Had a customer reach out inquiring if they could have 2 Atari Lynx (both model 1) upgraded with a BennVenn screen and recapped and power circuit refresh done
I charge double for Lynx 1 as its not plug and play like the model 2 (which still requires careful assembly and 1 wire for scanlines) and needs 12 wires soldered and the original screen ribbon carefully removed. It’s not “hard” just time consuming but like many other early portables the OEM screen leaves a lot to be desired and its a HUGE upgrade ultimately worth the time/cost!
No cleaning service was selected but I still gave the membranes and buttons a complimentary wipe down and I offered to replace the lens with a brand new glass lens at no cost since that part actually makes my life easier… you can put the lens on last right after pulling the new display protective plastic which lowers risk of large particles and fingerprints
When doing these I have a very particular order, I tested both machines to make sure they were operating stock/as-is then I removed all capacitors and power circuit components. This allows me to deep clean the board on both sides with ISO before installing all new parts.
I then proceeded to install all new capacitors and the new power circuit components. It’s all pretty straightforward, you just have to make sure the new capacitor cans are pointed slightly near the battery tray and also laid completely flat in the area under the cart slot or else the metal shield wont go back on.
For the power circuit components its a quick process though I do add a few blobs of hot glue on the back and sides of the brand new power jack where it meets the board. In my experience the #1 fault of those is pressure from inserting/removing plug over the years causing cracked solder joints and I found that some had hot glue on from factory and those tended to hold up better (presumably because the glue is taking some of that abuse from being all transferred to the solder joints on underside) so there is no reason not to, especially since you wont see it anyways!
Once all the new board components were soldered on, I got to work prepping the board for new screen. This involves removing the stock power board, CFL backlight tube, backlight shield and all related plastic parts. Since customer provided new Lens’ I also carefully removed stock lens and deep cleaned under it.
These kits come with a 3D printed LCD mask to hide the metal face of the screenwhen viewing from the front and really do help it blend in, though I wish K-Retro would offer the STL for a self print or improve their printing quality, it requires a LOT of scraping and trimming to make presentable.
The mask requires carefuly alignment and planning, then I like to drop in the new screen and cover with 3D printed support bracket so once I wire it up, everything is in place
To remove the OEM screen, you just have to peel back the adhesive and add flux and introduce a new bead of solder and run the tip along the pins as you gently pull up, safely leaving the original motherboard connections already smooth and tinned for new wires.
I have a handy flex pinout chart to know which pins go on which fingers and simply chose a few different colors to differentiate between the A/C/D & misc points (such as backlight, res and cl2).
I just worked my way down the pins soldering one wire at a time, I like to orient the wires to be facing internally so there is no risk of getting pinched on the shell when closing up, and there is lots of room in there for the extra bends on the wire with the stock screen removed. I think make a gentle swoop and cut as short as possible to reach the front assembly aligned with the bottom shell so once done and screen bracket is glued in, you can just flip the mainboard/buttom shell over to close it up.
Before putting on the sticker or closing it up, i hooked up a PSU and tested while open to ensure screens were working correctly and also make any last minute alignment adjustments. Once both were looking good, i secured screen with kapton to the bracket, cut the rubber supports to fit and closed it up after signing off on the work!
Immediately you can see a HUGE jump in image quality and sharpness/color vibrancy. These screens truly look great! Picked a few of my favorite games and got them staged for a final shot, packed up and ready to head home to customer!
Order complete!