How Long will our Consoles last?

[OldSchool]

1st of all, when he says refurbished, I think he means it in a very loose sense and is just saying it was cleaned to like-new condition.

Just be sure to look up "how-to" manuals before installing a replacement because A) replacement isn't always as straightforward as you'd think and B) many require preparation such as the PS2 slim laser that needs a blob of solder to be removed before it will work (it's in place to protect it from static shocks during shipping).

Exactly... the guy I bought my NES, SNES, Genesis, and soon to be N64 cleans everything he sells. The NES actually has a new 72 Pin Connector in it so it's like brand new.

Will do... sanks.

[Mr Smith]

My PS2 died recently, it was a very sad day, but I quickly invested in a new console and now all is well with the world.

[TmEE]

Any electronic component that produces significant amount of heat will die at some point (the voltage regulators in MD for example). Electrolythic capacitors will dry out eventually aswell... one can replace them with tantalums, those will last forever since there's nothing to dry up. Tantalums do not work that well for sound... you never see Tantalum caps used in Hi-Fi equipment but regular electrolythic caps.

[Alianger]

They will live forever in our hearts.

[QuickSciFi]

If my 1980 Atari 2600 is in perfect health today (30 years later), I don't see why my other consoles couldn't outlive me in the long run. Even the ones with moving parts. They may not last forever, but with good care and needed repairs, they shall last a very long time. I can see it already, my great-great...great grandson opening a chest in the attic and discovering the awesomeness of centuries passed.

[Deo]

The 2600 and Genesis will outlive almost everything else. If all you gotta do to fix a staticy image on a 2600 is twist a screw I'm going to say it's going to last forever.

[Elusive]

purposely flawed? emulating games I own is a flawed premise?

[IMAGE MACRO]

Actually, this is another Flawed Premise:

Contrary to your (and others) assertions that emulation is a plot from Hitler, Saddam Hussein, and Osama Bin Laden to overthrow the government and remove all profitability from copyrighted works...

Ladies and gentlemen, A Flawed Premise. Find a single post of mine where I have even implied this, and I'll buy you the Mega Drive game of your choice from eBay. Until then, I'll continue to assume that if you're not talking about your iphone or how to burn game ISOs to cd-r's your account has been hijacked.

[Psy]

Any electronic component that produces significant amount of heat will die at some point (the voltage regulators in MD for example). Electrolythic capacitors will dry out eventually aswell... one can replace them with tantalums, those will last forever since there's nothing to dry up. Tantalums do not work that well for sound... you never see Tantalum caps used in Hi-Fi equipment but regular electrolythic caps.

You can also just replace bad eletrolytic capacitors with new electrolytic capacitors since probably manufactured caps should last many years.

[kool kitty89]

Any electronic component that produces significant amount of heat will die at some point (the voltage regulators in MD for example).

What about all those hot running chips in newer consoles? (all requiring heat sinks -N64 onward)

If my 1980 Atari 2600 is in perfect health today (30 years later), I don't see why my other consoles couldn't outlive me in the long run. Even the ones with moving parts. They may not last forever, but with good care and needed repairs, they shall last a very long time. I can see it already, my great-great...great grandson opening a chest in the attic and discovering the awesomeness of centuries passed.

1977 VCS still works fine. (RF ghosting is a bit heavy, but I'm not sure that's related to age)

[Guntz]

Capacitors can still go shelf dead. Granted, this will take a LONG time, but I wouldn't be surprised if some people opened some sealed Game Gears and they didn't work (or work fully) due to capacitor issues.

Again, that's a non-issue since sealed collectors never open their sealed goods, hence why they're called sealed collectors.

[tz101]

Only real solution to aging vg consoles is to create your own sealed "time capsule" to be opened by the grand-kids decades from now. "How do I do that", you ask. Simple: Invest in some of those sealed vacuum storage bags that you see advertised all the time on TV. Next, get together a back-up console, controllers, RFU cables, and game cartridges that you don't care to play for the next, say, 30-40 years. Then, put all the goods in a shrink-wrap storage bag, seal, and vacuum all the air out with your Hoover upright. For real safety, I recommend sealing that sealed bag inside another vacuum storage bag. That way, if the seal goes bad on the outside bag, the inner one will hold for many years to come. Now, go and store your time capsule in a temperature-controlled area of your house like a darkened closet. The most damaging things to electronic components are oxygen and UV light rays. This process eliminates both.

[OldSchool]

Only real solution to aging vg consoles is to create your own sealed "time capsule" to be opened by the grand-kids decades from now. "How do I do that", you ask. Simple: Invest in some of those sealed vacuum storage bags that you see advertised all the time on TV. Next, get together a back-up console, controllers, RFU cables, and game cartridges that you don't care to play for the next, say, 30-40 years. Then, put all the goods in a shrink-wrap storage bag, seal, and vacuum all the air out with your Hoover upright. For real safety, I recommend sealing that sealed bag inside another vacuum storage bag. That way, if the seal goes bad on the outside bag, the inner one will hold for many years to come. Now, go and store your time capsule in a temperature-controlled area of your house like a darkened closet. The most damaging things to electronic components are oxygen and UV light rays. This process eliminates both.

That'd be badass.
I hadn't thought of that, thks.

[kool kitty89]

That wouldn't help caps from drying out. (actually vacuum storage would exacerbate that problem... aiding in evaporation)

[TmEE]

What about all those hot running chips in newer consoles? (all requiring heat sinks -N64 onward)

They will not live as long as cool running chips... I don't really know how long a chip is supposed to last...

[SF78]

The main problem are the cheap Chinese components everyone uses these days. So pretty much everything made since the mid 90's will fall apart sooner than you think. I've already had to replace capacitors to my 4 year old LCD-screen and there have been other problems with hardware I've bought in the last 10 years. All my TV's, computers etc. from way back work perfectly and I have never replaced a single part in them.