AAAARRRGHH!! TurboDuo collecting is frustrating! [Archive]

Graham Mitchell

04-05-2010, 11:53 PM

I'm starting this thread to bitch, but I am curious if other people have had some of the woes I've been having.

I've had a Turboduo forever, but a couple of years the redbook audio went out. I wanted to start collecting for it again, so a few months ago I took it from my parents' house and sent it to OldSchoolGamer to get repaired. He replaced the audio circuit, tested it for 16 hours, and sent it back to me. When it got here, there was no left sound channel audible, and after playing for 30 minutes I heard a loud POP!! and then there was no sound at all.

I sent it back to OldSchoolGamer, and when he took another look, there was some of the worst corrosion he'd ever seen in one of these, which he suspected was going all the way to the board. The machine was essentially unsalvagable, so I donated it to him for parts and bought another one off eBay.

$400 later, I'm having a great time playing DragonSlayer and Dungeon Explorer II. Things go well for about 3 weeks. I turn it on tonight to play Dragonslayer. Guess what? No video output. The sound worked okay, so I started switching AV cables and pluggin into different inputs on my TV, but to no avail. I have no clue what's going on here.

Do I have terrible luck with these machines, or are they just poorly-designed pieces of shit? This has been a 4 month ordeal trying to get this working. I had to send my 360 in for repairs twice in the last 4 months, and the hard disc on my mac failed, so I'm pretty frustrated with electronics these days. (It's not my year)

Anybody else sometimes feel discouraged about collecting due to technical problems like this?

Arkhan

04-05-2010, 11:57 PM

thats how i feel about amigas, bunch of goony hardware.

the duo seems like you got bad luck though. usually its not that bad :(

get an R, its a safer bet

Graham Mitchell

04-06-2010, 12:08 AM

Well, thank Jesus I discovered the problem...it was actually apparently in my HD upscaler. It appears to be toast. That's okay, it's a much simpler fix than the Duo. I'm getting a signal from another port on the TV now.

Still, I find it surprising how much of my shit fails considering how well I treat it, and really try to take care of it.

I bought a Sharp Twin Famicom over Christmas, so everybody say a prayer for me so that it doesn't catch on fire or get struck by lightening in the next 6 months.

Jisho23

04-06-2010, 12:21 AM

Sometimes this stuff just happens.

Gameguy

04-06-2010, 12:23 AM

Duos have a big problem with capacitors failing, once they're replaced the system should be pretty durable.

Just curious, how long did you wait before getting your Duo repaired? Did the sound just go shortly before you sent it in for repairs or did you wait awhile(years) before sending it in? I'm mostly curious about how quickly leaking capacitors can corrode through the circuit board. I'm also wondering how he didn't notice the corrosion when he repaired it the first time, since it was apparently so bad.

Graham Mitchell

04-06-2010, 12:29 AM

ShinobiMan

04-06-2010, 12:40 AM

I loved my Duo until something snapped internally. Now the CD's no longer spin or read. HuCards still work fine... but that's not the important part!

They are expensive machines, which is why I have not replaced it yet.

Maybe I should sell my copy of "Dynastic Hero". That'll pay for the machine!

Arthur-Otaku

04-06-2010, 01:08 AM

This problem is so simple to solve

Forget turbo duo or pc engine duo, you need a japanese duo r or rx, you will never have sound problem again

About your twin famciom, yes, it will have the belt problem, all have or will have, just forget the disk drive and only use carts

Emperor Megas

04-06-2010, 01:38 AM

I loved my Duo until something snapped internally. Now the CD's no longer spin or read. HuCards still work fine... but that's not the important part!That's what happened to my first Duo. I'll probably get around to fixing it one day, I just haven't gotten around to it since I have have two others that work well. Another Duo, and a PC Engine Duo RX, which is what I use the most.

The same thing is that I don't think I ever played a single CD game when the CD player on my first Duo stopped working. I played a few audio CDs when I first got it, so I know that it used to work, but It just up and died on me out of the blue after barely any use. :(

swlovinist

04-06-2010, 02:00 AM

I play on the original Turbo CD unit with system card 3.0. The system is fugly, but has held up over 10+ years of owning it. I have bought two Duos, and both needed to be repaired. One is fixed, and the other is getting fixed.

atrionfo

04-06-2010, 12:12 PM

I had a TurboDuo that started having problems about six years ago. I guess the laser or something was going bad because ALL the CD games started skipping. Before I got a chance to decide if I would fix it or not someone stole most of my electronics (and other stuff). They "saved" me from having to make a decision by taking the system. Like most robberies, they left some stuff behind... including all of the Turbo Duo games (Hu-Cards and CDs)! I gave the Hu-cards away to a friend who still uses a TurboGrafx. I use my CDs, occasionally, under emulation. My son has also downloaded a couple of Turbo Duo games using his Wii (Y's Book I and II and Gate of Thunder).

