The order was originally for a recap of a Game Gear. On arrival when testing, the console turned on and there was a dim screen with no sound. The screen presented two horizontal dead lines. Upon consulting with the customer, a replacement IPS screen from BennVenn was agreed.
First task was to do the original recap to ensure the sound was back and the screen brightness would come back. As is usual in Game Gears, the existing capacitors had leaked and many pads had signs of corrosion. Before soldering new capacitors, the corrosion needs to be removed, either by scraping or by using flux, new solder and a soldering iron.
There are three main PCBs: motherboard, power board and audio board. The audio board was particularly corroded.
Once the recap was done, the console was assembled again for testing before undertaking the screen replacement
Once confirmed operation, it was time for the IPS screen replacement. First of was to remove the previous screen, remove one of the plastic posts that is on the way of the new screen, and also trim the metal fingers of the metal shield
Next was to solder the flex that comes with the IPS screen kit in the pads where the previous screen was soldered, and then install the new screen and solder the flex to it. A few other soldering points are required. The new screen comes with a 3D printed mount which helps centering the screen in the right place before reassembly
Final reassembly and test. The screen and sound work great. The old shell is quite scratched, including the lens. I did have a go at a bit of polishing, but to have the best experience, the lense can be replaced by a new one (no disassembly is required).