PC Engine Duo-R A/V Jack Replacement

[tigre]

First real post here, been having a blast with my new PC Engine, everything seems to be in good order (outside of cosmetic yellowing, but i'll take care of that at a later time) outside of the A/V jack. The CD drive is great, the caps appear to have already been replaced by it's previous owner too!

There appears to be an issue with the physical DIN connector on the console for the A/V out. I've checked continuity on the cable itself, there's nothing wrong with the cable. I need to play with the cable in the back of the system until I get video/audio, so it has to be the connector itself, right?

I've seen an RGB mod video (not something I'm immediately interested in doing, but if I'm replacing the jack maybe i should just go the distance on it) with someone replacing the DIN-5 with a DIN-8 for RGB out, so I figure the DIN-5 is something I should be able to buy off the shelf too, does anyone know a drop in replacement for the A/V out on a Duo-R?

[schweaty]

you can replace the 5-DIN socket with a 8-DIN socket and your composite cable will still work when plugged into the 8-DIN socket.  Later on if you decide to RGB or component mod your system, you will already have the 8-DIN socket.

PS - if you decide to do this make sure you swap out the ground pin from the 5-DIN socket into the 8-DIN

[Valkyrie]

Did you check for cold solder joints on the connector? 
I just got a Duo R in Osaka that was fairly cheap because it had issues with the video connection being flakey.  5 minutes with a soldering iron fixed that right up!

[Keith Courage]

DUO-R Systems are notorious for the AV jack and Controller port having cold solder joints.

[tigre]

Entirely possible it's a cold solder joint, I took the top off the system to inspect the caps but didn't check the bottom of the board. I'll reflow the pins and test it.
<edit>Did the reflow on the pins, fixed the video going in and out unless I toy with the connector, did not fix the missing right audio channel though, so unless I'm missing something it looks like I might need to replace the port...

[cpsystem3]

If you reflowed the pins and its still not working, your connector likely has corrosion on the internal pins preventing contact.

Your best bet is to replace. And as others have mentioned - its a good idea to use a DIN-8 in preparation for future mods.

[tigre]

That's what I was figuring, I imagine that pretty much any right angle DIN-5 or DIN-8 connector will work? It's a standard connector so I can't imagine much of a difference between different connectors from different vendors. Is that the case?

[ApolloBoy]

Are you sure you added a little fresh solder when you reflowed the pins? Reflowing alone sometimes doesn't help much, but adding a bit of new solder to the joint goes a long way.

[tigre]

Yes sir, I always feed the solder joint a bit of solder when I reflow a pin.

[Ravij]

This is where I got my 8 pin DIN from (a couple of years ago)

http://www.cliffuk.co.uk/

They are the manufacturer, so you have to ask them nicely as I don't think they normally sell direct to the public.

It was a drop in replacement, but you need to take the ground shield off the old 5 pin DIN as it was slightly different. Easy to swap though.