Hardware modchips, optical-drive emulators (GDEMU/ODE) and flash/IPL mods (PicoBoot).
9 repair logs
+39 photosSega — Dreamcast
Friend asked me to pick up a Sega Dreamcast VA0 from Japan and make it new again. Full recap, fan and optical drive lubrication, GDEMU install with the required VA0 resistor array mod (5V to 3.3V for GDEMU) and a dummy load resistor for the 12V PSU rail. Also fitted a resettable fuse and a fresh ML2032 clock battery.
+21 photosSuccessful repair3DO Company — Panasonic FZ-1
This is the Panasonic FZ-1 3DO whose laser went to save its sibling. With the drive dead anyway, a full recap and an ODE installation was the logical conclusion.
+42 photosSuccessful repair3DO Company — Panasonic FZ-1
PSU repairs on this Panasonic FZ-1 3DO required bridging badly damaged traces, and a missed ceramic cap connection sent the console into a reboot loop. Sourcing a replacement laser meant buying a whole other console, but it runs now, and has since gained an ODE with SD card access through the AV expansion bay.
+21 photosSuccessful repairSega — Dreamcast
Full refurbishment of my NTSC-J Sega Dreamcast VA0: GDEMU install with the required dummy load resistor and VA0 resistor array mods, full recap, fan lube, shell clean and Aerospace 303 protectant.
+18 photosSuccessful repairNintendo — GameCube
PAL Nintendo GameCube DOL-101 in black, with a PicoBoot install using a WiiKey as the storage interface. The mainboard turned out to have almost entirely polymer caps, making the recap a very quick affair.
+27 photosSuccessful repairNintendo — GameCube
My personal Nintendo GameCube (DOL-001) spice orange. Started life with a PicoBoot and later upgraded to a FlippyDrive. The optical drive also got fresh caps as part of a GameCube maintenance day.
+26 photosWork in progressNintendo — Panasonic Q (SL-GC10)
The optical drive rails on this Panasonic Q (SL-GC10) GameCube/DVD hybrid were in pieces, so 3D-printed replacements were the first order of business. A FlippyDrive followed. Just be aware the flex cable orientation is the opposite of a regular GameCube.
+7 photosNintendo — GameCube
Two Nintendo GameCubes (black and spice orange) restored for friends: Console 5 mainboard cap kit, optical drive and PSU recap, XenoGC chip and new coin cell battery holders. Wind Waker was played immediately.
+5 photosSuccessful repairSNK — Neo Geo CD
Two upgrades that make the SNK Neo Geo CD much more liveable: an SD loader for the games and an F-RAM upgrade to kill off the battery dependency for saves.