REPAIR GUIDE - TurboDuo: Sound Fix

[SNKNostalgia]

I went ahead and bought the two different 4.5mm and the 3.8mm gamebits with a Nintendo full repair kit. It includes cart cleaning paste/solution, 72pin connector for the NES and some cloths. I got it from Nintendorepair.com. Cost me like $30.00 total. The cleaning paste is really good for removing the oxidation off any carts/Hucards.

Atleast I know my Duo will be running like new again after this. I swear this is like an epidemic with the Duo systems. Apparently all of them are destined to be doomed. I knew I should have gotten an R/RX or just added to my regular TG-16 I had for 17 years.

[klausien]

First post on this forum!

Just needed to say THANK YOU D-LITE! You've saved my Duo and two TurboExpresses with your sound fix!

I noticed that my Duo was acting up while I was showing Fighting Street to a friend a few months ago. I don't play my Duo all that often, so I wrote it off. I went back to play it after acquiring ACD Strider last week, and the sound was acting like problem #2 to a tee. CD music cutting in and out, scratchy when it returns, before dropping out again.

I had previously done 2 TurboExpress repairs so, undaunted, I went and got the caps for the Duo. Worked like a charm!

I can't thank you enough! 

[nodtveidt]

The TurboDuo itself seems to be very prone to audio problems, it seems. Glad I own a briefcase. The drive might be slower and more prone to audio track cutout due to bumps but I've heard next to nothing about audio problems with the older setup.

The 4.5mm Gamebit seems to be the one that works with NEC's consoles. If I remember correctly, it should also open the Gamecube. I don't know offhand what uses the 3.8mm bit. Genesis carts seem to require a Gamebit as well.

[Platinumfungi]

Are there any other capacitors that deal with the audio besides the four 10uF and the two 22uF mentioned ones? I have a PC Engine Duo that had the audio totally dropping out. I replaced the six capacitors and it's doing much better, but I'm still having some occasional drop out for a second or two and also volume fading at times.  Any ideas?  I see two more caps that I'll probably replace as they look problematic but I have no idea if they relate to audio or not...

I know I could just replace all the caps but I'd prefer to know which cap is causing the problem.

[SNKNostalgia]

Read reply #2 that i made, maybe that will help as well. If all else fails, your still better off replacing them all than forking more money for a new system.

[Platinumfungi]

I went ahead and replaced some more caps that looked like they had leaked or are in the general area of the audio caps. So far I've swapped out 10 caps. All games seem to be working pretty well now. Lords of Thunder still has occasional fading and a split second drop out from time to time I guess I'll just start the shotgun method here pretty soon. I just don't understand why it seems to be specific games that have more problems then others...

[SNKNostalgia]

Sounds like a combined lens problem. Also, if there are minor scratches on some discs, the duo still reads them funny since it has non existent error correction in the CD board. Can't hurt to order a Hop-m3 laser from the eletronix website. Think of it as a good future investment for your system.

[Platinumfungi]

Thanks for the replies SNK.  Now here's something odd. It seems like the system requires about 1.5 minutes for the background audio to kick in at all. Would that be just a further problem or could it be related to anything I have done?  I've replaced all the caps that D-Lite mentions, and then the extra ones that Duo R (seems like his name was) mentioned along with a few that just looked like they had dried out. 

I think in the end I'll probably get a new laser and replace ALL the caps on this one. I'm fixing it up for a friend and really want it to function properly.

[nat]

I have an acient Japanese IFU-30 that is now suffering from #2 (from D-Lite's first post).

The IFU-30 is obviously very different from a Duo. I haven't taken it apart yet, but has anyone ever successfully used D-Lite's method to fix an IFU-30? I've never come across any mention of those decks having this kind of problem. And in my experience, these things have always been damn near bulletproof.

[D-Lite]

I have an acient Japanese IFU-30 that is now suffering from #2 (from D-Lite's first post).

The IFU-30 is obviously very different from a Duo. I haven't taken it apart yet, but has anyone ever successfully used D-Lite's method to fix an IFU-30? I've never come across any mention of those decks having this kind of problem. And in my experience, these things have always been damn near bulletproof.

Never tried.  My problem with the IFU-30 is frequently they just stop recognizing the CD unit altogether.  As in, the light's on but no one's home.

[nat]

I have an acient Japanese IFU-30 that is now suffering from #2 (from D-Lite's first post).

The IFU-30 is obviously very different from a Duo. I haven't taken it apart yet, but has anyone ever successfully used D-Lite's method to fix an IFU-30? I've never come across any mention of those decks having this kind of problem. And in my experience, these things have always been damn near bulletproof.

Never tried.  My problem with the IFU-30 is frequently they just stop recognizing the CD unit altogether.  As in, the light's on but no one's home.

Hmm... Never had that problem. Maybe I have incredible luck? No, can't be, since I've now got this sound issue with mine. The sound cuts in and out, sounds a bit scratchy sometimes, and has a varying volume level. Sounds like a cookie-cutter case of #2.

Anyone ever taken apart an IFU-30 before?

I suppose it wouldn't be too terribly difficult to figure out assuming the audio circuit is similar. If I can locate the Pre- and Post-Amp caps and just replace them I should be golden.

[SMC]

Hey all, another Duo sound repair success story here.  About a week ago my duo's cd audio went out while I was playing "Shape Shifter".  I came to the forums going to ask for advice, because I thought it might be a common problem.  After searching the forums for just a few seconds I happened on this thread.  I replaced the four 10uf caps and the two 22uf ones and now everything is as good as new.  It's funny I've done mods to just about every cd game system I have and it's still nerve wracking.  Personally things seemed to work better for me if I just heated up the old caps and then gently worked the tops of the legs with a pair of pliers, then removed the plastic spacer and desoldered the legs.  When I tried it the other way I wound up pulling a trace loose    Anyway everything if fixed now and working great.  I want to thank everyone for working out the problem for the rest of us.  This thread deserves to be sticky.

[SMC]

Now I'm mad.  After coming on here and bragging about fixing my duo the cd audio went out on it again today (#1).  Guess I'll start replacing more caps.

[SNKNostalgia]

I just went ahead and order 2 laser replacements since it is easy and cheap to do. $18.95 per lens at $7.00 shipping. So it cost me $45.00 pretty much to get 2 lasers to last me many years of Duo playtime. The installation is simple:

http://www.teamfremont.com/features/TurboDuoRepair.shtml

[SMC]

OK I can see why it might be in the laser.  I'll look into it. Thanks.