BUT, you were asking about unreliable systems. I collect, primarily, for the Bally Astrocade (BallyAlley.com is my website). I have eight Astrocade consoles. Six are dead. One works... sorta. The other works, but is very "touchy" (if you touch it while you're playing it, then it resets!).

I'm glad that your Duo turned out to be okay!

Adam

Emperor Megas

04-06-2010, 12:29 PM

BallyAlley.com is my websiteThat's pretty clever. :)

Oldskool

04-06-2010, 12:51 PM

Although the games are fun, the hardware is crap. It's like the 360 of the 90's.

Soviet Conscript

04-06-2010, 01:14 PM

when i first saw this thread at a glance i thought it was going to be about Aaaaaah real monsters

thats how i feel about amigas, bunch of goony hardware.

the duo seems like you got bad luck though. usually its not that bad :(

get an R, its a safer bet

i was going to comment again about how i have a theory you used to work for commodore and got fired and had your pension suspended and thus seem to hate all things comme but then i remembered all the odd problems i had with my amiga 3000, so maybe you have a point.

i've had 2 US duos and both had problems. the first was a simple audio issue which was repairable the second duo...i have no clue and for that matter neither did the 2 people i sent it to. the card slot worked fine but it refused to load cd's. i even had the entire laser assembly replaced and nothing. best we could figure was a chip had died. i eventually ended up just selling the motherboard to a guy that has yet to pay me for it and it been several months....but thats anouther story. i kept the box and shell of the unit cause i figured one day i'll buy a cheap duo mb or one with audio/cd problems and stick it in the old shell (cause the serial # on the shell and box match)

anyways...get a japanse duo-r + a us region mod or converter card thingy and you'll have a pretty reliable unit.

Aussie2B

04-06-2010, 01:39 PM

Sorry to hear you've been having so many problems. Can't say I've had any problems, but I went with a PC Engine Duo-RX. The only issue I've had to worry about is that the data disappears if I don't use it for a long time, but that's my fault for not giving it an occasional charge. I do have a second Duo-RX that won't play discs, but I knew I was going to receive it in that state (came with the working one).

Gameguy

04-06-2010, 05:32 PM

For those with problems, you might want to check out this site for help.

http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?PHPSESSID=bb0d112b1234a1d446af51d0c64bc0 35&board=19.0

ScottK

04-06-2010, 06:05 PM

I've owned 3 different sets of TurboDuo systems over the years and haven't really had any problems at all. The first one I had back at system launch and kept it for 3 years. The second one I had for a few years in the late 90's. The last one I've had for about 3 years. The only problem I did have was the cd laser would get stuck whenever I played the homebrew Meteor Blaster DX. Fortunatly I was able to fix it by rolling the laser back manually.

Oldskool

04-06-2010, 06:56 PM

Yeah now that you mention Meteor Blaster DX. No turbo CD systems likes cheaply burned discs, or CD-R's. Sure it may play them for a while, but eventually the thing will crap out. There is just something about them, so don't play burned discs.

Soviet Conscript

04-07-2010, 03:05 AM

Gameguy

04-07-2010, 03:19 AM

i'm guessing the laser has to output more to be able to read them and it burns itself out?
From what I read the laser can get stuck when reading CD-Rs because the data is written too far over on the disc, and the laser moves too far to read it. The laser moves just beyond the point where it can move itself back, or something like that.

I'm not entirely sure but that's what some people said, they had to manually push/pull the laser so it would get unstuck. Others said that burned discs play fine on their system. I haven't done too much searching about it though.

skaar

04-07-2010, 10:51 AM

Thank god we don't have these types of problems on modern gaming systems.

ScottK

04-07-2010, 04:48 PM

From what I read the laser can get stuck when reading CD-Rs because the data is written too far over on the disc, and the laser moves too far to read it. The laser moves just beyond the point where it can move itself back, or something like that.

I'm not entirely sure but that's what some people said, they had to manually push/pull the laser so it would get unstuck. Others said that burned discs play fine on their system. I haven't done too much searching about it though.

That sounds exactly like what happened. I tried to play Meteor Blaster DX three different times and the laser got stuck twice. Both times it got stuck when it tried loading the game past the main menu. Fortunatly you don't have to push/pull the laser. The laser will get stuck in the far right position. You just open up the system and next to the laser there is a crank you can turn with your finger. Just keep moving the crank until the laser is back in the normal left position. That happened like a year ago and my duo still works flawlessly so glad it didn't do any permanent damage.

