NLG Users Repair Logs and Other Ramblings. Request your very own topic. Just ask any site staff. > Channelmaniac's Arcadecomponents' Old School Repair Logs

Repair Hall of Shame

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channelmaniac:
Have you ever had service by a company that you weren't happy with? I've had many boards come across my bench that were repaired by others using incorrect parts, improper repairs or modifications, missed fixing problems, jury rigging repairs, pulled pads/traces, oh, and my favorite: parts covered in hot glue.

This thread will serve to document the horrible things that have come across the bench. I'll not name any names, but the customers who send me these boards usually tell me who did the terrible work.

If these are your boards and you have replies from the companies, feel free to post them here, but I'll ask that you scrub names out - including company names and email addresses as to not start any internet wars on my repair logs.

If you have any comments on the horrific repairs, please use the feedback thread to keep this one clean.

Thanks!

Raymond

NOTE: There are pictures on this thread, but to see them you must be logged into the NLG forums.

channelmaniac:
First up!

A Neo Geo 4 slot board with a Work RAM error and an additional complaint of being "loud and distorted" on audio. The board had been recapped by another company and a battery modification was relocated. Not only was the problem with the loud and distorted audio not fixed (it was a bad YM2610), the caps were physicall too large and of the wrong kind (axial vs radial.) The axial caps had poked through the fishpaper shield above them and were making contact with the top board.

Instead of using the right caps elsewhere, they used an axial in the reset circuit too... and a 470uf instead of 47uf in the battery backup  circuit.

In the audio section there were solder blobs where the solder wasn't even flowing onto the pad and one instance of a pulled ground pad on a 22uf capacitor in the headphone amp section.

channelmaniac:
Neo Geo 4-slot continued!

The lithium battery relocation was done, but they didn't remove the 470 ohm resistor that is in the charging circuit. This is VERY dangerous as those batteries can explode or leak highly corrosive materials all over the board. The damage by these batteries is far worse and far faster acting than the original, leak prone NiCd batteries.

The 470 ohm resistor can be clearly seen next to the battery in the picture.

The next picture is of the battery with the plastic cover removed. Notice that the battery is bulging on one side of the formed end? WOW! The owner was very lucky that this one didn't spew its contents all over the board.

channelmaniac:
This is what happens when you take sandpaper to an edge connector.

NEVER do this! The proper tools are a pink or white eraser or a fiberglass pencil.

channelmaniac:
Some folks have a fetish for hot glue. Just repair the board right!!!

Replace those resistor packs, don't glue them into place! And why glue the caps down? I've repaired a lot of Galaga boards and have yet to see those caps broken or missing.

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