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  • Joined: 21 Feb 2008
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Game Gear turns itself off/screen is unreadable/sound is gone/screen flashes
Post Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 4:32 pm
I've just been to Oxfam and picked up a Game Gear 2110-50 and a handful of games for the princely sum of £8.

I've not got enough batteries here, but I do have a universal PSU (I can hear all the purists gasping) and have tried to use that. What my GG does is the power comes on, backlight comes on - blank screen then immediatly turns off again.
Stays on for about a second, then off. If I wiggle the power cable it comes back then off. Is this because I'm being a cheapskate with my universal PSU or is the GG foobar'd?

I've got a Mastersystem and a Megadrive back at my folks house that I'm going to use the PSU from but I wanted to get playing now!

*edit*

Just tried it with a fresh set of batteries, same problem :'(
Anyone know how to get this badboy going again?
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Post Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:30 pm
Last edited by Maxim on Thu Jul 17, 2008 3:43 pm; edited 2 times in total
You need to replace some components (capacitors) inside the console. There's an excellent guide here: http://members.optusnet.com.au/eviltim/ggrgb/ggrepair.html

I'll pin this because these questions are getting really frequent, but I'll have to change the thread subject accordingly, because there are multiple symptoms for the same problem:

The symptoms of faulty capacitors include:
  • LCD Screen only looks good when viewed at an unnatural angle (anything other than 90 degrees).
  • Bright parts of the picture create 'ghost lines' in the dark parts.
  • Screen looks washed out, dim, and lacking in contrast.
  • Turns itself off (in extreme cases).
  • Very quiet or no sound from the speaker
  • Problems may be alleviated when unit has warmed up a bit.
  • Screen flashes/flickers rapidly
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Post Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 6:17 pm
Brilliant! Thanks.

Spent ages browsing the web for the guide on how to fix it, got it to power up and had a quick game of columns. There's a 1cm portion of screen missing at the top and the built in speaker doesn't work. Looks like i'm going to do some soldering tomorrow :D
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Post Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 7:53 pm
If replacing the capacitors wont work try to look at the contrast-wheel. It is a small potentiometer, often dirty after many years of service. Pouring some contact-cleaning-liquid inside can help you to get better picture.
(here is related topic: http://www.smspower.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10175)
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Sound Board
Post Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 1:35 pm
I replaced all the caps on the sound board testing the unit after each cap was replaced.

First off the units sound was stuffed. It had no sound from the main speaker (not that I could hear even with the game gear crammed into my noggin) and with headphones the sound was barely audible and only from one side (left).

I replaced them in this order.

C7: 47uF Bought sound back to the main speaker wasn't loud though headphones were better but still only one channel.

C5: 47uF No real change

C1: 100uF bought stereo back to headphones

C2: 100uF Louder though distorted, This cap was very BAD a lot of cap juice where it had even affected the screw (corroded)

C4: Fixed Distortion.

The sound board is now good as new.
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Post Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 11:01 pm
Hi,

I'm a french fan of video games since long years.

I have a really problem with my Game Gear so that's why i'm here.

I read that if we have this problem :"Turns itself off (in extreme cases).", it means that we have to change all capacitors.

But my question is : Where can i buy all capacitors?

I search everywhere on the web but i failed.

Please help me, i really want to repair my GG to play at Sonic 2.

Thanks for all.
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Game gear Screen - missing Pixels?
Post Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:40 pm
I hope someone can help me here..

I just bought a game gear off ebay, the sound is fine.nothing wrong there..

its the screen,its missing alot of pixels,like white tiny squares missing all over the screen..its so annoying

Ive read through countless forums, does anyone know which capacitor needs changing?

hope someone can help :(
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Post Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 1:48 pm
Hiya if its missing pixels then thats not really something that you can fix with components - Try looking up "dead pixels" on google...

To answer the other question in this thread - to buy components you can try RS in the US or Maplin in the UK
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Post Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2009 3:06 am
For those parties interested, heres an example of the sound in a Game Gear thats had its capacitors replaced on the sound board. All in all its around a 10 minute job to do, my board has a mix of tantalums and the regular electrolytic type. Tantalums IMO would be a better way to go but they are a little more difficult to solder :)

Heres an example of the fixed sound
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Post Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 11:20 pm
I thought these YouTube videos might come in handy:

Audio



Video

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Post Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2009 11:25 pm
What sort of soldering iron do you need for this job? This is the one I had in mind:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?moduleno=4048
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Post Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 3:52 pm
Something like that would be ideal for surface mount, this includes the caps on the GG. Just be careful not to leave the iron on the joints too long so you don't damage components. Also when soldering the Game Gear be prepared for some weird smells (to me they smell of fish when you solder on the boards).

