CRGWe all know that the best video signal for native Amiga screen modes is that coming from the RGB port but as a 15kHz signal it typically can't be connected straight to a modern display. There are various scan doubler devices out there and one of the cheapest is the GBS8200. Cheapness usually equals poor quality though and while the GBS8200 does a decent job the image isn't the best. That's were GBS Control comes in though. This mod replaces the GBS processor with an arduino device running custom software that aims to fix the problems with the original device. There are further mods we can do to try and get every last ounce of quality out of the scan doubler and we can now even mount it to a daughter board to fit it internally in an Amiga 2000 or in my case an Amiga 2000 EATX.
00:00 Intro 01:59 Picture from GBS8200 04:58 GBS Control installation 05:34 Programming 07:27 Wiring 11:05 Testing 13:29 C11 mod 16:09 Admission 17:10 Faulty GBS? 19:01 Testing 21:14 RGB pots and sync mod 26:54 Testing 27:18 SI5351 clock generator mod 29:03 Testing 29:46 Power supply bypass caps mod 32:19 Testing 32:51 A2000 video port mod 37:25 Testing 38:54 Comparing GBS8200 to GBScontrol 40:30 Conclusion and Credits
Amiga 2000(EATX) internal GBScontrol buildCRG2023-07-02 | We all know that the best video signal for native Amiga screen modes is that coming from the RGB port but as a 15kHz signal it typically can't be connected straight to a modern display. There are various scan doubler devices out there and one of the cheapest is the GBS8200. Cheapness usually equals poor quality though and while the GBS8200 does a decent job the image isn't the best. That's were GBS Control comes in though. This mod replaces the GBS processor with an arduino device running custom software that aims to fix the problems with the original device. There are further mods we can do to try and get every last ounce of quality out of the scan doubler and we can now even mount it to a daughter board to fit it internally in an Amiga 2000 or in my case an Amiga 2000 EATX.
00:00 Intro 01:59 Picture from GBS8200 04:58 GBS Control installation 05:34 Programming 07:27 Wiring 11:05 Testing 13:29 C11 mod 16:09 Admission 17:10 Faulty GBS? 19:01 Testing 21:14 RGB pots and sync mod 26:54 Testing 27:18 SI5351 clock generator mod 29:03 Testing 29:46 Power supply bypass caps mod 32:19 Testing 32:51 A2000 video port mod 37:25 Testing 38:54 Comparing GBS8200 to GBScontrol 40:30 Conclusion and CreditsSaving a Commodore VIC 20 for CHARITYCRG2024-10-13 | Back in January of this year, Simon from @gingerhippygaming7962 got in touch to ask if I wanted a challenge. As I'm sure some of you know he had recently cleared out an old warehouse on which the roof had collapsed but under the mess he found a horde of vintage computer and console items.
It took a while to get to me (pesky Irish Sea in the way) but it is here now and it has arrived with perfect timing as it coincides with the Commodore themed charity event being run by Lee from @MoreFunMakingIt.
Lee and a bunch of us here on YouTube #mfmi2024 are getting together to offer items for sale with 100% of the monies raised going to the Befriending scheme - thebefriendingscheme.org.uk/.
So what possible better use could this VIC-20 be put to, it suffered a terrible fate in that place in which it was found. Let's try to save it, try to bring it back and let's hope it raises a lot of funds for the charity.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:55 Just how bad is it 06:22 Cleaning and remove the obviously bad bits 12:28 Thoughts 13:50 New sockets, new parts and testing the rust 16:59 Special Guest 18:34 Moving the wire 19:55 Does it work 21:19 Scoping the problem 24:48 Down the rabbit hole 26:19 Kernal ROM 28:56 Turning to google 30:33 Testing the other board 35:25 Back to the first board with RAM 37:21 Omega Race 40:00 Cleaning 40:48 The reveal 42:06 Story time 43:00 The charity listing 49:17 Other charity links 50:20 Making a donationBuilding a FINAL EXPANSION 3 for the Commodore VIC 20CRG2024-10-07 | The VIC20 is one machine I've never been able to do much with as I've never had any means of loading software onto. But when I seen Foxhoria over on the discord building a Final Expansion 3, well I thought that looked cool so I bought two kits from them.
One will go with the VC-20 charity auction running from the 12th (link will appear here) and the other is for me.
Build and test, that'll be straight forward enough won't it?
Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:41 Build 15:50 ICs and Programming 23:43 Case 25:03 Nothing is ever simple 31:57 Testing 42:52 ConclusionsRESTORING and UPGRADING this Amstrad PC 2086/30CRG2024-09-22 | Remember the Amstrad XT we looked at back in MAY... well its been lying in pieces on my bench since getting retrobrightened and I think its finally about time we put it back together.
Since the case is looking all nice and fresh again, lets do the same with the software and restore that back to its factory state and then let's throw some upgrades at it.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:15 CRT 03:34 Motherboard and HDD 06:49 Does it still work? 09:13 Software RESTORATION 20:18 Windows 2.03 26:44 Benchmarks 28:23 Games 31:38 Upgrades 35:00 Upgraded benchmarks 36:27 Upgraded games 44:59 Downgraded windows? 45:59 PIFs 50:10 Another look at the CRT 54:05 ConclusionsThis Amiga Accelerator STILL refuses to work!CRG2024-09-15 | The new tag ram chips have arrived so will that be enough to get this side car accelerator working once again?
Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:37 Trying your suggestions 04:10 HALT, BERR and other CPU probing 07:46 What does it do without with TAG RAM 08:36 New TAG RAM 11:31 Testing 12:15 DefeatedThis Amiga Accelerator REFUSES to work!CRG2024-08-04 | This week we are looking at one of the original budget orientated accelerators for the Amiga 500. Sporting a 28MHz 68000 CPU but no fast RAM, only 16KB of cache this certainly is an interesting product but it is unfortunately faulty. So join me as we delve into the into this device, try to figure out how it works and why its faulty.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:49 What's on and in the box 06:27 First test 08:29 Jumpers 10:09 How it works 12:29 Contact cleaner 13:30 Silly Joke 14:11 Under the microscope 21:19 Scoping clocks 23:38 Observations 26:53 PLD clocks 30:55 CPU 32:43 ConclusionsCan I save this battery damaged Amiga?CRG2024-07-21 | This Amiga 500 Plus was very kindly donated to me last year by Neal of @NLKMediaGroup. He sent me this one along with another A500 rev 6 but this rev 8a (like most of them) has suffered the dreaded battery rot so lets look at it first.
On initial inspection it doesn't look too bad but by the time we're finished this turns into one of the worst I've ever repaired. That might be partly down to me though as I tried something a little different when cleaning this board up.
There's also a silly skit at the end so be sure to look out for that and thanks to @WhatHoSnorkers for the help :)
Please make sure to check out the following YouTube Channels @NLKMediaGroup Retro computers and CB Radio @WhatHoSnorkers Spectrum type in games
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:28 Initial look 03:00 Stripping down 07:43 244 & 373 testing 09:53 Cleaning up 11:45 Dremel mistakes 14:00 Solder coating 14:56 Review of the damage 20:42 Trace repair 23:44 More repairs 26:42 Almost back together 29:11 Assembly 31:38 Testing 35:55 Real Time Clock 41:36 Conclusion 43:25 Always wear a face mask while using a dremel (skit)BUILDING, TESTING and almost FIXING a backplane for the ZX SpectrumCRG2024-07-07 | I recently had a cause to fit more than one expansion to my ZX spectrum at the same time so went on the hunt for some means of doing it. After stumbling across a 6 way backplane on project speccy I downloaded the gerbers, ordered the boards and attempt to get it working!
So join me as we head far deeper down this Sinclair Rabbit hole than I thought possible.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:52 Assembly 05:13 Fitting and Voltage 06:17 The problems begin 07:29 Other problems 11:27 Back to the backplane 12:57 Swapping ram and LS157s 14:26 128k ram mod 16:44 Loading problems 19:15 The plan 21:30 Address bus buffer testing 24:12 Fireworks 26:18 Termination 30:39 More loading woes 34:22 One last try 39:53 ConclusionWhy is my ZX Spectrum Faulty?CRG2024-06-09 | I pulled the ZX Spectrum down to show you all a new expansion but when I plugged it in to test it just showed garbage on the screen. I was sure this worked when it was last put onto the shelf but now its not so let's figure it out.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:25 Diagnostics 02:27 Testing the ROM 04:43 A look at the schematics 05:29 Thinking about it 06:17 Logic Probe 07:32 ROM pin 15? 08:23 Physically broken? 10:47 Found the problem 13:08 Fixing it 14:20 Is it fixed?Building and testing a SID chip expansion for the Sinclair Spectrum.CRG2024-05-12 | Two of the most infamous computers of the 1980s brought together over music. In this video we attempt to build a SID expansion for the Sinclair Spectrum and try to get it playing a few SID music files.
Massive thanks to SparxUK for kindly donating this project. Additional thanks to @YawningAngelRetro for letting me hold onto his 128k for this build.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:22 Assembly 18:29 Programming 24:12 5V regulator at 5V 26:22 Initial testing 31:02 NSID player pro 34:42 Testing 43:00 Another look at the SwinSID 44:54 Finally figured it out 50:19 ConclusionSpectrum 128k Toastrack. Investigation and modification of this British computing icon.CRG2024-04-28 | This week we are looking at a Spectrum 128k toastrack that belongs to @YawningAngelRetro. He asked if I could sort out a power issue and carry out a few mods so lets see what we can do.
The mods completed in this video are a composite mod with audio and colour bleeding fix. Audio level fix, a jail bar fix and we also fit a new regulator.
High quality spectrum schematics can be found at this link https://www.8bit-wiki.de/fileadmin/8bit-wiki/Sinclair/ZX_Spectrum/_zx128/manual/ZX%20Spectrum%20128%2B%20Schematics.pdf
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:30 Letter 02:38 Opening up 04:47 Composite mod 15:03 Components 16:20 Colour bleeding mod 18:33 Jail bar mod 21:27 Audio level mod 22:29 Replacement regulator 26:43 Revisiting the jail bar mod 32:40 Testing and printer problems 34:34 Tape tester 36:35 DizzyHands on alignment of an Amiga disk driveCRG2024-04-07 | We have 2 disk drives to look at this week. One of them just needs aligned which is the main focus of the video, the other I bought spares or repairs with no idea what's wrong with it...
