The Blog

Sega Saturn Model 1 VA0 Modchip Installation

Nix McRetro // 7th November 2012 // Hacks, News, Sega

As you can see from the video above this mod is for the Sega Saturn (Model 1) with VA0 a motherboard. I’ve also done some website housekeeping to the menu bar at the top so there are no more drop downs. Drop downs are too hard to mouse-off and lose.... Continue reading

Apple Macintosh LC 475 - Derating Tantalum Capacitors

Nix McRetro // 7th November 2012 // Apple, Repairs, YouTube

Derating tantalum capacitors is important when dealing with older technology. While a 16V electrolytic capacitor may have been sufficient for a 12V line (such as one of the hard drive power lines on an LC475), a 16V is not recommended by the manufacturer. They recommend derating the voltage and temperature... Continue reading

PicoPSU 80W on PIII 800MHz Overview

Nix McRetro // 5th November 2012 // IBM PC, Repairs, Sega

Here’s an idea of what the PicoPSU chews up when connected to a Pentium III 800MHz machine with 512MB RAM, hard drive, and floppy drive attached. It performs surprisingly well. I should really retest this with the unit under load and see how high the wattage use can become. The... Continue reading

Decoding the Japanese Aiwa Sega Mega-CD Startup Screen

Nix McRetro // 5th November 2012 // Repairs, Sega

Decoding the Japanese Aiwa Sega Mega-CD Startup Screen

…Please Press the Start Button… …Checking the Disc… …Please Wait a Little Bit… Thanks to T_chan from ASSEMbler Games for the fast translation. Now I have some idea of what the poor Aiwa is yelling at me when I press all the wrong buttons. These are here for my reference... Continue reading

Amstrad Sega Mega PC Boot Failure (DOM HD Issues)

Nix McRetro // 3rd November 2012 // IBM PC, Repairs, YouTube

Sometimes it is good that things break. CityEscaper of YouTube asked if I could crack out my Mega PC and test it on some screens I have lying around my house. I found that it works OK on my Samsung LCD TV, but is a no-go on my (newer) Toshiba... Continue reading