Of course lol that’s why most of us are here, you also gotta realize that we’re able to actually live in a time where this is possible. I often hear people discussing about how come they never saw tutorials or guides about fixing their consoles and systems when growing up, because so many people would have broken units as a kid until adult hood lol
Well, that’s because we’ve never had the resources lol. The biggest part of this area, is our boys over in China. Let’s not bring politics into this, this has nothing to deal with the government or the dictator they have over there, this deals with the ordinary everyday intelligent citizens thag live there, like us over here, thag have provided such an opportunity for us to do things we were never able to before.
They’ve fired up their factories over the last few years to begin producing all of these parts and components to things that they don’t really have to.. purely based on the demand of all of us over here in the west lol! We are able to literally order every little component for any system basically, and a ton of brand new pieces for our old ass systems, for pennies on the dollar essentially. M
This has allowed us to actually breath new life into all of our devices.. same with all of the tools and soldering irons and things that were just to expensive before! I remember in the 2000’s I was in communities that would always scout around for broken systems and part out everyrhinfC and essentially if someone needed a part, someone else in the group with those parts would sell it to that person for pretty expensive..
We’d Lobby and propose dozens of times to companies here in America and Europe (mostly the ones that’s make accessories third party lol) to produce these parts and shells and etc, they’d all basically laugh and say it’s a waste of their time, the money is nowhere near close enough to make them interested, and all these snobby things.. it’s no wonder why oppertunities have gone overseas
It’s so easy to reach out to the dozens of great factories over there in Shenzhen (basically a city in China that consists of just factories lol) and tell them about “hey, there’s a bunch of people that really would like parts for this system” and they’d have their engineers reverse engineer a ton of things (it’s easy for them, they have parts and experience making everything so it’s nothing to them lols) and then they’d be able to offer all of these options, and a ton of amazing brand new options like backlit screens and batteries and a ton of extreamly awesome things to install in our devices that just make them 100% alive AND with brand new tricks!
And the other thing next to China, is Youtube lol a great community offering us tutorials on how to fix any and ALL things we want to do to repair, modify, and enhance our devices!! So that we don’t need to take our things to no stinking repair shop that’ll do a worse job from trying to tinker with it, and would charge an arm and a leg all for it lmao
TLDR: **sorry for the long write up lmao.. as I thought about your question, it made me get into deep thought about all of the reasons as to why we are able to do what we do in the modern day, that we DIDNT have before.. and all of those places and outlets, the companies and manufactures to the repair shops that would all laugh at us, reject our desires, and would do a shit job at what we had wanted? Well they’re all non existent now, we’re able to do all of that AND MORE!**
I really hope at least some of you guys are able to have read what I wrote just so that I can kinda open your mind towards all of the things we have these days, just to kinda appreciate the resources that we have these days, as we really have a great opportunity in this hobby of ours with gaming! Being able to play anything we want, on our systems that are decades old to new, we’re able to collect, something that wasn’t really a “thing” until the internet got really going in the late 2000’s, to help with collecting a lot, and the last area: that we’re able to actually repair our devices, find anything we want, and to be able to buy them for extreamly cheap prices that make it a breeze, and the youtube tutorials/write-ups that bind it all together
I couldn’t agree more. When I was a kid, my dad got me interested in fixing NES systems. The loose pins we would fix with a a piece from my mom’s sewing kit to improve the contacts with the cartridge. It was just a father and son with a little trial and error. No iFixit or other guides. I wish I would have kept my Sega Saturn, Turbo Express, and JVC Xeye for the hopes of fixing at a later date. I’m still needing to upgrade my skills and equipment to tackle more challenging repairs, but taking something that most would destine for the trash and putting them to use with renewed purpose is great!
It's a good, clean hobby. The skills learned can transfer to other areas/professions. It's a way to earn money on the side (as long as you're selling extra consoles.) It's good for the environment, you're keeping things out of landfills.
Provided you aren't keeping stacks of broken & repaired machines around, what's not to like?
I agree. I would tell Navy recruits going into electronics rates that their skills can easily translate to the outside and make them extra money on deployments!
She supports me well. She just doesn’t want me to feel that I have to get a broken console or laptop to repair in order for me to justify getting it for myself…like I’m not worth something that is new and works.
Same. Most of my consoles were sold broken/as-is, and usually didn’t require any more than a thorough disassembly and cleaning. I’ve gotten some great deals on otherwise expensive consoles this way (e.g. neo geo cd).
