The Blog

Amstrad Sega Mega PC 486SLC Upgrade Experiment

Nix McRetro // 21st March 2012 // IBM PC, Repairs, Sega

Browsing the internet, I came across an Amstrad PC7486SLC motherboard. I couldn’t help noticing how similar it looked to the Mega PC motherboard. Since my Mega PC was already giving me grief with its hard-drive controller, having another related Amstrad motherboard around for spare parts seemed like a pretty good... Continue reading

Amstrad Sega Mega PC 386SX Overview

Nix McRetro // 20th March 2012 // IBM PC, Sega, YouTube

Just a quick demo to show the Mega Drive and 386SX PC sections functioning as well as can be expected for their age. Above is the Amstrad Mega PC with its original monitor connected. The supplied display is a dual-sync monitor designed to handle both the PC and Mega Drive... Continue reading

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