Retro Console Repair & Mods

How it works. Faults that need diagnosing, like no power or no picture, start with a £4.99 assessment. I check the console on my bench and send you a quote before any work. If you go ahead, the £4.99 comes off the repair. If you decide not to, it covers the return postage. For a no-power fault, send the power supply (the power brick) too, because old power supplies fail as well. Mods and save batteries have fixed prices.

Super Nintendo (SNES). A SNES that won't turn on or shows no picture usually comes down to the power supply, the power socket, the board's power section or dirty cartridge contacts. Read what to check when a SNES won't turn on, then book a SNES repair assessment. Later SNES boards (known as 1CHIP) can give a soft or noisy RGB picture, which the SNES RGB picture fix cleans up. There's also a SNES recap.

Nintendo 64. A black screen is often down to a missing Jumper Pak (the small part that fills the slot on top when no Expansion Pak is fitted), dirty cartridge contacts or a tired power supply. Check the Jumper Pak first, then book an N64 repair assessment. The PAL N64 doesn't output RGB without a mod, so for a modern TV the N64 HDMI mod is the practical upgrade.

Sega Mega Drive. Quiet, crackly or missing sound on a Model 1 or Model 2 is a well-known sign of ageing capacitors (more on Mega Drive sound faults). A Mega Drive recap, which replaces them with new ones of the right values, is the usual fix. The Mega Drive RGB mod fits a Triple Bypass board for a cleaner picture and fewer jailbars (faint vertical lines across the screen). For no power or no picture, book a Mega Drive repair assessment.

PlayStation 1. Disc read problems can come from a worn laser (the part that reads the disc), a dirty lens, the drive's alignment or dry sled rails. It's not always the laser, so the PS1 disc read repair includes a replacement laser, a drive service and a test. A PS1 that won't turn on needs a PS1 repair assessment.

PlayStation 2. "Disc Read Error" has the same causes as on the PS1, and the PS2 disc read error repair covers fat and slim models. Try a known-good original game first, as some PS2s are picky about disc types. For no power, or a fat PS2 running hot and loud, book a PS2 repair assessment.

A better picture on a modern TV. Composite (the yellow plug) gives a soft picture. RGB carries the three colour signals separately and is much sharper. In the UK it traditionally goes through a SCART socket, which many new TVs no longer have. An HDMI mod fits a board inside the console that outputs digital video straight to HDMI. I fit the Retro GEM, an internal HDMI board by PixelFX, in the N64 and, with the Retro GEM HDMI mod, the PS1 and PS2. Compare RGB SCART and an HDMI mod.

Save batteries. Many older cartridges keep saves on a coin battery. When it dies, the game won't save. A save battery replacement fixes that, but the new battery clears the existing save unless it's backed up first.

Other consoles. For Saturn, Dreamcast, GameCube, NES or Master System faults, get in touch first. A recap on another console starts with a £4.99 assessment.

Why independent repair. Nintendo, Sega and Sony don't repair these consoles any more, so independent repair is the only route. I've been repairing electronics for over 25 years.

Mods and collector value. Rare or boxed consoles lose collector value when modded.

No fix, no fee. If I can't fix it, I refund what you paid, less return postage. Every job has a 12-month warranty and an insured, tracked return. You pay the postage to send it in, so pack it well.