RF Generation Collectorcast Episode 5

[Shadow Kisuragi]

That was from the old apartment. There's also Starcraft, Full Metal Alchemist, and Ghost in the Shell there too.
I need to fix the second joystick on my Neo-Geo cabinet so that I can start playing fighters on it again. Something came loose during the move, and I haven't fixed it yet.

[Addicted]

Nice Neo-Geo cab! Speaking of Neo-Geo just found this in the stuff from storage..



wildbil52:

Thanks. Its a generic Game Room sign that I purchased for $20, and then added in some stuffed Mario characters. The shelves are Benno shelves from Ikea.

[RobotCowhand]

Finally listened to this and I wanted to say thanks for the shoutout

I'm still around, but since I got the new place I've spent most weekends working on the place and not having time for collecting.

That said, I should have my basement retro gaming setup sorted out soon for pictures of!

[NES_Rules]

Since I didn't see anyone else mention it, I feel I must now that I've gotten around to finishing this episode. Regarding watering down alcohol, make sure you use distilled water. Using tap water is really bad for things like cleaning cart pins. Tap water is full of chemicals and minerals that will eventually corrode any metals parts that you're cleaning.

[Duke.Togo]

Since I didn't see anyone else mention it, I feel I must now that I've gotten around to finishing this episode. Regarding watering down alcohol, make sure you use distilled water. Using tap water is really bad for things like cleaning cart pins. Tap water is full of chemicals and minerals that will eventually corrode any metals parts that you're cleaning.

Quote of the day, folks.

[techwizard]

i've finally gotten to listening to this, and just recently passed the part where you brought up the sandpaper being used as a contact cleaner, and cringing at someone overcleaning to the point of the contacts being silver instead of gold. now my method of cleaning will never involve sandpaper for obvious reasons O_O, but what i do use is a tube of metal polish. a dab of that on a cloth, then a few quick scrubs along the contacts, and unless it's really bad it comes out perfectly clean every time and works perfectly on the first time putting it in a system. i use this on any cartridge based system that can be opened easily enough to clean with more than q-tips. the only thing is it does make them come out silver, which i would guess is it's removing some sort of protective layer.

now my question is, is there any permanent damage i'm doing with this cleaning method? after a while i noticed that some of the contacts did start looking a little gunky after the games sat unused after this method. i realised that i think even with a dry wipe after cleaning, there was a residue of the polish left, so now i've added that after the metal polish i do a lighter cleaning with the alcohol and q-tip just to remove the residue, and it seems to work (some games i've done with this method don't have any sort of residue months after being cleaned).

there are some games i've cleaned with this method early on in my collecting, maybe as much as 2 years ago, and they still work. i've never heard anyone using this method before so i've always been a little paranoid that i'm doing something i shouldn't be, though i have yet to see any actual problems because of it.

[Crabmaster2000]

My understanding is that the gold plating is protecting the contact from the elements. So removing it would't cause any immediate damage and the game should play fine, but it will significantly increase the chance of corrosion in the future. Once the contacts have been exposed to the corrosion the cart will be unplayable. So while it might work well in the short run I really doubt the games are going to last in the long run.

[Duke.Togo]

Keep in mind that polishes are there to make metal look pretty, and not necessarily provide the best electrical connection. If you want to go down this path I would recommend contact cleaner instead.

[techwizard]

ya, that's what i always thought might be an issue, but we'll see how they hold up...like i said the ones i did quite a while ago still work fine,  but maybe i'll look into some contact cleaner