As I said in the video aligning a disk drive manually like this isn't necessarily the correct way to do it but it certainly is a lot easier than hooking up a scope and a lot cheaper than buying a test diskette (£60). I can't say for certain that it is aligned correctly but if it reads everything I try then surely that's enough.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:48 Drive 1 inspection 04:41 Testing 06:57 Track 0 sensor adjustment (Lower head) 10:50 Upper head adjustment 13:48 Booting from DF1 14:55 Floppy drive speed 15:28 Lubrication 16:26 Quick note 17:40 Drive 2 18:40 Its dead Jim 20:47 ConclusionAmiga 500+ Gary and Board repairsCRG2024-03-31 | This Amiga 500+ was recently purchased by Allan as a spares or repairs project because like a lot of these the battery had leaked and wreaked havoc on the board and Gary. Unbelievably it did initially power up but when Allan tried to remove Gary for cleaning, several positions in the socket broke loose and the Gate Array unfortunately lost a few legs. Allan asked for help so lets get it fixed.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:38 Removing the old socket 03:16 Cleaning 04:44 Touching up solder points 05:55 Getting carried away 07:57 Review of the work and coating the solder 10:14 New battery holder 13:12 New socket 14:19 Gary 19:38 Testing 26:24 ConclusionAmiga Test Kit Serial and Parallel Dongles build and testCRG2024-03-27 | Amiga test kit is something you've no doubt seen me use a few times in the past to test various aspects of an Amiga computer but the one thing I've been unable to test up until now is the serial and parallel ports.
To do that I need the loop back dongles and so Steve from the CRG discord ordered the required PCBs from the shared projects section at PCBWay. He very kindly sent me a few boards, I've got the parts for them here so lets put them together and test my A1200s serial and parallel ports.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:47 Thanks Steve 01:43 Assembly 06:39 Testing 09:39 ConclusionCan I fix this faulty Amstrad 2086?CRG2024-03-03 | I've had this machine sitting in storage for a couple of years now but done very little with it. Its been far to long since I did anything with a retro PC and the old Amstrad certainly needs some love but since I last used it, it's developed a fault. So for part 1, can I fix both the PC and the Monitor?
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:58 Overview of problems 01:49 PC tear down 07:41 Motherboard tour 10:55 Looking for a short 12:01 Inside the PSU 12:51 Floppy drive 13:48 Hard drive 14:43 Found the problem 22:31 Testing the computer 23:53 Will the hdd boot 24:46 Tour of the HDD 31:50 Monitor tear down 34:34 Sketchy bit 36:41 Leaky caps 40:49 New caps 45:00 Monitor testing 51:45 ConclusionIs this TF1260 or rev6 060 faulty?CRG2024-02-18 | When Gerry reached out to ask if I would take a look at his TF1260 with its rev6 060 that's acting up, well, I offered to help. After all who wouldn't like the chance to play with a rev 6 68060, but, is there actually anything wrong with it?
Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:28 Testing Gerry's 1260 03:25 FPU? 04:55 ATK testing 05:55 Power cycling 06:56 More testing 08:00 Overclocking test 08:50 Silkcut demo 11:42 A possible solution 12:39 Updating the CPLD firmware 18:29 ConclusionI broke a leg off this PLCC packaged FPU so lets fix itCRG2024-02-18 | I got my 1200 out to test a TF1260 of which the owner is having problems but when I opened it up I thought I should perhaps first tidy up the FPU oscillator mod that I did a while back. No intentions of making a video about it but when I accidently snapped the clock leg off the chip (I had previously lifted this leg) I thought why not pull the camera out and show you that while it may seem like the end, something like this can be easily fixed.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:00 The "Dremel" 03:30 Refitting 05:20 Testing10,000 subscriber donations special.CRG2024-02-11 | I can hardly believe it but my little channel has rolled over 10,000 subscribers so I thought we'd celebrate by taking a look at some donations that have come in over the last year.
Thank you to everyone who donated, @GadgetUK164, @hackbuildrestore, @ReEnthused, Sean Beyer, Sean from Amiga Ireland, @TerribleFire, Richard, Steve, Tyrell, @YawningAngelRetro, @NLKMediaGroup, Darren Johnstone
Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:36 From @GadgetUK164 04:17 From @hackbuildrestore 07:17 From @ReEnthused 08:55 From Sean Beyer 12:39 From Sean 15:52 From @TerribleFire 16:51 From Richard 19:37 From Steve 20:54 From Tyrell 22:31 From @YawningAngelRetro 24:04 From @NLKMediaGroup 30:32 From Darren Johnstone 52:32 ConclusionCan I fix this Sinclair Spectrum+ 128k?CRG2024-02-04 | When TRU got in touch asking if I'd be willing to help with his ZX Spectrum+ 128k toaster well, its another machine I've not had much experience with so I was only glad to take a look. What turns out to be an obvious fault, sometimes these things do just need another set of eyes to be found.
Many thanks to Jonathan (TRU) for donating the diag cart, I'm sure that will come in very handy for the future.
