MVS 6-SLOT - How bad does this board look?

[SMD88]

I recently received a 6 slot for free, untested, no idea if it works or not. I have no access to any tools or cabs at the moment, and am trying to see how board this board is and if it will be too hard to fix or not.

I have taken some photos of the top board and motherboard and I see some worrying areas, but am unsure if it is just a case of the mask coming off, or if the tiny traces are fooked. I thought I would upload some pictures here and see if the experts here can run their eyes over the pictures and perhaps offer their opinions.

I know it is very hard to tell from photos, but I thought it may be something people may have seen before. Would REEEAALLLY love to have a working 6 slot! But if it is too damaged, no way I will be able to repair such tiny traces I have seen repair videos where solder has been run along the traces to look for breaks, but I cannot do that right now, sadly. If it is damaged, it is something I would pay to have repaired, if it doesn't get too dear. Doubt I will be able to purchase one any time soon!

Thanks!

 

[hatmoose]

I do a little bit of NeoGeo repair - not as much at the master @ack or @maki , but still a bit.

From the photos you've posted I see many hours under the microscope doing trace repair The traces aren't hard, just time consuming. Be aware that the traces may not be the only problem. The 6-slot is notorious for bad chips - switching all 6 of those slots must have been right on the very edge of what was possible back in the day - like maintaining a vintage Ferrari - awesome but sometimes impractical.

Hopefully others will offer some opinions too, as MVS's go its certainly not the worst ive seen, but it may not be a quick fix.

 

[SMD88]

Was kind of what I was thinking, lol. The traces will hopefully be the worst issue, but I know how notorious tye 6 slots are. Especially all of those RAM chips on the top board.

I was almost thinking of cutting my losses with the 6 slot and just trying to grab a working 4 slot instead. They seem far, far more reliable than 6 slots that DON'T have all the trace damage!

 

[maki]

Not a master, just a hobbyist, thanks for the mention @hatmoose

I'd fix those traces by tinning them, make sure to use enough flux so you do not create shorts.

Show the battery area, these often leak and wreck havoc on the traces and ICs around it.
Doesn't look to bad TBH, I see some corroded traces there but mostly you're showing scratches there.
The scratches are the easy part, don't even bother about that scratch on GND.
I have a 6 slot here with lots of rotten traces, old MVS and some AES do that.

Did you try it out/turn it on?

If you don't have the skills to fix the small traces, you either build them up (don't practise on a 6 slot ) or you leave it to someone else experienced to do that, sorry can't help with recommendations, I've spent some time in Sydney but didn't do MVS or consoles back then.

 

[Ryoandr]

I'll go on a limb and say this doesn't look too terrible. As you say you can retin exposed traces, and maybe bodge wire if some lines are cut. The real work is figuring out if a chip is dead on the top board.
You can do tests with the bottom board only with diag bios.