Loose AC input on Genesis Model 2 - Common Issue?

[racketboy]

Another issue with both of my Genesis Model 2 units -- the part of the AC adapter that plugs into the back of the unit seems to be very touchy.

Sometimes, when you hit the power button, it doesn't turn on until you kinda nudge the plug in the back.

Many times, its more frustrating when you accidentally bump the console when playing a game and it turns off. I had this happen with session with my 4 year old playing a good game of Vectorman. We were in the middle of level 3 and he was touching it. Bummer.

We still had a good time with one of his first retro console sessions
https://www.facebook.com/racketboyretro ... 4708498380

Anyway, with both of my machines doing this, I'm assuming this is rather common. Any suggestions for improvement.
The real bummer is the one machine is my original that I bought myself from at regular retail as a kid. (my first console that I owned)

[Sarge]

That sounds like the solder joints may have become loose.

[samsonlonghair]

I have had similar problems with laptops and other electronics in the past. The power port heats up and the solder dries, cracks, breaks down, what have you.

Re-flowing the solder (I think that's what it's called; I'm bad with the nomenclature) is the fix. Reheat the solder that connects the power port to the board. Have some flux handy. Try not to let the solder run across any other traces. A nice firm solder metallurgical bond at that point should clear everything up.

Edit: this page articulates the process better than I can.
https://handycrowd.com/diy-tip-fix-dry- ... it-boards/

You're doing a lot of trouble shooting lately, Racket. Stop breaking your systems. Nah, I'm just kidding. I know how projects like these tend to pile up until you get a chance to work on them.

[racketboy]

Thanks, guys! Well, I've wanted to build up some electronics skills, so this is what I get.

But I ultimately blame HDRetrovision as I ordered both the Sega and SNES cables so I've been hooking them back up after having them in hiding more since my kids were born.
Now that my eldest is old enough to start spending time with them, I'm paying a lot more attention

For the soldering stuff, is there anything I should be extra cautious to avoid. I really don't want to kill this.
I'll start with the one with the defective controller ports since that's an interesting problem. Although, part of my is really curious what is wrong with it and if I kill the power, I may never know

[samsonlonghair]

Search Youtube for a video called, "how and why to solder correctly" I re-watch that video every time I bust out a soldering iron.

Come to think of it, I think it was someone on this forum who recommended that video to me in the first place. Ziggy? Hobbie? I can't remember; my memory is shot. I need to upgrade my RAM and defrag my hard drive.

[racketboy]

Cool thank you!

[racketboy]

Well I have no idea where my soldering stuff went in my house, so I just bought a new kit...

What do you think of these items?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MR ... UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0042 ... UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000B ... UTF8&psc=1
(last one was recommended for my controller port issue)

[samsonlonghair]

Fancy Schmancy! That looks like everything I can imagine you might need, except maybe a multimeter. Ziggy knows more about multimeters than I do.

Electrical contact cleaner has a hundred good uses. I used some last week on the volume knob in my car stereo. I was hearing static crackle every time I turned the volume up or down. I killed the ignition, applied a quick spray of electric contact cleaner, turned the knob both ways a couple times, and wiped away the excess with a paper towel. Static crackle is gone now.

[CRTGAMER]

As long as you use rosin (flux) core solder, the flux paste not needed. In fact I would avoid if for the reflow, the solder could "flood" to adjacent contacts. Just dab a little bit of rosin solder on the hot iron to season the tip, shake off the excess and heat the existing solder of each of the AC prong contacts on the PCB. You just want to remelt the solder for a couple seconds to reflow any cracks or separation.

[Ziggy]

Come to think of it, I think it was someone on this forum who recommended that video to me in the first place. Ziggy? Hobbie? I can't remember; my memory is shot. I need to upgrade my RAM and defrag my hard drive.

Yeah, the both of us have posted a link to that video on this forum quite a few times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpkkfK937mU

Well I have no idea where my soldering stuff went in my house, so I just bought a new kit...

