Oh god this lynx.

[Billythegrape]

Got a nice lynx 1 with 10 games and a sewage brown official carrying case for xmas. Worked pretty well except for the left side of the screen had a crapload of white pixels.

 

Decided to recap it as I had done to my game gear quite successfully. It went well, but i noticed someone had done it once before, so no change in anything except piece of mind.

 

Got a new job and as a random gift my pops sent me a mcwill mod. I went through the mod, removing the necessary components, then got to the testing 5v part. Meter between vcc and ground gave me 4.45v, which was well below the 5.45v cutoff listed by mcwill so I continued the mod.

 

When I turned it on, I got a white screen with no sound. Ok, no problem, I saw on here that if I connected just the vcc and ground to the screen I should see static. I did this, just got a white screen.

 

Contacted mcwill, he told me to remove the screen and try it on 5v power source. I don't have one. I removed it and bought the voltage regulator tune up kit or whatever from console5. Installed that, the screen won't turn on at all.

 

So i disconnected the screen and started checking voltages. 2.38v vcc to ground and the mosfet is hot as hell. I have replaced the 2 transistors, the mosfet, the power jack, and zener diode with this kit. What. The. Fuck. Did. I. Do. Wrong.

[blainelocklair]

Hello, and welcome to AA!

 

Do you have any pics of the front and back of the Lynx board? They will definitely help with a diagnosis. Might show where a component might be installed incorrectly or shorted somewhere.

[Billythegrape]

Ok here are some.

[Billythegrape]

Here are far away ones.

[Billythegrape]

Close ups of ribbon connections. Removed mcwill. There was a bridge one the little one but I removed it.

[Billythegrape]

Once I removed the bridge, I got 4.5v from vcc to gnd. But still the screen will not power on.

[Billythegrape]

Replaced 30ohm resistor r56. Now everything is working but the screen. When I attach the screen the sound reduces in volume but does not turn on.

[blainelocklair]

Try sending a PM to -^Cro§Bow^- on the forums. He McWill modded my Lynx II and it's a beauty. He might be able to help you get this one sorted, especially with the pics and updated info you've provided.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Not sure about that. I've never looked into the Lynx 1 and I had been told that the McWill mod was more difficult on the lynx 1. I can see why as the pin pitch to attach to on the LCD lines is much much smaller. More like working on the GG it would seem.

[Billythegrape]

It's a real SOB, that's for sure. I need a proper soldering station. I've been fussing with small electronics for upwards of 20y and this is this hardest project yet.

[+karri]

What part of the world are you in?

 

I have done a Lynx I mod recently. If you are in the EU the the postage is not that bad.

[Billythegrape]

Tennessee, USA.

[+karri]

Too bad. I am in Finland. US postal service takes ages, cost the shirt and shred the packages. So it is better to look for local help.

[Billythegrape]

Found a toasted voltage regulator on the pcb for the mcwill. Ordered one, will update progress.

[Billythegrape]

Soldered the new voltage regulator onto the mcwill. Nothing. In fact, the lynx won't function with the screen connected. Took vcc off mcwill, chips challenge music blasts out of the speaker. Touch the vcc lead to the mcwill, the music gets quiet, then goes drrrrrrrr like a cd skipping. Disconnect, turn lynx on, music is back

[Billythegrape]

Well...anyone?

[GadgetUK]

Sounds like perhaps a fault now on the McWill PCB - if the regulator had died on it, that's not a good sign. I would ask McWill if you can send the mod back for him to check out - but you may have to pay for the repair if it needs a new chip. There's also a chance you have a wire connected incorrectly somewhere perhaps? Double check your wiring before sending the screen back to McWill I think.

[+Stephen Moss]

As GadgetUK said double check your connections.

I cannot recall if the mod works with both the Lynx 1 and 2, if it does then you should have instructions for both, make sure you are following the correct instruction for your Lynx as some of the component references are different, i.e. C10 on a Lynx 1 is not necessarily in the same circuit and doing the same thing as C10 in a Lynx 2.