The Blog

Tips on Removing SMD Electrolytic Capacitors

Nix McRetro // 11th July 2013 // Repairs, YouTube

Here’s what I do when removing SMD capacitors from boards. So far I’ve had two lifted pads. One was the very first I removed (whoops!) and the latest was on a SNES that had corroded the trace and pad on the main board. You can’t win them all, just hope... Continue reading

Super Nintendo Serial UP17388130 - No Sound Update

Nix McRetro // 11th July 2013 // Nintendo, Repairs, YouTube

Found that the S-MIX chip has a little bit of a problem. Might explain why there is no sound. It’s amazing what you can find when you really focus on the problem. Even still, it’s good to have new capacitors on there. They shouldn’t leak for at least 15-20 years... Continue reading

Microsoft Xbox DVD-ROM Repair Serial 206315452705

Nix McRetro // 11th July 2013 // Hacks, Microsoft, Repairs

Here we have a quick and dirty fix for a misbehaving Hitachi / LG GDR-8050L DVD-ROM. If your drive will not eject, give this a shot - especially on the later revisions of Xbox. I’ve had success on three drives so far on 1.6A and 1.6B revisions. As well as... Continue reading

Super Nintendo Dual Capacitor Replacment High-Speed

Nix McRetro // 11th July 2013 // Nintendo, Repairs, YouTube

Decided to swap some caps over on all three of the SNES units. Here’s two of them being done at the same time. 1CHIP is on the right. We eventually got them done, I ran out of “film” while recording because my camera needs a new, bigger SD card. Continue reading

Microsoft Xbox DVD-ROM Fix for Toshiba / Samsung Model SDG-605

Nix McRetro // 11th July 2013 // Microsoft, Repairs, YouTube

If your Xbox DVD drive is not ejecting, but sometimes ejects when tapped… chances are the magnet is too strong on the spindle hub. But how to fix it? Watch on! I’ll come back to this one in the next few days as I have another Xbox 1.6 with this... Continue reading