What do you think of these items?
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MR65RJD/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" class="skimlinks-unlinked" data-skimwords-word="https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2FB01MR65RJD%2Fref%3Doh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00%3Fie%3DUTF8%26psc%3D1" data-skim-creative="500005" title="" style="">https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MR65RJD/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1</a>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00425FUW2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" class="skimlinks-unlinked" data-skimwords-word="https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2FB00425FUW2%2Fref%3Doh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00%3Fie%3DUTF8%26psc%3D1" data-skim-creative="500005" title="" style="">https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00425FUW2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1</a>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BXOGNI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1" class="skimlinks-unlinked" data-skimwords-word="https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2FB000BXOGNI%2Fref%3Doh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01%3Fie%3DUTF8%26psc%3D1" data-skim-creative="500005" title="" style="">https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BXOGNI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1</a>
(last one was recommended for my controller port issue)

It's 60w (or so it claims!) which is good. Just be careful with more delicate PCB work.

Thing is, you really want a temperature controlled iron. You want the solder to melt instantly (or as close to), and you always want to apply heat for a short of time as possible. An iron like the one you got have only one setting. The DC input on the Genesis (or similar) will be connected to very thick traces. You need a hot iron tip to molt the solder quickly. A lower temperature tip, the thick traces will act as a heat sink and it'll take a long time to molt the solder joint (if you can at ALL). The 60w iron you got should be fine for the Genesis DC input, but it may be too much heat for smaller traces or components. I would put it on the hottest setting for the DC input. Smaller trace work, somewhere in the middle would be more appropriate.

As for the rest of the soldering iron kit... Tweezers are great for placing surfaced mounted components, but I rarely use them outside of that. A solder-sucker and desoldering braid are a must, even if you wont be using them all the time. I never used the spring loaded type solder-sucker (I use a desolder bulb) but it seems to be the more popular one to use. The reviews suggest that the solder the kit comes with is OK.

If you ever want to step it up, this is my suggestion for a low priced soldering station: https://www.amazon.com/Weller-WLC100-40 ... 470&sr=8-4

I'm not a fan of the moist sponge for cleaning the iron tip. I use one of these now: https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-599B-02-So ... AJW6STPJN2

The idea is that you don't shock the tip with the lower temperature water.

The flux that you got is great. That's a very popular product. Be careful when plunging down, it's easy to dispense way too much flux. You generally need VERY little flux per joint. After you apply flux, pull back on the syringe so that flux wont leak out. Clean the flux residue after soldering anyway, but don't go crazy since it's no-clean.

The CRC Electrical Contact Cleaner is great, but you would have been better of just getting a bottle of isopropyl alcohol: https://www.amazon.com/Swan-Percent-Iso ... 674&sr=8-2

The spray is good for hard to reach locations, or getting inside connection or switches, but for PCB work it's too messy. A bottle of alcohol and a toothbrush (or ESD anti static brushes if you want to be fancy) will get you better results. You usually need a brush to scrub off flux residue, or kimwipes or something.

As long as you use rosin (flux) core solder, the flux paste not needed. In fact I would avoid if for the reflow, the solder could "flood" to adjacent contacts. Just dab a little bit of rosin solder on the hot iron to season the tip, shake off the excess and heat the existing solder of each of the AC prong contacts on the PCB. You just want to remelt the solder for a couple seconds to reflow any cracks or separation.

Actually, I disagree. I'll be honest, I've used more solder to fix cold or cracked joints before, but that's when I'm being lazy or the original solder joint didn't have enough solder to begin with. For something like the DC input on a Genesis or similar, you're almost always better off using flux alone. You can add solder, and it works because the solder has a flux core, but all you really need is the flux. You'll bridge a neighboring connection easier by adding more solder. Aside from removing excess solder, flux is how you fix bridged connections.

What I would do to resolder the DC input is this: Apply a small amount of flux to each contact. Touch the iron tip to the contact and melt the solder. After just a second or two, you'll see the flux do it's job and the solder will take to the contacts. Remove the iron and don't bump the PCB until the solder cools. That's it. You can tin the tip of the iron, but that's something you always want to be doing anyway (if you watched the above YouTube video). Wet a toothbrush with alcohol and scrub off the flux residue, and you're good.



You could also check the power adapter with a multi meter, same as I described for the SNES. It's worth checking since it's easy and non invasive.