The Blog

Sega Saturn Sophia A-Bus Capacitor Replacement

Nix McRetro // 5th April 2013 // Categories: Repairs, Sega, YouTube

The lovely Sophia is getting a fresh set of capacitors on the A-Bus board today. That’s board 171-6834C, revision 0.7, and I’ve got the Hakko 808 ready for another evening of desoldering. There are six main electrolytic capacitors to remove, all rated at 220 uF and 10 V. Fortunately, the... Continue reading

Good Capacitor, Bulged Capacitor: Visual Comparison

Nix McRetro // 5th April 2013 // Categories: Repairs, YouTube

Here’s a visual comparison between a brand-new electrolytic capacitor and one that has failed badly enough to bulge. I’ve got two 680 uF, 4 V capacitors here, one in rather better condition than the other. It’s quite interesting seeing them side by side because the damage becomes obvious once you... Continue reading

Hakko 808 Desoldering Tool: Removing a Failed Capacitor

Nix McRetro // 5th April 2013 // Categories: Guides, Repairs, YouTube

Introducing the incredible Hakko 808 desoldering gun! I’ve only used it once before this video, but I can already see why people like these things. After spending so much time fighting through-hole components with a soldering iron and braid, a tool that heats the joint and sucks the solder away... Continue reading

Converting XRGB-mini Adapter to EuroSCART

Nix McRetro // 4th April 2013 // Categories: Guides, Hacks, YouTube

Just a quick video on the pinout of my XRGB-mini adapter cable. Taste the colours! Aqua, Pink and Blue! I’ve removed the connector from the supplied Framemeister adapter so I can rewire it for EuroSCART. The problem is that the supplied adapter uses the Japanese RGB21 pinout. It looks remarkably... Continue reading

VHS Sega Saturn Magazine - Exclusive VHS Tape

Nix McRetro // 4th April 2013 // Categories: Gaming, Sega, YouTube

Here is a rip of the VHS tape supplied with issue 1 of Official Sega Saturn Magazine, cover-dated November 1995. Includes: Virtua Fighter 2, Sega Rally Championship 1995, Virtua Cop, X-Men: Children of the Atom, Clockwork Knight 2, Mortal Kombat 2, Alien Trilogy, Defcon 5, Virtua Racing, Hang on GP,... Continue reading