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Advice on a Lynx 2 with bad screen


Vital15

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Hi all-

I just bought my first Lynx "for parts" in the hopes that I can fix it up.  It powers up and the sound works, so that's good.  The screen, not so good - just some dots and the brightness wheel doesn't seem to change it.  I figure I should try replacing the caps?  I opened it up and they look pretty good but I do see a little corrosion on one (C39).  Any chance it is something else?  Thanks!

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I think the "brightness" is actually a contrast thnixy, the backlight remains constant. When I replaced the caps in my Lynx II the screen worked again, but it is still so primitive (in relation to the state-of-the-art at the time it was made) that it's almost unwatchable. Console 5 has a cap kit, although I would just buy a box o'caps from Amazon. From what I hear you should consider Console 5's voltage regulator kit as the OEM one kills the console, from what I've read.

 

And yes, "thnixy" is an actual suggested spelling on MacOS.

 

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Thanks!  I think I want to upgrade the screen too but I'm hesitant to buy a screen without knowing for sure if the Lynx works.  So perhaps I'll try the caps first.  Although I guess it would be a shame to spend hours and risk messing up a cap replacement that may not be needed...

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Are the caps that bad on these Lynx IIs - like Sega GameGear bad? I just received a refurb one from Best; I was hoping I wouldn't need to tear it apart and replace the caps.

 

I know the flex PCBs and the DC power jacks are generally pain points on these consoles.

 

The display looks pretty trashed - does it change at all to what is playing on the screen?

 

Since it has sound and power - try cleaning the brightness wheel with some contact cleaner, move it around a bunch - use a multimeter and move the wheel to see if the pot is good.

Edited by Elysiom
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Really only two things I can think of here. Neither are good...one is the LCD is just trashed and would need to be replaced or a modern upgraded screen installed. Or...two..and I really hope this isn't the case. The SUZY could be toast as that is in charge of generating the pixels we see on the screens and it seems over the past year, I'm hearing more and more reports of SUZY chips going bad in LYNX units and that is a custom chip and can only be replaced from a donor LYNX.

 

What you might do, is post in the wanted section to see if anyone has an old Lynx screen that has been pulled for upgraded LCDs that were working? I know I've done a few but I don't keep the screens and send them back with the upgraded Lynx to the owners so I don't have them on hand.

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Vital15 said:

Thanks, but I don’t see any. Any idea how to find them?

search for c302284.

 

for example look here

 

There should be two versions, one to be soldered and one to be placed in a socket. Don't know if Lynx 1 and lynx 2 use the same chip or if they have different versioms (like for the cpu: Mikey/Hayato).

 

 

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SUZY in Lynx I and Lynx II are the same, they differ only in the manufacturer, you can buy them here: http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/custom-i.htm

In the photo in the first post you can see that the screen has a lot of bad pixels, but the content should be visible.
If you bought a console from "video*game*source", unfortunately I don't have good news, all four consoles bought from them had a damaged Hayato and/or Suzy chips. :( 

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2 hours ago, rj1307 said:

SUZY in Lynx I and Lynx II are the same, they differ only in the manufacturer, you can buy them here: http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/custom-i.htm

In the photo in the first post you can see that the screen has a lot of bad pixels, but the content should be visible.
If you bought a console from "video*game*source", unfortunately I don't have good news, all four consoles bought from them had a damaged Hayato and/or Suzy chips. :( 

Thank you!  I can't see any content on the screen and the "brightness" wheel doesn't have any effect.  Maybe I should clean or replace the brightness wheel.  I bought it from a different seller thankfully.  Thank you again!

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I had a couple of Lynx IIs. One had a pixelated screen; the other did not. I swapped the good, non-pixelated one into the other and it worked fine. No suzy chip replaced. The only problem you may run into is that the screens have to be exactly the same - there are actually different revisions of the LCD screen.

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40 minutes ago, cleoo said:

I had a couple of Lynx IIs. One had a pixelated screen; the other did not. I swapped the good, non-pixelated one into the other and it worked fine. No suzy chip replaced. The only problem you may run into is that the screens have to be exactly the same - there are actually different revisions of the LCD screen.

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Thanks! Did your pixelated one show anything? Mine shows nothing...

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