Modifications
This modification adds switchless NESRGB and IGR (in-game routines / in-game reset) to a Nintendo AV Famicom.
A first look at the opened AV Famicom and the NESRGB kit. There is still a lot to be assembled. The installation guide for the AV Famicom can be found here.
The NEC PC-9821 computers output a very unusual resolution that most western monitors struggle with: 640 x 400 @ 24 kHz. I tried at least half a dozen monitors of all types and ages and none of them was able to display a picture at all (except an “out of range” message). Video scalers like the DVDO iScan VP50 Pro don’t recognize the signal either. Some sources claim that the cheap GBS-8220 converter is able to convert the signal – that is only partially true. You can see a stuttering picture that eventually becomes clear when you start the Windows 98 Desktop, but that doesn’t work in DOS.
Of course you can buy a special converter like the Micomsoft XPC-4, that will cost you 300-400€ though. There are other solutions:
Continue reading NEC PC-9821 and the Framemeister
The other day I prepared my Atari Jaguar to build a rotary controller for Tempest 2000. I hadn’t used it in a while and accidentally picked the wrong power supply – smoke was rising from the console immediately.
The culprit was easily found, chip U38 (MC34163DW):
Continue reading Atari Jaguar Power/Sound Fix and Rotary Controller
Found two more donor carts for use in a Sega Pico flash cart:
The Lion King: Adventures at Pride Rock and Magic Crayons, both “Assembled in Mexico”.
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.
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.
Continue reading WS Flash Masta and Neo Pocket FlashMasta / LinkMasta
Just recently my GD-ROM drive stopped reading Discs. It’s time to try something new: GDEMU
Continue reading Sega Dreamcast repair With GDEMU, PSU and Battery Mod
This has been figured out and posted by TeamEurope in 2012 (link, link via link). Unfortunately, the original document has vanished from the WWW. I’ll try to recreate this tutorial here:
The original document suggested to use Sesame Street: Alphabet Avenue as donor cart and pointed out to use an „Assembled in Mexico“ cartridge. As you can see, a regular US cartridge won’t do the trick.
Continue reading Sega Pico Flash Cart Tutorial
Replacing the aged Lynx screen with a new LCD screen is simple. All you need is an Atari Lynx II and the LCD screen kit by McWill (and optionally, a 5 V regulator).
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).
Continue reading Philips CDI 220/00 Mini MMC 60Hz Modification and Timekeeper Replacement
