Trying to FIX a Faulty eBay SEGA MEGA DRIVE (GENESIS) 

Hi mate. Nice video. I used to (and kind of still do) fix these quite a lot (must have done dozens of them) and got really excited when you found the short on the RF as I was thinking "ooo - I would never had thought of that. Looks like I'll be learning something new!"... A few tips, if you're doing this again: - The red "do not remove" cover is the Sega CD expansion slot dust cover. That message is very dramatic.. - The LED wire is crudely slotted into the cable. I usually straighten and then cut the led legs in half so it's easier to get the connector on and off. - The reset buttons on the MD1 and 2 are hot garbage. They either get stuck on or don't work about 50% of the time. Black screen can be a symptom of a stuck-on button. I usually replace them with little tactile buttons. - Not only do I systematically clean and resolver the cart pins (on account of them being a major failing point), but I "respring" them too, which is what you were doing with that pin. A much quicker (and neater) way of doing that is to take a little flat-head screw driver and push down on the top of the pin. This makes the pin consatena down, bending towards the opposite pin. You can gently "bounce" down on it to fine-tune the bend. - The 2x voltage regulators get super hot. That screw that goes into heat sink, effectively turns the entire RF shield into an extended heatsink. I ran tests, and without the RF shield, or even that screw, the heatsink gets LOADS hotter. My theory for that red epoxy stuff is to make sure they stay nice and tight to keep the contact good. Not sure. Either way, it's really common to get these broken units without the shield or screws in as people are, apparently, too lazy to put it back together properly. - Not a tip, but it's really interesting (imo) that in pretty much each unit (more-so in the MD2) there are usually fingerprints in the heat shield from the original Chinese factory workers. The oils in their skins tarnished the chrome plating, kind of fossilising into the metal. Each are unique. You can sometimes see them though the bottom grille on MD2 better. - The mod you did only needed a ground, so you could have literally soldered right next to it rather than running that long cable across the board. Having said that, it probably wouldn't have occurred to me to leave the exposed wire short and would have left me wrapping it in tape, preventing a short or something. I gave out an audible "...oh yeah..." when you did that :D - oh. And, I'm sure you're already aware, but getting an RGB scart cable for that is a must. The picture/ colour quality difference is night and day. I've developed heaps of my own tricks, over the years, to test and improve these things. Sadly, 90% of the issues with them are just dirt/ weak spring contacts, so it's very rarely anything overly interesting. Looking forward to the 2nd video, but I fear it will be much the same - hence why I don't really do these consoles anymore :/ I actually have a MD2 that has a very interesting fault on, that I was going to offer up to you. Basically, all the sprites on the screen are totally scrambled and in the wrong place on the screen. If you're up for a bit more of an actual fault-finding, component swapping mission, I can send that one over to you :) All the best, Luke

Vince is so old school he’s the only man still using a RF switch in 2021. Great fix.

Had to be first on this one ;) The reset switch is resistive rather than gives a short! So probably nothing wrong with the reset switch other than a clean of the contacts needed. It can seem like the slot is just not working regardless, but that's usually a sign you need to clean it with something more abrassive (very fine sand paper), but I generally just push folded paper into these slots (covered in IPA or deoxit). Fine grit sand paper is a last resort as any damage to the surface of the socket pins will translate into damage on cart edges etc. It can seem like the slot is just not working regardless, but that's usually a sign you need to clean it with something more abrassive. Great to see it working!!! =D

Are you sure you and Steve aren't twins, you upload together with precision timing 😁🤣

12:28 welcome to the strange world of RF. Forget all you know about everything.

As someone has already said, the port on the side is for the Mega CD add on. The EXT port was only on the original model and as was intended for a modem peripheral that never released (we got Sega Meganet instead which connected via a cartridge). The "mod" on the MC68000 chip would have been done at the factory and was common on early models to fix a bug that could cause the console to crash.

To get the LED disconnected, bend the legs up and slide the wire off from there. Make note of the polarity colors and leg length. Red's positive/longer leg, I believe. I have my console in storage and can't be bothered to get it out to check, lol.

finally, someone who calls it the mega drive

Great repair Vince, you can get av cables or scart ones very affordable this days, because rf is really BAD but back to the video is always nice to see a Sega machine being repaired from someone who really has passion for the system and for a no professional like you said you are putting some of them to shame (I mean the ones that called themselves pros but have no passion or interests to help). Keep the good work 👍

"Nice picture" *Laughs in RGB*

Brilliant troubleshooting as usual. Funny I just fixed one that had the same issue but with all games and found that a broken trace (pin 4 of IC4) had caused the problem. Thank you for keeping them alive!

