Help with Cathouse Famicom AV Mod

[Zainglorious]

Hello Famicom World folks,
I wonder if you have time to help out an absolute beginner in the world of hardware modding. I recently acquired an old HVC-CPU-07 Famicom and wanted to install the Cathouse AV mod. Unfortunately, I ordered the kit rather than the assembled board so I attempted to put it together on my own (you can see my brilliant work in the picture). Then I attempted to wire it all together according to the instructions and now when I switch on the Famicom all I get is a black screen. I see the screen flicker on both RF and AV when I turn on the power but no image at all.
Problem is I have no idea where to start troubleshooting due to my lack of experience with soldering. I was hoping the knowledgeable folks on this forum would be able to look at my work and let me know if it's my horrible wiring or which other things I can troubleshoot.
I would greatly appreciate any guidance I can get!

[jpx72]

First of all soldering smd components is very hard, when you don't have soldering skills. You could have done some error on the mini board, or kill one of the components by heat of the soldering iron.
Second, your wires have the un-insulated parts too long, check if they don't touch somethings they shouldn't.
Third, show a photo of your cinch, did you connect it correctly? Do you have ground connected?

[Zainglorious]

Third, show a photo of your cinch, did you connect it correctly? Do you have ground connected?

You cannot see attachments on this board.
I didn't solder it, just connected them up to test.

First of all soldering smd components is very hard, when you don't have soldering skills.

This is what I am afraid of. They were tricky to solder and I'm not sure the 111 is soldered the correct way up! The numbers were impossible to make out in the demonstration picture on the Cathouse website.

Second, your wires have the un-insulated parts too long, check if they don't touch somethings they shouldn't.

I eyeballed it and couldn't see any places where the wires could be touching anything other than their intended connection point. Do you think it would be better to desolder and rewire everything?

jpx72, thank you for taking the time to reply to me. I appreciate your advice.

[jpx72]

Damn I don't see anything wrongly connected... was the famicom working before? Can you try different TV? Do you have cartridge inserted during power on?
The small smd resistors are not crtitical on orientation. But soldering the capacitors had to be difficult, maybe reheat the pins a bit.... the transistor (3 legged small part) is critical, I can't see the writing on it, isn't it backwards? Writing should be on top.
And try to solder the cinch...

[Zainglorious]

Damn I don't see anything wrongly connected

Thank you for confirming that. That really helps.

was the famicom working before? Can you try different TV? Do you have cartridge inserted during power on?

I booted up the machine once when I got it with an old Legend of Kage cartridge. It booted the game but it wasn't running well. There were letters on the screen in spots where there should have been graphics. I assumed it was because I hadn't cleaned either the cartridge or the console. I'm using the same cart to test it now so I am beginning to wonder about whether that may be an issue. I have ordered a different game to test with so will check when that arrives.
Would I still be getting sound through RF or AV if I had messed up something with the mod?

n. But soldering the capacitors had to be difficult, maybe reheat the pins a bit.... the transistor (3 legged small part) is critical, I can't see the writing on it, isn't it backwards?

I soldered the 3-legged one with the legs facing downward in the configuration that fit. I'll try reheating the pins and see if that works.
I will also try to solder the cinch and see if that helps.
Thank you so much for the guidance on what to try. I honestly had no idea on what to do next.

[jpx72]

Just clean the contacts of the game with Q-tip and alcohol, and reinsert to the cartridge slot a few times, should be ok.
Sorry I don't have any more tips...

[Zainglorious]

I'll give it a shot. Thank you again for all your suggestions! I really appreciate your help.