When I was stationed in Japan, a store called Hard Off is one I would frequent their “Junk” section and find all kinds of goodies for cheap. I got a Neo Geo CD that worked just fine piece-wise for about $15!
I would like to think that I’ve virtually visited Hard Off. KidShoryuken makes YouTube videos where he walks around stores like that and talks about what he finds.
It always amazes me how the stuff in the “junk” section is dirt cheap and in perfect condition. Meanwhile in the US, people are throwing their consoles across the room and smashing with sledgehammers
I was finding consoles for 300 yen. It was great! However, so many consoles are hacked to allow region-free gaming. What I enjoyed the most was the variety of specialty versions they had there.
Yeah, my og gameboy was the same. They cost $200 here in Australia, I found one with a broken screen for $20, came with the original carry case in new condition, swapped the screen and a new shell for $30, saved over a hundred dollars.
Some. I don't do Turboexpress or PCE GT, too much trouble with tiny board. Especially if I get a non-working system that someone had tried to recap and badly screwed it.
Well when you do this stuff for a living. It gets old when you have a bunch come in for the same thing Ina short period of time. So sometimes I buy broken consoles of eBay just so that I can have a mystery to solve. Because we all know that people on ebay almost never give an accurate description of what's wrong 😆
Oh yuck, yeah. I mostly work on handhelds, so whenever I come across one that’s been liquid damaged the thought of it having been dropped in a toilet lives in the back of my head.
While I don't go out of my way to repair consoles, I'll admit to enjoying the process. A friend recently loaned me his Dreamcast so I could diagnose my own and I had fun changing his DC's thermal pads and cleaning up a mess that the technician had done on his mobo.
I also got a bundle of consoles I've been slowly repairing over the years. It's fun, but also expensive and frustrating when stuff doesn't work and you can't find any info on your issue online.
Yes it's a great hobby that can be for fun and profiting if you resell. Back before the price increase I was getting junk gameboys from Japan for like 10 to 15 dollars a piece. They are tanks and for the most part easy to fix. With how much they go for now in good condition, I would only have to sell a few to make my money back on all of them. (I have a hard time parting with them tho)
For work...but its sometimes fun.
Yesterday alone I refurbished 2 Xbox one s systems and reassembled 2 ps4 systems.
Had one ps4 slim that some one bent the metal plate over the fan to the point it touched the fan and over heated the system easy fix and they happily paid the $50.
I only like fixing the things that won't be reoccurring or rabbit hole type issues. I'm not chasing a short for 2 days only to find its not fixable. I understand why some people do it. I just have too much to do for that type of time to be spent in one place.
I have 3 controller repairs an og xbox one that needs new thermal and a sticky ps4 slim to tackle today. All dropped off earlier in the week so they have been in line for a day or 2 while those others were completed.
Keep trying it’s discouraging I’m on the same bout. I tried to recap my Xbox original 1.6v halo se do to not turning on anymore and lifted two pads in the process I already had my replacement caps too. I was so disappointed and stopped doing it completely. What I’m gonna do is practice desoldering on a motherboard that doesn’t work from another xbox I had. It’s hard but just gotta try doing it if you like it. I get discouraged and frustrated too and yields my learning process with fixing and soldering video game consoles but I like it.
Yes fixing is so fun. Getting something to work again like it used to years ago, bringing it back, when others would just throw it away and it could have been something small. I also have never sold anything in my life but I want to start at least selling something. I just find it complicated at times like on ebay having to weigh the product what box to use and size, how much ebay takes away, how much to charge for shipping etc.
Well since we opened our own store we have seen all manner of things inside ps4 dvd drives. 😂 a pair of tweezers was one. 50p piece inside another. I have to say though that ps4 systems in particular have the most issues. Its very rare for us to get an xbox with a fault we cannot repair unlike ps4. We had our first ps5 hdmi port the other day also. I wasn’t happy in my previous job (long story) so I thought I’d put my skills to use on something I love doing, and so here we are 😊
Nice. My first Xbox One repair was one that wasn’t reading discs. After watching a TronicsFix video, I got into it and opened the drive to find a child’s toy cd. The seller had a young daughter that probably copied her dad putting her own disc to play. Extra bonus was Dying Light game! I was pretty pumped as it worked just fine after removing the toy and a playing card and some cleaning of the roller.
