Can someone help me diagnose what is wrong with my Genesis Model 1?

[Gavica]

last time I played was a couple of years ago, yesterday I opened it up and cleaned it.

I no longer have the original RF or AC adapter for it, but I used the NES RF and AC to try it out (they are working cause it works well with the NES).

 

But I get no picture, I have made a video of it and uploaded on youtube to show the problem, hopefully someone can help me out.

 

Video:

 

 

Picture of my xbox:

 

 

[kool kitty89]

NES power adapter is AC, not DC and can ruin the genesis. Apparently some have gotten away with short periods of using NES bricks on the Genesis, so you might not have fried the console, but I'm not sure.

 

If you did mess it up, it's most likely just the voltage regulators that died and those are fairly cheap/easy to replace.

 

The NES RF adapter is fine though, but for a proper power supply you'll need to find a brick outputting 7.5-12V at at least 1Amp (might get away with less, but that's pushing it) and polarity of negative on the center and positive on the rim: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/AC_adaptor_polarity.png (negative polarity, the right figure) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polarity_symbols

 

Any adapter with such rating should be fine, but negative polarity in that tip size is a bit uncommon (in spite of the Master System, MD/Genesis, Sega CD, Atari Jaguar and some others using it). If you have a spare adapter laying around (or find a cheap one at a thrift store) but it's the wrong polarity, you can simply cut the cable at a convenient spot and reverse the wires and twist (preferably solder) them back together and finish up with some electrical tape.

A universal AC adapter will also work, but many have fairly low amperage ratings (could be fine for testing at least); make sure to get the polarity setting right though, reverse polarity DC is much worse than AC, it can really fry things fast. (I burned out the main chips in a VCS by accident doing that)

 

Note that an NES can also accept DC input of either polarity as it's got an internal rectifier circuit, it's pretty much foolproof unless you put in some ridiculously high voltage.

Edited March 26, 2010 by kool kitty89

[Gavica]

will this one do the trick?

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 300409714788

 

# Compatible with SNES System, NES System, and Genesis System

# Not Compatible with Genesis 2 or 3 System

# Input: AC 120V 60Hz

# Output: DC 9V 520mA

[Tr3vor]

 

Picture of my xbox:

 

 

what does this have to do with an xbox? well, my cousin plugged the wrong AC adapter into his FC Twin, and pretty much the same thing happened, except there was a little bit of the picture in the vertically scrolling lines.

[kool kitty89]

will this one do the trick?

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 300409714788

 

# Compatible with SNES System, NES System, and Genesis System

# Not Compatible with Genesis 2 or 3 System

# Input: AC 120V 60Hz

# Output: DC 9V 520mA

 

The amperage rating is a bit low, that could be problematic (definitely too weak for the Sega CD), I'd look for something with at least 1 amp. (1000 mA)

 

All the official ones on there seem to be a bit precy right now, but these might be better (I don't see the amp rating though)

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 180485660487

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 180485725500

 

There's also a fairly good deal for model 1 AV cables right now too: eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160417112886 If you care. (genesis RF can be iffy sometimes) If you want stereo you'll need to use headphones or one of these cables in the headphone jack:

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 310209210571

or

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 310143283199

 

 

If there are any thrift stores near by, I'd check for possibly AC adapters you could use though. Again anything 7.5-12V and greater than 1 amp should be good. (might get away with 800 mA) If polarity is wrong, that's easy to fix: soldering and wire strippers would be preferred, but bare minimum is just a pair of scissors and some electrical tape will work fine. (get a good length of stripped wire and just twist it together)

If you can find one with the right polarity, great.

[Gavica]

thanks for the info!