Music by Banjo Guy Ollie - @banjoguyollie Thanks to MFMI and his discord for help with this one - @MoreFunMakingIt
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:14 Letter 01:58 A look around the Spectrum 04:28 Getting inside 06:57 Look what I found 10:37 Checking voltages, reset and clock 13:53 Looking for a video signal 15:08 First power on 15:36 Was it the short? 16:14 Keyboard test 16:49 Testing an old ram chip 17:48 Assembling the diag cart kit 22:05 Configuring the diag cart 24:31 Testing the diag cart 26:18 ConclusionReplacing my damaged TF1260 edge connector - mini fixCRG2024-01-17 | A few weeks ago while working on a shorted A1200 I tried to boot it with my TF1260 in the trap door and since the board didn't have a chamfered edge I managed to wreck the edge connector on the TF1260. No problem, its only 150 pins and replacement edge connectors are readily available so can I swap it out without causing any more damage?
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:37 The damage 01:28 Removing the old connector 04:04 Not off yet 05:13 Finally free 05:40 Clean up 06:11 Fitting the new connector 07:06 Testing 09:32 ConclusionPrelude Zorro 2 Amiga sound card - part 2 MPEGit FIXCRG2024-01-14 | When we first put this card together we discovered that the MPEGit addon didn't do a great job at decoding MP3s, the audio it produced was full of interference.
Turns out that issue was caused by the MPEG decoding chip but we have a replacement now so we swap that out but then find a new issue that might be impossible to solve. Does anyone have a source for 14.725mhz oscillators?
Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:14 Swapping the decoder chip 04:09 Magnification 05:23 Is it fixed? 07:08 From cables to pins 08:19 All fixed now? 10:33 Another problem! 14:15 Microphone input 16:54 ConclusionAmiga CD32 capacitor replacementCRG2024-01-07 | Time for some more recapping of an Amiga but this is one we haven't covered on the channel before, the Amiga CD32. The system belongs to @GouldFishOnGames he asked me to carry out this necessary maintenance to his beloved Commodore Console.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:50 Opening up and inspection 04:36 Through hole to surface mounted 08:41 Recapping 13:18 A quick tour 15:20 Why your CD32 is better than a PlayStation 16:31 Powerful trivia 17:40 Quick clean 18:32: Recapping the recap 19:37 Testing 23:05 ConclusionsCan this Amiga guy fix this Atari STECRG2023-12-26 | The Atari ST range of computers are one thing that I've never really spent any time with so when Chris reached out and asked me to take a look at his faulty STE well I jumped at the chance to have a play with it.
But this Amiga guy genuinely knows nothing about these machines so I reached out to someone who does know their way around an Atari and with Dave's help can we get this Atari STE up and running.
Chapters 00:00 Silly intro 00:53 What's in the box 02:38 Dave 05:35 Quick look around the case and accessories 09:22 More Dave 11:39 Initial test 13:02 Opening up 15:22 Is this the problem? 16:22 The motherboard 17:45 Final Dave 20:33 The plan 22:45 Repair montage 25:56 Test 28:24 Hdd port repair 31:00 A bit more maintenance 34:45 24 hours later 35:42 Testing some ST titles 39:12 Frontier 41:11 Secret of Monkey Island 43:55 We were at (oxygene) 46:12 ConclusionBuilding a Prelude Zorro 2 Amiga sound cardCRG2023-12-17 | Up until recently I never gave much thought to adding a sound card to my A2000 build. I mean why bother since the Amiga has fantastic sound out of Paula...
Well, when the opportunity came up to join a group buy with @GadgetUK164 and a few other usual suspects I decided to join in the fun and so let's build a sound card for my Amiga... Let's build a Prelude with its MP3 decoder the mpegit addon.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:15 What we're building 03:56 Time for some soldering 04:35 My expansion slot brackets 05:19 Back to the soldering 06:32 Tantalums 07:42 Resistors 09:14 Finishing off the passives 10:04 Crystals and sockets 11:35 SMD soldering time 14:53 Amazon capacitors? 16:07 How will we attach the MPEGIT? 17:23 Cleaning 18:13 Populating the chips 19:13 What does the PAULA sound like and what is AHI? 26:04 Installing the PRELUDE and a weird error 27:31 PRELUDE drivers 29:55 What does the PRELUDE sound like 33:02 MPEGIT installation 35:36 MPEGIT problems 39:43 Mixer and a microphone test 42:56 ConclusionCommodore 64 Kung Fu Flash mini buildCRG2023-12-10 | Time for a mini build project and this time we're putting together the Kung Fu Flash cart that Lee from @MoreFunMakingIt sent me. But I thought while doing this I'd also expand the video to talk a bit more about how I approach this type of SMD soldering. I'm by no means an expert so take it with a pinch of salt but wanted to show you in more detail how I do it.
Chapters 00:00 IntroCan I fix this shorted Amiga 1200?CRG2023-11-26 | Another repair to look at this week but this one is a little bit different in that this Amiga 1200 motherboard has a dead short between VCC and GND, buy why?
