The week I fixed three game consoles and broke two more

Last Tuesday I got cocky after swapping out a capacitor on an old Xbox 360 for $0.75. Then I tried to reball the GPU on a PS3 and my hot air station blew the solder all over the board, bricked it completely. By Friday I had a Game Gear working again with a new screen from Handheld Legend, but I snapped the ribbon cable on a second one. Has anyone else had a repair streak where you go one for three and feel like a genius and a fool at the same time?

2 comments

2 Comments

mila_reed1d ago

Oh man, that Game Gear ribbon cable snap hit me right in the gut just reading it. I did the exact same thing on a GBA SP last month, spent an hour getting it aligned perfectly and then my fat thumb crinkled the flex cable. That 360 capacitor swap is a dangerous gateway drug, it makes you feel like a soldering god until you try something stupid like a full reball. At least you only broke two, I had a stretch where I killed three DS lites in a row trying to fix the shoulder buttons before I realized I was using the wrong type of flux.

williamschmidt1d ago

You tried different flux entirely? That's wild, what were you using before? I swear by the rosin paste, it's fussy to clean up but I never have bridging issues with it.