Game Gear

Schematics (Game Gear)

Find attached all currently available schematics for the Game Gear. Credits for this redrawn VA1 to https://github.com/...

Board Scans (Game Gear)

3200dpi highly accurate and straightened PCB scans of the Game Gear PCB Images here are 600dpi. For full size images go ...

RePCB 2-ASIC (Game Gear)

The RePCB is a brand new motherboard I made for the Game Gear. It supports the CleanScreen as the screen (not original...

Hardware Overview (Game Gear)

Before you start modding and repairing your Game Gear it is important to familiarise yourself with the main areas and co...

📄 Model Versions (Game Gear)

Model Number Country Type ASICs Year 837-7398-01 Japan VA0 IC3 315-5378 IC2 315-5377 1990 837-7398-03 Japan VA0 IC3 315-...

Soft Start / Fast Reset (Game Gear)

A subtle but important detail in part of the Game Gear red light boot circuit is it's soft start and reset circuit. The ...

Getting to Red Light Boot (Game Gear)

When repairing a game gear after you have recapped the Game Gear and tested your power regulator (original, CleanPower o...

📄 Zombie Boot (Game Gear)

There is a condition where the Game Gear can have a Zombie effect; during a fairly quick on-off cycle the game can start...

ASIC Dead Test (Game Gear)

Once you have red light boot, the next step is confirm your ASIC is running as expected out of reset with no game. TLDR;...

Reading Game Cartridge (Game Gear)

Once the console has red light boot and is out of reset, with valid ASIC operation signals, the next step is the ASIC wi...

LCD Circuit (Game Gear)

NOTE: Here are my quick notes to help people diagnose the issues with no contrast on the LCD. Check your backlight tube ...

Visual Diagnostics (Game Gear)

Many common problems can be seen by having a specific type of screen output. For all the tests I try and use Sonic 1 or ...

Audio Noises (Game Gear)

The Game Gear can have several causes of noise fairly easily introduced. This article will cover common fixes and work ...

TMSS Blue Splash Screen (Game Gear)

The classic blue PRODUCED BY OR UNDER LICENSE FROM SEGA ENTERPRISES LTD. is controlled by the SEC pin of the ASIC. I...

VA0/VA1 LCD Interface (Game Gear)

I enjoy reverse engineering as much as the next guy, and I love sharing my knowledge more. During the creation of the Ga...

📄 VA4 VA5 LCD Interface (Game Gear)

The LCD interface for the VA4 and VA5 is quite different from the VA0/1/2. Instead of 4 bit color per channel it is 3 bi...

Capacitor Replacement (Game Gear)

The very first job of any Game Gear repair has to be a full re-cap (or at least a decap; removing the aluminium capacito...

📄 CleanScreen v1.0 Game Gear

Find the PDF install guide for the first Game Gear CleanScreen (the iconic purple board) below. 📎 GG-CleanScreen-v1.0-I...

📄 CleanScreen V3.0 Game Gear (VA0/1/2)

The latest version released is the v3.0 that is identified by the 4 switches on the top left including the Screen Test s...

CleanScreen v3.1 Game Gear (VA0/1/2)

The version 3 series of CleanScreen aims to move back to the HSYNC and VSYNC method of locking onto the video signal. Th...