Nomad Issues - It won't turn on.

[jb143]

I recently bought a box of old video game stuff from someone for $25 who had no idea what they had. A bunch of genesis and NES games and zapper, a PS1, N64, SNES and super scope, lots of cables and controllers, a gameboy, a gamegear with 3 games and a sega nomad.

I was really exited when I saw the nomad since It's one of the coolest things sega made and I've been wanting one for a while, but it won't turn on. I'm not too sure what normally happens when they're turned on(I'm really not even sure which way the swich goes to turn it on)

I added new batteries and tried various games but when I flip the switch either way the "Low Batt" light flashes red for a second and nothing else happens. The screen remains off and there's no sound. Also...any advice for how to get into it? I tried the wadded up paper and the melted pen approach to getting the security screw out but with no luck.

Thanks for any help

[MonoTekETeA]

Get a power adapter and attempt again.

If some one could clear this up, that would be cool. Are there some kind of capacitors that need to hold some juice that just may not be in this case?

[jb143]

I tried a gamegear adapter but it did the same thing. I'm currious. What is the normal function of the LED? Does it only come on when the bateries are low or go off when they are?

Also, I should say that I've worked in the electronics industry so I'm not affraid of messing anythign up trying to fix it. I even have access to smt rework equipment if I need it. I'm just hoping it's something simple like a power suply problem.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I tried a gamegear adapter but it did the same thing. I'm currious. What is the normal function of the LED? Does it only come on when the bateries are low or go off when they are?

Also, I should say that I've worked in the electronics industry so I'm not affraid of messing anythign up trying to fix it. I even have access to smt rework equipment if I need it. I'm just hoping it's something simple like a power suply problem.

I believe the red LED would light up on "power" and potentially "flash intermittently" when batteries were low (which, was like every 10 minutes with a Nomad).

Love the nomad, but it's absolutely a system that needs an AC adapter at all times...I somehow lost my AA battery case for my Nomad ... and I didn't even bother replacing it.

[jb143]

Thanks for the replies...

I might have an AC adapter that will work on it. The one I tried was a car adapter which makes it kind of inconvenient. I'm thinking it's a power problem because the led does come on for a second but other than that, the unit is dead. Maybe a blown cap or diode from someone connecting the wrong power supply??? Or a broken/loose part from it being dropped? Any thoughts? Tonight I think I'm going to drill out the security screw and have a look, though I'm not familiar with the nomad so any help is apriciated. I'll be sure to post my findings in case anyone else has a similar problem.

[FABombjoy]

The most common power related problems seems to be cracking solder joints on the power jack. It doesn't exactly sound like what your problem is, but still worth inspecting nonetheless.

[jb143]

Thanks for the help everyone. I still havn't gotten arround to opening it up yet. I was going to drill it out but don't to hurt the plastic. I think that what I'm going to do is dremel out a notch in the end of a flat head screw driver to make a "spanner socket" (I saw this on a website somewhere)

It is a little hard to see down in there though. Does anyone know if the screw head matches any others...like the gamegears or any games...which would be easier to test the size?

[Dragon Warrior Jasen]

Generally, looking at the board, wires, etc wont do you much good unless there is a physical burn spot or apparent broken wire/solder joint. I would get a cheapy multimeter and test the power wires/connections for continuity if you are going to open it up. Set it to RESISTANCE or OHM (depending on the meter) and go to town. Make sure you get 0 resistance across wire runs, solders, etc. If you get infinite or something very high... well, theres your problem. Kind of tedious but its a sure fire way to verify it works... and you can test the capacitors, diodes, etc. just set the meter to the appropriate settings.

[jb143]

You forgot about smelling the board. My electronics teacher in high school could instantly know what was burnt out by the smell. I was hoping this would be known problem but it doesn't look like it. It just seems odd. When the power switch is flipped either way the LED looks as if a charged cap is placed across it...it lights up and fades away really fast.

[jb143]

Does anyone have any information on surface mount part TR201? It's labled either 100 5H, 106 5H, or 108 5H. It looks like it might be a regulator of sorts but I'm not sure. The leads looked a little burnt so I cleaned them up and resoldered but it didn't help. If I bypass the part everything works just fine but I'm sure it's there for a reason. I don't want to burn up something else running it too long.

In related news...If anyone needs a partial schematic for the power section of a Nomad let me know because I drew one up.