Graham Mitchell

04-07-2010, 09:14 PM

Thank god we don't have these types of problems on modern gaming systems.

Sarcasm noted.

It sounds like when I get a nice fat paycheck and an urge to blow money I should look into getting a Duo-R. It's probably only a matter of time before this thing goes gunnysack.

Do you guys think getting a PCE to TG-16 Hucard converter would be cheaper than just getting a TG-16 and a TurboBooster Plus to play US HuCards? Or maybe getting the system modded to run US HuCards would be cheaper than both of those options?

Tron 2.0

04-07-2010, 11:02 PM

Sarcasm noted.

It sounds like when I get a nice fat paycheck and an urge to blow money I should look into getting a Duo-R. It's probably only a matter of time before this thing goes gunnysack.

Do you guys think getting a PCE to TG-16 Hucard converter would be cheaper than just getting a TG-16 and a TurboBooster Plus to play US HuCards? Or maybe getting the system modded to run US HuCards would be cheaper than both of those options?
Having a duo-r region modded is the best option if you ask me.You get the best of both worlds being able "to play u.s&jpn hucards" on one console.

Mine is and it's very convenient to have it all in one.

Btw i find converters to be a waste of money any ways....beside them being over priced these days.

XYXZYZ

04-07-2010, 11:03 PM

The way I understand it the black Duos (Turbo or PCE) are timebombs just waiting to die. Mine did. I'm fairly handy with electronics repair and I made lots of attempts to fix it, new HOP-M3 laser, changed lots of components, it wasn't gonna happen. Fortunately I knew better than to buy another first gen Duo and I invested in a Duo-RX. I even made an adapter to use a Sega Genesis (US) power supply just to make sure it was using the right voltage.

So now my only problem with PC Engine gaming is that all the good games are so goddamn expensive.

Damaramu

04-07-2010, 11:20 PM

Having a duo-r region modded is the best option if you ask me.You get the best of both worlds being able "to play u.s&jpn hucards" on one console.

Mine is and it's very convenient to have it all in one.

Btw i find converters to be a waste of money any ways....beside them being over priced these days.

Who's doing these types of mods these days?

nectarsis

04-08-2010, 12:59 AM

So now my only problem with PC Engine gaming is that all the good games are so goddamn expensive.

This is mentioned WAY to often. There is a TON of good-GREAT games for the PCE that are relatively cheap...and as a whole MUCH cheaper than collecting the US side of things.

Arkhan

04-08-2010, 02:43 AM

This is mentioned WAY to often. There is a TON of good-GREAT games for the PCE that are relatively cheap...and as a whole MUCH cheaper than collecting the US side of things.

thats because everyones got tunnel vision and wants Dynastic Hero, Bonk 3, and Magical Chase. lol

they skip right over the cheap classics!

For <100$ you could load up on enough games to keep you busy awhile.

savageone

04-08-2010, 05:48 AM

I've never had any real problems with mine, the CD audio went out once and I replaced the related caps. Took ~15 minutes to fix. 2 of them were leaking so I intend to do a complete cap overhaul at some point since I'm sure there will be others.

The R and RX models are slightly better pieces of hardware that have a few less things that can possibly go wrong, but the vast majority of problems that spring up with original Duos are cap related and simple fixes. No system is exempt from cap problems. R and RX models might not be going bad in droves quite yet, give them time though. :P

Any ways it is a good time to learn how to do minor fixes like replacing caps on your own, if anything it will be good knowledge to have in the future when older game systems are really going bad. Looking at replacing the caps in all your systems now isn't a bad idea, even perfectly working systems can have leaking caps which can cause major problems if they are left that way for a long time. Depending on the cap you might actually have to remove it to figure out if there is leakage.

It kind of sucks but a little TLC should go a long ways in most cases.

Oldskool

04-08-2010, 01:05 PM

Well I've owned 5 turbo grafx systems in my lifetime, and 3 of them have failed on me. They are just trash. Not everyone should know how to replace caps and lasers. They should just work. I can understand one console going bad here and there, but damn. My Atari 2600 still works perfectly. All of my classic consoles have worked great (save blowing into nes carts), except for th Turbografx. Anyone that's not electonically inclined, or can't afford to ship out your consoles for repair don't get one, or a 360.

I did have a Duo -R and the thing worked perfectly I have to give it that. (Even though the music would cut out at the very end of Lords of Thunder for some reason or another).

