Vital15 Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towmater Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital15 Posted April 10, 2020 Author Share Posted April 10, 2020 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elysiom Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 (edited) 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 April 10, 2020 by Elysiom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moorashj Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 I’m waiting for a screen replacement which should be soon. I may be able to help you then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elysiom Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 This fellow on YouTube seems to have a very similar screen - He did a cap replacement and still ended up replacing the screen, maybe it’s a compound issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nop90 Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 7 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said: 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. There are Susy chips available on aliexpress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital15 Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 Thank you all for the very helpful replies!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital15 Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 5 hours ago, Nop90 said: There are Susy chips available on aliexpress Thanks, but I don’t see any. Any idea how to find them? Although I’m not sure if my soldering skills are up for replacing a chip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nop90 Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 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). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj1307 Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital15 Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleoo Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital15 Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 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. Thanks! Did your pixelated one show anything? Mine shows nothing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleoo Posted April 12, 2020 Share Posted April 12, 2020 Oh. I thought yours was just a pixelated screen but was still playable. Mine was playing fine with the pixelated screen. Then what the experts here were saying was true then - suzy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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