For through hole components your better with a fine chisel tipped iron :)
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Post Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 4:18 pm
I think the fishy smell is the capacitor juice; it confirms that they've gone bad and leaked.
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Post Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 6:23 am
OK, I have replaced all the caps on the mainboard using Tim's guide, does anyone know why I get NO pitcure? When I turn the contrast fully up I get a bright white screen.

I have double checked and checked again and still don't know why it isn't working.

I did the soundboard in the same GG and it works fine :) (by this I mean just the sound, but picture isn't working)

EDIT:

Picture attached
ggprob.jpg (53.34 KB)
GG Picture Problem
ggprob.jpg

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Post Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 8:11 pm
I recently bought a Game Gear that had new sound and video capacitors fitted. About an hour ago, I put in a cartridge that I hadn't used before (PGA Tour Golf) and the power went on and off just like it does with severe capacitor failure. I blew on the bottom of the cartridge and put it back in and the Game Gear worked just fine again.

Can anyone explain that?
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Post Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 11:22 pm
A bad cart connection might cause a short circuit from which anything might happen; turning off may be a safety thing rather than killing the GG.
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Post Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:14 pm
One of my Game Gears packed up last night. It was working perfectly and then the screen was filled with lots of black lines. When I turned the GG off and on, the black lines remained and there was no sound either. I gave it another go this morning and it was working fine for about five minutes and the black lines came back again.

This GG has had all sound and video capacitors replaced. Is there anything else that can be done for it?
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Post Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 5:00 am
My Game Gear had everything changed (by me). All electrolytic capacitors on all three boards (main, sound and PSU board) and also the LED backlight modification.
Was working fine for a while and suddenlty the turning off thing started to happen. Also replaced the PSU board with another one, that didnt work either.
At first the GG could power on if the contrast was at a relatively low level which you could increase after powering on. Later on the problem got worse which finally led to inability to power the GG on completetly (just a flash on the screen and the off).

This leads me to believe that there must be an issue with the GG LCD display going bad somewhere along the way since I've read many posts that replacing all capacitros did not solve the problem.
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Post Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 10:10 pm
I am changing capacitors in one of my Game Gears. Can somebody help me identify the Fahrrad value of a capacitor inside of the Game Gear with marking R47 50V? The "R" is unusual.. Thanks!
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Post Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 6:46 am
R in front of the number is a decimal point so it will be 0.47uF.
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Post Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 12:43 pm
Thanks I wasn't sure, it's normal on a resistor, but I haven't seen an R on a capacitor before.
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Post Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 5:33 am
gtsamour wrote
My Game Gear had everything changed (by me). All electrolytic capacitors on all three boards (main, sound and PSU board) and also the LED backlight modification.
Was working fine for a while and suddenlty the turning off thing started to happen. Also replaced the PSU board with another one, that didnt work either.
At first the GG could power on if the contrast was at a relatively low level which you could increase after powering on. Later on the problem got worse which finally led to inability to power the GG on completetly (just a flash on the screen and the off).

This leads me to believe that there must be an issue with the GG LCD display going bad somewhere along the way since I've read many posts that replacing all capacitros did not solve the problem.


Years ago, my GG exhibited very similar problem with the auto-off when I still had full volume on the sound (no caps replaced). Now, there is very low volume on the sound even if I turn it up to the max. I can power up the system with the contrast set very low. If I turn up the contrast high enough, it will shut itself off.

My question is whether it is worth it to replace all the caps and resolve the sound and picture issue. Any help would be appreciated.
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Post Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 9:43 am
Yes, definately replace the caps, they aren't expensive. First thing I do when I get a GG, even if it appears to be working fine, I replace the caps. It is not a case of "if", but "when" with these things.
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Post Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 2:13 pm
I forgot to mention that even under low contrast, the system eventually shuts itself off after being turned on for some time. Someone told me that this is a safety feature to prevent the system from overheating. I think it has something to do with the LCD screen and the part that lights it up.
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Post Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:33 am
The clarity of sound is very poor..............
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Post Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 7:53 pm
Hello everyone, I have the problem where game gear will turn off as soon as I turn it on and decided to replace all the caps on the main board. After doing that, I still have the exact same problem. For some reason, the current doesn't even make it to the power indicator led. I don't think there is a problem with the power board since I tried it on an other game gear (another broken game gear) and it stayed on (although it didn't show anything). Any ideas :( ?
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Post Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 10:38 pm
Grieverheart wrote
Hello everyone, I have the problem where game gear will turn off as soon as I turn it on and decided to replace all the caps on the main board. After doing that, I still have the exact same problem. For some reason, the current doesn't even make it to the power indicator led. I don't think there is a problem with the power board since I tried it on an other game gear (another broken game gear) and it stayed on (although it didn't show anything). Any ideas :( ?

