Discussion How to Save the Turbo Express?

[Cleetus_Buckwalter]

It seems like the Turbo Express / PC Engine GT is like an endangered species at this point, and I'm wondering if it can be saved. Here's what I mean.

They didn't make a ton of those systems to begin with, and they notoriously suffer from very bad capacitors. I've worked on two, and the corrosion that the caps caused to the boards was way worse than anything I've seen on other consoles/handhelds, including the Sega Game Gear. So now, they're very expensive to buy, and pretty difficult to repair.

It's such a cool system that was incredibly ahead of its time, and I hate to see it pretty much going extinct.

I was thinking that it might possible to make it cheaper/easier for enthusiasts to put one together. If the board could be mapped out, and made available for printing with PCBway, I think that would make things much easier. I think the main chips (HuC6260, HuC6270, and HuC6280) could be sourced from the much more common PC Engine systems. And I think Wesk created scan files of the case. The case and board would need to be updated to accommodate a different screen.

Any thoughts? Do you think the expense/effort would still be too high to be worth it for most folks who are into this type of hobby? Any gotchas that I'm missing?

 

[d3z0rian]

I found this project in a quick search: https://github.com/Board-Folk/PC-Engine-GT-Controller.git

 

[Y2K]

It seems like the Turbo Express / PC Engine GT is like an endangered species at this point, and I'm wondering if it can be saved. Here's what I mean.

They didn't make a ton of those systems to begin with, and they notoriously suffer from very bad capacitors. I've worked on two, and the corrosion that the caps caused to the boards was way worse than anything I've seen on other consoles/handhelds, including the Sega Game Gear. So now, they're very expensive to buy, and pretty difficult to repair.

It's such a cool system that was incredibly ahead of its time, and I hate to see it pretty much going extinct.

I was thinking that it might possible to make it cheaper/easier for enthusiasts to put one together. If the board could be mapped out, and made available for printing with PCBway, I think that would make things much easier. I think the main chips (HuC6260, HuC6270, and HuC6280) could be sourced from the much more common PC Engine systems. And I think Wesk created scan files of the case. The case and board would need to be updated to accommodate a different screen.

Any thoughts? Do you think the expense/effort would still be too high to be worth it for most folks who are into this type of hobby? Any gotchas that I'm missing?

Sounds like a fun idea. As d3z0rian mentioned earlier, someone did already create the controller PCB for the GT, so "half" of the work has already been done for you. Unfortunately they did not implement the link cable & sleep functionality, so I would spend some time reimplementing those features before using it.

It's entirely feasible to recreate the motherboard, however there's two routes you can take with this:
1. Obtain an original GT motherboard, remove all the chips, and sand down every layer, taking high quality scans along the way, then using those scans to recreate the board from the ground up, making a 1:1 copy. This is the easiest approach, however you will have to sacrifice a rare motherboard to accomplish this. Might be worth it if you can find one where the chips have already been pilfered or are otherwise damaged due to corrosion, but as long as the PCB itself is mostly in tact, it's a good candidate.
2. Reverse engineer the hardware from the ground up, either using a GT motherboard purely for reference, or using a standard PC Engine and making some inferences, if you can't find a GT board. Then, with the knowledge you've gathered, create a custom motherboard from scratch that fits inside a GT, but isn't focused on matching the motherboard closely, just implements all features of the original system & uses original chips. A lot harder of an approach, but definitely a lot less destructive.

Actually recreating a system from the ground up seems fairly realistic too, since as you mentioned, scans of the shell exist (ideally should be recreated using the scans for best results when printing), and it's possible to get aftermarket screen mods that eliminate the need for an original screen. The rest is fairly trivial to either source or outright replace when we have access to a full digital design of the shell & other components.

I 100% think it's worth documenting this system, so that existing stock can be maintained for the future. A full recreation GT would also be insanely cool, and I would love to see you take on that project if you think you're able to handle the technical challenges!

 

[subierekt]

Board scans exist, i could have swore someone was working on boards but i cant find them. leaving this link for reference

Board Scans (NEC PC Engine GT) - RetroSix Wiki

The worlds first board scans and layers. I destroyed my own personal PC Engine GT for this, so if you are going to share these images please make sure to cre...

retrosix.wiki

found it!

GitHub - Board-Folk/PC-Engine-GT: Reproduction PCB for PC Engine GT/TurboExpress

Reproduction PCB for PC Engine GT/TurboExpress. Contribute to Board-Folk/PC-Engine-GT development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

 

[Y2K]

Board scans exist, i could have swore someone was working on boards but i cant find them. leaving this link for reference

Board Scans (NEC PC Engine GT) - RetroSix Wiki

The worlds first board scans and layers. I destroyed my own personal PC Engine GT for this, so if you are going to share these images please make sure to cre...

retrosix.wiki

found it!

GitHub - Board-Folk/PC-Engine-GT: Reproduction PCB for PC Engine GT/TurboExpress

Reproduction PCB for PC Engine GT/TurboExpress. Contribute to Board-Folk/PC-Engine-GT development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Thanks for sharing. I knew when I saw Cosam credited in the controller PCB repo, I should have checked to see if he made a GT board recreation. Awesome to see!

 

[Cleetus_Buckwalter]

Wow! I had seen the controller board, but forgot to mention it in my post. But I wasn't aware of the board scans and gerber files! That's great!

I guess the only step left would be to have a new board design similar to what was done for the Game Gear, where it's been modernized for a new screen, etc. https://retrosix.co.uk/Game-Gear-RePCB-New-Motherboard-2-ASIC-p758337067

I'm glad to see this system is getting the love it deserves!

 

[Y2K]

Wow! I had seen the controller board, but forgot to mention it in my post. But I wasn't aware of the board scans and gerber files! That's great!

I guess the only step left would be to have a new board design similar to what was done for the Game Gear, where it's been modernized for a new screen, etc. https://retrosix.co.uk/Game-Gear-RePCB-New-Motherboard-2-ASIC-p758337067

I'm glad to see this system is getting the love it deserves!

Yeah that would be ideal. Something that can simplify the install of the RGBDRV/LCDDRV mod found here, so you don't have to do point to point fly wiring. Definitely feel free to make a worklog if you go down that route!

 

[Cleetus_Buckwalter]

Yeah that would be ideal. Something that can simplify the install of the RGBDRV/LCDDRV mod found here, so you don't have to do point to point fly wiring. Definitely feel free to make a worklog if you go down that route!

Yeah. Adding USB charging with a modern battery would also be good. And the case would need to be updated to house the bigger screen. I've never done pcb design but maybe I'll give it a go. I'll definitely create a workout if I do.

 

[Cleetus_Buckwalter]

Yeah. Adding USB charging with a modern battery would also be good. And the case would need to be updated to house the bigger screen. I've never done pcb design but maybe I'll give it a go. I'll definitely create a workout if I do.

Never mind lol. Looks like this is already in much more capable hands.