They look to me like they were separated at birth! An initial look at the internals is promising too. Looks like we’ve found our donor boombox to fix up bits and pieces from the other two.

This is the Aiwa CSD-EX80 alongside the boombox section of the Aiwa Mega-CD CSD-GM1. I’ve been looking for something suitable to raid for spare parts, and this ordinary-looking Aiwa might just be the answer. Put the two next to each other and the family resemblance is rather difficult to miss!

The mainboard layouts are surprisingly similar, although there are some obvious differences. The CSD-EX80 doesn’t have the Mega-CD Game Unit underneath it, so naturally it lacks the connections and extra game-related functionality found on the CSD-GM1. The source selector is arranged differently too, with CD, radio and tape rather than the additional game position.

The most exciting discovery is the seven-pin volume and tone control. It appears to be the same sort of arrangement I’ve been struggling with on one of the Mega-CD units, except this one actually works properly! I’ve already tried cleaning the faulty control without much success, so finding a functional donor is great news.

The tape deck also works, which is particularly handy because one of my Mega-CD machines has a badly bent chassis. Then there’s the radio, which behaves itself on the donor, unlike the CSD-GM1 unit that currently has no audio in radio mode. Between those components, there are quite a few things worth investigating.

And would you look at that aerial! It’s straight, intact and not covered in rust. That’s another part I wouldn’t mind pinching. The donor has some battery leakage in its battery compartment, so not everything is perfect, but at least I’ve got a useful selection of screws and other bits and pieces to work with.

I also compared the battery and power-related boards. There are differences in the terminals and connections, including the arrangements needed by the Mega-CD Game Unit. The transformer in the CSD-EX80 appears to be working, which makes it interesting for comparison, but I still need to check the voltages and board connections before assuming anything can be interchanged.

The similarities make it a promising donor candidate, but they do not establish that every PCB or electrical assembly can be swapped between the two machines. For now, the volume control, tape deck and aerial are particularly encouraging finds. Time for a bit more comparison before I start transferring parts!

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