Retron 3 overheat?

[leatherrebel5150]

Does the retron 3 tend to overheat? I have had mine for a few weeks now and I notice that you get that hot plastic smell after playing it for a while. I noticed that the air vent for it is at the bottom and I had it sitting on a fluffy kind of carpet so i propped it up to allow for more air flow, it helped but it still gets that smell after a 1/2 hour or so.

Has anyone else noticed this.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Is your RetroN3 a 1.0? Basically will it play Castlevania 3 or other MMCM5 NES games?

I haven't noticed heat issues with mine, but it is possible. My theory is that it's because the RetroN3 probably has a super tiny heatsink, if it has one at all. Its 7805 voltage regulator likely isn't attached to a big enough heatsink that can handle long play sessions, so the heat travels to the bare plastic shell and then you notice a smell.

I'll take a close look at my RetorN3 later and post some pics. To remedy you could try adding a bigger heatsink assuming the design allows room for one.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

That smell may just be related to the grade of plastic used on the casing reacting to the minimal heat generated.

Or there may be some adhesive epoxy/glue used to bond parts of the motherboard to the case. I haven't opened my Retron, but I've seen clones that have that, when that heats up it may soften and produce an odor.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

just opened my RetorN3 and confirmed what I suspected. There's a small strip of metal acting as the heatsink inbetween the NES and Genesis cartridge connector. Is that where the smell is coming from? If not then you might have a board problem specific to your machine.

My ReotrN is a 1.0 and the NES daughterboard is dated 2009-11-14, but the Genesis/SNES side is dated 2009-9-25.

[leatherrebel5150]

Can't really tell where exactly the smell is coming from but when I left it on the carpet with the vent blocked I felt the pin connectors and they were pretty warm.

Think I have the updated model, just bought it new a week or two ago.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

The best way to tell is by looking at the box it came in. Did the box have a handle? was the writing white or blue? If no handle and blue Retorn title and it says Tri system rather than 3-in-1, it's a newer one.

General rule of thumb: never put ANY console other than perhaps a original 2600 heavy sixer on carpet. Doing it with offical consoles is bad enough,clones it's even worse. All that keeps heat in check on the Retron is a thin stip of metal that can only handle so much. Directly below it is a ribbon cable that connects all vital outputs from the NES daughterboard to the mainboard, so yeah......don't put the retorn on carpet ever again.