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.
Continue reading NEC PC-FX Laser Pickup HOP-E1Category Archives: Repair
Repair
Repair an Xbox 360 Controller
If you drop an Xbox 360 controller, don’t let it land on its bumper buttons. The micro-switches break easily on the inside. They might still work, but need more pressure to be triggered. This problem plagues old Sega Saturn gamepads too.
To open Xbox 360 controllers, you need a special Torx security screwdriver with a hole in the tip, size T8H. If you don’t have this rather unusual screwdriver, you can break the tiny pins in the screws and unscrew them with a regular T8 or T9 Torx screwdriver. Seven screws need to be removed (yellow circles). One of them is hidden behind the white sticker with the barcode and not behind the black sticker where I looked for it first (red circle).
