NEC Super CD-Rom2 RGB upgrade and Re-cap

Super CD-Rom2
RGB-amplifier-installed-in-Super-CD-Rom2

This work was to replace all the old capacitors on the NEC Super CD-Rom2 drive add-on, and install the RGB video amplifier upgrade. CD-Rom also needed tweaking to read CDR audio more reliably.

Super CD-Rom2 Capacitor replacement

The Super CD-Rom2 CD add-on allows the addition of a CD-Rom drive to the original PC Engine systems without the need for the oversized Interface Unit. Like the PC Engine DUO, NEC used a combination of surface mounted capacitors and radial caps on the motherboard. These SMD caps are prone to failure and leakage. I always recommend replacing them before damage is done.

dismantling the Super CD-Rom2 is very straight forward. The only tricky job is to remove the CD-Rom drive from the motherboard. Its held in place by legs with plastic clips. These can be fragile and break easily, so take care. You also have to remove the RF shields on the front and back of the motherboards. These de-solder easily.

Now the motherboard is free from its casement Its time to remove the old caps and install these new ones. Keep in mind that the audio amplifier circuit in on a smaller daughter board and that planning the cap placement is important. The photo above was taken after removing the caps and AV socket.

RGB upgrade.

Tapping the RGB signal from the Super CD-Rom2 is super simple. Just run wires from the EXT port pins for Red, Green, Blue, Sync, 5v and Ground to the video amplifier and AV port. The 5-pin AV port was replaced with a 8-pin version to accommodate the RGB colour wires to scart.

I recommend this cable from Retro Gaming Cables. Retro Gaming Cables are always high quality and give a great picture with this mod.

CD-Rom Adjustment

The final job on this Super CD-Rom2 was to adjust the Cd-Rom. It was struggling to pickup focus on CDR’s. It would click and take several attempts to start loading. Regular CD’s started without trouble.

To fix this, I adjusted the pots VR103 and VR104, Bean focus and Track Of-Set. I only tweaked these slightly and I highly recommend taking a photo of the pots before hand and never adjust them too far in one go.

All finished and returned to customer.

If you have a PC engine system thet needs re-capping, please get in touch here

8bitplus 2018