Trog cart in really rough shape - is it salvigable?

[Satoshi_Matrix]

My local game store had a 50% off sale today and I picked up a number of super cheap NES games. Among them I picked up Trog, which didn't work when I tried it. I opened it and discovered why - the pins were in the worst shape I've ever seen any cartridge PCB be in.

After cleaning with hydrogen peroxide and q-tips, this is what I'm left with:




Even after cleaning it, it refuses to run on my NES with a six month old 72 pin connector OR any Famicom with a pin adapter. I fear there is a disconnected pin or several of them.

Now I need some expert advice: is this game salvageable? What do I need to do to fix it? I suppose I could try and be a total cheapass and take it back, but I'd like to get it working if at all possible. Thanks.

[Jbroderway]

It's going to be more trouble than it is worth.

[Hatta]

Maybe you could swap the ROM into something else.

[ChuChu Flamingo]

You cleaned it with hydrogen peroxide? You shouldclean it with some electrical contact cleaner/rubbing alcohol.

[emwearz]

Get some fine grain sand paper and go over the contacts carefully. I would also clean the inside of the case.

Dont put dirty carts in your system!

[Jbroderway]

Do not put alcohol on game contacts. If you must, use denatured alcohol. You will turn your contacts into a glazed mess.

[Hobie-wan]

Get some fine grain sand paper and go over the contacts carefully. I would also clean the inside of the case.

Dont put dirty carts in your system!

Instead of sandpaper, use the green side of a scrubby sponge to get the corrosion off.. It's abrasive enough to do some good, but not like sandpaper so you can go slowly. Plus it won't look as terrible as the result after sandpaper. Then give it a go with contract cleaner and an eraser or q-tips and alcohol afterwards to the the rest of the grit and dust off.

[Jbroderway]

I don't mean to be an asshat. But do not use alcohol. The cartridge, game system, and any manual will explicitly state that this is a bad thing. Alcohol never goes away when it dries. To illustrate, wipe a piece of glass with alcohol, let it dry, then brush a little paint over that and see what happens. Imagine the result inside the recesses of your beloved console. I will reiterate, use DENATURED alcohol if it is your solvent of choice.

[Hobie-wan]

Obviously contract cleaner is the best choice, but for someone that only wants to use things around the house, I imagine they won't have denatured alcohol handy and rubbing is probably a better choice than most things that people tend to list which will leave stuff behind. Not disagreeing with you, just saying.

[Jbroderway]

True, alcohol is handy, but denatured can be found at home depot. If you don't have contact cleaner, Brasso (which is three bucks at any store) is the next best thing. The problem with alcohol, other than the adhesive properties upon evaporation, is that household rubbing alcohol is only 70 percent pure, meaning that it is 30 percent water. Water corrodes contacts. Denatured alcohol is also partially water, but is better than alcohol because it eliminates the adhesive properties. I know that a lot of folks out there use alcohol on a regular basis and nothing happens, but consider that thousands of people drive drunk nightly but only hundreds are caught and dozens die. If you are serious about vintage games and their maintenance, you will use the proper solvents. You don't wax a '67 Pontiac Judge GTO with a bar of Irish Spring just because that is what you have in the house.

I am not trying to perpetuate my own asshattery, but i know that around here a well informed opinion is important.