Do you guys think I can save this NES?

I often buy console for parts or repair. I just picked up a pretty nice one.
From the exterior it seems obvious it has suffered some abuse. My camera is pretty bad at capturing yellow but believe me, it is. Not to mention hammer smashed, or maybe stepped on.

http://i.imgur.com/l8erDaph.jpg

Took me a while to take the top apart as the screw heads were rusty and stripped. I managed to do it using ancient arcane techniques.
It is not very nice inside it...
Do you guys think I can save it?

http://i.imgur.com/EGVbJNlh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/tnsWUgOh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/WsPWHSeh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/4bYRibUh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/dRIR9cqh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/iEGfYB7h.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/jilsBphh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/4vjBxNOh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/faJjkaJh.jpg

Yes you can. Well at least you should try. Man I'm envious; I really wish I had that system to try to resurrect. I bet you can even salvage the case. A little epoxy, plexi reinforcing, some filler and spray paint that SOB.

Eh, it's filthy but it'll work. Have you not tried powering it on yet?

Unless the corrosion has gone up into the legs of the ICs I think you will not have too much trouble making this work if it doesn't already. There just isn't a whole lot that can go wrong. A good first checkpoint would be the power supply box. If it doesn't power on, try giving it a direct 5V connection to the 5V rail, bypassing the power box.

I say equip it with NESRGB, add a JAMMA edge, and put it in a cab.

I have not powered it yet, but will soon. I decided to start by chucking a few parts in the dishwasher.
http://i.imgur.com/J1LTznZh.jpg

May as well toss the motherboard in there as well.

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Originally Posted by Xalphenos

May as well toss the motherboard in there as well.

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I was thinking on trying this, but I am always worried on water getting stuck in the RF adapter box. I will run some testing on it first .

You're doing the Lord's work -- or a mitzvah, if you prefer. I like to think of a console as an object that encodes human hopes and dreams, somehow, and there's something admirable about quietly resisting our mindless landfill culture.

Looking forward to seeing you bring this one back from oblivion!

lol it works
I just cleaned the rust from all the rca connectors with steel wool and put the mobo in a good bottom half with a good 72 connector.

http://i.imgur.com/3MYldCMh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ba88HPMh.jpg

So it the NES the sturdiest console of all time? Funny when you think back to when we were kids and the SNES and Genesis seemed so much more reliable with their pin connectors. But once you get past the pin connector issue you don't hear many other problems. Genesis and TG16s need recaps. I've had faulty switches on 2 Model 2 Genesis and now my childhood Model 1 Genesis is acting funny. Meanwhile my NES still works.

Nice work, that looks like it would be a lot of fun to refurb!

That NES still needs to be saved. Has it heard the good news of Raúl Juliá?

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Originally Posted by genesisguy

So it the NES the sturdiest console of all time? Funny when you think back to when we were kids and the SNES and Genesis seemed so much more reliable with their pin connectors. But once you get past the pin connector issue you don't hear many other problems. Genesis and TG16s need recaps. I've had faulty switches on 2 Model 2 Genesis and now my childhood Model 1 Genesis is acting funny. Meanwhile my NES still works.

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The NES is a tank if you can get past the finicky connector. I have developed a technique that makes them work as good as they can. No need for the cheap chinese 72 pin bootlegs or pin bending. After a deep clean the old connector is as good as new. Games need to be shiny too.

Very nice work! :)

Yeah, those things sure can take some rust and abuse.

The very same goes for the Colecovision! I've one here which came with ancient milk stains (!) inside and lots of rust all around the metal shielding, but still working.

Suitable contender for Nin-toaster?

Dang. Nicely done!

I just popped the netal cap off the RF unit. It is a rust fest in there. Now Im gonna throw the whole motherboard in the dishwasher. :D

I've fixed worse (including rust on the motherboard.) The mainboards are pretty hearty, I just cleaned all the corrosion off, put in a new shell and cart slot connector and it still runs like a champ to this day.

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Originally Posted by GohanX

I've fixed worse (including rust on the motherboard.) The mainboards are pretty hearty, I just cleaned all the corrosion off, put in a new shell and cart slot connector and it still runs like a champ to this day.

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The worse I have had to deal with is battery leak corrosion on old PC motherboards.
I have a board right now with so many destroyed traces that it is probably not worth keeping. I still hang on to it in case I want a challenge.

Use a heatgun to force dry out any liquids left after dishwashing any mobo. I have no dishwasher so I just give them hot shower and some scrubbing, then heatgun the water out. Things look like new afterwards ~~~~~~~~

I have chucked mobo's in the oven before on the lowest heat setting....don't tell the missus.

Never had a problem with that (the oven not the missus).

I used a strong hair dryer after I took the mobo out of the dish washer + canned air to blow under chips. Hopefully that will be good enough.
The mobo is still rusted and ugly but it did take a lot of the grime off.

You can always get replacement parts.

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Originally Posted by Thunderblaze16

You can always get replacement parts.

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PPU and CPU are out of production though, everything else in a NES is pretty much off the shelves.

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Originally Posted by MaxWar

I used a strong hair dryer after I took the mobo out of the dish washer + canned air to blow under chips. Hopefully that will be good enough.

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I always use compressed air to get under the chips too but I just let it air dry for a few days. Haven't had any problems that way so far. I've never been in enough of a hurry to try to dry it faster.

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Originally Posted by MaxWar

PPU and CPU are out of production though

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Yep but you can still get the dendy pirate chips on ebay if you don't mind PAL. UMC UA6527P (CPU) and UA6538 (PPU). I've been wanting to try it for a while since I have a board with no cpu/ppu.

Be sure you don't clean the front door with isopropyl alcohol. It takes the Nintendo text right off.

I once ran a Famicom motherboard under the kitchen tap for a few minutes, shook it about for a bit to let some water drip off, then just turned it on. It was fine, and worked great.

RetroBrighting also damaged the Nintendo Text on a couple NES I did.
Now I only use Oxyclean and water + sun and do not leave it too long. Seems to work just as well and is less harsh.