A couple of problems regarding two separate Tamagotchis

[Porg]

Hi again everyone!

Sorry for the second help topic, but I have ran into another couple of issues- which I would very much appreciate some help with, if at all possible please!

Today I have been going through my old Tamagotchi collection, deciding who I want to start up and play. I found one of my all time favourites (which got me very excited) and I proceeded to open it up. I popped in some batteries that had worked in other Tamagotchis and it started up- yay! However, upon turning it over, the screen was very faint and quite hard to see unless you tilted it a certain way- so I thought I would try a different sized battery (I also tried tightening the screw in the back- which did not work). I swapped them over and it did not start up, so I thought to put the other working batteries back in. It did not start up again- despite only working moments before with the same two batteries.

I am just wondering if anyone could possibly know why this has happened? There is no corrosion on the connecting area as far as I can see- but the batteries do move around ever so slightly in their compartment. I am going to try and find some slightly larger batteries tomorrow, just in case its as simple fix as that, but in the meantime I was wondering if anyone had any ideas and/or suggestions as to why this is happening? I absolutely love this virtual pet and would love to get it running again.

My second problem is my Super Gyaoppi- it has a bit of corrosion on the inside. I have read rubbing alcohol helps remove this- as does white vinegar? I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to what rubbing alcohol/vinegar to buy and give me some tips on how to remove the corrosion? I have been googling but no one is specific (to what I have seen, at least) about the brands/strength of alcohol they are using.

Thank you in advance everyone, fingers crossed I can get this sorted and add these two to my log!

Edit:

I also forgot to ask, what is the best way to clean a Tamagotchis shell? As I have had one turn up thats a little bit on the dirty side (primarily on the plastic close to the screen). I’m assuming water on an earbud/q-tip is not a good choice, due to it being electronic? On a side note/semi-related note, is there any way to remove yellowing from coloured shells? I am aware of a couple of different ways for white plastics- but not coloured ones or Tamagotchis. My original/first Tamagotchi has for some reason yellowed? Its a bright pink colour and I really don’t want to ruin the plastic hue. Any advise/tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

[toxic_Makiko]

I think they might be old.Sorry,I don't have a connexion yet so I can't really help.Try taking them to repair store or something

Ps:I think you have to use a cloth to clean gotchis,but don't get over with this idea.

 

[Porg]

toxic_Makiko - Hi there, many thanks for the reply! I should have probably specified what Tamagotchi it was in my post, as it is not a Connection. Sorry about that! The one with issues working is... Well... I don't know what it is! Its an old favourite of mine, however. I am including photos below if that might help? Do you have any suggestions as to which kind of repair store to use?
Thank you for the suggestion of a cloth - the stuff that is on my Tamagotchi is rather... stuck on? For lack of a better term. So I am not sure if it will need some kind of cleaning product to sort it out?

I do however have a slight update in regards to the first virtual pet in question!

I went and got new batteries, which caused it to work again- however, the screen was still faint. Upon screwing the back in place, I noticed the connectors on it were knocked back quite a bit, so I decided to bend them forward a little. This seems to have done the trick, somewhat as the pet is now staying on. The screen is still faint, sadly and there does seem to be a bit of an issue with the back clip sitting snug. I have pushed it down firmly and screwed it in the best I can- so that there is no gap and it seems to be working, as my little kitty is still running.

The screen can be seen better when the pet is tilted a certain way, so thats something at least. The buttons are quite slow to respond and if I press them firmer, to get a response, part of the screen disappears momentarily?! Eep! A horizontal line of pixels vanishes until I lift my finger from the buttons, but pressing firmly is needed to get them to respond. Help! Does anyone have any suggestions on why this is happening and most importantly, how to fix it? I have very fond memories of this pet and really want to get it up and running so that I can play it again.

And this is what happens if I tilt it in another direction- it either completely fades or is barely visible.

On a side note, can anyone identify what it is? As there is no indication whatsoever on the shell. The writing on the menu looks either Japanese or Chinese, although I could be wrong and probably am!

 

[toxic_Makiko]

I don't know what version it is,sorry. Maybe somebody knows a decent repair staor.Are you from the States?

 

[Hapihapitchi]

Hey!

Perhaps you could send us a picture of the menu so we can figure it out?

About cleaning your tamagotchi's shell, I use rubbing alcohol. I pour a bit on a cotton ball and rub it over the shell. I've never had any problems with it discoloring the shell. It works really nicely if there are any of those sticky spots due to old stickers on the shell. For harder to reach places and even the metal tong things (forgot what they're called!) where the battery goes, I recommend a q-tip/cotton swab.

If you have any other questions, I may be able to help!

 

[Porg]

Toxic_Makiko - Sadly not, I am from the UK.

Hapihapitchi - Hi there! Many thanks for the reply. I really appreciate it.

