Reflowing or reworking cracked solder joints, BGA reflow and X-clamp fixes.
26 repair logs
+33 photosSuccessful repairBang & Olufsen (B&O) — Beovision 1
This Bang & Olufsen Beovision 1 CRT TV had the audacity to emit smoke and then carry on displaying a perfect picture. A lengthy investigation eventually uncovered an X2 safety cap that had met a truly spectacular end. Came away with a cleaner TV and a great story.
+57 photosSuccessful repairSega — Game Gear
Had lunch with a couple of friends and one of them brought a Sega Game Gear along, wondering if anything could be done with it. Power LED only, nothing else.
+11 photosSega — Mega Drive
Duplicate Japanese Sega Mega Drive prepped for sale. Power jack and AV connector reflowed, shell cleaned with Aerospace 303, controllers deep cleaned and reassembled. Mainboard had been recapped previously.
+29 photosSuccessful repairSega — Mega-CD 1
Second Sega Mega-CD Model 1, acquired after my first one died (probably the fault of a non-OEM optical pickup I'd put in the original).
+17 photosSega — Master System
Full treatment for a Japanese Sega Master System MK-2000 belonging to a friend: new caps, 7805 voltage regulator, thermal paste, cleaned connectors and controllers. Sent on its way looking and playing like new.
+26 photosSony — PVM-6041Q
Removed copious dust from this Sony PVM-6041Q 6-inch professional video monitor, the smallest PVM in the collection. Reflowed solder joints and recapped the neck board, deflection board and PSU.
+29 photosSuccessful repairSony — PVM-14L1
Helped a friend source this Sony PVM-14L1 Trinitron. RGB modded with Martin Hejnfelt's design from immerhax.com (mod PCB assembled myself), neck board reflowed and recapped, audio restored after a previous owner had disconnected the speaker.
+55 photosCould not fixSharp — X68000
A proper exercise in stubbornness on this Sharp X68000. Two rounds of repair, a full recap, FDD surgery (one of the floppy drives had clear signs of a blown capacitor with charring on the PCB), a new oscillator, and still no picture. The X68000 remains on the 'future date' pile.
+135 photosPartial fixSega — Wondermega
Absolute labour of love on this Sega Wondermega HWM-5010 from Japan: corrosion, missing components, broken traces and a RAM package with broken legs. The Mega Drive side eventually came back to life; the Mega-CD side continues to freeze on the BIOS animation, defying everything thrown at it.
+28 photosMicrosoft — Xbox 360 E
The Microsoft Xbox 360 E's PSU was packed with bargain-bin caps and the board had clearly had something spilled on it. A recap, a reflow, a fresh HDD and some elbow grease on the shell later, it's a much happier machine.
+40 photosSony — PVM-9045QD
Multi-stage restoration of this Sony PVM-9045QD Trinitron spread over several sessions. PSU, neck board and deflection board all had their turn. The solder on the back of these boards really does turn to dust.
+40 photosPartial fixSharp — X68000 Pro II
Proper saga on this Sharp X68000 Pro II. Magic smoke from a reversed capacitor, an accidental probe short, and enough replaced components to fill a parts drawer before a single faulty transistor finally gave the game away. Got it booting and running R-Type, which was a hard-earned win. Video output later stopped working, so the story isn't entirely over.
+3 photosMicrosoft — Xbox 360 S
Light post-Christmas work: PSU recap and a joint reflow on this Microsoft Xbox 360 S.
+31 photosSony — PVM-9041Q
9-inch Sony PVM-9041Q Trinitron that arrived in a flight case. PSU recapped, colour trimmer pots replaced, deflection board done alongside its 9045QD sibling.
+3 photosSony — PlayStation
Preemptive PSU recap on this Sony PlayStation PAL backup unit. The solder joints on the power jack were already starting to crack so it was only a matter of time.
+29 photosWork in progressSony — BVM-D9H5J
Sony BVM-D9H5J Trinitron arrived allegedly dead but just needed the right buttons pressed. Tube has 150,000 hours on it but doesn't look terrible. PSU partially recapped and a previous owner's poor rework job cleaned up; the dimness issue remains unsolved for now.
+41 photosSuccessful repairSony — BVM-9045QD
Sony BVM-9045QD that arrived from Japan with an entire colour missing, the same broken neckboard solder joint that had plagued the PVM-14M4J. Full restoration followed: PSU, deflection board, colour board and anode cap all seen to.
+45 photosSuccessful repairSony — PVM-9040
Three 9-inch Sony PVM-9040s that arrived from Japan with customs drama. Monitors were fine inside, bar a known colour issue fixed by replacing the trim pots (which fixes the black-and-white-only fault). Full restoration across all three followed.
+8 photosNintendo — Nintendo 64
Full service on a Nintendo 64 (NUS-001) for a friend: recap, PSU reflow, controller overhaul and a freshly lubed joystick. Validated with Super Mario 64.
+63 photosSony — BVM-D14H1E
Savon Pat cap kit installed on this Sony BVM-D14H1E HD broadcast reference monitor, boards cleaned and reflowed, dielectric grease on the anode. The king of the bunch, also used as a testbed for Switch, PS3 and Dreamcast via Extron MVX.
+42 photosSuccessful repairSony — PVM-14M4J
Sony PVM-14M4J Trinitron with the common retrace lines issue, arrived with one colour completely missing. I made a mistake along the way but got there in the end. Trash to treasure.
+15 photosPartial fixSega — Game Gear
Two heavily contaminated Sega Game Gears, so badly that components were falling off the boards from the electrolyte. Many hours in, one has a partially defective screen and the other boots and plays audio with no picture. A partial result after a massive effort.
+4 photosSuccessful repairSega — Game Gear
Should have been binned, but wasn't. This Sega Game Gear required replacing every capacitor and reflowing every solder joint before it became reliable, but it got there. Gift for a friend.
+17 photosSony — PVM-14L2
My first professional monitor, a 14-inch Sony PVM-14L2 Trinitron PVM. Chassis cleaned, dielectric grease on the anode, neck board recapped. Savon Pat's full cap kit is queued for a later session.
+8 photosSuccessful repairSega — Saturn
Full recap on a bargain 3€ Sega Saturn NTSC-J Model 2: all boards seen to, including the PSU, motherboard and optical drive.
+8 photosSuccessful repairSony — HB-F1XV (MSX2+)
Sound issues on this Sony HB-F1XV MSX2+ traced to the HIC-1 board SMDs, replaced with MLCC caps. Also gained a Carnivore 2 flashcart and a new keyboard PCB.
