Author Topic: PC-FX repairs?  (Read 2442 times)

Arkhan

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PC-FX repairs?
« on: March 22, 2016, 10:26:05 PM »
My PC-FX is finally starting to derp out.

The CD loads poorly.


Some games (real CDs) get skippy audio.

Zeroigar will often just choke and die.


I recall mention of a fairly easy adjustment to get the thing working again.   


I'm guessing SamIAm will have the answer, because I think he was the one doing said repair.




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[Fri 19:34]<nectarsis> been wanting to try that one for awhile now Ope
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SamIAm

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Re: PC-FX repairs?
« Reply #1 on: March 22, 2016, 11:27:19 PM »
Open her up, find the row of three white potentiometers, and adjust the middle one in 1/8 counter-clockwise rotation increments until it works. A single 1/8 adjustment might do the trick; if it doesn't work after four 1/8 turns (aka half a full rotation), it's probably not going to work, and even if it does, you'll probably burn the laser out pretty quickly. You can hear it give off a weird high-pitched squeal after a certain point.

You don't have to dig far, by the way. Once you get the outer case off, you'll see what I'm talking about. Good luck!

EDIT: Given the number of times I've seen this fix be effective, I really think it would be a good thing to sticky. If a mod (Necromancer?) will give me permission, I'll make a custom thread.

« Last Edit: March 22, 2016, 11:31:35 PM by SamIAm »

Necromancer

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Re: PC-FX repairs?
« Reply #2 on: March 23, 2016, 02:19:05 AM »
EDIT: Given the number of times I've seen this fix be effective, I really think it would be a good thing to sticky. If a mod (Necromancer?) will give me permission, I'll make a custom thread.

Heck yeah, that'd be great!
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Arkhan

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Re: PC-FX repairs?
« Reply #3 on: March 23, 2016, 06:59:52 PM »
Sweet.  I'll give this a go in like a month when I get back from Japan, lol.

Gonna keep my eyes peeled for non overpriced FX games.

I'm sure that will go well.
[Fri 19:34]<nectarsis> been wanting to try that one for awhile now Ope
[Fri 19:33]<Opethian> l;ol huge dong

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Koop

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Re: PC-FX repairs?
« Reply #4 on: March 27, 2016, 11:26:54 PM »
Open her up, find the row of three white potentiometers, and adjust the middle one in 1/8 counter-clockwise rotation increments until it works. A single 1/8 adjustment might do the trick

Just a good ol' pot adjustment? Saving CD consoles since forever eh.

Is there such thing as a replacement laser for a PC-FX? I'd assume something like that will be necessary eventually, no?

Arkhan

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Re: PC-FX repairs?
« Reply #5 on: April 19, 2016, 04:53:07 PM »
Ill do this when i get back from Japan.

I figured it was easy, but didnt know the things to touch.

Seems alot like fixing a 1541 drive

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[Fri 19:34]<nectarsis> been wanting to try that one for awhile now Ope
[Fri 19:33]<Opethian> l;ol huge dong

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blueraven

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Re: PC-FX repairs?
« Reply #6 on: April 19, 2016, 04:58:25 PM »
This fix works, confirmed! And it should be a sticky topic if it isn't already.

(No, Necro it wasn't the unit you sent me, that works fine :D )

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_joshuaTurbo

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Re: PC-FX repairs?
« Reply #7 on: January 16, 2017, 06:29:53 AM »
EDIT: Given the number of times I've seen this fix be effective, I really think it would be a good thing to sticky. If a mod (Necromancer?) will give me permission, I'll make a custom thread.

Heck yeah, that'd be great!

Did this pot adjustments and other fixes custom thread ever get stickied?

Necromancer

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Re: PC-FX repairs?
« Reply #8 on: January 16, 2017, 07:19:08 AM »
Did this pot adjustments and other fixes custom thread ever get stickied?

Did it ever get made?
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xelement5x

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Re: PC-FX repairs?
« Reply #9 on: January 16, 2017, 10:16:24 AM »
I don't think so, most of the content talking about it is in this thread from Sam's paragraph and the first page of this thread: http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=19329.0
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SamIAm

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Re: PC-FX repairs?
« Reply #10 on: January 16, 2017, 12:34:08 PM »
Sorry guys. I actually wrote up a draft of all the text for a guide, but I really need to get a nice set of pictures, and there are other things taking priority these days.

_joshuaTurbo

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Re: PC-FX repairs?
« Reply #11 on: January 18, 2017, 01:25:10 AM »
Heyo Sam,

No worries.  Just curious as I think I need to adjust some pots on my FX now too.  ;)

Gypsy

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Re: PC-FX repairs?
« Reply #12 on: March 13, 2017, 10:50:29 AM »
Open her up, find the row of three white potentiometers, and adjust the middle one in 1/8 counter-clockwise rotation increments until it works. A single 1/8 adjustment might do the trick

Just a good ol' pot adjustment? Saving CD consoles since forever eh.

Is there such thing as a replacement laser for a PC-FX?
I'd assume something like that will be necessary eventually, no?

This is a great question, does anyone know? I usually like go grab up a spare laser or two for my systems to keep in reserve.

SamIAm

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Re: PC-FX repairs?
« Reply #13 on: March 13, 2017, 04:11:28 PM »
http://retrostuff.org/2015/03/22/nec-pc-fx-laser-pickup-hop-e1/

HOP-E1 is the one to get.

I bought six cheap Chinese knock-offs (~$2 apiece), and only one of them worked.

I suspect that many of the more expensive listings you'll find are actually just people buying a bulk-load of these knock-offs, then filtering out the ones that work. That's not necessarily a bad solution, though. If you want to find an authentic product, you'll have to search for a while and pay accordingly.

Slypty

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Re: PC-FX repairs?
« Reply #14 on: August 30, 2017, 03:19:28 PM »
Picked up a spare PC-FX HOP-E1 Laser (sounds like a bad beer) and had it reading CD-Rom (burned games) for all of 10 seconds, and hasn't been able to read them since.  Audio CDs boot instantly, I tried tweaking the pots.. am I being too fussy with the back-ups?  It's a derelict system I picked up in Japan and had high hopes.  The laser I bought wasn't cheap at $26USD hoping to find a replacement on a budget if nothing prevails