When you say menu, do you mean the information area where the stats are kept? If so, here is a photo of it below. I would love to know what the name of this critter is, but I can’t for the life of me remember (despite purchasing it from new- mind you, that was around the time of the first release of Tamagotchis. Thats going back quite a few years now, so its not surprising I can’t remember the name! ).

Do you possibly know why the screen is so faded/why a bar of pixels vanishes if I press a button too hard? Or even why the buttons are not that responsive any more? I am so, so sorry for all of the questions- I am not tech-savvy at all and quite the worrier. I can get whatever photos are needed to hopefully fix this little guy.

Thank you so much for the advise on cleaning- I had a Tamagotchi turn up a few days ago and its case is a bit on the dirty side (mostly in the corners). Do you know if the alcohol will rub the decals off? As they are in great condition and I don’t want to damage them - there is barely any scratches to them.

I have only ever experienced yellowing to plastic on white before, I’ve never seen it on coloured plastic. The pink shell has left me utterly confused as to why its yellowed! And at a loss as to what to do to restore colour, as the techniques I vaguely know of are for white plastic and not electronics.

Do you know if the rubbing alcohol will work on removing corrosion, as you mentioned the battery area? Also, do you have any recommendations as to what brands/strength to get? As I’ve just had a quick look on eBay and there seems to be different % in strength?

Thank you again for the help, I really do appreciate it so, so much! This is all completely new to me and I am a coward when it comes to trying things out, haha.

 

[SailorRosette]

I'm a bit rusty but neko-cha comes to mind. They had a few different shells.

Ebay is pretty helpful if you dont mind searching that way.

 

[Porg]

SailorRosette - Hi there, many thanks for the reply! I do have a Nekocha, but I don't remember the gameplay being the same as this one- I could be wrong though. This one seems easier to keep alive, as I remember my other pet being a bit of a nightmare. I'll definitely do some googling and research into the shell designs of that particular virtual pet, though. Thank you for the heads up, I really appreciate it!

Would a few more photos (of the menus/games/etc) help with identification- if it is not a Nekotcha? I would love to get another one of these, especially if I can't repair this one/get the screen clearer/buttons more responsive.

 

[Penguin-keeper]

On a side note, can anyone identify what it is? As there is no indication whatsoever on the shell. The writing on the menu looks either Japanese or Chinese, although I could be wrong and probably am!

I don't know the specific name of your cat virtual pet, but I can see from the menu photograph that you posted that it looks to be Gyaoppi-based - that menu is almost identical to the one on Penpy, which is a Gyaoppi-based penguin virtual pet.

Also, you might like to know that I stumbled across the specific name for the version of the Super Gyaoppi that you have (though unfortunately I can't help with the corrosion) - it's the "Big Cat 9 in 1".

 

[Porg]

Penguin-keeper - Ah! That is fantastic! Thank you so, so much for letting me know! I wonder if I can find another Gyaoppi cat/pet similar to it, if I cannot correct the screen fade/find out why the buttons are causing pixels to vanish when I press them hard (which is needed, as they are quite unresponsive now, sadly). I adored this virtual pet as a kid and I will admit that I am quite saddened to see how it is running now.

Thank you for letting me know the name of my large virtual pet too! I really appreciate all the research you have done- and I appreciate you letting me know. I have just purchased some white vinegar and rubbing alcohol (91%)- so fingers crossed I can clean it up. Its a strange corrosion- brown looking. It also looks like its leaked on the back too. To be honest, I don’t even know if it is corrosion (given batteries were not left inside of it). However, after a lot of googling, I have seen many people mention white vinegar and rubbing alcohol- so fingers crossed this works. I am going to experiment on Virtual Pets that have more leakage first, to see what works best. Fingers crossed!

 

[Penguin-keeper]

Good luck, Porg! And you're welcome, once again!

Also, about the Gyaoppi-based cat virtual pet, it really isn't difficult to open these things up - you just need to take be careful and take it slowly. I wrote a little bit about that here, recently.

Unresponsive buttons will typically be from use and age, incidentally, but are really easy to fix - I find that just wiping the carbon-pads on the insides of the buttons a little bit tends to do the job.

 

[Porg]

Penguin-keeper - Thank you for the luck! Fingers crossed!

Thank you for the link- thats reassuring and good to know. I used to do it all the time with the Digimon ones as a kid, to customise them. Now I am older, I am a bit more nervous of doing it, as I am worried about breaking them.

Thats great to know I can fix the buttons at least! Do you have any recommendations on what to clean the carbon pads with? I have seen some YouTubers use rubbing alcohol? Or is there there something else I can use in place?

Do you also know of any tips to help the screen out? I am absolutely gutted that it has faded, as I remember this particular pet being lots of fun.

Thank you once again for being so helpful and informative with your replies- I really do appreciate the help!

 

[Penguin-keeper]

Penguin-keeper - Thank you for the luck! Fingers crossed!

Thank you for the link- thats reassuring and good to know. I used to do it all the time with the Digimon ones as a kid, to customise them. Now I am older, I am a bit more nervous of doing it, as I am worried about breaking them.