Love the trying to fix videos. Thanks, Vince.

I remember when I subscribed to your channel and you only had around 100,000 subs, and now you have almost 800,000! I have really enjoyed watching your videos over this time, and I’m excited for when you reach 1 mil!

That expansion port at the side is for the Mega CD. Not seen one with an ex port on the back.

You never fail to send me of to sleep Vince not that I don't enjoy the content quite the opposite its so informative that my brain melts and I fall asleep love the videos mate

I'm amazed by your reasoning and the logic behind it I've picked up a few things on this video which is going to help me tackle and solve similar problems.

Hi Vince, great repair video! RF is rubbish, but the Mega Drive's AV out is great as it does full RGB out and stereo audio! My brother made me a DIN to SCART cable back in the '90s which I still use today. If you're going to re-sell these I'd recommend putting in a region/50/60hz mod. If you're going to keep one to play games on, I'd also recommend getting a scanline doubler which will output a nice picture via HDMI.

Lovely to see this MD working again. Odd that the cart slot pins seemed wider on the left side. I guess it could be caused by an owner consistently pushing the carts in at a bit of an angle? 🤷‍♂️

Vince, these are the type of videos I love to watch, long fixing videos, the short tea break ones are over to fast. More longer fixing console videos please 👌😁😁😁

I kinda support taking the switch off, its legitimately good troubleshooting - you go from easiest things to determine to hardest ones, follow the power and that HAS been done here. good job as near as i can tell.

Hey Vince, it's quite normal for most UHF TV modulators to read a short circuit at their output when tested with a DC multimeter, as high RF works very differently to DC voltages. Without access to UHF test gear, the best method is to test the voltage at the power input of the modulator section, and if it's good, then tuning an analogue TV channel to the UHF output frequency (normally UHF Channel 36 or thereabouts in the UK) you should be able to see a difference in the static on screen when you have it tuned correctly, but a DC test will invariably show a dead short at the modulator output.

I dig your repair videos sir. It's a nice touch that you employed the horse race roulette game to select the first patient.

I have an intellevision that I have to manipulate the cartridge the same way. This fix might actually work for that. Awesome simple fix. Thanks for putting in the work so I can save time.

Hi Vince. Been unable to watch for a while. Catching up now and really enjoyed this fix as my first video back.

Sooo happy been waiting for console repair video awesome as always

Switches also can be used in a circuit to change resistance which the processor can change state. Normal switches are either ON or OFF. Great content Vince!!!! Keep it up!

Another great video Vince, would never have got to the connector pin problem.... nice catch!

I'm totally new to all this repairing consoles stuff but would like to have a go on some of my old ones . I have learned alot . Thank you

Nice repair! Especially enjoyed knowing about the reset switch and appreciate the comments on this video as well.

Very cool you did the choose with your previously fixed electric derby. And you fixed the console as well.

it's nice to get a (relatively) easy fix sometimes. nice video, Vince!

Vince does it again amazing vince!

Awesome how you incorporated a previous repair project into this repair to make the repair choice.

Hi mate, I’ve been watching you for a while now and thinking I should give this a try! Anyway brought my daughter a Xbox one with water damage and failed hard drive, I rewatched your video when you had a failed drive and also many of your water damaged Switches. Long story short my daughter is now the proud owner of a working Xbox one! Thanks for uploading these and helping people learn (and also saving me a good £80!! 🤣)

Another good fix Vince!

Bending the contacts in the cartridge slot back toward the middle with a needle is exactly how I fixed the blinking problem on my NES years ago 😁.

Hi Vince, love the content. Really enjoyable to watch! It would be really interesting if you ever do work on a Nintendo 64 id love to see it!

i love retro repairs

Still got mine from 1993, also got the arcade power stick that was bought separately. Must drag it out and see if it still works.... 🤔🤞🤞 Great video Vince 👌🍻🍻

Just a little background info: The model with the extension port is the launch/Gen 1 model of Mega Drive (easily recognized by the High Definition Graphics and Stereo Sound tagline, which was removed from the later revisions.) And the "odd slot" on the bottom is the edge connector for the Mega-CD.

