Carts/connector cleaning

From: Russ Blakeman <rhblake_at_bigfoot.com>
Date: Sun Aug 1 14:47:08 1999

Pumice powder on a soft rag with a touch of spit or water works good for those
really green contacts but only with light pressure. It's harsh enough to take
off the gunk but not too harsh that it takes the copper of the backing board,
unless you over work it. used it for years on military brass, never hurt a
thing. Brasso is essentially the same but has an oil residue left to prevent
oxidation and it tends to make it just as bad as when it was dirty.

Tony Duell wrote:

> > I have quite a collection of NES stuff (carts and consoles) that I've
> > rescued from trash, garage sales, etc. that has been sitting in my
> > basement for a few years. Trying to run one of the games produces odd
> > output (i.e. lines down it display, not booting entirely) which I know is
> > due to dirty contacts. What's the best way to clean these? Alchohol on a
> > swab? Freon? (I have a friend that bought out a very large supply of it
>
> I normally start with isopropyl alcohol (propan-2-ol) on a suitable
> applicator (cotton bud, paper, whatever). This cleans most contacts, and
> doesn't attack msot plastics (although do try it on the outside of the
> connector first - you don't want the whole thing to dissolve ;-)).
>
> If it's a card edge on a PCB, it normally helps to take the cartridge (or
> whatever) apart for better access.
>
> Don't use (harsh) abrasives (a pencil eraser is probably OK). You don't
> want to remove plating from the connectors.
>
> -tony
Received on Sun Aug 01 1999 - 14:47:08 BST