Graham Mitchell

04-08-2010, 04:01 PM

savageone

04-08-2010, 05:46 PM

You can find tons of videos for how to do it on youtube, it might seem confusing at first but it's not too bad. There are a lot of different types of capacitors but what you almost always need basic run of the mill electrolyte radial capacitors, just match the uf and voltage (not a problem if voltage is higher, don't go lower though), make sure the positive/negative sides are aligned properly (longer lead is positive), clip off any of the lead you don't need, bend the legs over the pad if needed, and solder it on. If there is any leakage (usually a dark brown goop): clean it up with a q-tip/towel and alcohol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eitPZ24_7KE

Do it once and you'll never pay someone to do it for you again. :) I'm not going to guess at how many issues with retro game systems are just cap related, but it has to be a good majority of them. It'll save you a lot of headaches and money in the future guaranteed.

Tron 2.0

04-09-2010, 03:37 AM

Who's doing these types of mods these days?
http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=7287.0

Arkhan

04-09-2010, 06:08 AM

I would LOVE to learn how to replace caps on my own. Anyone know of a good guide online that's written in laymans terms?

Btw-the duo I have now has a blue led for the access light instead of the cruddy red one I'm used to seeing. Is this modded or was this a normal variant?

step one is being good at soldering. might want to invest in one of those newblit kits at radio shack that has stuff for beginners to solder, so you can build up the experience to get in and poke at important stuff without worry.

If you go in fresh and start jabbing with the soldering iron, you might make a mess of your duo!

TheClash603

05-11-2010, 12:54 AM

Hey Arkhan, it looks like I am following you over from PCenginefx.com...

I have two Duos, and both work pretty damn well. Now the Turbo Express on the other hand... that is such a cool machine, but it was made VERY poorly.

dhowerter

05-11-2010, 10:09 AM

OK, just to summarize this thread and make sure I got this right:

- The gray / squarish Turbo Duo USA / Japanese systems are time bombs (sound / laser / capacitor, etc. etc problems)
--> AVOID

- The way to go is: (for an actual, reliable, long-lasting system)

- the PC Engine Duo-R / Duo-RX OR

- the PC Engine CD (PC Engine with system 3.0 card plus CD Attachment)

- the TurboGrafx-16 CD (TG 16 with system 3.0 card plus CD Attachment)

Do I have that about right? :-D

.

jperryss

05-11-2010, 04:23 PM

OK, just to summarize this thread and make sure I got this right:

- The gray / squarish Turbo Duo USA / Japanese systems are time bombs (sound / laser / capacitor, etc. etc problems)
--> AVOID

This would be the black TurboDuo or the original black PCE Duo. Yes, sound capacitor failures are very common with this model.

- The way to go is: (for an actual, reliable, long-lasting system)

- the PC Engine Duo-R / Duo-RX OR

- the PC Engine CD (PC Engine with system 3.0 card plus CD Attachment)

- the TurboGrafx-16 CD (TG 16 with system 3.0 card plus CD Attachment)

Do I have that about right? :-D

The way I understand it, the TG+CD and PCE+CD combo aren't especially reliable, but are 'more repairable' than the original Duo.

In any case, a Duo-R/RX is usually a safe bet.

nectarsis

05-11-2010, 05:21 PM

There is almost nothing on a Duo that can not be repaired. People keep acting like the caps that tend to leak completely destroy a system. The PCE+CD, and TG+CD both have a common (at this time) irreplacable internal gear that is known to basically disentegrate.

As stated before, the Duo R or RX are the safest bets.

Rickstilwell1

05-11-2010, 07:28 PM

Pretty much I got the original Duo just to have one and it still works. Would you recommend I use my normal TurboGrafx-16 for HuCard games and only use the TurboDuo for the occasional CD only game? Or does letting it set there unused give it more of a risk of leaking?

Breetai

05-12-2010, 08:19 PM

Here's the most economical answer for authentic Duo action; get a regular Tubrografx-16 and a PC Engine Duo. The Japanese Duo is cheaper to replace than the US Duo.

udisi

05-12-2010, 09:00 PM

never had a problem with my duo, but the other alternative is a laseractive. expensive, but pretty damn tank like.

Rickstilwell1

05-12-2010, 09:21 PM

never had a problem with my duo, but the other alternative is a laseractive. expensive, but pretty damn tank like.

mine blew its internal power transistor while playing a simple Sega Genesis game...

PC-ENGINE HELL

05-12-2010, 10:20 PM

Laseractive being tank like lol, yea right.....if so, maybe like a shitpiece T-72.

TheClash603

05-13-2010, 12:09 AM

mine blew its internal power transistor while playing a simple Sega Genesis game...

I own three Laseractives, and only one works. I own two Turbo Duos, and both of them work well.

Trust me, the Laseractive is the worst of the bunch. The disc tray is a pile of garbage that always sticks. Not to mention, the NEC pak seems to be selling near $1,000 now-a-days, which is the price of 5 Turbo Duos.

Too bad, because the Laseractive is an awesome system, but that is getting off topic.