Quality as always Vince, I bet your garage is full ; )

Great fix Vince

MAGIC VINCE IS HERE!!!! NICE WORK

My mate vince has done over 1000 videos and he has 600000 subs and there is people with 500 videos with over 5million my mate vince deserves more love

That reset switch really threw you into a loop, it seems. And I do wonder what caused the cartridge slot to widen on one side, but not the other... Another great fix, in any case! 👍

BTW the other Mega Drive with 'High Definition Audio' is a really early one and is highly desirable and pretty rare. It shouldn't show the initial produced under licence by Sega text when you boot it.

Great video! I want to get a Sega Genesis just for some gaming. I had this system when I was a kid. And I had bought more at 2nd hand stores for like $3-$6 USD through the years but people kept stealing them from me.

Good job in fixing that Sega Mega Drive. Or Genesis for me in the States. I hope your other ones end up in being fixed like that one.

Great video fella 👍👍

Dude i love this so much you are amazing.

Hi Vince, Firstly, very informative video! Just a quick note about the black screen errors. The boot process for the MD has a small security check, The black screens that most people will tend to see is related to a failure within this process.. The infamous "Blowing" trick of the cartridge stemmed from this where the cartridge doesn't sit correctly within slot. When the console boots, It reads the cartridge and has longword bytes written in the ROM @ address $100, This translates to "SEGA" in big endian ASCII code. The TMSS checks to see if this is written correctly and will show the usual "Produced By or Under License From Sega Enterprises Ltd." message. If it fails usually because of the cartridge connection, it will show the black screen. It was interesting to see how SEGA did their best to prevent unlicensed games. Hope you dont mind the history lesson! If you want a little more, I recommend the SEGA vs ACCOLADE lawsuit, A very interesting topic on licensing requirements and a sneaky way of getting round the rules back in the 90's! Cheers!

A fast way of testing a MD I with video/RF problems is to connect a pair of headphones to the headphone jack. Insert a game and check if you can hear anything when the games has started.

nice fix, my all time favourite console.

Good job! If I don't have a proper video cable, I always convert the RF output to composite on these kinds of things. RF is just a headache.

Love you Vince

To the best of my knowledge, the red material on the screw heads is to prevent loosening. There is a product called Loctite that is used directly on threads, and I suspect this is something similar.

My Megadrive Mate Vince Strikes back

Love MD fixes, since it was one of the few consoles I owned as a kid, after an Atari 2600 and a Master System.

I love how old consoles are almost bulletproof

I am 2:30 in and can't wait to find out what's going on with this thing!

Hi mate I absolutely love that vedio you are truly fantastic at doing repair videos regards Ryan

The original PSU's were linear, so there's a chance that a modern, switched-mode alternative may introduce some noise into the output.

i had a sega genesis as we call the in the good ole USA, and mine looked similar to this one and i even remember that little port you noted. by now im sure many have mentioned what it is. but in case not, it was the connection port that the original sega cd used to connect to the system. when you think about it cartridge based systems all seemed to have some bottom or side connection port for future peripheral planning. the NES had on on the bottom, not sure if the SNES had one, the N64 had one. sadly at least here in the US and ive heard over there across the pond, we westerners never got those add ons. they all stayed local in japan......lucky bastards lol

Great stuff as usual Vince! At the risk of making future videos less entertaining you might find it useful to know that Console5 has the service manuals for MD. I have 4 to refurb, I have bought replacement PSUs and new composite cables. The one I have started is working except for .... the reset switch....

when it comes to megadrives i always just photograph and inspect them for obvious damage but dont chase down rabbit holes, use some kitchen and stove top cleaner to scrub down the board, wash and then alcohol rinse. ensure they're bone dry and retest. more often than not when they die its because of a chip you can't replace. anything short of that will be obvious like the power switch/ power jack/ av ports being corroded or the solder joints on them have cracked and need reflowing.

