Game-Tech.us
New Member
I work on a lot of older video game consoles and am constantly cleaning edge connectors that the game cartridge pcbs push in to. A good cleaning has saved more vintage consoles than I can remember even after 20 plus years of use and abuse.
My process was to apply formula 409 over some sort of substitute board usually covered with a cloth and insert/remove repeatedly to scrub the contacts until a fair amount of bubbles form then let it dry a bit and retest a game. I soon discovered the 409 was leaving a film on the contacts after it dried and games would have trouble loading. So I then started to use another substitute board (this one is pressed felt) soaked in %99 propyl alcohol to rinse off the 409. This works perfect, but then as the felt board started to fail to stay rigid, I thought why not use electronic contact cleaner to spray out the connector. I do not need to scrub it again with the alcohol just rinse out the 409 residue before it dries. This also works perfect, BUT its too expensive to keep using. My next experiment will be to fill a sure shot sprayer with the %99 rubbing alcohol, pressurize it, and use this instead of the contact cleaner. It should work just as well and I won't have to pump a regular spray bottle and may have more control over pressure and spray pattern.
Just wondering if any one else has ideas or experience with such matters.
My process was to apply formula 409 over some sort of substitute board usually covered with a cloth and insert/remove repeatedly to scrub the contacts until a fair amount of bubbles form then let it dry a bit and retest a game. I soon discovered the 409 was leaving a film on the contacts after it dried and games would have trouble loading. So I then started to use another substitute board (this one is pressed felt) soaked in %99 propyl alcohol to rinse off the 409. This works perfect, but then as the felt board started to fail to stay rigid, I thought why not use electronic contact cleaner to spray out the connector. I do not need to scrub it again with the alcohol just rinse out the 409 residue before it dries. This also works perfect, BUT its too expensive to keep using. My next experiment will be to fill a sure shot sprayer with the %99 rubbing alcohol, pressurize it, and use this instead of the contact cleaner. It should work just as well and I won't have to pump a regular spray bottle and may have more control over pressure and spray pattern.
Just wondering if any one else has ideas or experience with such matters.