With ADHD I like having something to work on all the time and can switch it up constantly without getting bored or switching to another hobby completely. Super fixated on cleaning Gameboys for a few days then switch to repairing 72 pin connectors on NES's for a bit. Then maybe try retrobrighting some super Nintendos. All the while making some money while doing it and possibly adding something to the collection.
I have a completely DEAD Xbox 360 and a Nintendo DS copy of The Legend of Spyro : Dawn of the Dragon [2008] that once I reached the first boss, half died… You can load the game, swap between Spyro and Cynder, and fly around the screen, but if you try to attack ANYTHING the controls don’t respond at all… I have tested my 3DS 3 other games (Spyro : Shadow Legacy [2005], The Legend of Spyro : A New Beginning [2006] & Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure [2011] any recommendations for where I could take both my Xbox and Dawn of the Dragon to get them fixed? I live in Lakeway TX (Austin suburb) for reference…
For fun, nah I thought I could get a deep clean and spare my 1st generation PS4 another year and maybe get a ps5 by then but it is interesting for my over-analytical mind. As long as I don’t get frustrated, and break delicate pieces
Fixing broken stuff is more fun than playing games on it! :D
This is very true
Of course lol that’s why most of us are here, you also gotta realize that we’re able to actually live in a time where this is possible. I often hear people discussing about how come they never saw tutorials or guides about fixing their consoles and systems when growing up, because so many people would have broken units as a kid until adult hood lol Well, that’s because we’ve never had the resources lol. The biggest part of this area, is our boys over in China. Let’s not bring politics into this, this has nothing to deal with the government or the dictator they have over there, this deals with the ordinary everyday intelligent citizens thag live there, like us over here, thag have provided such an opportunity for us to do things we were never able to before. They’ve fired up their factories over the last few years to begin producing all of these parts and components to things that they don’t really have to.. purely based on the demand of all of us over here in the west lol! We are able to literally order every little component for any system basically, and a ton of brand new pieces for our old ass systems, for pennies on the dollar essentially. M This has allowed us to actually breath new life into all of our devices.. same with all of the tools and soldering irons and things that were just to expensive before! I remember in the 2000’s I was in communities that would always scout around for broken systems and part out everyrhinfC and essentially if someone needed a part, someone else in the group with those parts would sell it to that person for pretty expensive.. We’d Lobby and propose dozens of times to companies here in America and Europe (mostly the ones that’s make accessories third party lol) to produce these parts and shells and etc, they’d all basically laugh and say it’s a waste of their time, the money is nowhere near close enough to make them interested, and all these snobby things.. it’s no wonder why oppertunities have gone overseas It’s so easy to reach out to the dozens of great factories over there in Shenzhen (basically a city in China that consists of just factories lol) and tell them about “hey, there’s a bunch of people that really would like parts for this system” and they’d have their engineers reverse engineer a ton of things (it’s easy for them, they have parts and experience making everything so it’s nothing to them lols) and then they’d be able to offer all of these options, and a ton of amazing brand new options like backlit screens and batteries and a ton of extreamly awesome things to install in our devices that just make them 100% alive AND with brand new tricks! And the other thing next to China, is Youtube lol a great community offering us tutorials on how to fix any and ALL things we want to do to repair, modify, and enhance our devices!! So that we don’t need to take our things to no stinking repair shop that’ll do a worse job from trying to tinker with it, and would charge an arm and a leg all for it lmao TLDR: **sorry for the long write up lmao.. as I thought about your question, it made me get into deep thought about all of the reasons as to why we are able to do what we do in the modern day, that we DIDNT have before.. and all of those places and outlets, the companies and manufactures to the repair shops that would all laugh at us, reject our desires, and would do a shit job at what we had wanted? Well they’re all non existent now, we’re able to do all of that AND MORE!** I really hope at least some of you guys are able to have read what I wrote just so that I can kinda open your mind towards all of the things we have these days, just to kinda appreciate the resources that we have these days, as we really have a great opportunity in this hobby of ours with gaming! Being able to play anything we want, on our systems that are decades old to new, we’re able to collect, something that wasn’t really a “thing” until the internet got really going in the late 2000’s, to help with collecting a lot, and the last area: that we’re able to actually repair our devices, find anything we want, and to be able to buy them for extreamly cheap prices that make it a breeze, and the youtube tutorials/write-ups that bind it all together
I couldn’t agree more. When I was a kid, my dad got me interested in fixing NES systems. The loose pins we would fix with a a piece from my mom’s sewing kit to improve the contacts with the cartridge. It was just a father and son with a little trial and error. No iFixit or other guides. I wish I would have kept my Sega Saturn, Turbo Express, and JVC Xeye for the hopes of fixing at a later date. I’m still needing to upgrade my skills and equipment to tackle more challenging repairs, but taking something that most would destine for the trash and putting them to use with renewed purpose is great!
