nub aes "tune up" problems

hi.
flame me as you may, if anyone has any answers, they'd be appreciated.
i have a neo aes. i dont have the serial number, as i am at work, but can get that if its important.

ive owned it for a couple of years and for as long as ive had it, it has had symptoms of NES, where id have to blow on the carts/reinsert the carts/multiple onoffs/etc. ive researched around here, (lurked here for a long time) but not come across anything more than just cleaning with alcohol/electronics cleaners (which ive done, especially to the carts. im more skeptical cleaning the insides, qtips seem like they'd leave cotton behind in there).

i dont mind having to do the usual nonsense to get the game started, (when it doesnt work, either i have black on the screen, really awful looking green and blue boxey pixel things, or a blinking black and white neo geo. which usually means im close to getting it right) but its now to the point that once in a while, while im playing, some of the graphics will start to bug out, or the audio will become scratchy.

worse yet, the box itself is very sensitive to motion. like if i walk near it while its on the ground, it might reset.

i could explain a lot more, but dont want to bore anyone out of possibly answering with any ideas. please list any thoughts, solutions and/or things i need to buy/change in order to be able to play without these problems. tia.
=j

Well if you've cleaned the games, try cleaning the contacts on the system itself.

You can buy, from Radio Shack, some electronics cleaner in a can with a brush attachment or simply use a toothbrush + alcohol on the contacts for the system.

Also, the contacts may be weak. You can bend them back slightly to provide a stronger contact with the game cartridge's contacts using those little dental tools.

Put it on Ebay, people always over pay for non-working systems. Then you can get one that is working properly. People sell them here all the time.

Open your cartrdiges and take the 2 PCBs out.

Clean the contact with a pen rubber.

If they are really dirty or oxyded, use a fine sanded paperon them.

Then finish with q-tips and just a bit of water to take off the rubbish. Then dry.


Believe me, alcohol or contact cleaner don't work if the contacts are really dirty or oxyded.

If the console is sensitive to motion and will reset if walked near or moved then it is most likely the consoles cart slots are dodgy and will either need to be repaired like Magnaflux said or get a new system, you get the same type of problems with any cart systems that have been used for a long time, same problem with my SNES, if you touch the cart the game resets.

i actually considered ebay. i just would feel pretty bad selling it to someone for them to get it and have the same problems. id rather try to fix it and keep it or i guess sell it if i can find alternate ways to play neo games (maybe find a cmvs or the like, seeing as i can not afford a collection right now, just rather a handful of older games ive always liked.)

does the ebay scene's price for such a machine differ that much from one that would be found here? i mean, i would want to be pretty clear about the issues with this aes on ebay. ive seen non working aes go for like 90 bucks with two controllers. id have to spend a lot more than that to get a newer one, which isn't guaranteed to not have these problems anyway.

i'll have to try the toothbrush technique. bending contacts sounds interesting, i'll have to take a look when i get home. thanks for the info. are there people here who do mods that while updating the neo would help any of these symptoms?
=j

If you don't have the money to start an AES collection and have a dodgy AES system then I'd sell the broken system with the games and controllers ect,m on eBay and then buy an MVS board with some games, allot cheaper for the same or better picture quality aswell.

You should most likely be able to fix this problem with little effort. Clean the cart slot very well. If that does not work bend the connector pins out just a little. Whatever you do, please don't toss it in the trash. PM JMKurtz, he does mods/repairs and would probably buy the system off you for parts.

A good guide for cleaning the cart slot.....
http://hardmvs.com/html/slotCleaning.htm

i have no intention of trashing it. i just want it to work properly. i need to boot up samsho and hear the music on charlotte's level. its like my only vice. i fiend for it like a drug.

i will try that mvs slot cleaning. thanks.

i'll keep my eyes open for a cmvs or 1 slot/supergun setup. in that case i'll be able to have both and see which i like better. admittedly, the lower price/availability of mvs carts is intriguing.
are mods and repairs generally expensive? i'll pm jmkurtz when i know more about what i want to do. thanks.
=j

jis said:

i have no intention of trashing it. i just want it to work properly. i need to boot up samsho and hear the music on charlotte's level. its like my only vice. i fiend for it like a drug.

i will try that mvs slot cleaning. thanks.

i'll keep my eyes open for a cmvs or 1 slot/supergun setup. in that case i'll be able to have both and see which i like better. admittedly, the lower price/availability of mvs carts is intriguing.
are mods and repairs generally expensive? i'll pm jmkurtz when i know more about what i want to do. thanks.
=j

Click to expand...

If you get it working 100% my advice to you would be to sell it. AES is really for the collector. Mod prices vary. You get what you pay for, that's for sure. Jeff Kurtz consolized a 2-slot MVS for me a while back. His workmanship is second to non. D-Lite builds some nice superguns. I have also dealt with him; highly recommended.

Also, if you don't mind the load times, the Neo CD could also be a good alternative. The CD games are very affordable, only a few $80 + games on the Neo CD.

to further prove my total nubness, i have a question. i have access to a street fighter 2 cabinet. (six buttons, jamma?, etc)
can one just plug an xslot mvs into the cab and hook it up to the rest of the electronics in the cab? (obviously not the sf2 card)
im not sure that it would be the solution to my "how to play neo games" problem, as i dont know if i can even put this cabinet in my apartment. i just so i didnt make another thread..
if so, how does the fourth button work? does it need another part? (ive read something about a "kicker"?) thanks.
=j

A 6 button, JAMMA cabinet will work for an xslot MVS, the "kicker" you've heard about is probably the Capcom Kick Harness which connects to the bottom 3 buttons which are the kick buttons in Capcom games.

You only need that harness if you're planning on using a Capcom fighter in the cabinet.

You will probably need to add the 4th Neo button "D" as the JAMMA standard is 3 buttons.

By the way, how much is this cabinet you speak of?
Might be able to get a better cabinet for the same price.

i actually own the cab. its in the basement of a place i used to stay.

i think that you are right, that my best bet would probably to sell that and get a big red 2 slot or something instead. id rather not lose the sf2 and six button set up though. i guess now im in the market for some kind of mvs. ive heard of bigger problems lol. im going to work on my aes this week. are there any write-ups on the "dental tool to contact" procedure. sounds like something id break if i tried.
=j

The dental tool method isn't too dangerous to worry about. You just use like one of those scissor looking clamps to pull the pins in the opposite direction than if the cart were to press it. They will pop out a little when you do it. I would also check if you have an older model system and open it up to see if the daughter board that is above the memory card slot has a bad wire connection somewhere. That caused my older system to reset once in a while if bumped or on for a while. Worse comes to worse you can get the cart slots replaced from maybe Jeff Kurtz or I think the IArcade (Makers of the Phantom cart) guys do it still maybe.