got a crystal cart today. takes a few tries to get the game running on gbc.
#Crystal Cart difficulty starting.
acoustic bay
outer lanceBOT
got a crystal cart today. takes a few tries to get the game running on gbc.
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acoustic bay
I cleaned them with alcohol. chip seems fine otherwise, just some wear on the contacts. is there a way to perhaps make the pins better?
potent moon
some swear by white or red eraser, i use contact cleaner usually. however, some of the traces look a little sus and you should check continuity on them. (oops should've cropped the image lol)
acoustic bay
would the game not work if those are messed up? because i was able to get into the game
potent moon
no idea what those specific traces are, but if they're slightly corroded and have more resistance than they should it might manifest as inconsistent booting or possible random glitches
probably good to clean the area with IPA first to see if some of it is just superficial
vestal pagoda
acoustic bay
checking it with a jeweller's loupe, there does seem to be a bit of corrosion on the contacts. i need to find that one thing i have it somewhere
found it, just need to figure out how it work
pins seem fine, didnt see any movement
i guess there was some corrosion going on where the cart shell pushes down on the pcb. how do i handle this?
hearty grove
just looks like the mask is scratched off to me, in those places at least. if that's as bad as it gets, i would just put a thin line of kapton tape over where it rubs to prevent any more damage
the pins themselves could be cleaner though - as has been mentioned before, clean with IPA (with the boardoutside the shell), and maybe some deoxit gold if you're feeling fancy (be sparing; it's expensive and you don't need a lot)
distant marsh
just looks like the mask is scratched off to me, in those places at least. if th...
That's what I would do, too. And, I would try to not rub the traces any more than absolutely necessary. Clean with IPA, with the lightest of touch; see if maybe the edge connector can be a little cleaner; then seal the damage up with Kapton.
acoustic bay
i cleaned the pins with IPA already. they were a bit dirty
game runs okay but has troubles getting a good connection like half the time
hearty grove
it might just be the edge connector needs further cleaning (you'd be surprised how much more proper contact cleaner can pull off even after IPA) but maybe test if all the chips' legs are firmly in place before dropping money on deoxit or something
acoustic bay
i checked pins and afaik none moved. im considering getting some solder paste to give them all a bit extra. also considering getting a hot air station.
but those edge connectors do need something. are those spots that got worn down still fine? that is another of my concerns.
tiny garnet
If you insert the cart all the way in and then pull it out by 1mm, does the cart read consistently? If so, it’s going to be the cart fingers and not the pins on the ROM.
acoustic bay
of course now when i do it 50 times it works like 40 of the 50 times, but when i first got it it was like a 80% failure
tiny garnet
It’s most likely dirty fingers like eatnoom mentioned. Either still dirty or worn down
acoustic bay
aight. il get some of that deoxit gold stuff. should i also get a fiberglass pen or will that cause more damage?
Do i want the spray or some other kind?
potent moon
aight. il get some of that deoxit gold stuff. should i also get a fiberglass pen...
no, don't use anything abrasive on the pins, that'll just make them full of tiny grooves and wear down the gold plating. spray is good, just spray it on a q-tip or something you can wipe the pins with
hearty grove
I have one of the tiny 3mL droppers and it's kept me going for a while
acoustic bay
thanks for all the help. i only ask questions because i try to get as muich info for this stuff like youtube so i just want to confirm if some of those practices are good or bad practices