Don't just replace the caps on the main board, try replacing all the remaining caps. There are three more you need to replace on the power board and another five on the audio board. Also, did you reflow the solder joints on the power jack?
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Post Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 2:35 am
ApolloBoy wrote

Don't just replace the caps on the main board, try replacing all the remaining caps. There are three more you need to replace on the power board and another five on the audio board. Also, did you reflow the solder joints on the power jack?


Hey, thx for your reply. I haven't touched the power board and audio board at all since the power board seemed to work with a different main board. Also, I'm not sure I understand what you mean with "reflowing the solder joints of the power jack".

I got the handheld from a friend of mine who hadn't used it for some years. It was functional the last time he used it but when he tried to turn it on before giving it to me, it had this problem.
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Post Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 2:40 am
Grieverheart wrote
Also, I'm not sure I understand what you mean with "reflowing the solder joints of the power jack".

The Game Gear power jack has a tendency to cut out due to cold/broken solder joints, so in order to fix it all you have to do is reflow (heating up the solder) the joints. I don't think it'll help much, but you might as well do it while you're replacing the remaining caps.
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Post Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 6:58 pm
ApolloBoy wrote
The Game Gear power jack has a tendency to cut out due to cold/broken solder joints, so in order to fix it all you have to do is reflow (heating up the solder) the joints. I don't think it'll help much, but you might as well do it while you're replacing the remaining caps.


I replaced the rest of the caps today and did the reflow. I also did the led mod just in case there was a problem with that part of the board. No results though, I have the exact same problem. Maybe I'll go buy a multimeter one of these days and check all resistors.
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Post Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2012 11:54 am
Is there any way to know the version of the board without opening the console, with just the model number ? I need to know which capacitors to order, but I'd rather wait to have them before opening.
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Post Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2012 9:23 pm
I don't think anyone's done the analysis. If there's no blue splash screen on power-on then it's more likely to be a 2-ASIC model.
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Post Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 10:58 am
Wonderful tutorial here and thanks for this ...
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Post Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 11:16 am
Hey Guys,

Does anyone know if any aussie based sites sell Game Gear recap kits? Got a few here that need doing.

Thanks,
Scott
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Post Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 2:47 am
I have a GG that recently had an LCD repair. It works ok, but I have to turn it on with the contrast turned down low and then turn it up gradually otherwise the power goes off.

Is it possible to fix that?
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Post Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 10:41 pm
Can anyone provide alternate solder points for C31 (100uf 6.3v) and C45 (0.47uf 50V) ?

I recently received a game gear in which the previous owner had attempted to replace the caps themselves, most were fine, but these were completely missing... On examining the board, the traces aren't just lifted, but are completely destroyed (Both the usually exposed part, and a large portion of where the trace runs along the board, so scratching away and soldering to that part is out of the question)

C37 was also damaged, but I succeeded in soldering that one, as it was less badly damaged than the other two points.

The only remaining issue is that the LCD stays completely blank. I'm hoping soldering C31 and C45 to alternate points will fix this.
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Post Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 5:59 pm
I have 3 GGs. One with one asic and two with two.
I changed the gfx and sound capacitors and they worked fine.
Lately, they did the switch off issue so I replaced all caps to everyone.
The problem persists to all even with a different psu.
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Sega Game Gear Repair (1 ASIC GG)
Post Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 1:58 pm
I recently bought a Sega Game Gear off ebay, model number MK-2110-50.

I have changed all the electrolytic capacitors on the main board and also C5 and C7 on the audio board but the picture is still washed out and not visible. The sound is working perfectly now though.

I would be very grateful if someone would give me some advice which direction to go in next, I am at a loss.

Thank you.
picture 2.jpg (664.03 KB)
Picture of the Screen
picture 2.jpg

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Post Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 2:17 pm
Does the contrast wheel do anything?
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Post Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 2:26 pm
Maxim wrote
Does the contrast wheel do anything?


It does alter the contrast and I can make out a slight ghost of an image on the screen but it is very much unviewable.
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Post Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2014 4:59 am
timbo81 wrote
Maxim wrote
Does the contrast wheel do anything?


It does alter the contrast and I can make out a slight ghost of an image on the screen but it is very much unviewable.



I also get the white screen after soldering new caps to the board. I lifted the negative pad off of C55 (0.47uF/50V) and soldered it to R45 right next to it. Can anyone verify if that was what I was supposed to do?
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Post Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2014 8:39 am
SoullessSentinel wrote
Can anyone provide alternate solder points for C31 (100uf 6.3v) and C45 (0.47uf 50V) ?

I recently received a game gear in which the previous owner had attempted to replace the caps themselves, most were fine, but these were completely missing... On examining the board, the traces aren't just lifted, but are completely destroyed (Both the usually exposed part, and a large portion of where the trace runs along the board, so scratching away and soldering to that part is out of the question)

C37 was also damaged, but I succeeded in soldering that one, as it was less badly damaged than the other two points.