This one sends me on a bit of journey but sure its all good practise.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:18 A look at the board 03:30 Shorted capacitor? 05:11 Is it the through hole caps? 06:41 Is it the surface mounted caps? 09:45 The plan to find a shorted ceramic. 11:50 Not quite to plan 13:20 Plan B 15:29 Filter? 17:29 Repairing the broken power trace. 17:52 Testing 22:02 Trying to repair the CPU slot 24:00 Wrap upLets finish the GBS8200 in Amiga 2000 EATXCRG2023-11-21 | A couple of months ago I built a GBS Control mod onto a GBS8200 but also mounted it to a board so it could be installed within the Amiga 2000 EATX. On the day I left it with just a VGA cable hanging out the back of the case and while it works fine it left it very unfinished. Let's finally finish off the install by soldering on a VGA cable and printing a custom bracket to hold the card in place.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:36 Look what I found 01:19 What goes where? 03:48 Soldering 04:34 Test fitting 06:04 Does the video still work? 07:01 3D printed bracket 09:01 ConclusionLets build an Amiga Network AdapterCRG2023-11-12 | I've owned an Amiga for the past 30 years but in all that time the one thing I have never done is put an Amiga online, I have never networked an Amiga. I found this Zorro 2 ethernet / clock port / ide card on gitlab so lets put it together and see if I can network an Amiga.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:22 A look at the card 01:12 Getting started 02:25 SMD soldering 08:47 Through hole soldering 10:34 Programming 13:28 Jumpers 14:44 Testing the IDE 15:58 10 days later 19:22 Replacement MAGJACK 21:24 SJ2 22:32 Replacement LAN chip 26:22 Breakout board bracket 27:35 ConclusionBlueSCSI V2 - mini build and quick testCRG2023-10-25 | The Blue SCSI arrived for the A590 that we looked at previous so lets put it together and give it a quick test.
This is the first of as new mini build series that I'm going to do, I've got a few small projects like this but the idea is to release these in between the regular videos. Let me know what you think of this good in the comments.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:47 What's in the bag 02:43 Assembly 05:22 Testing 08:27 ConclusionWhy doesnt this A590 work with this Amiga 500 Plus?CRG2023-10-22 | When Richard reached out on the CRG discord looking for help with his supposedly good working A590 side car, well, its one thing I've never had the chance to work with until now so I was more than happy to do so.
A bit of an odd one because the A590 was sold as working and the Amiga itself certainly works fine, so why don't they work together?
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:24 What's in the box 01:02 Closer look at the edge connector 01:48 Letter 05:01 Reviewing the previous work 07:13 Restoring the edge connector 09:10 Testing the 500 first 10:42 First test with the A590 14:15 Testing and upgrading the ROMs 20:17 Does the A590 work? 22:16 Why doesn't it work on Richards A500+ 23:50 Another test 25:46 Modifying the A590 to draw power from the A500 28:45 Does it work? 29:53 SD to SCSI 34:17 ConclusionPC Engine - Part 2 - Some things are never easy!CRG2023-10-08 | All the accessories I need to finish off the PC have arrived but things are never as simple as you'd like. Few hurdles along the way and one complete mystery?
This machine came from the storage unit that @gingerhippygaming7962 cleared. In part one last time we got it working, this video finishes it off... for now anyway, we're never truly finished with this things are we?
Make sure to check out Ginger Hippy Gaming's channel as he has looked at many systems that were pulled out of this place.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:40 What to do with the case 01:25 Does it still work 01:59 Joypad with problems 04:15 Checking on the case 04:34 New cable for the joypad 07:56 Everdrive with a weird issue 12:56 Voltage regulator heatsink 14:34 Back in the case 17:22 Testing again with hu card and everdrive 18:10 Has it fixed itself? 22:13 While the irons out... 24:00 Does it still show corruption? 25:12 Remember the mod from part 1? 27:56 Touching up the cart PCB 28:49 ConclusionFixing, breaking and fixing an Amiga 600CRG2023-10-01 | When one of my patrons reached out on the CRG discord to say he was having trouble with his Amiga 600, I offered to fix it. Just showing a black screen and sporting some additional holes in the bottom of the case this A600 has obviously been through a hard life. I unfortunately add to its suffering through some accidental damage but by the end can we get this old computer working?
00:00 Intro 00:39 What's in the box 03:05 Quick look at the PSU 04:22 Opening the 600 06:21 Everything we need to fix 07:40 Getting started 10:05 Potential disaster 11:20 Actual disaster 13:07 How NOT to repair lost pads 14:30 C612 15:27 A better fix and the correct caps 18:00 Recap complete 19:30 Repairing the drill damage 21:59 Does it work? 22:40 Testing the floppy drive 23:30 Amiga Test Kit 25:01 Keyboard 26:25 Floppy drive 30:44 PSU 34:32 Conclusion and creditsCommodore 64 showing a black screen, can I fix it?CRG2023-09-03 | I was recently lucky to pick up this Commodore 64 from Woz who had offered it on RMCs discord for the low price of postage only. What's the catch? Well it doesn't work, its displaying a black screen only so lets try and figure out why? Will it just be the PLA (a common failure point for a black screen) or will it be something else?
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:20 Looking around the system 02:39 What's the symptoms 08:47 It has to be the PLA 10:42 Testing the VIC 11:32 Anything getting hot 12:45 Probing the MOS logic 15:23 Why is U15 not being enabled? 20:15 Replacing U15 21:06 Diagnostics 22:32 More problems? 23:07 Refinishing the edge connectors 24:44 Testing again 25:25 4066 26:22 Keyboard test 27:19 Loading a game 29:08 Conclusion and creditsCrusty rusty PC Engine, can I save it?CRG2023-08-20 | The NEC PC Engine is one console I've always wanted but for many reasons just never got round to adding to my collection. A couple of months ago fellow YouTube channel @gingerhippygaming7962 cleared out a storage unit, a storage unit in which the roof had collapsed, but this place was full of retro gaming goodies. He pull 6 PC Engines out of the mess and and kindly offered to send me one. Its in a very sorry state but lets see if we can get it working again.
