Hollywoodcaddy | 72 Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 (edited) Hey guys...I'm wondering why someone would solder this chip like this whether is was a fix or not...looks like the battery was replaced and then this chip was soldered on...the game doesn't work and to me it's clearly because of this soldering job...who has the knowledge to tell me if I were to remove this solder could this game possibly work again...or do you think I would need to replace the while chip...this is for uncharted waters so not a cheap game to replace....here are some pictures....thoughts?? Edited March 19, 2021 by Hollywoodcaddy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulpa | 3,674 Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 Yeah, it looks like they fudged up the mapper chip. It should look much cleaner. http://bootgod.dyndns.org:7777/imagegen.php?ImageID=1361&width=600 No idea why they would do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNESNESCUBE64 | 605 Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 (edited) Ah jeez someone went to town on that MMC5 chip. So the best way to clean this up is to lightly remove those blobs using flux and solder wick. The important thing is to be super gentle with those pins since they are easy to bend. Once the excess is removed, you can do some drag soldering in order to get it back in order. I'd recommend watching some videos on how to solder SMD parts, it will give you a better idea. I have two guesses as to why someone did it: 1, someone was trying to remove the chip, and it is easier to desolder when you apply a lot of fresh solder like this; 2, the game wasn't working and the person decided to try to reflow it and failed. I'd just redo the whole chip at this point... In terms of replacing it, good luck. It is an MMC5 Nintendo custom chip. Nobody is making repros of this chip and most likely never will. These chips are unobtanium otherwise... Here's a nice video on how to SMD solder, I started it at about 14 minutes in. Edited March 19, 2021 by SNESNESCUBE64 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,707 Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 What on Earth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a3quit4s | 4,300 Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 Looks like they tried to bridge an entire side as an experiment lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWunderful | 2,932 Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 First time ive seen “sawder” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptOut | 8,950 Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 19 minutes ago, MrWunderful said: First time ive seen “sawder” I believe it's pronounced "chowdah"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foochie776 | 1,067 Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 22 minutes ago, OptOut said: I believe it's pronounced "chowdah"... Say it right frenchie!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulpa | 3,674 Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 1 hour ago, MrWunderful said: First time ive seen “sawder” Yeah, that's a new one. Usually it's misspelled as "sodder." Though the correct spelling has a silent l, so... *shrug* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollywoodcaddy | 72 Posted March 19, 2021 Author Share Posted March 19, 2021 19 minutes ago, Tulpa said: Yeah, that's a new one. Usually it's misspelled as "sodder." Though the correct spelling has a silent l, so... *shrug* I was in a hurry dicks haha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollywoodcaddy | 72 Posted March 19, 2021 Author Share Posted March 19, 2021 12 hours ago, SNESNESCUBE64 said: Ah jeez someone went to town on that MMC5 chip. So the best way to clean this up is to lightly remove those blobs using flux and solder wick. The important thing is to be super gentle with those pins since they are easy to bend. Once the excess is removed, you can do some drag soldering in order to get it back in order. I'd recommend watching some videos on how to solder SMD parts, it will give you a better idea. I have two guesses as to why someone did it: 1, someone was trying to remove the chip, and it is easier to desolder when you apply a lot of fresh solder like this; 2, the game wasn't working and the person decided to try to reflow it and failed. I'd just redo the whole chip at this point... In terms of replacing it, good luck. It is an MMC5 Nintendo custom chip. Nobody is making repros of this chip and most likely never will. These chips are unobtanium otherwise... Here's a nice video on how to SMD solder, I started it at about 14 minutes in. Thank you for the video bud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollywoodcaddy | 72 Posted March 19, 2021 Author Share Posted March 19, 2021 13 hours ago, SNESNESCUBE64 said: Ah jeez someone went to town on that MMC5 chip. So the best way to clean this up is to lightly remove those blobs using flux and solder wick. The important thing is to be super gentle with those pins since they are easy to bend. Once the excess is removed, you can do some drag soldering in order to get it back in order. I'd recommend watching some videos on how to solder SMD parts, it will give you a better idea. I have two guesses as to why someone did it: 1, someone was trying to remove the chip, and it is easier to desolder when you apply a lot of fresh solder like this; 2, the game wasn't working and the person decided to try to reflow it and failed. I'd just redo the whole chip at this point... In terms of replacing it, good luck. It is an MMC5 Nintendo custom chip. Nobody is making repros of this chip and most likely never will. These chips are unobtanium otherwise... Here's a nice video on how to SMD solder, I started it at about 14 minutes in. That video is awesome...that's exactly what I needed to see....thank you!!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNESNESCUBE64 | 605 Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 5 minutes ago, Hollywoodcaddy said: That video is awesome...that's exactly what I needed to see....thank you!!!! Good luck with your quest to clean up that mess. Be sure to post back if you get it goin! