The Blog

Amstrad Sega Mega PC Repair

Nix McRetro // 18th March 2012 // IBM PC, Repairs, Sega

Such a wonderful shade of blue. Unfortunately it has eaten the tracks on the motherboard. That’s the damage a leaking NiCad battery can do. The electrolyte is alkaline potassium hydroxide rather than acid, but it can still make an impressive mess of a motherboard. I cleaned everything up as best... Continue reading

Amstrad Sega Mega PC 386SX Arrival

Nix McRetro // 16th March 2012 // IBM PC, Repairs, Sega

It has arrived. My Amstrad Mega PC. A 386SX combined with a Sega Mega Drive. Amazing! Sadly after having a look inside it, I discovered the rechargeable NiCad date/time backup battery has leaked delicious NiCad goodness all over the motherboard. And the CPU in this particular machine is AMD, my... Continue reading

Fuse Replacement on the Sega Mega-CD Model 1

Nix McRetro // 2nd March 2012 // Repairs, Sega

Fuse Replacement on the Sega Mega-CD Model 1

Ohhhoooo so very shiny! I discovered one of my Sega Mega-CDs has a blown fuse that someone replaced with a big blob of solder. It certainly passes power that way, but the fuse is there for a reason. I want the little guy to have its proper overcurrent protection back,... Continue reading

Sega Saturn Laser Tune-up Success

Nix McRetro // 26th February 2012 // Repairs, Sega

With a known-good power supply installed, I turned the laser-power trimpot slightly and the Saturn started reading commercially pressed games again. It still had trouble with a Taiyo Yuden CD-R containing CD audio, but another tiny adjustment got that playing as well. It’s amazing how much difference one or two... Continue reading

Another Sega Mega-CD Model 1 and More Saturns

Nix McRetro // 23rd February 2012 // Sega

Another Sega Mega-CD Model 1 and More Saturns

Received another Sega Mega-CD Model 1 today, this time with a Sega Mega Drive Model 1 sitting on top. It’s in pretty rough shape, but it does function. Once I pulled it apart I found rust and liquid residue. Someone had bypassed the fuse with a blob of solder, possibly... Continue reading