SNK Neo Geo Repair-a-thon Ep. 2 - AES BIOS Mod Japan to USA - Retro Console Restoration

A few weeks ago I unboxed a huge Neo Geo lot that I purchased from Japan containing 6 systems, 12 controllers and 5 games. I already repaired one of these systems in Episode 1 of this repair-a-thon.

🎮 SNK Neo Geo AES Trace Repair - Repair-a-thon Ep. 1:    • SNK Neo Geo Repair-a-thon Ep. 1 - AES...  
🕹 Huge Retro Console Splurge from Japan Auctions:    • Huge Retro Console Splurge from Japan...  

In this week’s video I continue the Neo Geo repair-a-thon series. Next in line is the unit with the second lowest serial number, a #124000 unit. This motherboard turned out to be a 3-5 revision, which is one revision newer than the unit I repaired in episode 1. That unit was a 3-4 revision, and we can already see many differences in the internal design. The most obvious of these is that this is a 9V unit rather than a 5V unit.

I opted to open this system up before plugging it in. Since I know nothing about the ownership history of these systems, I can't guarantee they weren't case swapped. In addition to that, I am not confident I can discern the power requirements from the label on the rear, as both 5V and 9V units have confusingly similar labels.

This time around the high quality power supplies I ordered from Mouser had arrived. This unit powered up right away. It did not read a game cart correctly however, and instead displayed garbled video. Reinserting the game cart made no difference. It didn't take long to get the system working with some contact cleaner, and my fears of another trace repair job were unfounded. The system was working flawlessly, and happens to be one of the nicest cosmetic condition Neo Geos that I own.

I decided to do a UniBIOS install on this system. Using some Chip Quik low melt alloy I removed the Japanese BIOS chip and soldered a 40 pin socket that I also purchased from Mouser. The UniBIOS install went very well and I now own a Neo Geo AES that I can toggle between all regions (Japan, USA, and Europe).

I had quite a bit of fun playing my Japanese games in English using the USA BIOS setting. I discovered that while there are obvious benefits to doing this, there are also a few quirks that are worth knowing about (and I happened to find quite amusing). You'll have to watch the video to see what I mean.

Another fun repair/mod. Having a blast with this lot of Neo Geos and so far the repair-a-thon hasn't let me down.

2 system repaired, and 1 modded. 4 more systems to go. Stay tuned!

🌎 Support the channel by buying some of my merch or one of my console builds
http://www.BorderlineOCD.com

🛒 Specialty products I used in this project
ChipQuik Low Melt Alloy Kit: https://amzn.to/2XpeMVg
Contact Cleaner: https://amzn.to/3bsemWu

🔌 Mouser parts (make sure you figure out whether you have a 5V or 9V unit first)
9V 3.5A power supply: https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/...
5V 4A: https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/...
BIOS socket: https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/...

🔧 Toolkit
Screwdriver Set: https://amzn.to/2X7s0Gj
Automatic Wire Stripper: https://amzn.to/30F5TJm

🖌 Soldering Essentials
TS100 Soldering Iron: https://amzn.to/2YIJZUR
No Clean Flux Syringe: https://amzn.to/2NFUZvQ
No Clean Solder: https://amzn.to/2NHEAqQ
Desoldering Braid: https://amzn.to/312Grws

🔍 Soldering Add-ons
Tip Tinner: https://amzn.to/31w2EF4
Helping Hands Soldering Aid: https://amzn.to/3ihgksP

🔥 Thermal Compounds
Arctic MX-4 Thermal Paste: https://amzn.to/2Ak2y8w
1.5MM Arctic Thermal Pads: https://amzn.to/2Vv1RQU

🖥 Composite and S-Video on my Mac
USB Capture Card: https://amzn.to/2YM4TT7
(Catalina 64-bit drivers can be found on the manufacturer's website)

🎵 Music
Sappheiros - Awake   / sappheirosmusic  
"Sappheiros - Awake" is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0)