I will be going to my dads later today and getting my TurboDuo out of storage. It was in a box in a closet for the past 15-20yrs. I have been doing some extensive research on the Duo for problems that plague the system.
I plan on doing a full cap replacement on it. However I have seen two ways to do this. I believe from what I have seen GameTechUS on youtube has a very good way of going about doing this. He has two vids though one using regular caps and another using ceramic.
What in you're opinions is the better way to go for this?
I am leaning toward the non ceramic caps as those are similar to what the Duo originally had. But the ceramics if there are no issues at all going that route imo is a better solution for longevity and simplicity. I would really like input on this as if ceramics are the better option I would want to try and match the caps a bit better and use class 1 ceramics.
If going ceramic, would matching the voltages etc of them be better or is it not needed? Like he used the 6.3v ones in the vid.
Just for reference.
Non-ceramic
Ceramic
Also, I am confident my soldering skills are up to this task, but when doing this mod should I do other things while I have the Duo opened? Like, should I replace the HOP-M3 Laser pickup and the 9v motor, just for the sake of making them new?
The next major thing I have been thinking of doing is trying to change the video out on this console to something other than composite. I have read the thread here on the forums for the RGB-to-YPbPr/Component Circuit & Mod. I feel this may be a slight bit over my head. I understand most of it but have never done anything like that so I feel uncomfortable with it.
However since I know I can do the soldering part of that job are there any pre-made parts available for something like that out there? I most likely am open to ideas for a nice upgrade in video quality if possible even if it is not in that specific format. HDMI, s-video, anything that I can do or possibly do that is better than straight component. I am planning to hook the console up to my computer with a capture card so before I purchase that I want to make sure I have my video output as good as I can get it and buy the card according to the type of output I have.
I love this console as it has always been my favorite from when I was a teenager.
Any info or links to my questions is greatly appreciated.
Edit: Final
Pics are basically from start to finish. I didn't include them all, just the ones that told a story.
1. My Duo.
2. When my Duo was made.
3. Before the caps came off.
4. Ceramic cap next to a pen.
5. The corrosion OMG, WTF BBQ Sauce.
6. Close up of possibly the worst cap on my board.
7. Cap is removed, those pads lifted when I applied heat to them to clean them.
8. The trace I wrecked, I was very angry with myself. I freaked out for a couple minutes wondering what I was going to do to fix it.
9. There are little bumps of solder sticking out of some traces. I followed where the trace went and found some within range of the legs of the cap. I will most likely redo this when my wire comes in as I would like to reduce any stress on those incredibly small bumps of solder from the traces. The one leg is connected to the trace that runs under the #2 in R929
10. My board, completed. There is one old cap still on the board as I dropped one of my ceramic caps. I however spent another 45min after getting my system to work digging through my carpet very methodically. I found it and that old cap has been replaced.
Edit 2:
Controllers... My controllers seemed to work well after my full system recap. I started swapping my controllers back and forth as I played to make sure they were both the same feeling as I thought one might have had a delay in it compared to the other.
Well, some more pics to tell the story with.
1. I opened up both controllers. One looked way more used, older than the other. Although I have had them both since the day I got my Duo, some 20-23yrs ago. The main thing of notice was the turbo slider switches.
2. I cleaned up the metal on the entire piece making sure not to bend the contacts at all.
3. The cleaned up piece with the tool I used. It is a fiberglass scratch brush. I am sure there might be something better to clean it with but it seemed to work very good. My controller actually felt better than the one I didn't clean up so I opened that one up as well and there was some tarnish on those contacts as well just not near as bad. Both my controllers feel the same now. So if you have any laggy feeling in the controller this might be causing it.
Topic: Taking my Duo out of storage (Read 713 times)
