Model 1 SNES "White Pixel" Artifacts

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umjammercammy
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Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2020 11:28 pm
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Model 1 SNES "White Pixel" Artifacts

Post by umjammercammy »

I have kind of a strange curiosity but I've been unable to find any info online about this. I have a model 1 SNES that otherwise works perfectly fine save for the fact that it flickers white pixels on dark screens in certain games. They only appear for a second before vanishing. The Nintendo logo that pops up on boot in Link to the Past is an almost guaranteed example, as well as a few other games with black screens (Super Mario World, the Mega Man 4 homebrew port, etc.)

Is this normal behavior? I noticed similar white pixels appear in SNES9x when playing Link to the Past, at the exact same time (the Nintendo logo during startup). I don't know what causes or affects this, and I'm just afraid of the PPU in my SNES going bad. I'd like to prevent that as much as possible, if it's even preventable.
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NewSchoolBoxer
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Joined: Fri Jun 21, 2019 2:53 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: Model 1 SNES "White Pixel" Artifacts

Post by NewSchoolBoxer »

I think very brief white flash on black startup screen has always been a thing. Natural process I wouldn't worry about, especially if it's happening on latest version SNES9X v1.60.

That said, there is a more series issue of white vertical line on dark areas of screen and interference from bad power filtering. Doesn't happen on every console but I suspect becomes more common with natural aging of electronics: https://www.retrorgb.com/snesverticalline.html

I believe voltage regulator and capacitor replacement is the way to go. Fine to do proactively. Maybe will extend life of console. Voltage regulators and capacitors are super cheap and the soldering required is beginner level. If you know someone who can solder replacement cart batteries then they can do this. Just pay attention to capacitor polarity.
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