The Blog

Mean Machines Sega - Mega-CD Preview VHS Tape

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

Here is a rip of a VHS tape given away with issue 3 (December 1992) of Mean Machines Sega. Apologies for the stuttering sound at times. I guess VHS tapes just weren’t meant to last this long in perfect condition. The VHS tape box had this on it: Sega Mega-CD... Continue reading

ASUS EeeBox B202 Disassembly and Upgrade Access

Nix McRetro // 2nd April 2013 // Categories: IBM PC, Repairs, YouTube

I don’t own this ASUS EeeBox B202 anymore, but this video is still useful if you need to get inside one. The B202 is one of ASUS’s little Atom-era nettops, built around an Intel Atom N270 and the 945GSE (ICH7M) chipset. It is very compact, which naturally means getting to... Continue reading

Accessing the Sega / IBM TeraDrive Built-in Setup Program

Nix McRetro // 1st April 2013 // Categories: Sega

Sure, there isn’t much to the actual setup. Only three options, and none of them that exciting… I suppose it’s better than a kick in the teeth! Anyway, the trick is to choose DOS from the TeraDrive menu and press F1 during the PC-side startup. I discovered this while investigating... Continue reading

Sega Saturn Sophia SH-2 CPU Cards: 171-6692B vs 171-6692D

Nix McRetro // 30th March 2013 // Categories: Hacks, Repairs, Sega

You heard correctly. These are 171-6692B SH-2 CPU boards, not the better-documented 171-6692D boards. Thanks to the generosity of an unnamed member from the forums, I’ve now got two of these lovely little things to experiment with. Fingers crossed they might help get my Sega Saturn Sophia Programming Box up... Continue reading

XRGB-mini on Sega Mega Drive 2 Without an LM1881 Sync Stripper

Nix McRetro // 29th March 2013 // Categories: Hacks, Sega

Interesting result from the Mega Drive 2 and Framemeister experiments. With this particular cable setup, everything works beautifully once the LM1881N sync stripper is removed. Leave it in place and the XRGB-mini doesn’t seem happy at all. I’d been experimenting with a rather unconventional RGB cable and was curious whether... Continue reading