Hardware modchips, optical-drive emulators (GDEMU/ODE) and flash/IPL mods (PicoBoot).
12 repair logs
+23 photosSuccessful repairSony — PlayStation
Late PU-8 PlayStation, the one that gave up its xStation to a PU-18, now getting a new xStation of its own and going to a friend. It came up with random green speckles in the video output, traced to cracked, dull solder joints on the PSU. Reflowing them and swapping two capacitors cleared it. Then a full mainboard recap, with the areas around the old capacitors treated with white vinegar and cleaned with isopropyl, the old X-Reset replaced with a cleaner one on a Consoles Unleashed QSB, and finally a full recap of the power supply as well.
+49 photosSuccessful repairSony — PlayStation
Imported NTSC-J PlayStation sent in for the full works: xStation, MFO and X-Reset installs, plus a recap and a clean. Board and PSU recaps went in without trouble, then the console came up dead, no video and no audio, once the mods were fitted. The MFO had been wired to a pad that is ground on one board revision but not on this PU-18, which shorted the 3.5V rail and blew the PS604 fuse. Rewired correctly and refitted with a fuse taken from another console, with the surrounding fuses and ferrite beads checked for further damage. Finished with a controller clean and recap, lubrication and UV protectant.
+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.
+38 photosSuccessful repairSony — PlayStation
Don't mix PSUs with incorrect mains voltages, kids. I accidentally did that on this Sony PlayStation NTSC-J in 2022, while repairing and testing the controller ports on a friend's PAL PS1. Years later, once PU-7 QSBs finally existed, it got the mod it was bought for: an xStation from a kit by Romain Brami, with DSP pins lifted, the resistor and filter by the master clock removed, three more resistors cleared from the QSB footprint, then the QSB soldered and the FFC folded up to the top side. An X-Reset QSB followed. Shortly after, the PSU turned hard to switch on, which was corrosion inside the power switch: stripped, scraped with a fiberglass pen, cleaned with isopropyl, then DeoxIT on the contacts and grease on the plunger.
+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.
+16 photosSuccessful repairSNK — Neo Geo CD
A cheap Neo Geo CD from 2021, recapped board by board: the AV and power board, the optical drive PCB, the mainboard and the original PSU. Later fitted with a NEO SD Loader to take the load off the drive, and an F-RAM save mod after it stopped holding saves even with a fresh battery.