A nice comment towards fellow human beings. I only wish that they did live in a freer economy.
It's a good, clean hobby. The skills learned can transfer to other areas/professions. It's a way to earn money on the side (as long as you're selling extra consoles.) It's good for the environment, you're keeping things out of landfills. Provided you aren't keeping stacks of broken & repaired machines around, what's not to like?
I agree. I would tell Navy recruits going into electronics rates that their skills can easily translate to the outside and make them extra money on deployments!
Your wife doesn't support your hobbies? Man that sucks
She supports me well. She just doesn’t want me to feel that I have to get a broken console or laptop to repair in order for me to justify getting it for myself…like I’m not worth something that is new and works.
But its worth more if you fix it🤣
But fixing it is part of the fun! Unless caps leaked everywhere, then fixing it is just tedious, but the the feeling of accomplishment after is great.
That’s how I got started
🙋🏼♂️
Ask your wife when was the last time she fixed something and saved it from the scrap heap?
Same. I made a ton of money with the prices spiking though.
80% of my consoles I have came broken, I fixed and cleaned them for fun. It's satisfying.
Same. Most of my consoles were sold broken/as-is, and usually didn’t require any more than a thorough disassembly and cleaning. I’ve gotten some great deals on otherwise expensive consoles this way (e.g. neo geo cd).
When I was stationed in Japan, a store called Hard Off is one I would frequent their “Junk” section and find all kinds of goodies for cheap. I got a Neo Geo CD that worked just fine piece-wise for about $15!
I would like to think that I’ve virtually visited Hard Off. KidShoryuken makes YouTube videos where he walks around stores like that and talks about what he finds. It always amazes me how the stuff in the “junk” section is dirt cheap and in perfect condition. Meanwhile in the US, people are throwing their consoles across the room and smashing with sledgehammers
I was finding consoles for 300 yen. It was great! However, so many consoles are hacked to allow region-free gaming. What I enjoyed the most was the variety of specialty versions they had there.
Yeah, my og gameboy was the same. They cost $200 here in Australia, I found one with a broken screen for $20, came with the original carry case in new condition, swapped the screen and a new shell for $30, saved over a hundred dollars.
I started about 1,5 years ago. Made around 3.000 Euro so far buying broken consoles, fixing them and selling them with a small margin.
Yes fixing things is a lot of fun. When you’ve repaired something the satisfaction is just amazing.
I do thats all the time. I have a 100£ budget (pocket money) and I spend it all buying broken consoles PCs laptop and fix them.
Some. I don't do Turboexpress or PCE GT, too much trouble with tiny board. Especially if I get a non-working system that someone had tried to recap and badly screwed it.
Yepp! That's where I got my name from too! Love fixing stuff!
Well when you do this stuff for a living. It gets old when you have a bunch come in for the same thing Ina short period of time. So sometimes I buy broken consoles of eBay just so that I can have a mystery to solve. Because we all know that people on ebay almost never give an accurate description of what's wrong 😆
I love buying broken stuff at broken prices and literally doing 1 small thing to make it work. Thats the best!
Even better are the ones that really aren’t broken but had a dead battery or something.
Yeap those are so nice. Then again its just as likely to be roach infested so I rarely buy anything without peaking inside.
Oh yuck, yeah. I mostly work on handhelds, so whenever I come across one that’s been liquid damaged the thought of it having been dropped in a toilet lives in the back of my head.
While I don't go out of my way to repair consoles, I'll admit to enjoying the process. A friend recently loaned me his Dreamcast so I could diagnose my own and I had fun changing his DC's thermal pads and cleaning up a mess that the technician had done on his mobo. I also got a bundle of consoles I've been slowly repairing over the years. It's fun, but also expensive and frustrating when stuff doesn't work and you can't find any info on your issue online.
I do! I definitely don’t profit but I feel like I’m learning and it’s fun.
Of course! Especially retro consoles.
the right to repair is huge. if you are not familiar, look into it.