Make sure to check out Ginger Hippy Gaming's channel as he has looked at many systems that were pulled out of this place. the other 5 PC engines are going to various other channels and I'll update this description as those videos are released.
Video footage from both @gingerhippygaming7962 and @RMCRetro used with permission.
Massive thanks to Aergan (Simon) for all his help with this one. He has a fantastic knowledge of the PC Engine. Check out his wordpress here - aergan.wordpress.com/?s=pc+engine
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:21 Look around the outside 01:45 Getting inside 03:21 Removals 08:22 Time for a bath 13:03 What's next 14:28 Reflow time 16:57 Any trace damage? 18:10 The switch 20:22 Solder montage 21:20 First test 25:23 AV cable 27:45 Video test 29:38 Yellow wires 32:02 Undoing a previous mod 32:58 Another test 34:03 Conclusion and creditsAmiga 500 Plus with battery damage and an unexpected expansionCRG2023-08-06 | I always do what I can to try and help the local community with their Amiga woes and when one local user reached out looking help with his battery damaged Amiga 500 Plus, well I said I'd do what I can.
Not just as bad as some but the battery has spread its contents over a fair bit of the board and there is some damage to repair but that's not the only surprise this machine is hiding. Something called an Vortex AT-ONCE is hiding in the CPU slot and Gary looks like he's made a tower to escape the battery poison.
Featuring the voice talents of @MoreFunMakingIt and @RoseTintedSpectrum. Make sure to check out both their fantastic channels.
00:00 Intro 00:36 Lifting the lid 03:53 Testing the chipset and accessories 06:52 Assessing the battery damage 10:26 Inspection after the cleaning 12:10 Removals 13:58 Dealing with the corrosion, breaks and exposed copper 17:23 Trace repair 18:34 Recap A500+ 22:21 Recap PSU 23:35 Testing U10, U11, U12, U13 26:28 First test 28:34 Vortex ATonce investigation 32:49 Vortex ATonce testing 37:07 Will it run a game? 39:59 Did it need recapped? 44:01 Conclusion 46:02 Credits 46:51 The silly bitCACHE and UPGRADES for the ICL TEAM SERVERCRG2023-07-23 | The replacement cache for the ICL Team Server has arrived so lets try to resolve the Cache Ram Error but while the case is apart lets also throw a few upgrades at it. Those come in the form of a 5.25" floppy drive, ESS1868F sound card, Cirrus Logic VLB card and 32mb of ram (or so I thought).
Thanks to @GouldFishOnGames for the donation of the VLB card, it performs fantastically in this machine. Make sure you go check out his channel here - youtube.com/@UC5Ee7qQWiSZDcdTnXB6fBfw
00:00 Intro 00:35 Cache investigation and repair 10:35 Installing the other upgrades 14:09 Discovering a problem 18:54 Is VLB faster 20:28 Games - Duke3D 23:58 Games - Doom 2 24:56 Games - Quake 27:43 Games - Transport Tycoon 31:11 Conclusion and creditsCan I fix an eBay spares repairs ZX81 with an AliExpress Oscilloscope?CRG2023-07-09 | I finally got myself a new Oscilloscope but not wanting to spend to much money I found one on AliExpress for only £40. I also recently bought a ZX81 from eBay that was sold for spares or repairs so can I use one to fix the other?
Thanks to Lee from @MoreFunMakingIt for sending me the composite mod for the ZX81 along with same for the Atari 2600 and a Kung Fu cart for the C64! Make sure to go check out his channel and don't forget to say CRG sent you :) youtube.com/@UC5WFTrin8VTv397vQIA8mcA
Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:02 First look and unboxing 04:57 PSU test 06:26 Opening the ZX81 07:13 Look around the ZX81 board 08:35 Powering up 09:55 Testing with the scope 13:06 Composite mod and thanks to @MoreFunMakingIt 19:22 What's on the screen 19:44 More scope tests 22:39 Down the ram rabbit hole 26:41 Swapping the CPU 28:52 Keyboard test and repair 32:12 Will it load something? 34:05 Ear input repair 35:28 Will it load something now? 40:01 Conclusion and creditsPC Investigation: ICL Team Server Part 2, it *mostly* worksCRG2023-06-18 | We're back looking at the ICL Team Server this week and with help from the community we finally have a working machine... well... mostly working.
Chapter 00:00 Intro 01:40 House keeping and its an ACER 04:00 Trying the ACER bios 07:38 ACER bios setup 09:23 Enabled the cache 10:35 Trying to boot from floppy 11:21 Testing the cache 13:45 CPU Check, DX2 50? 17:17 Tried everything 18:58 EISA configuration tool 24:35 Trying the SCSI HDD 28:53 Taking a look at the door 31:10 Conclusion and creditsPC Investigation of a 90s Floor Standing ServerCRG2023-06-04 | Any PC that has wheels on it must mean serious business and this floor standing ICL Team Server from the 90s is no exception.
It currently doesn't power on so lets see if it can repaired and lets see what's inside this mammoth case.
