Replacing the NES chip - Would you do this?

[tsumake]

Hey Guys,

New to the board. At my local Gamers (A Nebraska phenomenon), for ten bucks they will replace the NES chip (basically the entire guts of the machine). I've read some posts about NES's dying out on people and the same thing happened to me, but voila! I now have a working NES though like a new pair of jeans, the carts fit reeealy snugly in the machine still and I have to have the "touch" to lock the cart down into the system. All in all, though, it's good to see then NES back in action. I know this might ruin the value of the NES, seeing as it's not original parts, but it works!

Anyway, it was a service provided by my local Gamers. Do any of you have a similar service? I'd highly recommend it or even finding a chip and doing it yourself.

 

[ratfish]

I'm confused, by "chip" do you mean motherboard? So they replaced the entire insides with new ones for you for only $10?!?!?!? That's insane!!! I bought just a new 72pin connector and it cost me $15 total. I wish there was a repair place like that where I live.

 

[Nadius]

I saw consideable results after killing the lockout chip as excyber suggested once on these boards. Then I cleaned the 72 pin connector with a paper clip and alcohol, as well bending them out a tad more for better contact with the game pak. My NES works very well now, it's just with some older games that i have problems with corrosion on the contacts and stuff, those take a little work to get working.

 

[ratfish]

Interesting, a paperclip? I never thought of that.

Well, what I did do was tell my friend, who's NES wouldn't play games 90% of the time and did the blue/black screen reset thing, to buy a new 72pin head from the GOAT Store like I did.

He said it didn't fix it, so I took it to my house, opened it up again, took off the 72pin head, and cleaned the contacts on the motherboard with qtips and alcohol.

I put the 72pin head back on, re-assembled the case, powered it up and, voila! It lives!

I wonder if it isn't the chips that go bad, but the 72pin contacts on the motherboard itself. Corrosion, like you suggested Nadius, is probably the leading cause of death in NES parts. Don't do drugs.