PC-FX repairs?

[Arkhan Asylum]

My PC-FX is finally starting to derp out.

The CD loads poorly.


Some games (real CDs) get skippy audio.

Zeroigar will often just choke and die.


I recall mention of a fairly easy adjustment to get the thing working again.   


I'm guessing SamIAm will have the answer, because I think he was the one doing said repair.




I  NEED TO BE ABLE TO PLAY YUNA AGAIN.  HAELP

[SamIAm]

Open her up, find the row of three white potentiometers, and adjust the middle one in 1/8 counter-clockwise rotation increments until it works. A single 1/8 adjustment might do the trick; if it doesn't work after four 1/8 turns (aka half a full rotation), it's probably not going to work, and even if it does, you'll probably burn the laser out pretty quickly. You can hear it give off a weird high-pitched squeal after a certain point.

You don't have to dig far, by the way. Once you get the outer case off, you'll see what I'm talking about. Good luck!

EDIT: Given the number of times I've seen this fix be effective, I really think it would be a good thing to sticky. If a mod (Necromancer?) will give me permission, I'll make a custom thread.

[NecroPhile]

EDIT: Given the number of times I've seen this fix be effective, I really think it would be a good thing to sticky. If a mod (Necromancer?) will give me permission, I'll make a custom thread.

Heck yeah, that'd be great!

[Arkhan Asylum]

Sweet.  I'll give this a go in like a month when I get back from Japan, lol.

Gonna keep my eyes peeled for non overpriced FX games.

I'm sure that will go well.

[Koop]

Open her up, find the row of three white potentiometers, and adjust the middle one in 1/8 counter-clockwise rotation increments until it works. A single 1/8 adjustment might do the trick

Just a good ol' pot adjustment? Saving CD consoles since forever eh.

Is there such thing as a replacement laser for a PC-FX? I'd assume something like that will be necessary eventually, no?

[Arkhan Asylum]

Ill do this when i get back from Japan.

I figured it was easy, but didnt know the things to touch.

Seems alot like fixing a 1541 drive

[blueraven]

This fix works, confirmed! And it should be a sticky topic if it isn't already.

(No, NecroPhile it wasn't the unit you sent me, that works fine )

Safe travels back to the US, Ark.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

EDIT: Given the number of times I've seen this fix be effective, I really think it would be a good thing to sticky. If a mod (Necromancer?) will give me permission, I'll make a custom thread.

Heck yeah, that'd be great!

Did this pot adjustments and other fixes custom thread ever get stickied?

[NecroPhile]

Did this pot adjustments and other fixes custom thread ever get stickied?

Did it ever get made?

[xcrement5x]

I don't think so, most of the content talking about it is in this thread from Sam's paragraph and the first page of this thread: https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=19329.0

[SamIAm]

Sorry guys. I actually wrote up a draft of all the text for a guide, but I really need to get a nice set of pictures, and there are other things taking priority these days.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

Heyo Sam,

No worries.  Just curious as I think I need to adjust some pots on my FX now too.  ;)

[Gypsy]

Open her up, find the row of three white potentiometers, and adjust the middle one in 1/8 counter-clockwise rotation increments until it works. A single 1/8 adjustment might do the trick

Just a good ol' pot adjustment? Saving CD consoles since forever eh.

Is there such thing as a replacement laser for a PC-FX? I'd assume something like that will be necessary eventually, no?

This is a great question, does anyone know? I usually like go grab up a spare laser or two for my systems to keep in reserve.

[SamIAm]

http://retrostuff.org/2015/03/22/nec-pc-fx-laser-pickup-hop-e1/

HOP-E1 is the one to get.

I bought six cheap Chinese knock-offs (~$2 apiece), and only one of them worked.

I suspect that many of the more expensive listings you'll find are actually just people buying a bulk-load of these knock-offs, then filtering out the ones that work. That's not necessarily a bad solution, though. If you want to find an authentic product, you'll have to search for a while and pay accordingly.

[Slypty]

Picked up a spare PC-FX HOP-E1 Laser (sounds like a bad beer) and had it reading CD-Rom (burned games) for all of 10 seconds, and hasn't been able to read them since.  Audio CDs boot instantly, I tried tweaking the pots.. am I being too fussy with the back-ups?  It's a derelict system I picked up in Japan and had high hopes.  The laser I bought wasn't cheap at $26USD hoping to find a replacement on a budget if nothing prevails

[xcrement5x]

Picked up a spare PC-FX HOP-E1 Laser (sounds like a bad beer) and had it reading CD-Rom (burned games) for all of 10 seconds, and hasn't been able to read them since.  Audio CDs boot instantly, I tried tweaking the pots.. am I being too fussy with the back-ups?  It's a derelict system I picked up in Japan and had high hopes.  The laser I bought wasn't cheap at $26USD hoping to find a replacement on a budget if nothing prevails

I think someone mentioned previously that that replacement lasers can be hit or miss.  I know I've had mixed luck with them too, I bought like 15 Saturn ones in bulk from china and maybe only 2/3 of them work.