1406 replies to this topic

[McWill]

Found it!!  Cancel the above question:

 

http://retrorgb.com/lynx.html

 

Now....Where can I find the latest firmware?

For the latest firmware you have to send it to my address and I will do the firmware update. Then please send PM   

[battleman13]

Would love to see the Game Gear VA4 (Majesco) supported.

A few months ago I pulled my childhood game gear out of the attic in my parents house. Fired it up to a burning smell.... decided it was probably bad caps.
So I decided to get a cap kit (which sat here a good 2 or 3 months) and just a few days ago took a crack at changing them out. Wasn't too bad of a job. I have

a decent solder station, and decent soldering skills. I took my time, and tried to do a good clean job. After about an hours worth of effort (spread out across 3

hours as I took some breaks) I had it all recapped and ready for testing.

On my VA4, cap C58 (which I think is cap C70 on VA0/VA1) is a high voltage ceramic cap in the backlight circuit.. she was smoking and arcing on one of the legs.

So that was the cause of my original fault I believe. The unit does play, but it plays blind... no backlight, nothing on the LCD. But it does respond to button presses

and I can hear the sound nice and clear....

Looks like a perfect candidate for a McWill mod and a good chance to put my soldering skills to the test!

Maybe also another reason to buy this really awesome USB microscope. it's cheap, works well... and it's a wayyyy better magnifier than microscope. 

I could just as easy get another game gear cheap, recap it and then McWill it.... and might do that. But there is something about keeping that old game gear from my

child hood working!

[Passive Matrix]

Would love to see the Game Gear VA4 (Majesco) supported.

A few months ago I pulled my childhood game gear out of the attic in my parents house. Fired it up to a burning smell.... decided it was probably bad caps.
So I decided to get a cap kit (which sat here a good 2 or 3 months) and just a few days ago took a crack at changing them out. Wasn't too bad of a job. I have

a decent solder station, and decent soldering skills. I took my time, and tried to do a good clean job. After about an hours worth of effort (spread out across 3

hours as I took some breaks) I had it all recapped and ready for testing.

On my VA4, cap C58 (which I think is cap C70 on VA0/VA1) is a high voltage ceramic cap in the backlight circuit.. she was smoking and arcing on one of the legs.

So that was the cause of my original fault I believe. The unit does play, but it plays blind... no backlight, nothing on the LCD. But it does respond to button presses

and I can hear the sound nice and clear....

Looks like a perfect candidate for a McWill mod and a good chance to put my soldering skills to the test!

Maybe also another reason to buy this really awesome USB microscope. it's cheap, works well... and it's a wayyyy better magnifier than microscope. 

I could just as easy get another game gear cheap, recap it and then McWill it.... and might do that. But there is something about keeping that old game gear from my

child hood working!

 

I have repaired faulty units exhibiting this problem before. Try holding a powerful flashlight on the screen. With a bright light illuminating the LCD from the front you will be able to see a game running. 

 

As the LCD is still functional and its just the fluorescent tube that is not working a LED backlight mod will fix your problem.

 

You can remove all the high voltage components associated with the fluorescent tube so you wont have to worry about it shorting again, also you will also have the added benefit of doubling battery life. 

[Kasreyn]

Hi all 

 

I ordered the GG mod from McWill in 2015 and finally got around to applying it. I never owned a GG but I saw one at a friends house (mind blown at the time) and seeing games on it now on a perfect display is quite a treat 

 

The GG was fully recapped (base, audio and power board) before moving on to the LCD replacement.

I have not tested SMS games on it yet but GG games look beautiful and they're a delight to play.

 

One question I have, is the brightness thumbwheel supposed to do something?

 

I followed the 2 ASIC instructions closely which say:

"Solder PIN1 of the thumbwheel to VCC on the GG board. Then solder PIN3 of the thumbwheel to GND on the GG board"

 

Thanks for this lovely product and for the detailed instructions!

I'm attaching some pictures of the mod below.

 

https://imgur.com/1QLiP8a

https://imgur.com/kNJ1czi

https://imgur.com/3QJt0JW

 

[McWill]

With the thumbwheel you can switch between VGA and internal 3.5" LCD on the GG. You don't need to wire VCC and GND to the thumbwheel, if you don't use VGA out.

[Greenious]

For the latest firmware you have to send it to my address and I will do the firmware update. Then please send PM 

 

Is there a 'log' or something available of firmware versions? Improvements and such, so that I can decide if it is worth the hassle of doing the upgrade?

[McWill]

No, but if you can switch between normal mode and scanline mode, you have the latest firmware.