WTB: Broken PCE/TC-CD, Duo, TG, PCE etc (or: WTfix/trade? Also, desoldering gun)

[Overand]

Hey folks - I have no idea what the fair / market / whatever price is on broken / "junk" (in the eBay parlance) TG/PCE stuff, but I'm working on my electronics skills and am totally excited to get some stuff fixed / working / etc.

For what it's worth, I'm pretty good at re-capping stuff already (having fixed several switching power supplies, etc), but am not quite there yet.  Taking some EE courses, finally, so I can put my existing skills into greater context.

So, I'm hoping to find some broken TG/PCE stuff to fix.  Is it for resale?  Well, if I'm any good at that, maybe I'd do that eventually, but if I ended up fixing something I got through this forum, that's definitely where I'd end up reselling.  But, resale isn't what I'm most interested.  Right now, I'm interested in learning, and also, maybe finding a "guinea pig" - send me a broken unit, and I'll work on it, with NO GUARANTEES that I'll be successful, and you'll get a discount/we can trade/whatever.  I'm also pretty confident I can do modchip installations; as a test I rewired on of my TG-16 units to the PCE pin order, without cutting any leads from the HuCard socket.  Works great!  (And once I end up either with a proper "obey" PCB/chip, or set up my own w/whatever multiplexer/demultiplexer, etc, it'll be "chipped!")

I know there are plenty of other folks here with the skills already; I've just finally decided it's time to take my own skills to the next level, and I'm confident in being able to handle the basics.  I'm handy with a multimeter, and I'm slowly becoming handy with an oscilloscope as well; just missign some practical and theoretical electronics knowledge.  I know how a transistor works, what a capacitor is for, and in a general sense what inductors are, but I couldn't design an LC circuit, oscillator, etc to save my life.

So, ramblerambleramble, let me fix your stuff!  If you're willing to take the risk of being a guinea pig, I'll give it a shot!  Or, if you just want to sell some of your broken stuff, be it controllers, CD units / docks, or TG, PCE systems?  I'm game.

And I'm serious about not wanting to step on any toes here; there are obviously a lot of really talented folks who have put a lot of time, energy, and money into being good at what they do.  Go to them first!

(Oh, and if anyone has a desoldering gun / de-soldering iron they want to sell, I'd be pretty exciting - rubber bulbs suck, but I'm not sure I can reasoanbly afford a Hakko 808, FR-300, or the like.  If you're upgrading to a newer desoldering setup and have an older one you'd want to sell, I'm definitely interested!)

[clackattack]

I hate bulbs, pumps, and vacuums when it comes to desoldering... Some good ol' woven braid is the way to go. Or if you dont care about making a mess, a good direct hit with a can of compressed air will blast all that molten goo out of any nooks and cranies I know an old-skool dude that desolders with an antique syringe and needle, the ones with holes your fingers go thru

At one point a while back, a fella on here sent me a tempermental turbotap. I had all intentions of fixing the thing, but after having like 5 other projects of the back-burner, i decided to put that one off indefinitely. Lemme see if I can dig it up tonite and if I can find it, its yours for tinkering. Maybe a few bucks to cover shipping, but other than that, you could consider it a freebe

[DrOrangejuicer]

If you're primarily interested in experience, look into Game Gears and Nomads. Going to be much easier to find and, especially in the case of the former, more inexpensive. Both units notorious for bad caps.

[Overand]

Clackattack - I've definitely got the impression that braid works well for certain stuff, but folks seem pretty exited about the 'proper' (or semi-proper) desoldering pumps ala the Hakko stuff.  (The bulb ones... I'm not too into, heh).  I'm curious how people have done with braid on the TurboGrafx thru-hole stuff.  And the Turbotap thing would be great, but no pressure and no rush!

DrOrangejuicer - that's actually a really interesting point; I rarely think about those systems; I'm going to go look in that direction, too!

[xcrement5x]

Yeah, a Game Gear is a solid entry point to messing with stuff.  They are like $5, and normally just need new caps done on them.

[blueraven]

Look at every computer motherboard you can find for about a week. Start with a Game Gear.
Don't pull on traces. Desolder with a braid.

[Keith Courage]

Make sure to breathe in all the solder fumes. They give you super powers.

[HoocasLenkels]

Make sure to breathe in all the solder fumes. They give you super powers.

I knew it! That must be why I have the power to randomly have internal bleeding! 

I've only gotten into fixing Turbo/PCE stuff in the last few years myself. I've been fixing just about everything else for years and years though. These guys have a good point, I can't tell you how many Game Gears I've recapped for people. Great place to start and get some solid soldering experience.

[blueraven]

Make sure to breathe in all the solder fumes. They give you super powers.

[Overand]

Heh.  I'm fairly experienced with soldering - just not desoldering, or working with too much SMD stuff.  (I've built SMD kits, and it was "fun" in the Dwarf Fortress way, though I did succeed).

Desoldering, though... that's a different story, and I've lifted traces in the past.  Reaaaally hoping to get some better tools for that process.

[SmokeMonster]

Yeah, a Game Gear is a solid entry point to messing with stuff.  They are like $5, and normally just need new caps done on them.

I third this. Game Gears are great to learn on and a recap makes a huge improvement, usually fixing everything (low audio, dim screen, etc). After a successful GG recap, you will be ready for almost all of the entry level soldering tasks for console/peripheral repair. Genesis/Megadrives are also excellent to practice surgery on, and most revisions are packed with caps.