SuperCom Partner Repair?

Hello everyone!

I picked up a SuperCom Partner for the SNES from a forum, and I was super bummed to find it not working when I got it. Power on the system, and black screen. No disk activity, no LED lights, nothing.

However, there are several factors that can be causing it to not work. The AC adapter I received is for a MegaDrive (odd, considering that both the seller and myself are in the US, but I digress) and according to a few forum posts I found on the web, that should work fine. Also, my SNES uses a power adapter I picked up at a game shop. It is far from official, it weighs about an ounce and outputs at 9V (the SNES wants 10v). It plays cartridges fine, but it may be affecting the reader to boot up?

If you guys have any suggestions for me, I'd love to hear them.

 

Alright so I popped it open, and aside from some pretty hefty wire damage that leads from the power in to the motherboard, everything seems alright. There is a 2016 battery in there. No corrosion or leakage from that. If it were dead, would that kill the boot?

I went in and fixed the wiring. That didn't solve the issue, however. Still shows a black screen. The only activity I get is when I first plug in the unit, the disk drive gives a quick click.

 

whats the rated current output on both PSU's (amps)?

 

Blindly fixing something isn't easy. All you can get is general electronics repair info.

Check clocks of all chips, check reset pins aren't being held active, etc.

 

9v on each. I'll check amps in a bit.

I'm not sure where to start on doing this.

 

Are you sure it doesn't need a cart in the slot for the CiC protection? Several of my old copiers needed a cart loaded or else black screen.

 

I only have Japanese carts, and that didn't get it going. Would an American game be required? It's a US release SNES.

 

jap cic and us cic is the same

 

That's no go, then. Interestingly, if I put the cart into the SuperCom backwards, the SNES refuses to turn on. Seems like some kind of reading is happening.

I checked the amps, 1.2 A for the SuperCom unit, 850 mA for the SNES unit.

 

if you put the cart in backwards, you are likely shorting power lines.

 

Any other suggestions?

 

open it

 

Err... I did. I mentioned that above.

 

Sure thing. I'll do it in the morning.

 

Alright. I took some photos.

I didn't have the Macro option, so I took close ups in (assuming) quarters. I have two sets of the top, one of the bottom, and front and back of the expansion chip on the back.

http://imgur.com/a/aK99o

Let me know if you need a better photo, I'll do my best.

 

Lead wires off the barrel jack look iffy.
That EPROM could be corrupted, anyone know what it's for?
The bubbles, in what I'm assuming is mostly ground plane may be a concern but it doesn't look cracked..

I'm assuming this board was assembled using wave soldering, it's hard to tell but some legs on a few components don't look to have enough solder..

Check the diode and voltage regulator (the one with the big heatsink) near the DC barrel jack.
Do you own a multi-meter ?

 

I do not, but I am not opposed to buying one if need be.

 

you'll probably need one for this repair, spend over $25 on one and it helps if it has a continuity beeper.