PC Engine Duo does not power on

[Breetai]

Hello to anyone who has any suggestions, and to anyone reading this!

I just got myself a PC Engine Duo (the black one) in very nice condition for about 5000yen, boxed with everything. A wonderful deal, IMO! Usually these things sell for 15,000-20,000yen in Akihabara in Tokyo. It's worked great for about two weeks... but just today, it decided that it didn't want to turn on anymore.

No power at all; nothing. Hu-cards were working great, CD and Super CD games were working, and my burnt copy of Ys I-II was working fine (I do own a Japanese original copy, but I've been playing from backed-up English version since my Japanese isn't up to par). I'm assuming that burnt CDs wouldn't cause such a problem, aside from maybe putting strain on the CD drive. The only other idea I have is that I had it plugged into an extension cord from my wall. Maybe there was a slight power surge that did it in? I really have no idea.

I haven't opened my Duo yet, but I'm thinking of picking up a set of tools to open it with later this week and see if it's just something basic. Does anyone here have much experience with them? According to multimods.com, I might be needing a Torx #10 security bit to see if I can get this thing back up and running again.

[duo_r]

hey, could be a blown fuse or a blown 7805 regulator. First question - what type of AC Adapter are you using? Also I believe it is the same security gamebit as the US Duo, but I will have to check. I have that system at home.

[Breetai]

Hey, good news! I opened up it and everything looked in place. So, I unplugged the power plug from the main board, blew the dust off, and reattached everything. It works like a charm now. A big strange... but whatever, it works. Maybe it's just old and finicky?

I used a Torx #10 (T10) security gamebit, so I guess it's the same as the NTSC Turboduo. Of course, I'm just assuming it's actually called a "security gamebit". In Japan, it has a completely different name.

If you're really curious about the AC adapter, it's a model "NEC PAD-124". Input: AC100V 50/60Hz 19VA / Output: DC10V 1000mA. It came in the box with the system, and I'm in Japan so there is absolutely no issue with a power difference.

[duo_r]

Good News!

[Breetai]

Is this sort of thing common with Duos? Reading around these, and other, forums, I'm getting the impression that the Duo is a fairly fragile machine. Is that generally true?

If so, perhaps I'm glad a bought a set up gamebits (only about $15... but still!).


I'm getting a PC Engine system (and a Famicom and Super Famicom... lucky!) from a lady I know who is just throwing them out since her kids are grown up and don't play games anymore... unlike me, who will probably never grow up . Anyway, I've located a CD-ROM2 system and interface unit for about $50. I know where to get a system 3.0 card for $15 and an arcade pro for $20, so together it'd be about $70 or so. Would that be worthwhile to have, mostly as a backup (or use the Duo for a backup)? The original PCE/CD combo does look pretty sweet.