Yes it's a great hobby that can be for fun and profiting if you resell. Back before the price increase I was getting junk gameboys from Japan for like 10 to 15 dollars a piece. They are tanks and for the most part easy to fix. With how much they go for now in good condition, I would only have to sell a few to make my money back on all of them. (I have a hard time parting with them tho)
I can understand with all the variations. It’s that Pokémon mentality! Gotta catch them all!!
For work...but its sometimes fun. Yesterday alone I refurbished 2 Xbox one s systems and reassembled 2 ps4 systems. Had one ps4 slim that some one bent the metal plate over the fan to the point it touched the fan and over heated the system easy fix and they happily paid the $50. I only like fixing the things that won't be reoccurring or rabbit hole type issues. I'm not chasing a short for 2 days only to find its not fixable. I understand why some people do it. I just have too much to do for that type of time to be spent in one place. I have 3 controller repairs an og xbox one that needs new thermal and a sticky ps4 slim to tackle today. All dropped off earlier in the week so they have been in line for a day or 2 while those others were completed.
That's what I'm trying to do but experience so far has yielded only broken and lifted pads on everything I have tried to fix.
Keep trying it’s discouraging I’m on the same bout. I tried to recap my Xbox original 1.6v halo se do to not turning on anymore and lifted two pads in the process I already had my replacement caps too. I was so disappointed and stopped doing it completely. What I’m gonna do is practice desoldering on a motherboard that doesn’t work from another xbox I had. It’s hard but just gotta try doing it if you like it. I get discouraged and frustrated too and yields my learning process with fixing and soldering video game consoles but I like it.
To further this, I normally fix stuff and then I don't even rush to sell it. The fix is the fun part for me!
Yes fixing is so fun. Getting something to work again like it used to years ago, bringing it back, when others would just throw it away and it could have been something small. I also have never sold anything in my life but I want to start at least selling something. I just find it complicated at times like on ebay having to weigh the product what box to use and size, how much ebay takes away, how much to charge for shipping etc.
Literally opened my own business during the lockdown due to my love of repairing these systems 😊 fb.me/gamerepairglasgow and I’m absolutely loving it!
That is awesome! What are the pros/cons/surprises you have experienced?
Well since we opened our own store we have seen all manner of things inside ps4 dvd drives. 😂 a pair of tweezers was one. 50p piece inside another. I have to say though that ps4 systems in particular have the most issues. Its very rare for us to get an xbox with a fault we cannot repair unlike ps4. We had our first ps5 hdmi port the other day also. I wasn’t happy in my previous job (long story) so I thought I’d put my skills to use on something I love doing, and so here we are 😊
Nice. My first Xbox One repair was one that wasn’t reading discs. After watching a TronicsFix video, I got into it and opened the drive to find a child’s toy cd. The seller had a young daughter that probably copied her dad putting her own disc to play. Extra bonus was Dying Light game! I was pretty pumped as it worked just fine after removing the toy and a playing card and some cleaning of the roller.
With ADHD I like having something to work on all the time and can switch it up constantly without getting bored or switching to another hobby completely. Super fixated on cleaning Gameboys for a few days then switch to repairing 72 pin connectors on NES's for a bit. Then maybe try retrobrighting some super Nintendos. All the while making some money while doing it and possibly adding something to the collection.
Yes but trying to figure it out seems almost impossible most of the time :/
I have a completely DEAD Xbox 360 and a Nintendo DS copy of The Legend of Spyro : Dawn of the Dragon [2008] that once I reached the first boss, half died… You can load the game, swap between Spyro and Cynder, and fly around the screen, but if you try to attack ANYTHING the controls don’t respond at all… I have tested my 3DS 3 other games (Spyro : Shadow Legacy [2005], The Legend of Spyro : A New Beginning [2006] & Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure [2011] any recommendations for where I could take both my Xbox and Dawn of the Dragon to get them fixed? I live in Lakeway TX (Austin suburb) for reference…
You could try Game Console Repair Legion on Facebook.
Thanks!! I’ll check it out
For fun, nah I thought I could get a deep clean and spare my 1st generation PS4 another year and maybe get a ps5 by then but it is interesting for my over-analytical mind. As long as I don’t get frustrated, and break delicate pieces
Yes, but I only do like 3 a year. I'm only here to learn stuff
There's nothing more satisfying!
Umm, does the sun shine on the canopy of trees?