Nintendo NES Wavy Lines on Screen - Retro Console Repair

In this video I work on my beloved NES, which is one of the first consoles I restored prior to creating a YouTube channel. The system works great and cosmetically in fantastic shape. It does have one minor issue however... there are wavy lines on the screen during gameplay. Prior to thoroughly researching the issue, I assumed the problem was with the AC power supply. It was suggested that using an inexpensive DC power supply instead would resolve the issue, and sure enough it did. However when I acquired additional bulk console lots that included more NES-002 AC adapters, I realized that they all produced the same wavy lines on my console. This got me thinking that the issue was somehow with my console rather than it's power brick. But why did using a DC power supply seemingly resolve the issue? More research pointed to failing capacitors on the Power/RF module. This made sense, as there is a large filter capacitor in the NES and several on the output of the voltage regular, along with others for audio and video. I purchased a decent quality Panasonic capacitor kit and the project sat on the back burner... until today. After recapping the board, the picture returned to being clear and crisp. Moreover, a test of the old capacitors using a component tester revealed a couple of capacitors that were toast, including several others with high ESRs. This proved to be the proper permanent repair to resolving my video issues with my NES, and has breathed another couple of decades of life into the system. A rewarding repair and a satisfying amount of soldering required. If you're NES displays wavy lines, toss out that DC power supply and give that bad boy some fresh juicy capacitors. 🎵 Music Sappheiros - Timeless   / sappheirosmusic   "Sappheiros - Timeless" is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0) Affiliated links below to some of the tools I use if you'd like to support the channel: 🎮 NES NES-001 Capacitor Kit: https://amzn.to/3p5aG17 🖥 Composite and S-Video on my Mac USB Capture Card: https://amzn.to/2YM4TT7 (Catalina 64-bit drivers can be found on the manufacturer's website) 🔧 Toolkit Screwdriver Set: https://amzn.to/2X7s0Gj Automatic Wire Stripper: https://amzn.to/30F5TJm Component Tester: https://amzn.to/3l5rHG8 🖌 Soldering Essentials TS100 Soldering Iron: https://amzn.to/2YIJZUR No Clean Flux Syringe: https://amzn.to/2NFUZvQ No Clean Solder: https://amzn.to/2NHEAqQ Desoldering Braid: https://amzn.to/312Grws 🔍 Soldering Add-ons Tip Tinner: https://amzn.to/31w2EF4 Helping Hands Soldering Aid: https://amzn.to/3ihgksP 🔥 Thermal Compounds Arctic MX-4 Thermal Paste: https://amzn.to/2Ak2y8w 1.5MM Arctic Thermal Pads: https://amzn.to/2Vv1RQU