The only remaining issue is that the LCD stays completely blank. I'm hoping soldering C31 and C45 to alternate points will fix this.


I have the same problem with the same capacitors. Did you ever get them fixed?
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Post Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 11:26 pm
Try cleaning/jiggling the screen cable. I know it sounds stupid, but it may just work. Also try cleaning anything that looks dirty with rubbing alcohol and q-tips. Good luck!
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Post Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 12:01 pm
boom10ful wrote
SoullessSentinel wrote
Can anyone provide alternate solder points for C31 (100uf 6.3v) and C45 (0.47uf 50V) ?

I recently received a game gear in which the previous owner had attempted to replace the caps themselves, most were fine, but these were completely missing... On examining the board, the traces aren't just lifted, but are completely destroyed (Both the usually exposed part, and a large portion of where the trace runs along the board, so scratching away and soldering to that part is out of the question)

C37 was also damaged, but I succeeded in soldering that one, as it was less badly damaged than the other two points.

The only remaining issue is that the LCD stays completely blank. I'm hoping soldering C31 and C45 to alternate points will fix this.


I have the same problem with the same capacitors. Did you ever get them fixed?


Honestly, I gave up trying. I kept the board though, so if anything does come up, I could go back to it. I just bought a second GG off eBay and did the cap repair on the new one instead.
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Post Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2014 12:01 pm
I have a GG with very indistinct screen, seemingly non-functional brightness wheel and no sound from the speaker. Sound in the headphone socket is also temperamental. I don't have the time or skills to fix it and am wondering if someone in the UK is capable of restoring it to shiny brightness. Thanks.
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GG lcd with immobile lines
Post Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 1:13 am
Good day, I too have trouble with a GG screen: the console works fine (sound, contrast wheels), or as fine as it can taking into account the fact the lcd has about a dozen immobile, pitch black horizontal lines some of which are thicker than others, so every time I turn on power the lines are in the same places. Someone here must have seen something like that before and know where the problem is. (Sorry but I don't have any pics of the screen as the console is at home and I'm on vacation for 1,5 weeks)

I'm guessing it's the lcd itself which is broken but is it broken beyond repair? Can anyone confirm that from those symptoms? I do have another broken Game Gear lying around which has damage to the main pcb and can't be fixed (one of the large black ICs has been ripped off along with the contacts), but is it worth the shot to desolder the lcd's and try to swap the lcd from the other one into this partially working Game Gear.
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Post Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 3:06 pm
Assume nothing until the capacitors have been replaced.
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Post Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 1:42 pm
Maxim wrote
Assume nothing until the capacitors have been replaced.


I don't think it's a problem with the capacitors in my case, like I said there's no problem with the contrast or audio, the screen shows everything fine apart from the static black lines, it's like dozens of horizontal lines of dead pixels.

Actually I found a youtube video which shows a similar problem to mine (I can't post the link). The guy is trying to fix the lcd's black lines by heating up with a soldering iron a chip that's attached to the side of the lcd frame. I could try the same, however, in the video's comments he says it's only a temporary fix. So it appears desoldering the current lcd and soldering in an lcd from another GG is my only option.
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Post Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 9:08 am
timbo81 wrote
I recently bought a Sega Game Gear off ebay, model number MK-2110-50.

I have changed all the electrolytic capacitors on the main board and also C5 and C7 on the audio board but the picture is still washed out and not visible. The sound is working perfectly now though.

I would be very grateful if someone would give me some advice which direction to go in next, I am at a loss.

Thank you.


Hi, did you solve this issue? Because I have the same problem. I change all capatitors, clean everything, but still not getting good picture. Contrast wheel works and game loads, but it is almost invisible on screen.
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Game Gear turns itself off
Post Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 9:13 pm
Hi everyone,

I take back an old topic but i do need help.

I will quickly introduce myself, i am Damien from France.

So long story short, my older brother gave me an old psx and i always wanted to have a few oldies At home so i bought myself a GG.
I did the simple but efficient changing the capacitors thing.
For once everything went fine and got Perfect no scratch fully working GG.

So, i bought several gg that need a bit of soldering and began selling them, in order to buy the game and device i want.
But as a newbie...i am facing issues i cannot fix.

I have got three mainboard with new capacitors doing this auto-off thing.
So i have read here and there that, changing the backlight for led does not work, changing the capacitors does not help, tryed with a different psu, got nothing more, tryed batteries, still got nothing
I still have to use contact cleaner and use the multimeter but my knowledge in eletctronic is thin.

With the multimeter, someone can tell me were shall i began?

I also found a manual during my research. At manualslib.

I guess values must not change From la a v1 to a v2... Am i wrong ?


Thanks to all and gg god bless you
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