The Blog

Learning to Desolder ICs

Nix McRetro // 14th July 2012 // Categories: Repairs

Before I attack anything particularly valuable, it seems like a good idea to learn how to desolder multi-pin ICs without destroying everything around them. I’ve got an old RAM board for practice and a heat gun, so let’s see how much trouble I can get myself into. The first experiment... Continue reading

Sega Saturn CD Deck Diagnosis: BA6798S Suspect

Nix McRetro // 14th July 2012 // Categories: Repairs, Sega

You might remember this rather unhappy Japanese Sega Saturn from a little while back. The disc appears to spin backwards while the laser assembly goes completely berserk, and the motor sounds like it’s trying to escape from the CD deck. I bought the poor thing as faulty, and it certainly... Continue reading

Chronix Nixie Clock: Slot Machine Demo

Nix McRetro // 13th July 2012 // Categories: News

Here’s my prized Nixie clock from Chronix, which I picked up a few months ago. I thought I’d throw a video online showing its slot-machine-style anti-cathode-poisoning routine. It rapidly cycles through the digits so the cathodes that don’t normally get much display time are periodically lit as well. It also... Continue reading

Sega Mega Drive Frenzy

Nix McRetro // 3rd July 2012 // Categories: Repairs, Sega

I do not think I could take apart another Mega Drive… at least not for a few days. I’ve gone ahead and taken some great quality pictures of the innards of five of my functioning Mega Drive Model 1s and two of my non-functioning Mega Drive Model 2s. I found... Continue reading

Sega TeraDrive Hard Drive Interface Investigation

Nix McRetro // 24th June 2012 // Categories: IBM PC, Repairs, Sega

Sega TeraDrive Hard Drive Interface Investigation

Above are some photos of a Sega TeraDrive hard drive. I’ve been trying to work out exactly what sort of interface this thing uses. IDE? ESDI? XTA? Something else entirely? The connector has 44 pins and carries both data and power, but the pinout doesn’t match standard ATA/IDE. I was... Continue reading