Post by Mr. Postman on May 30, 2012 23:48:06 GMT -8
Just like the original Game Boy, the Gamate games and console are prone to problems over time.
The best way to clean games:
Get some Weiman's Glass Stove-top cleaner and apply it to a Q-Tip. Rub this over the contacts to remove as much undesirable build-up as you can. Flip the Q-tip over and rub down the contacts with the dry side of the Q-Tip. Follow this up going by the same above steps with the old method of using a q-tip and rubbing alcohol, as the stove top cleaner dries fast and leaves an invisible but present residue. The games should play fine without this additional step, but cleaning with alcohol after Weiman's will make your games not only look & play as factory new, but also will be preserved in the cleanest state possible.
When cleaning the console itself, You can take a coffee filter and cut it down to cart size. Take the cut-down coffee filter and tape it to a gamate cart. Get the pin area well soaked in Weiman's and repeat the process of inserting/removing it from the console. Do the same with a dry coffee filter that has been cut down. Now repeat the same process with rubbing alcohol. You will be amazed by the amount of grime removed.
I will add that unfortunately some games may still not play. A few Gamate games have different pin-outs and will only run well on certain models of the console. Some games also have a small dab of solder on one of the gold-finger contacts that also causes compatibility issues.
If your console is clean and the game is clean, there isn't much you can do if the game will not run. I Currently have 5 clean Gamate consoles, and some games simply will only play on one out of those five. As more members join, hopefully we can look more into this issue.
The best way to clean games:
Get some Weiman's Glass Stove-top cleaner and apply it to a Q-Tip. Rub this over the contacts to remove as much undesirable build-up as you can. Flip the Q-tip over and rub down the contacts with the dry side of the Q-Tip. Follow this up going by the same above steps with the old method of using a q-tip and rubbing alcohol, as the stove top cleaner dries fast and leaves an invisible but present residue. The games should play fine without this additional step, but cleaning with alcohol after Weiman's will make your games not only look & play as factory new, but also will be preserved in the cleanest state possible.
When cleaning the console itself, You can take a coffee filter and cut it down to cart size. Take the cut-down coffee filter and tape it to a gamate cart. Get the pin area well soaked in Weiman's and repeat the process of inserting/removing it from the console. Do the same with a dry coffee filter that has been cut down. Now repeat the same process with rubbing alcohol. You will be amazed by the amount of grime removed.
I will add that unfortunately some games may still not play. A few Gamate games have different pin-outs and will only run well on certain models of the console. Some games also have a small dab of solder on one of the gold-finger contacts that also causes compatibility issues.
If your console is clean and the game is clean, there isn't much you can do if the game will not run. I Currently have 5 clean Gamate consoles, and some games simply will only play on one out of those five. As more members join, hopefully we can look more into this issue.