Pokémon Red visual glitch | Game Boy | Page 1

tight kelp Nov 17, 2022, 3:20 AM

#

Having this visual glitch on my version of Pokémon Red. I've had this cart since Christmas 1999, and it's never been opened before today. I did a cleaning with 99% isopropyl, but it hasn't fixed anything. Looks this way on my original GBC as well as my Analogue Pocket, but not on my Epilogue Operator. Any ideas?

void condor Nov 17, 2022, 3:50 AM

#

Open the cart and take a photo of the sooder joints at the chips

#

I remember seeing this as a pin being improperly soldered

jovial nest Nov 17, 2022, 7:03 AM

#

Dodgy sprites in gen 1 are generally the SRAM I believe, so i'd focus on that and the MBC

hushed stratus Nov 17, 2022, 2:22 PM

#

The GB Operator doesn’t actually play the game from the cart, it dumps the rom and then your computer emulator plays that

#

So if you’re wondering why the sprite glitch isn’t present there, it’s because for Pokémon like eatnoom said, the game is trying to read from SRAM for certain sprites

tight kelp Nov 17, 2022, 2:55 PM

#

tight kelp Nov 17, 2022, 2:55 PM

#

void condor Open the cart and take a photo of the sooder joints at the chips

Here's all the pics

void condor Nov 17, 2022, 3:18 PM

#

Is that dirt/corrosion?

spring hound Nov 17, 2022, 3:45 PM

#

Picture of the back pls

tight kelp Nov 17, 2022, 4:13 PM

#

void condor Is that dirt/corrosion?

Where? I wiped it down with iso like I said

#

tight kelp Nov 17, 2022, 4:14 PM

#

spring hound Picture of the back pls

Here's that

void condor Nov 17, 2022, 5:16 PM

#

tight kelp Where? I wiped it down with iso like I said

Maybe it was just image distortion then

#

Check (carefully) that the SRAM pins are making proper contact

#

#

One or more may have become desoldered and will need to be reconnected

tight kelp Nov 17, 2022, 5:26 PM

#

#

All the legs are super secure

#

Tested them out with some tweezers

void condor Nov 17, 2022, 5:40 PM

#

If they're properly soldered, and the solder on them is working properly, then I guess check continuity for all the pins

tight kelp Nov 17, 2022, 5:43 PM

#

Could it be a battery issue? Or something else? Or is it for sure this particular chip?

void condor Nov 17, 2022, 5:45 PM

#

If it were just a battery issue, it wouldn't save

tight kelp Nov 17, 2022, 5:46 PM

#

I'm not sure if it will or not. There's no old save data on it so I assume the battery has gone bad.

jovial nest Nov 17, 2022, 5:49 PM

#

Check the pins on the MBC too - could be a loose joint on there

#

I have no idea on the failure rate of the SRAM chips themselves, but worth inspecting the joints and possibly beeping out the connection s (though I don't have a handy schematic)

jovial nest Nov 17, 2022, 5:55 PM

#

void condor If it were just a battery issue, it wouldn't save

The SRAM will work if the only issue is the battery - it just won't retain data when powered off

tight kelp Nov 17, 2022, 6:02 PM

#

jovial nest I have no idea on the failure rate of the SRAM chips themselves, but worth inspe...

When you say beeping out the connections, you mean testing continuity or?

jovial nest Nov 17, 2022, 6:03 PM

#

Yep continuity. That way you can not only pick up a bad joint, but a bad trace / via

tight kelp Nov 17, 2022, 6:08 PM

#

Okay. Gotta get a multimeter. Lol.

jovial nest Nov 17, 2022, 7:25 PM

#

Always a good idea, but do you have pics of the MBC pins from the side in the meantime? Might be possible to spot something

tight kelp Nov 17, 2022, 8:11 PM

#

Let me take them

#

#

Here we go

jovial nest Nov 17, 2022, 8:33 PM

#

Looks alright to me. Take it you gave them a little wiggle too?

tight kelp Nov 17, 2022, 9:05 PM

#

I did, yeah.

jovial nest Nov 17, 2022, 9:40 PM

#

Hm. That seems to narrow it down to something wrong with the board or the SRAM / MBC themselves. Multimeter is probably going to be the way to go to rule the board out, though i'm not sure if there's a more accessible source of what should lead where than HDR's MBC3 flash cart repo

quick crater Nov 17, 2022, 11:01 PM

#

I'll just reflow if you haven't already to be sure

#

This things are old and these are pulled in an out over decades putting strain on the PCB enough to lead to some cold joints

tight kelp Nov 18, 2022, 2:10 AM

#

Best way to do that is with a heat gun, right?

jovial nest Nov 18, 2022, 8:04 AM

#

An iron will do the job. If it's your first time working on something this size I'd just use a clean tip and add a little flux to make sure the joints come out well

spring hound Nov 18, 2022, 2:23 PM

#

Apologies for dipping, you definitely need a multimeter

#

I’d check the traces on the front and back to see if any of the ones connected to the SRAM chip don’t have continuity

exotic pasture Dec 1, 2022, 8:32 PM

#

When Sprites dont load correctly, it's almost always an issue with the SRAM not making proper contact. Even if something looks secure and doesn't wiggle with tweezers, you could have developed a cold joint

#

reflow with a soldering iron and flux like @jovial nest recommended

tight kelp Dec 19, 2022, 4:19 AM

#

Well I recently tried reflowing the SRAM and now the game won't load up at all. I'm very upset.

exotic pasture Dec 19, 2022, 5:06 AM

#

@tight kelp When you reflowed your SRAM. did you ensure that you didn't bridge any pins?

median pike Dec 19, 2022, 10:27 AM

#

I'm not sure if you have prior experience with soldering, but just a word of advice for the future: If you have no prior experience or don't feel confident enough soldering, then exercise on some less important hardware first

#

For now, as TL and Wormy said, get a multimeter and check for continuity and/or check (visually or through continuity check) if you haven't bridged any pins on the SRAM

#Pokémon Red visual glitch