AES needs to warm-up for NeoSD pro to work?

[jcoelho]

This. When I played around with a NeoSD, the voltage had to be pretty close to 5.00v for no issues to be occurring especially graphical and flashing especially. If that's without a cart then you might need a better power supply with more of buffer like maybe 5A even though you only need ~2A or less. I always go at least 30% more than I need in a power supply because of all the anomalies in power supplies nowadays.

Thanks for that. I'll definitely have to measure voltage again. In this case, what could be causing the voltage drop? Old components (probably corroded on the inside) doing resistance? Like the power switch, for example?

At least I can say it works perfectly fine after 'warming-up', have left the console running for an hour or so...zero issues.

 

[TheMagicianLord]

Main thing here is there's a time component, which immediately points at cap. I'm not sure it could be anything else. You said you replaced them all, but it's still possible to get a faulty new cap. Also, there's probably caps in the NeoSD itself, so fault could instead be there, which ofc you'd have to take up with Terraonion (oof).

 

[maki]

my guess is that the solution would be to get a better PSU, those have caps too btw

161-in-1 and especially NeoSD/Darksoft Multi draw more power (lots of components on there), the caps in the AES have been replaced so only the PSU is left.
Since it uses 5V I'd go for no less than a 3.5A - 4A, don't have any recommendations though.

 

[Johnny16Bit]

My PSU is a Meanwell 5v - 5A. If that's not beefy enough, only the beef's beef is.

 

[TheMagicianLord]

OP says hes got a Triad 5V4A, which is plenty. I really can't picture a PSU defect that would cause this kind of time-dependent behaviour.

Moreover, someone else in the thread mentioned they had a similar problem and swapping PSU's didn't help. But if OP has an extra, can't hurt to try.

 

[jcoelho]

Hi guys,

Thanks a lot for all your comments. I think I got everything working properly after cleaning the power switch which was where most of the voltag drop was occurring. I tried to desolder it but two of the terminals decided not to let go so I very gently desoldered the metallic case of the switch, loosened the latches at the bottom at took the case off. I found there was some kind of carbon residue on the terminals and the little metallic piece that joins them together, not a lot but probably enough to cause issues. I removed that residue carefully with a very fine sand paper and assembled the switch again.

I've been doing some testing and I've been able to flash games right away after letting the console rest for 24+ hours. So, I think it's safe to say that I found a solution (fingers crossed).

Here's a summary that can be useful for someone else in the future:

• Console: AES with a NEO-AES board (pic)
• Symptoms
  • Was not able to flash games on a NeoSD pro unless the console stayed on for a couple of minutes. The console would reset while flashing and would just show a blue screen. Visual inspection showed corrosion on the power connector.
  • Sometimes the console wouldn't boot-up the first time or it would reset after a second or two. A couple of tries would get the console working.
  • Voltage drop on the switch and power transistor. The drop on the power switch was apparently significant.
• What was done on it:
  • Full recap.
  • The power transistor was replaced.
  • The power connector was replaced.
  • The power switch was taken apart and cleaned. Some kind of carbon residue was found in the switch and removed carefully with a very fine sand paper (grain 400).
• Results:
  • The console is now able to boot right away and flash games immediately after booting-up.
• Conclusion:
  • I would say the culprit was the power switch where most of the voltage drop was happening.
  • The power connector needed replacement due to corrosion. Even if it was working 'okish'.
  • Even though the recap helped (and that is proven by a more solid video signal). I would say that most of the issue was linked to the power switch but I wouldn't discard the old caps playing a role in the issue as a whole.

@Johnny16Bit: This might be useful for your 5V AES.

Thanks again.

PS: I hope not to be back in a couple of days saying 'you know what?...it's happening again'

 

[Neo Alec]

Thank you for the very thorough rundown, and congrats on finding a fix.

Do you think a fiberglass scratch pen (and a spray of Deoxit) could be used on the power switch rather than sandpaper?

 

[jcoelho]

Thank you for the very thorough rundown, and congrats on finding a fix.

Do you think a fiberglass scratch pen (and a spray of Deoxit) could be used on the power switch rather than sandpaper?

Wow, now I feel like a caveman for using sand paper hahaha!

I haven't used a fiberglass pen but it might work as long as the friction is enough to scratch the surface. Not sure whether Deoxit would be good, I tried to stay away from chemicals since I can't guarantee 100% of it will be removed after. Before the sand paper I tried 99.8 IPA and a cotton swab but was not able to remove the black residue at all, so it was really stuck to the metal...I still have no idea why I did not take pictures :o/

I've tested the console a bit more today and so far it's working as it should

 

[Johnny16Bit]

Congrats on the fix, and thanks for sharing!

 

[TheMagicianLord]

Not sure whether Deoxit would be good, I tried to stay away from chemicals since I can't guarantee 100% of it will be removed after.

For Deoxit, there's the regular D5 and then a DN5, the latter of which doesn't leave residue. I use the DN5 for my retro contact cleaning.

Glad you got it solved!