technomacer

Thanks Stephen! I ordered the AC wall adapter for it so I don't have to keep draining the batteries while I spend some time probing the board. Hopefully that will be in soon so I can start probing at it for a while.

Hello folks, I am working on a Sega Game Gear (VA1 main board that, like most of them at this point, had leaky caps that I replaced with one of the many cap kits available on the net. The problem I am having is that, despite replacing the caps, the screen just shows up black. Some folks have had luck with reflowing the caps they replaced but of course I couldn't get off that easy. I was wondering if anyone had and experience with diagnosing issues with these units? Here is what I have done so far: Replaced all caps on the sound, power, and main boards Checked continuity between the new caps and the next component in the circuit Measured the output of the power board (both 5v pins seem good as well as the 34v pin for the backlight) Checked that the backlight works (that one is obvious since it either comes on or it doesn't) Measured some of the points on IC1 as well as other points on the 5v rail and noticed that it is getting about 4.88v. Not sure if the voltage drop is expected or if that means there is an issue? I found a schematic for this unit online but with my limited electrical engineering skills, I have no idea how to tell what things need to be present for these units to start. I would love to learn how to troubleshoot these issues (and how to better read that schematic) so any help anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated! Here is a link to the schematic: Game Gear VA1 Service Manual