RF Generation Message Board

I'm thinking about bidding on a Genesis 1 console from eBay, but it says it's from a smokers home. He says it works perfectly, so my question is - should I be leery of this? does smoke really damage electronics that much?

It usually leaves residue on the consoles (and possibly inside) and can carry the smell of smoke. Get some ozone spray and clean it out and there's nothing wrong, but it means extra effort.

Cover the console with dryer sheets. Then your Genesis will smell like lavender.

If you clean it thoroughly it should be fine.

Thanks guys!

I've purchased plenty of systems that wreaked of cigarette smoke smell (as in, if you got within 15 feet of it, you could smell it) but just leaving it sit out in the open, the smell will dissipate and then disappear after a few days. Leaving it in the sun on a sunny day will speed the process up.
However, for consoles that are lightly colored (SNES, Wii, Xbox 360, etc) the smoke can discolor the plastic, which is essentially permanent.

I just purchased a Saturn that must've been from a smoker.  When I opened the cartridge slot It smelled like stale cigarettes.  After cleaning it with Windex and shining it up with WD-40 it smells fresh. It works perfectly though. 

Old consoles like that tend to be east to clean, just take the shell off carefully and soak it dish soap(the shell, not he guts) and the crud comes right off. Use 90% rubbing alcohol, q-tips, and soft cloth for the sensitive parts.   

I have a theory that everyone in Japan (even kids) smoked two packs a day at minimum in the 80s. Nearly every Famicom game I've picked up has had layers of nicotine on it. Clorox wipes work good to get it cleaned off, but by the time it's clean the wipe looks like used TP.

Your post instantly made me think of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh2MDHO8Bfg
Though my memory had more of the kids smoking.

Without even pressing play, that looks like Hackers Turtles.

Hackers and TMNT are two of my favorite movies  :leo:

@NES_Rules Regular, or menthol?

I'm convinced that the consoles themselves smoked 2 packs a day.

My wife is extremely sensitive to cigarette smoke. Of the few things I've brought home which smell smokey, they get this treatment. Covering things in dryer sheets works really well, I didn't believe it before I tried it. Just wrap whatever it is completely and let sit a few days. Works great.

Dryer sheets work well on cardboard boxes and instruction manuals too.

All I know is I bought 2 atari controllers from value village for $3 and my god. They were rancid with smoke smell. They were in a baggie so I couldn't tell when I bought then. I tried airing them out for weeks and still stunk. I ended up throwing them out.