The Blog

Sega Saturn Sophia SIMM CART DIP Switch

Nix McRetro // 1st June 2013 // Categories: Devkit, Repairs, Sega

Here’s a test of the SIMM CART switch on SW2 at the front of the Sega Saturn Sophia Programming Box. My first interpretation was that it simply selected between the internal SIMM memory and the Saturn cartridge slot. Sega’s development documentation shows that it is more complicated than that. I’ve... Continue reading

Seagate ST3120A Hard Drive Capacitor Repair

Nix McRetro // 1st June 2013 // Categories: IBM PC, Repairs, YouTube

Remember that Seagate hard drive from the Amstrad Mega PC that decided to catch fire? Well, it’s finally back on the workbench! The culprit was a tantalum capacitor that managed to turn itself into a rather crispy mess, and I’ve been meaning to repair it for quite some time. Thankfully... Continue reading

Apple Macintosh LC 475: Checking CPU Capabilities

Nix McRetro // 1st June 2013 // Categories: Apple, Reconstructed, YouTube

The LC 475 is back for another round of experimentation! Remember that supposedly full 68040 processor I bought to replace the original 68LC040? The whole point was to gain the floating-point unit missing from the original processor, but things haven’t been going quite according to plan. This time I’m using... Continue reading

Netgear DG834Gv5 Modem Router Overheating

Nix McRetro // 30th May 2013 // Categories: Hacks, YouTube

I’ve been having a look inside my Netgear DG834Gv5 ADSL modem router, and I’m beginning to suspect the poor thing is getting a little too warm. The underside of the white plastic case has started turning brown, which is generally a good indication that something inside is getting rather toasty!... Continue reading

Cheap Capacitor Tester Demonstration

Nix McRetro // 30th May 2013 // Categories: Repairs, YouTube

I’ve been having some late-night fun with a rather cheap capacitor tester, along with a collection of capacitors I’ve accumulated from various repairs. It’s supposed to measure capacitance and ESR, which could be quite useful when you’re trying to work out whether an old capacitor has seen better days. The... Continue reading