Nice fix, pretty much just pin contact problem :) Tinkered with my computer today as opened my 8 years old laptop the first time today. Cleaned some dust from inside, and added 4gb of ram, now it has total of 8gb ram. Seems to work better with added memory :)

I love your channel

Nice video Like your video I watched your video first time in 2017

I love you Vince

Seeeeeega!! Nice into vince

Use a touch of DeOxit on those outputs, like RCA and Coax ect... with a brillo pad wet with some deoxit, just wrap around and twist will clean it right on up! :)

I have done that so many times 19:14 Just about to cut a cable at the very edge of the plug and then I think to myself, if I leave it a bit longer I could reuse the discarded plug for something else in the future. 😂

Hi vince, on the rf output there should be a voltage regulator for the strength of the output sometimes need to up the voltage do to aging. Picture s should come out clearer. But don’t make output signal to strong as it will transmit the signal through the air and will be picked up on your tv wirelessly but that’s classified as illegal.

question is why are you using RF on this system? i'm state side and use an scart rgb cable with an scart to hdmi box for my Genesis, awesome video (:

The chinese PCBs are thinner than japanese one, that is why you have to push cartridge aside to make the console work with them. That was a common problem back in the 90's, and that is how you would recognize cheap ones.

I just clicked for the green rectangle thing. That’s all. Thank you.

wow My Mate Vince i like your videos there awsome and i was to know have you done ant cleaneing on any ps4 ps3 and ps2 and ps1 games disc like if there dirty how would you clean them as i want to know as i got some of that scratch remover but i cant use it on my playstation 1 games only playstation 2 3 and 4 game disc. is there any advices for that on how to clean a playstation 1 games disc or have you got a video of it.

this really brings back memories, also love the touch for selecting which one to fix :)

Love these systems bought a japanese import megadrive from Microbyte in Manchester arndale with Thunderforce 3 game way back when, Microbyte has long gone now (shame) but was excellent for imports I always had a soft spot for the japanese games and artwork, sold that lot and bought a SNES then sold that and bought a UK megadrive, the one in your video is a later version missing the ext port on the back and the white writing around the cartridge port the earlier versions have better audio too

The pins are so bent on one side because the owner was using one hand to pull the cartridge out on the opposite side consistently. So, using his right hand to pull the right side up which allowed the left side to wiggle a little.

hi vince ever read an old book called the dice man? you could live your life like him using the derby machine lol

Never knew about the resistor on the 68k being a factory mod, I have one with that mod which also isn't working, I might have to dig it out and try the cart slot pins as I've already isoprop'd the board

Now all Vince needs is a Sega cd

@my mate Vince are you selling the one with the xtension port? Has the curved writing above the cartridge slot?

i loved micromashine so much as a child :D was the best game ever

The connection on the side that u pulled the cover of with the red cover is for the mega cd add on

I might have to try some of these fixes on my VA2. The board acts *really* weird. Sonic 1 plays distorted sound only on the title screen and freezes, while Sonic 2 plays no sound, but I can play through the entire game for example. The games are fine though, because they work on another board (VA6) just fine!

Hi, very good video ! Is it possible to use av cable (slot near RF slot) to plug you genesis ? Does it work ?

0:14 "Or in imperial units, Sega Genesis" Thomas Ran, aka "chyrosran" 🤪

I still use rf switches, lol, makes the old games look really good.

Well done again Vince! ✌️ Quite an easy fix in the end, but what a nightmare to diagnose. I've never understood how reset buttons work. My guess based on this video is that it reduces the power momentarily to change the behaviour of a transistor, relay or logic gate, in order to wipe the RAM.

The legendary sega genesis, it is a pain in the ass to fix, but it is worth it! ;)

Hi Vince. Do you just use regular wet wipes to give the plastic a clean?

I don't know about anybody else, but when I see something that says 'do NOT pull out'...I have this almost overwhelming urge to do just that!.......and wait for the bang!

with you having to pull the cartridge up at that point in the video I was expecting that you'd need to resolder the contacts for the pins that connect to the cartridge and they were under the PCB and not making the right contact unless only a lighter game was inserted or something lol

Hi My Mate VINCE! i'm about to get a new Nintendo Switch, but i'm so confused between the Original one or the lite! my hands are little bit BIG so which is better for me? i REALLY need your advice.

I wanna be in the MMV Massive!

16:00 BEHOLD Vince’s hand has an angelic glow!! I knew it! He’s an angel 🥰

good fix

I just got the same console with no working RF which i am hoping to fix. Did you try the av lead on its own to see if that worked or how did you know to check the yellow cable wire.