The Blog

Aiwa Mega-CD Game Unit BIOS Chip Socket Install & Trace Repair

Nix McRetro // 18th July 2013 // Repairs, Sega, YouTube

Here we are with the Aiwa Game Unit again and we are onto attempting the repair. It actually turned out quite well. Took a while to trace back all the connections, but we got there! Continuity shows as good between all the points and none are reporting any shorts, which... Continue reading

Aiwa Mega-CD Game Unit BIOS Chip Socket

Nix McRetro // 18th July 2013 // Repairs, Sega, YouTube

Well, the me of the past didn’t do such a good job of removing that BIOS chip… but the good news is, we can rebuild him! We have the technology! If only I had my Hakko 808 back then! :) Continue reading

Broken / Damaged Sony PlayStations First Look

Nix McRetro // 18th July 2013 // Repairs, Sony, YouTube

Picked up so many of the things, now I just need to give them a good cleanout and make sure as many of their innards as possible are working. Some have liquid damage but most seem to be OK. Compared with the Sega Saturn, these things are a breeze to... Continue reading

x0xb0x 1.0 (Adafruit Edition) - Quick Peek

Nix McRetro // 18th July 2013 // Programming, YouTube

A quick look at a x0xb0x that is being made by a work colleague (SuperNick). Since this video was made he has successfully tested board using an audio card oscilloscope to show the sawtooth and square waves. If we are lucky he’ll make me up some tunes to go with... Continue reading

Sega TeraDrive WDL-330P Hard Drive Capacitor Replacement

Nix McRetro // 18th July 2013 // Hacks, Repairs, Sega

One day I’ll use surface mounted electrolytic capacitors… one day, just not today! Close call on the most faulty (bad blocks!) of all the drives, but we were able to recover thanks to vias in the PCB. Not my best repair job ever…! Continue reading