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LtCasual | 27 Posted March 20, 2021 Share Posted March 20, 2021 When people have tough looking soldering jobs like this I recommend that they visit one of the cell phone/computer repair shops. They have the equipment and skills for really fine jobs like this and might help you out for a few bucks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollywoodcaddy | 72 Posted March 20, 2021 Author Share Posted March 20, 2021 That might be an option too...great idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yZoneFox | 18 Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 On 3/18/2021 at 6:22 PM, SNESNESCUBE64 said: Ah jeez someone went to town on that MMC5 chip. So the best way to clean this up is to lightly remove those blobs using flux and solder wick. The important thing is to be super gentle with those pins since they are easy to bend. Once the excess is removed, you can do some drag soldering in order to get it back in order. I'd recommend watching some videos on how to solder SMD parts, it will give you a better idea. I'm not an electrical engineer, but I do solder. Does powering a component with shorted leads like this chip or shorting contact points on a board break that component or the board beyond repair? I ask since I believe I shorted two contact points near the power in on a Sega Genesis. It could also be a bad power adapter. I had the system running for a couple minutes before I caught the power adapter creating the worst smell ever. I'm worried that applying power the system board with a new power adapter could break that adapter or testing another system with a possibly faulty power supply could break that system. The system had power, if I remember correctly (LED light on), but no video or audio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNESNESCUBE64 | 605 Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 5 hours ago, yZoneFox said: I'm not an electrical engineer, but I do solder. Does powering a component with shorted leads like this chip or shorting contact points on a board break that component or the board beyond repair? I ask since I believe I shorted two contact points near the power in on a Sega Genesis. It could also be a bad power adapter. I had the system running for a couple minutes before I caught the power adapter creating the worst smell ever. I'm worried that applying power the system board with a new power adapter could break that adapter or testing another system with a possibly faulty power supply could break that system. The system had power, if I remember correctly (LED light on), but no video or audio. Depends what you shorted. I honestly don't know what you shorted, but it's not a very good thing in your case probably. What you can do is check for shorts on the board you worked on (you should be doing this anyway after you work on it, even the best of us make mistakes). You can also test the power adapter not plugged into the console with a multimeter to verify whether or not it will be safe. If you are very paranoid, just replace the power adapter. Personally I use a current limited variable bench power supply, so if I do make a mistake, it will only go do far. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumez | 3,127 Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 I have a hard time figuring out what they were even trying to do. Desolder it maybe, for a "repro" project? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GharetSaiDe | 72 Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 Man thats probably what would happen if I tried to resolder something (my hands are so shaky) and exactly why I bought a replcaement board for an arcade cabinet instead of recapping it myself, leaving hte old board for a someday project. Have a lot of respect for people who are able to work with electronics this way. If you take on the project of trying to fix this I'd definitely be interested in seeing your progress! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollywoodcaddy | 72 Posted March 30, 2021 Author Share Posted March 30, 2021 On 3/18/2021 at 8:22 PM, SNESNESCUBE64 said: Ah jeez someone went to town on that MMC5 chip. So the best way to clean this up is to lightly remove those blobs using flux and solder wick. The important thing is to be super gentle with those pins since they are easy to bend. Once the excess is removed, you can do some drag soldering in order to get it back in order. I'd recommend watching some videos on how to solder SMD parts, it will give you a better idea. I have two guesses as to why someone did it: 1, someone was trying to remove the chip, and it is easier to desolder when you apply a lot of fresh solder like this; 2, the game wasn't working and the person decided to try to reflow it and failed. I'd just redo the whole chip at this point... In terms of replacing it, good luck. It is an MMC5 Nintendo custom chip. Nobody is making repros of this chip and most likely never will. These chips are unobtanium otherwise... Here's a nice video on how to SMD solder, I started it at about 14 minutes in. I have not went through any of my extra games yet but off hand do you know if they used this same MMC5 chip in any other games or is this chip specific to this particular game? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNESNESCUBE64 | 605 Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 18 minutes ago, Hollywoodcaddy said: I have not went through any of my extra games yet but off hand do you know if they used this same MMC5 chip in any other games or is this chip specific to this particular game? The MMC5 is a later chip used in NES games, only a handful of games used it and they tend to be a bit more uncommon. But here's a good resource for identifying which games used the MMC5 chip. http://bootgod.dyndns.org:7777/search.php?keywords=mmc5&kwtype=chip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulpa | 3,674 Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 Cheapest NES one is probably Laser Invasion, followed by Dracula's Curse. The rest are going to be as much as if not more than Uncharted Waters. I'd be reluctant to sacrifice another Koei game anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollywoodcaddy | 72 Posted March 30, 2021 Author Share Posted March 30, 2021 Thank you for that list...if it turns out to be the chip that's broke then maybe I will use an extra laser invasion to try and fix it haha....maybe haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarzombie | 935 Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 Dont even bother. Those legs are so tiny its virtually impossible to solder in a normal way. I could be wrong, but the way those things are soldered is with solder paste. Its like a toothpaste and your chip can stick on it. You then put it in an oven that gets to the right temp and melts the paste and automatically bonds the metal parts together. Its one of the reasons why its basically cheaper to replace those PCBs with new ones than to just fix the one component that needs replacing. Also its this technique that makes it much easier to condense space on a PCB, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollywoodcaddy | 72 Posted April 2, 2021 Author Share Posted April 2, 2021 Well I removed all that damn solder and everything is where it should be now...everything is touching what it should be touching ...its all good now...BUT...the game still doesn't work, however it's not making an amplifier hum anymore when you turn on the power to the Nintendo...it just goes to pink screen ...which probably means it needs a new chip...at the very least I know I did everything right, the chip is where it's supposed to be and now I have the tools and knowledge to mess with my other broken games haha....thank all of you for your help...it is very much appreciated...for real guys...thank you thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now