Thats great to know I can fix the buttons at least! Do you have any recommendations on what to clean the carbon pads with? I have seen some YouTubers use rubbing alcohol? Or is there there something else I can use in place?

Do you also know of any tips to help the screen out? I am absolutely gutted that it has faded, as I remember this particular pet being lots of fun.

Thank you once again for being so helpful and informative with your replies- I really do appreciate the help!

As ever, you're very welcome.

Anyway, honestly, for cleaning the carbon-pads that are attached to the buttons, I just use a clean piece of cloth - sometimes I even wipe them on part of my own shirt.

As for the screen-fading, I really don't know. I've got a couple of virtual pets that can't be viewed head-on, myself - specifically my Dinkie Penguin and my Super Gyaoppi, which I actually bought new-in-box in both cases. I have to tilt them very slightly to get a clear view. Since I can't tell if they were always like this, I wonder if it's just due to age? That being so, even a replacement wouldn't address that - it'd have the same issue.

 

[Porg]

Penguin-keeper - Thank you for the help and information! I'll try to be brave and open it up when my screwdriver arrives. The buttons are quite unresponsive, making it a nightmare to interact with (especially with how the screen is). Heres to hoping that I don't chicken out.

Ah, thats a real shame- I am sorry to hear that they arrived like that. By what you are saying, though, I am wondering if its due to age? Given that yours had never been used, I am guessing that it is not caused by 'over-use'. I wonder if this fading affects only certain types of virtual pet, or if its a universal problem that pops up occasionally for all of them once in a while.

 

[Penguin-keeper]

There's nothing to be sorry or sad about - it's the sort of thing that I expect from old electronics, to be honest!

Anyway, I haven't yet seen this sort of fading on a Tamagotchi or a Digimon, but it does seem to be present on some older virtual pets I have that I suspect had lower production-costs, so my current guess is that it's an age-related thing that might affect cheaper displays. Bear in mind that this is only a guess, though - I've got no way to figure this out scientifically, after all.

 

[Porg]

Penguin-keeper - that is true. Still, I am sorry that it does happen.

Hmm, you might be onto something there- I might do a bit of research into that and see if anyone has reported any issues in either Tamagotchi or Digimon pets. I did see a YouTube video about a Digimon pet that had display issues- although it wasn't faded. It had a strange dark 'cloud' around it, a bit like my GigaPets. Although it was above the actual sprite, not on it.

 

[Penguin-keeper]

I've done a bit of research, based on a hazy memory, and I learned (or re-learned ) that the polarisers in liquid-crystal displays can fade as a result of exposure to hot climates or poor storage (usually outdoors, but I reckon that this could extend to attics and such, as well).

This probably explains the screen-fading issues that we've both seen. It's only very slight on my virtual pets that have been affected by it, so I find it more than liveable enough to not want to mess with it.

 

[Porg]

Penguin-keeper - Oh no! My Virtual Pets were stored in my cupboard. My house is not very warm, however. Even with the heating on, it is still cold (and I do mean cold. Its an older house, so heat doesn't hold very well. Right now our boiler is bust too, so we have no heating at all. Repairs are on hold, due to snow and people not wanting to travel). You mention heat damage, but can cold do it also? And I wonder how long it would have to be over. I am worrying about my current Tamagotchis and Virtual Pets now.

I wonder if there is a way to fix it....

 

[Penguin-keeper]

Going by the article that I found, which mentioned outdoor storage affecting LCDs in a vehicle, I'm guessing that, yes, cold can cause it too. However, I don't believe that this applies to the current awful weather in the UK - the issue would arise over the long term, most likely when things are out-of-use. You don't have anything to worry about there!

 

[Porg]

Penguin-keeper - Thats good to know, because I am having a bit of a panic-attack over things right now. My house, particularly the storage room, is always cold, as I said, though. I am wondering if thats what has damaged the others. I might move them into the living room, as we have a small heater we have bought.

I was considering heating up a couple of hot water bottles, wrapping them in a cover and blanket, and putting my Tama boxes on top of them to bring some warmth back. Do you think this is a good idea - or will it be too warm? I am absolutely paranoid right now, LOL. I'm definitely not 'tech' savvy either. A lot of my Tamagotchis/Virtual pets are out of use. I only have Isaac and Brynn running currently. I keep stuffing them under the blanket and off of the table to the side of me, to keep them warm LOL.

Yeah, I am referring to the awful UK weather. Our heating people have been messing us around for months now, we have basically gone all winter without a boiler. They apparently repaired it around Christmas- but guess what? It still didn't work and they refused to come back out, as they had apparently 'done their job'. Ugh. I'm really hoping nothing happens to my little critters, I've had quite a few disheartening blows with the ones I have fired back up recently. I definitely don't want any more.

Do you know if the screen damage is permanent from cold? Or if it returns to normal when things get a bit warmer?

I'm sorry for so many questions, I actually have no idea what I am doing and have a horrible habit of over-Googling things.