If anyone has a copy of the configuration disk for this machine, I would be forever grateful to get a copy!
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:33 Quick look around the outside 02:32 Looking around the inside 03:46 Expansion cards 07:00 Motherboard 08:24 Faulty PSU? 10:59 Drives 15:36 Trying the board 17:24 Repairing the motherboard 21:02 Trying the board again 22:59 Looking through the BIOS 25:33 Trying to boot 29:23 Cache? 32:19 Conclusion and CreditsMacintosh SE/30 Simasimac fault on a brand new board!CRG2023-05-21 | After seeing my previous hardware adventures with Macintosh IIci, Derek reached out and asked if I'd look at his SE30 motherboard. This brand new board whic hhe built himself has encountered an enigma—it's showing the elusive simasimac pattern.
So let's see if we can figure out why this newly built board won't boot. Can we figure out what simasimac is... can we even decide how to pronounce it properly...
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:55 Testing the new board 02:54 Simasimac 03:37 Could it be a bad rom simm socket? 05:18 Could it be the ram? 05:38 Could it be poor connection? 08:20 After some reading 10:16 Back to basics, reset, clock 13:41 Could it be the chipset? 17:58 Reflow the sockets and refinish the chips 20:50 A problem 21:45 Another test 25:33 Swapping the expansion port 29:30 Trying to boot with some odd behaviour 31:42 Final test and look at the goodies 35:14 Conclusion and creditsNew case, new screen and an analogue thumbstick?CRG2023-05-07 | Sega's GameGear was my handheld of choice back in the early 90s and while at the time it felt like a top of the range piece of kit, these days the screen leaves a lot to be desired and the d-pad while certainly not the worst is a far cry from modern thumbsticks.
But after a little shopping on Aliexpress and eBay I aim to put that right with a new screen, a new thumbstick d-pad replacement and since we're at it, how about a new case and set of buttons.
The aliexpress screen I bought is no longer stocked so I can't link it but plenty others are available that look similar. Just make sure to save the instrcutions.
Retrosix eBay store for the other parts - ebay.co.uk/str/retrosix Retrosix youtube @RetroSix
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:39 Other goodies 01:42 Screen parts 03:00 Where's the instruction 04:03 Removals 07:24 Installing the new screen 12:53 Screen test 14:02 Installing the thumbstick 17:55 New case 23:23 Final tests 27:11 Conclusion and creditsMacintosh IIci, can I finally get a working machine?CRG2023-04-30 | Last time I had this battery bombed machine on the bench I got it to the point where it would power on and chime but it only showed a black screen. I asked for your help and there were some excellent suggestions, so in this video let’s try a few of those and see if it can be fixed.
Let's be honest though I'm well and truly invested into the pursuit of having a working IIci so in one way or another I'll get a working system by the end of this...
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:28 Recap 01:45 New diodes 02:44 Power supply 10:13 ROMs 11:57 Checking for more damage 17:17 Admitting defeat 19:02 A new hope 20:03 The electrolytic strikes back 22:53 Return of the IIci 26:25 Another look at the other board 30:15 Cache Card 32:17 Quick look at the old HDD 35:19 Inside the old floppy drive 35:54 Conclusion and creditsSega Game Gear gets a recap and repairCRG2023-04-09 | A few months ago a friend of mine got in touch to say his wife found her childhood gamegear but it didn't work and would I like it.
Hard to turn down an offer like that so let's first see what else came with it then see if we can get it fixed.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:37 What's in the bag? 01:41 Testing the condition 03:09 Tear down 07:33 Removing old caps from the main PCB 11:51 Power and sound board 13:10 Why bother? 14:08 Power and sound board 18:35 Power board repair 21:41 New caps for the sound board 23:56 Why use electrolytics? 26:45 Fitting the through hole surface 27:38 First test 29:59 Where has the sound gone? 30:34 Testing in another Game Gear 31:39 Could it be the audio amp? 34:55 What else could be faulty? 36:46 One final test 37:29 Conclusion and creditsWhy will this Macintosh IIci not work, HELP!CRG2023-04-02 | This one has been nothing but a struggle but when a MAC IIci came up for sale on RMCs discord for the low price of shipping only, well, I couldn't pass up an offer like that. What's the catch?, its suffered extensive battery damage and needs a lot of repair.
But that's nothing we haven't done before, the MAC IIci is a great machine so let's see if I can get it work...
Or that was the plan anyway. We do make some progress in the video but ultimately I can't get it going but I think it can be fixed, in fact I'm sure of it so I'm asking for your help, if anyone out there knows their way around these machines better than me, please get in touch as I'd love to get it running.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:42 A tour around the case 04:37 First look at the insides 09:18 Assessing the damage 13:01 Removal of previous work and components 19:00 Starting the clean up 21:01 Assessing the damage 23:04 Closer look at the capacitor areas 24:36 How many patch wires? 29:17 Repairs 39:48 Thanks @ChrisEdwardsRestoration 40:11 First test 40:39 More damage and second test 41:16 Two weeks later... 42:36 F245s 45:32 Its not that but what's wrong now! 46:55 One last roll of the dice 48:45 I'm beaten, conclusion and creditsCan I fix this NEO GEO calendar error?CRG2023-03-12 | Last year I bought myself a NEO GEO MVS, its one of those systems I've always dreamt of owning so got this from Aliexpress along with a supergun and all in one game cart. All was going well until just before Christmas when it threw up a calendar error. I've been missing my arcade games fix so let try to fix it or least find a work around...
