So it wasn’t exactly 6-12 months, but two! Not too far off. I guess I haven’t really collected anything since doing my last video. I did rearrange my lounge room to fit more of my junk along the wall and have the bookshelves set up side by side so they can be viewed all at once instead of being at a right angle to each other.

And that is where we stand today. The final collection update for 2012, with a few things rearranged and rather more hardware than I probably need. Somehow I’ve managed to make everything look tidier while also giving myself less usable floor space. That’s an achievement of sorts!

The two bookshelves are now sitting alongside each other, which makes it easier to see the entire collection without having to walk around the furniture. I’ve been thinking about organising them by console family, with the boxed Dreamcast and Saturn hardware along the lower shelves and the loose systems further up.

The Sega Mega Drives have multiplied again, naturally. There are seven Mega Drive 2 consoles alone, including some that I’ve repaired or modified, along with several other models and a few machines that still need attention. The Saturns are a little more under control now that I’ve sold the extra units I didn’t need.

Then there are the Dreamcasts. I’ve still got at least one that needs to be opened up and photographed, and a few other interesting variants tucked away around the shelves. I’d like to have the boxed systems arranged neatly, but it’s difficult when every new purchase requires finding another few centimetres of space.

There’s also the Aiwa Mega-CD project, the Sophia Systems Sega Saturn programming box and the Apple Macintosh LC 475 machines, which are still very much works in progress. The Aiwa seems determined to require every kind of repair imaginable, while the Sophia hardware and old Macintoshes are providing completely different problems to investigate.

Eventually I’d like a Pioneer LaserActive with the Sega Mega Drive pack as well. Where I’d put something that enormous is another question entirely. The entertainment unit might be the only reasonable option, assuming there’s any room left by the time one turns up.

The biggest decision is getting rid of the CRT television. I love using it for light gun games on the Saturn, Dreamcast and other consoles, but the thing takes up an extraordinary amount of room. Light gun games aren’t nearly as entertaining when there’s nobody around to play them with either, so I’m reluctantly planning to let it go.

The other side of the room is considerably less glamorous. There’s a large collection of retro PC cards, cables, motherboards and other bits of hardware that I still need to sort. I’ve managed to acquire quite a few ISA cards and old 486 boards, and they certainly don’t organise themselves.

My workbench has been moved as part of the rearrangement too, although it remains covered in various projects. There are more Mega Drives waiting for attention, some computer hardware and plenty of little parts that could probably do with a proper storage system. One day I’ll get everything organised. One day!

I also recently had some success testing an old SCSI card reader with a Pentium III machine. It was rather satisfying to have the hardware detect the card properly, particularly given how much trouble I’ve had getting similar storage arrangements working in the LC 475. There’s life in these old computers yet!

There haven’t been quite as many videos lately, but I’ve been updating the hardware information on RetroJunkie.net in the background. I’m hoping to document more of the collection and perhaps move along some of the spare PC hardware to people who can actually use it.

So that’s the state of the collection at the end of 2012. Thanks for watching, and here’s to another year of strange retro hardware projects. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Farewell, oversized CRT TV. I’ll miss the light gun games, if not the amount of space you occupy.