Mega Drive Blank Screen No Sound (Binned)

Any 8bit repairs, images, cool things, upgrades etc.
terriblefire
Moderator Team
Moderator Team
Posts: 5368
Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2017 10:56 pm
Location: Glasgow, UK

Mega Drive Blank Screen No Sound (Binned)

Post by terriblefire »

Hey,

I got my son a MegaDrive to play with but i cant get it to power up. I've given it 10V center negative and it draws about 0.7A. The lights come on and there is a 7MHz clock at the 68000. But no sound output and no screen. There is 5v on the board too.

Ideas of what to check? i have Sonic the hedgehog cart in.
———
"It is not necessarily a supply voltage at no load, but the amount of current it can provide when touched that
indicates how much hurting you shall receive."
Steve
Posts: 2570
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2017 11:49 am

Re: Mega Drive Blank Screen No Sound

Post by Steve »

There are three models of Megadrive and they all have different motherboards. They have a sony chip that encodes the RGB and audio. But to be honest these things are tanks and usually it is something simple. I would just clean the cartridge contacts with IPA and check the connector doesn't have dry solder joints. I assume you're using SCART, make sure you use a Megadrive compatible one.
terriblefire
Moderator Team
Moderator Team
Posts: 5368
Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2017 10:56 pm
Location: Glasgow, UK

Re: Mega Drive Blank Screen No Sound

Post by terriblefire »

Actually on RF right now and have headphones in the socket.. i'll post some photos.
———
"It is not necessarily a supply voltage at no load, but the amount of current it can provide when touched that
indicates how much hurting you shall receive."
terriblefire
Moderator Team
Moderator Team
Posts: 5368
Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2017 10:56 pm
Location: Glasgow, UK

Re: Mega Drive Blank Screen No Sound

Post by terriblefire »

Photos - Got no idea..

Both regulators give me 5.00v
Attachments
6D338207-1E2E-4ED3-92D5-01CF38F8099A.jpeg
6D338207-1E2E-4ED3-92D5-01CF38F8099A.jpeg (142.22 KiB) Viewed 3938 times
84080315-8252-4360-8896-E00E9A67E364.jpeg
84080315-8252-4360-8896-E00E9A67E364.jpeg (133.65 KiB) Viewed 3938 times
2EBA308E-24FF-41D7-BEA8-8064AFBFD6B6.jpeg
2EBA308E-24FF-41D7-BEA8-8064AFBFD6B6.jpeg (114.95 KiB) Viewed 3938 times
CAB5F09A-6ABC-4DEE-A1D3-6C2E51AB9A9C.jpeg
CAB5F09A-6ABC-4DEE-A1D3-6C2E51AB9A9C.jpeg (123.65 KiB) Viewed 3938 times
3393D614-9E30-4CD1-811A-6DF9E9056876.jpeg
3393D614-9E30-4CD1-811A-6DF9E9056876.jpeg (113.47 KiB) Viewed 3938 times
———
"It is not necessarily a supply voltage at no load, but the amount of current it can provide when touched that
indicates how much hurting you shall receive."
cmorley
Posts: 291
Joined: Tue May 28, 2019 5:46 pm

Re: Mega Drive Blank Screen No Sound

Post by cmorley »

Clean the cartridge edge connector on the motherboard and the cartridge. Bad connection to the ROM & you get nothing. I often get this when I insert my megaeverdrive for the first time in ages. As an extension, check the cart soldering for cracked joints.

Have you tried another game in case the cart is dead?
Steve
Posts: 2570
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2017 11:49 am

Re: Mega Drive Blank Screen No Sound

Post by Steve »

cmorley wrote: Fri Sep 04, 2020 12:29 pm Clean the cartridge edge connector on the motherboard and the cartridge. Bad connection to the ROM & you get nothing. I often get this when I insert my megaeverdrive for the first time in ages. As an extension, check the cart soldering for cracked joints.

Have you tried another game in case the cart is dead?
Yeah try cleaning the cart and edge connector, and check for dry joins. Dunno why I didn't think of that :lol:
terriblefire
Moderator Team
Moderator Team
Posts: 5368
Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2017 10:56 pm
Location: Glasgow, UK

Re: Mega Drive Blank Screen No Sound

Post by terriblefire »

Tried all of the above. It looks like someone has been at this board already. There were tiny solder balls lodged between the TQFP package pins. but that hasnt helped :/ Trying to decide if its worth removing the 68000 and putting the logic analyser on it
———
"It is not necessarily a supply voltage at no load, but the amount of current it can provide when touched that
indicates how much hurting you shall receive."
cmorley
Posts: 291
Joined: Tue May 28, 2019 5:46 pm

Re: Mega Drive Blank Screen No Sound

Post by cmorley »

terriblefire wrote: Fri Sep 04, 2020 12:59 pm Trying to decide if its worth removing the 68000 and putting the logic analyser on it
Sub £30 on eBay for a working one with a game or two and 2 controllers... or £10 for just the console.
terriblefire
Moderator Team
Moderator Team
Posts: 5368
Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2017 10:56 pm
Location: Glasgow, UK

Re: Mega Drive Blank Screen No Sound

Post by terriblefire »

cmorley wrote: Fri Sep 04, 2020 1:12 pm
terriblefire wrote: Fri Sep 04, 2020 12:59 pm Trying to decide if its worth removing the 68000 and putting the logic analyser on it
Sub £30 on eBay for a working one with a game or two and 2 controllers... or £10 for just the console.
Thats what i did and this is what i got.
———
"It is not necessarily a supply voltage at no load, but the amount of current it can provide when touched that
indicates how much hurting you shall receive."
go0se
Posts: 403
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2018 7:55 pm

Re: Mega Drive Blank Screen No Sound

Post by go0se »

terriblefire wrote: Fri Sep 04, 2020 12:59 pm Trying to decide if its worth removing the 68000 and putting the logic analyser on it
Could it be that we have just witnessed the first step towards a Terriblefire Megadrive Accelerator? :lol:
Post Reply

Return to “8 BIT CORNER”