Category Archives: Disassembly

Disassembly

3RADD – The 3-D Sound for Video Games and PCs

An unusual SegaSaturn accessory: The 3RADD – A sound enhancer with SRS psychoacoustic technology. Read a review on this japanese blog. Here is a scan of the manual.

The effect with audio sources is quite nice, it boosts the sound and positions it around your head. The technology is used in all kinds of devices and software, e.g. the Windows Media Player (SRS WOW).

3RADD - The 3-D Sound For Video Games And PCs
3RADD – The 3-D Sound For Video Games And PCs
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A New Battery for the Sega CD BackUp RAM Cart

Now that I have an extra backup of my Mega-CD save files on the Sega CD Ultra Backup RAM cart, I can replace the battery of my old CD BackUp RAM Cart without worrying about data loss.
It is possible to do an open-heart surgery to prevent the memory from being erased and replace the battery while the Mega-CD is turned on. I went for that procedure to avoid having to copy all files from one cart to another again.

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WS Flash Masta and Neo Pocket FlashMasta / LinkMasta

Two days ago Flavor of flashmasta.com anounced the pre-presale of a new WonderSwan flash cart: The WS Flash Masta.
For all Bandai WonderSwan owners this is exiting news as the flash/development carts for this system are very rare and expensive (e.g. the official WonderWitch or the WonderMagic Color).

To give you an idea what we can expect I’ll show you some carts he has made for the Neo Geo Pocket Color:
First there was the Neo Pocket FlashMasta and the Neo Pocket LinkMasta. I’ve used the Blue Version of the LinkMasta since 2011 and bought a new red 3D printed case for it last year.

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Printing Fun-Fun with Sega Pri Fun

Today, I’m finally testing the Sega Pri Fun printer that I bought 4-5 years ago. Back then, it was still sealed.
The printer was marketed by Sega in 1995 as an add-on for the Pico and Saturn game consoles. You won’t find much information about it on the WWW except a small article at Sega Retro and a commercial on YouTube.

Sega Pri Fun 01
Sega Pri Fun 01

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Philips CDI 220/00 Mini MMC 60Hz Modification and Timekeeper Replacement

Recently I found a CDI 220/00 with Mini MMC mainboard. It’s a heavy and bulky unit that contains lot of PCBs, wires, screws and metal parts. It’s one of the first consumer CD-i players. Later models have all components on one single mainboard (Mono).

CDI220/00 inside
CDI220/00 inside

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NEC PC-FX Laser Pickup HOP-E1

I’ve been struggling with a weak PC-FX laser for quite some time now. What kept me from replacing the laser pickup (also known as the optical block or laser sledge) was the supposedly significant effort involved. Taking apart and reassembling the PC-FX was long considered something you wouldn’t wish even on your worst enemy (a full teardown can be found here). However, it’s surprisingly easy to get to the drive unit if you simply follow these instructions.

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Sega Mission Stick – Continued

While removing the throttle wheel from the stick, unit I noticed two small plastic rings connected by a spring jumping away. It took me quite some time to figure out the correct position when assembling the stick. In case you encounter this problem too, this is how the rings have to sit on the throttle wheel:

Sega Mission Stick throttle wheel
Sega Mission Stick throttle wheel
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