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:48 Closer look 04:09 Is it just the crystal? 04:38 What about the RTC chip? 08:36 Voltage levels? 11:44 Calendar error checks 17:04 The soldering bit 20:29 Unibios 27:35 Testing 31:35 Conclusion and creditsAmiga Sick Hundred - Part 3 - Composite Fix and Building a Chip RAM expansionCRG2023-02-19 | Its time to finish off the Amiga 600, we need to sort out the lack of composite video and I’ve got a 1MB chip ram expansion to build.
Massive thanks to Mark Brown (Supaduper) for sending us the parts needed for the composite mod along with a spare keyboard membrane.
The new video encoder is a Sony device, part number CXA2075M. To complete the mod you need a 2.61k ohm metal film 1% resistor between pins 12 and 17.
This composite mod can also be applied to the A1200 using the same parts and methods. YouTube channel @BranchusCreations has an excellent video on it here - youtube.com/watch?v=e2QI1_YjQSo
Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:29 Quick fix of the LED cables 03:01 Composite fix 04:20 A massive thank you 05:13 Composite fix 13:20 Explaining the mods for the composite fix 17:01 Chip RAM expansion build 19:30 SMD soldering time 23:10 Mini soldering montage 24:12 LED? 25:36 Mini soldering montage 26:10 Polarity for a tantalum? 26:45 Straightening up 27:21 Through hole soldering 30:20 First test 31:00 Well there’s the problem 31:48 Second test 34:55 Conclusion and CreditsAmiga SICK hundred - Part 2CRG2023-02-05 | Getting back to the Amiga 600's this week and to my machine. Last time we discovered this eBay spares repairs units had no audio, no composite and no right mouse button or 2nd joystick button input. In this video its time to get under the hood and see if we can't get at least some of those issues resolved.
Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:50 Getting started 02:09 RE-CRAP 04:33 Lurking underneath 05:25 Easy decapping 06:08 What's next 07:11 Broken bits 08:55 Dodgy looking traces 10:24 What about the inputs 12:37 Repairs 15:19 Testing 17:35 Low Pass Filter 23:57 2nd button input 25:25 Composite 30:27 Keyboard 31:54 One last test 32:36 Conclusion and creditsLets build a TF1260 with a trip to Amiga IrelandCRG2023-01-22 | It's been 3 years since the last one but on Friday 13th January I loaded up the car and headed for Athlone to Amiga Ireland. For my part of the show I decided to try and put together the terrible fire TF1260 accelerator. So join me as we try to put together one of the most powerful Amiga accelerators while taking in the sights of the event.
Amiga Ireland - https://amigausers.ie/ Commodore Users Group Ireland - http://www.cugi.org
00:00 Intro 01:25 Fitting the CPLDs 08:21 Programming the CPLDs 11:55 Let’s go to Amiga Ireland 14:25 Finishing off the build 17:50 Amiga Ireland 19:32 Back home 20:12 Why doesn’t it work 22:27 Testing 23:35 Getting hot 27:43 Workbench and sysinfo 29:55 Pushing the clock 34:26 Conclusion and CreditsTwo Amiga SICK-hundreds. PART 1 - testing and repair of the first one.CRG2023-01-01 | Two rather sickly Amiga 600’s have landed on the bench this week, one I bought spares or repairs the other was sent in for a recap but as we soon discover when testing its got a sick floppy drive and the case needs a little attention too.
Part 1 looks at the Amiga that was sent in for work, it needs to be returned so lets do that first.
If you need your Amiga recapped in the UK I recommend - retropassion.co.uk
But if you fancy doing it yourself here is a list of the caps required (for all models) - https://www.ikod.se/repairs/capacitor-lists
Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:17 Testing my A600 05:51 Testing the other A600 07:07 Opening up 08:30 New toy 09:18 Look what I see 13:01 Inside the floppy drive 16:10 Finally into test kit 19:19 Starting the recap 20:18 Removing the plastic bits 23:27 SMD caps 29:43 Little problem 30:41 Refitting and repairing the IDE header 32:15 Repairing the case 35:16 Rusty case 35:53 Another little problem 37:12 Final testing 38:11 Conclusion and credits25 of YOUR favourite demoscene DEMOSCRG2022-12-25 | Its Christmas so time to kick back, relax and stick on some comfort viewing. For most that might be a favourite film or TV series but for me there is nothing better than a good demoscene demo.
I have my own go to favourites but its always great to get recommendations for a few others so a couple of weeks back I asked that very question on twitter, what is your favourite demoscene demo. From everyone who took time to answer I have taken one recommendation and so we have 25 to get through.
Yes this is going to be a long one but its broken down in chapters for each demo.
If anyone has any more recommendations for great demoscene stuff then please let me know in the comments.
YouTube Channels who picked demos @GadgetUK164 @AtariCrypt @retrobitstv @TimberwolfK @ThisIsPete
YouTube Channels from which footage was taken @demoscenevids @AtariCrypt @Oerg866 @quadrigademogroup9117 @Overdozeofthedemoscene @KKAltair