Repair and refurbish

Wii classic controller cable repair

Wii classic controller

The Wii classic controller was a welcome addition for Nintendo’s console since it resembles a more conventional gamepad unlike the Wii remote + nunchuck combination. I recently bought a classic controller with a broken cable on Swedish eBay, and in this post I write a few notes about the repair. To disassembly the connector, you need a special “triwing” screwdriver, also used to disassembly a…
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SEGA Master System controller repair

SEGA Master System Controller

Like any other old controller, the SEGA Master System gamepad can be worn over time, which causes faults such as non-responsive buttons, or directions on the d-pad to stop working. One of my controllers would not react when I pressed up on the d-pad, and in this post I will describe how I repaired it. Disassembly the SEGA Master System controller To disassembly the controller,…
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Commodore 128 disassembly

Commodore 128

I recently bought a Commodore 128 (C128) on Swedish eBay for a good price. In this post I will write a few notes about the disassembly of this lovely machine (I wanted to inspect the insides, and give it a good clean). The C128 was introduced in 1985 as a sequel to the popular Commodore 64. By default, the C128 runs in “Commodore 128-mode”, but…
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How to clean a NES cartridge

NES Zelda cart

When the cartridges for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) becomes dirty, you will experience problems getting the console to recognize them, which results in a flashing white screen, and similar issues. The simple solution is to clean them! In this post I will show you an excellent way to get your games clean again. You will need: A Gamebit screwdriver. A white eraser. Isopropanol alcohol….
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How to get your NES games to run again

NES

I recently puchased a few Nintendo Entertainment Systems (NES) together with some games. These were sold “as-is”, and the seller(s) reported problems such as the consoles were just blinking etc. In this post I will summarize what you can do to get your NES games running again: from simple cleaning measures, to more advanced solutions, which require you to disassembly your NES. Clean the cartridges!…
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How to fix a Dreamcast controller port not working

In this post I will cover how to fix a Dreamcast controller port not working. Essentially, it involves replacing a broken fuse at the controller port board. While you are doing this, you can also replace the Dreamcast cmos battery. I will not describe how to disassembly the Dreamcast, since it is quite trivial (see, Dreamcast disassembly). What you need for this fix is the…
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