Ba(d)ttletoads Faulty Board (with pics)

[drauch]

Bought a handful of boards off an impromptu craigslist post. You know, the kind that you have to drive around in questionable neighborhoods, arrive at a house that looks like Sanford & Son, and then wait out in the cold holding three PCBs for the sequel to Operation Wolf. That sort of thing. Anyhow, the main board I wanted was Battletoads, although it turned out slightly faulty. Same with a Street Fighter II board (another story), Rambo III (only working board), and three copies of Operation Thunderbolt (he didn't even know why he had them.)

Anyhow, popped the Battletoads in tonight to get this garbled bit. I'm still fairly noobish when it comes to arcade boards. I did some intense searching and came up with this number. A fairly clean board, but one part of it had a share of dust, rust, and corrosion. This little transistor looked the nastiest of the bit. A possible answer?

Any help or suggestions are appreciated! Thanks!

[moh]

wow, thats really nasty D:

you should definitely clean that board up. and replace that resistor while you're at it. hopefully thats enough to get this working

[BIL]

drauch, I'm really sorry I can't help with the board, but if it's any consolation I had no idea Sanford & Son was a US version of me ol' UK telly favourite Steptoe & Son until I read your awesome post and googled it! Imma watch, thanks!

[drauch]

What's the best way to clean PCBs? Like I said, I'm a complete scrub when it comes to this sort of stuff. I've read a variety of household cleaners with a toothbrush and such but can't seem to find a solid answer.

[drauch]

drauch, I'm really sorry I can't help with the board, but if it's any consolation I had no idea Sanford & Son was a US version of me ol' UK telly favourite Steptoe & Son until I read your awesome post and googled it! Imma watch, thanks!

Hahaha, well I'm glad I could help!

[system11]

Gently run your fingers across all the pins on the surface mount chips to see if the pattern changes.

[drauch]

System11, do you mean to do that while the board is plugged in? That seems like what you are implying, but I want to make sure before I do anything.

I've put some more pics up of the nasty area. 3/4 of the board is extremely clean, sans this one nasty area. I noticed a slight bit of rust in a few spots as well.

[system11]

Yup, while it's on. Don't put anything metal near it If you've got a floating signal the capacitance of a finger touching it can help find the problem sometimes. I'm guessing that corruption is moving rapidly? If not - this test won't help probably.

[robivy64]

Send it to a professional to repair.

You will probably need to have both QFPs reflowed, at the very least.

[system11]

Honestly with that level of corrosion throwing money at this one will be a waste. If it's just one or two pins they're easy to fix without SMT reflow kit.

[robivy64]

Reflowing the QFPs relatively easy.

You just need to apply some flux, and gently run the tip of your soldering iron (with fresh solder) along the pins.

Use desoldering braid to remove excess solder, ensure no pins have solder bridges, and clean the flux off.

Channelmaniac (local guy here) repairs boards for a very reasonable price, well within the PCB's value.

He is a member on this forum and it might be worth your while to contact him.

[system11]

Respectfully have to disagree there. Channelmaniacs 2012 prices stated $45-$55 per board (generally). Factor in 2x shipping and you're approaching the $100 mark they went for last time I saw one, but what you've actually got assuming the best case result, is a PCB with terminal rust that stands a pretty high chance of failing again - even the SIL SRAM looks to have eaten pins. Some of the socketed chips are heavily corroded which may mean the sockets need replacing too. Amusingly the SMT chip is actually one of the cleanest ones. When it comes to selling, people won't pay the going rate for a corroded board, they'd be fools to do so.

Sometimes it's just not worth it, Channelmaniac would certainly be the one to contact if you still think it is.

If the OP does want to try to clean off the rust a bit and clean the socketed chip legs, get hold of a fibreglass pencil. Be VERY CAREFUL when using them though, always do it over a plastic or lined dustbin or similar and wear a breathing mask - it'll shed fibreglass shards. They will go into your skin very easily, and they're light enough to breathe in if you're too close.

Me though - I've repaired a few hundred PCBs, things that get that rusty go straight in the parts bin unless the fault is found within a few minutes. Even diagnosing them can be a pain due to corrosion affecting probe and scope results - hence suggesting the fingertest which is very often a good way of locating problems when you have 'active' corruption as opposed to static or moving with the action.

[robivy64]

$50 for shipping? really?

Perhaps he just wants a working Battletoads and not something to act as an investment.

I see $25 round trip in shipping tops. The guy lives in Missouri, not The Maldives.

Raymond will clean the PCB up when he repairs it. $75 would not be a bad investment if he wants to keep the game and enjoy it.

I see your point, I just hate to see "fixable" PCBs get tossed in the bin.

[drauch]

Thanks for the tips thus far you guys. I'm going to try a few cleaning remedies and test some stuff out hopefully in the next day or so. I'll report back here hopefully soon with some results, be it good or bad.

I'd really like to avoid sending it off, as I really can't afford to. I bought this locally for pretty cheap, which was already a bit of money for me at the current time. I couldn't really resist for the price he accepted. I suppose I could always hang on to it as well until I can afford to, but for now I'll think optimistically like this is something I can hopefully fix myself with internet/forum help.

Hopefully be back in a day or so with good news!

[cabsR4pimps]

Did you get that off a guy named Scott?

[drauch]

Not sure if I caught his name or not. Probably in his mid to late twenties, longish hair, a bit of facial hair. It was really dark, as the transaction took place outside, so I'm not entirely sure.

[kamiboy]

If you seek inspiration for gaming hardware repair you can do no better than this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuAPQmtdg5Y

He is a wizard with old, beaten up and hopeless looking PCB's or consoles. The video above has him cleaning up a board corroded by leaked battery acid, should be a good source of inspiration.

[cabsR4pimps]

Not sure if I caught his name or not. Probably in his mid to late twenties, longish hair, a bit of facial hair. It was really dark, as the transaction took place outside, so I'm not entirely sure.

Here's the deal with this board, I used to own the entire cabinet. I bought this at an auction as a complete machine. It had been in storage for 10 years before I bought it. I pulled the board and sent it to Channelmaniac. He refused to repair it due to the amount of animal waste on it that was corroding the chips (there were several rats living in the cabinet). You can see the cabinet sitting behind the Qbert in this picture. I gave a handful of boards, this one included, to the person you bought them from because they were all unrepairable.

[kamiboy]

In short, wash your hands. Then wash them again.

[drauch]

Interestinggggggg. Thanks for the info!! Would woulda thought I would have backtracked the history of this thing? Well, I'm still not convinced I can't fix it to some degree. I've waded through enough shit my life that I'm willing to try some rat shit as well.

Gave it a small clean the other day. Still haven't had much time to try and ascertain the problem. Hopefully if this week isn't as bad I'll try some more. Thanks for the link, kamiboy.

[bust3dstr8]

Brush all the corroded components with some vinegar and let it sit a few hours.

Then give it a scrub in the sink or dishwasher.

Hopefully that will clean it enough to where you see what trace and other damage is present.