a bit and won't be out a lot of $ if you monkey it up.
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for $15 go for it
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If you need any help let me know.
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Yeah, if the guy responds to my email... I hate it when people don't answer to replies on kijiji ads >_>
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There, got it.
It's weird, it doesn't work, but, when I press the power button, it has a slight effect on the screen... Anyways, I'll be opening it up in a couple days and see if it's truly the 7805 IC thingy I read about is what needs to be replaced.
Also, is there any way to know if a megadrive is japanese or european (beyond trying to play japanese or european games, which I don't have)? Not too sure just by looking at it.
*EDIT*
I opened it up, and I'm pretty sure it's the 7805 IC that's broken... on the board's underside, there's some sort of brown gunk-ish stuff, while the rest is clean (dusty, but clean :P). Now to find a replacement 7805 IC thingy that doesn't cost 20$ to ship to me and figure out how to remove the current one and replace it and it should be a quick fix. That and finding a way to unscrew the small metallic plate that seems to be holding the 7805 IC in place.
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If you are seeing an effect on the screen then it for sure is the resistor. As far as import vs. non goes I've never seen a European system. I do know however that the master system was not region locked between US and Europe just like the very first genesis wasn't so that wouldn't tell you much. If I remember the Japanese Master System carts where based on the SG-1000 I believe it was called so a Jap cart won't fit in an American or European system. I also remember the Master system was called the mk-III and looked like this http://www.eidolons-inn.net/segabase/HW-SG1000Mark3%28J%29.gif. I love these because they are extremely Japanese looking.
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http://www.eidolons-inn.net/segabase/HW-SG1000Mark3(J).gif
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I meant the megadrive (AKA Genesis in the US), not the master system, I know what the SG-1000 looked like :P
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Oh whoops a megadrive has red and blue buttons on the system not all black like the US. Btw the pic was of a sega MKIII not a sg-1000. Here is a 7805 IC that is a hair over $8 shipped http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&pa=51262&productId=51262&keyCode=WSF&CID=GMC. It should just come off with a soldering iron and some wick. If you have a local electronics store you should be able to get one from them for less than $1 assuming they have it in stock they should though it is fairly common.
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There's a bunch on ebay as well.
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Look for swollen or leaking caps on the board.
Brown stuff might be old solder flux.
Take an old toothbrush with some baking soda and water and scrub the board down.
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Howd it turn out? The voltage regulator do the trick??
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I don't really want to try my hand at soldering on my own, but a friend is coming by tomorrow and I'll force him to help me out :P
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It worked! Now to get games for it that don't suck (well, Hang-on is fine, but the rest I have? meh).
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Sweet good job man!!! Did you try soldering? You should try Fantasy Zone, the Alex kid games, the wonder boy games, golden axe warrior, and phantasy star. Those are my favorites. Double dragon and rampage aren't bad either.
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I didn't solder myself, but my friend did give me a good explanation of to how to do it, so I'll be able to do it if I ever have anything else to fix. Thanks for the game suggestions, I'll try to find those someday (buying SMS games online is a bit pricy, so I'll hope to find some on my various Flea Market trips I'm planning soon).
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To add to dccloth's list of SMS games I recommend R-Type, SpellCaster and Ys.
Also the SMS is region free so you have the entire European library to choose from as well.
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My favorites on the SMS are Wonder Boy in Monster Land and Shinobi. For the Phaser I enjoy Gangster Town and Shooting Gallery. The system also has good versions of Double Dragon, Choplifter, and Monopoly.