Pc engine duo-r shuts down randomly

[hardtokill]

Hello,

I bought an rgb modded duo-r a few years ago and after working normally for a while it started shutting down on itself. This may happen right away on booting or after 30 minutes, and afterwards the duo-r will not power up right away, after x minutes and tries to turn on it will power again. I set it aside and didn't touch it until recently when I tried to play something and the same thing happened again.

I don't have my multimeter around right now but I remember checking the powersupply and everything seemed normal, it is rated 9V and 1000ma. That should be enough right? Is the power draw of the rgb mod of any significance?

If anyone else has encountered this kind of a problem I'd be glad to hear how they fixed this, I have a feeling some capacitors will need to be replaced? I'll order a gamebit anyway to get to a look inside.

[HercTNT]

Welcome to the forums!! It's most likely a leaky cap issue. Hard to say until you look into it. There are plenty of people in these forums that fix this stuff if you need a hand. Look up, thesteve, keith courage, or bluebmw and they can help.

[thesteve]

does it just happen with cd games, or all games?
by shut down, do you mean no video/sound, or black screen?

[hardtokill]

Hi!

Thanks for the welcome and help!

As far as I know it happens with both hucards and cd games, I'll connect it again to check once I've received the gamebit. I had only played one game with it (Y's IV translated so it was a cd-r) and I got through it though the problems started occurring before I had finished the game. I bought a lot of hucards but before they arrived I was fed up with the problems so I never played them much.

By shutdown I mean there's no signal to tv at all and to my knowledge cd stops spinning, I'll check back later but I'm 99% sure.

[thesteve]

ok, cd crash issues are common on the duo, especially when using CDR's
HU card problems are almost unheard of.
look at the cd your using, if its silver on the non lable side it should work.
if its blue or green its much more difficult for the system to read.
your system may be in need of a new laser if it cant read the silvers reliably.
dry or dirty grease on the gears or rails will also cause cd issues

[BlueBMW]

Is it possible that you might just have a bad A/V cable?  They're notoriously bad and could cause random video / audio dropouts from back connection.

[hardtokill]

Hi, thanks for all the replies!

I tested the duo some more today. First I put in a hucard and left the opening sequence running in the backround, after 3 hours I concluded that hucards are working correctly.
I then put in an audio cd (silver) and let the audio player run. It took 12 minutes for the shut down to happen this time, I have a video uploaded of it here:
http://www.helsinki.fi/~itkoskin/duo.avi
(the audio went offsync in vdub, audio & video cut off happen simultaneously.)

Afterwards the duo would not start again either with a cd or a hucard. After some hours I tested again, no sign of life, and then again later another try and this time it booted.

If the laser is the problem, what is causing it not to boot afterwards? FWIW I bought the unit as having the laser replaced with a new one and like I mentioned earlier it saw very little play before the problems started, I don't remember what it took exactly maybe 10-15 hours of gameplay.

I also took a look inside, couldn't see any clearly leaking/bad looking capacitors.
www.helsinki.fi/~itkoskin/duo_open.jpg

[Bernie]

Wow, thats weird.  It has to be something simple though.  Maybe consider sending it to one of the guys here, two of which have replied in this thread.  I know it must be aggravating for you, it would be for me.  These guys are trustworthy, and good at what they do. 

[hardtokill]

Yes, it's just that I'm living on the other side of the planet here in northern europe so sending the unit back and forth would cost way too much. :/

[thesteve]

I'd know that RGB mod anywhere.
couldnt play your vid.
the system uses more power when the cd is in use.
can you use a volt meter?
how hot are your 5V regulators?
are you using RGB or composite out?

[Keith Courage]

I am wondering if your AC adapter is the culprit. Maybe the CD drive is drawing too much power and then shorting out your power supply and after it sits for a bit the power supply starts working again. It could be possible that the AC adapter has gotten week over time and is starting to fail.

[hardtokill]

I'd know that RGB mod anywhere.
couldnt play your vid.
the system uses more power when the cd is in use.
can you use a volt meter?
how hot are your 5V regulators?
are you using RGB or composite out?

Heh, yes I believe that guy has sold quite a many modded duos.
My brother borrowed my multimeter for some motorcycle electric job but I'll try to visit him by weekend to get it back and check voltages.
Shut down happens with both composite and rgb use.

I got the adapter new when I bought the duo as it came with 110v adapter and I needed a 230v one. I guess I should have bought a model with higher mA rating. But the one I have should be a quality one I believe, I bought it from a electric parts supplier and not "dollar store" or similar, here's a datasheet I found. I guess it could be faulty anyway.
http://www.nordicpower.se/pdf/AM9820.pdf

And here's the video again in a more compatible format
www.helsinki.fi/~itkoskin/duo2.mpg

[thesteve]

in light of the power supply info I expect the supply is overheating, as it is undersized and an advanced supply.
a simple supply wouldnt have protection features, making failure a 1 time thing.

[Keith Courage]

Well it doesn't hurt anything to buy a good universal power supply from a store to try out. If the problem still persists hang on to that receipt and return it.

[hardtokill]

Thanks everyone, this must be it! It is what I originally suspected, but I never thought of the protection circuit on the power supply which is the obvious culprit for the symptoms! I did a quick test and after a shut down on the duo-r the adapter wouldn't run a battery charger either, so that seems to confirm it.