– Retrodrömmar
When I bought a Wii U the other year (2022-ish), it was mostly out of curiosity. A failed console often has an interesting story behind it, and a few interesting games that make it worth a revisit. If it is possible to run homebrew games or modify the console to run non-commercial software (including pirated games), it enhances the possibility of creating a nostalgic fan-base…
Read more
The Gameboy Advance SP (“SP” stands for SPecial) was an upgraded version of the Gameboy Advance, with a different form factor, and most important of all: a backlit screen. The backlit screen make the GBA SP a great choice for playing Gameboy (GB), GBC and GBA games. In this post, I will briefly show how to replace the battery in the GBA SP, and focus…
Read more
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…
Read more
I recently bought a Gameboy lot with a unit, games, and a case. Included in the lot was a couple of oddly shaped multi-game cartridges. I decided to take a look inside one of them. As seen below, what makes this cartridge “tick” is two chip-on-boards (the black lumps). However, what puzzles me is that the cart also contains several unused spaces for IC:s. What…
Read more
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….
Read more
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!…
Read more
In this post I will show how to repair the Super Nintendo (SNES) power supply. I am working with a psu for a PAL SNES unit. This psu also fits the PAL Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). If your SNES is not powering on properly, you will want to check if your psu is functional. To do so, use a multimeter set to measure “AC”, and…
Read more
I rarely like to to major modifications to original old hardware, with a few exceptions. A couple of such exceptions were a paint job of a Game & Watch Donkey Kong in horrible condition, and a VGA-mod of an original Gameboy. In this post, I will to some modifications to a Super Nintendo (SNES), which I bought from a local seller. As seen below, the…
Read more
I have a tendency to buy broken Gameboys on Swedish eBay for around $20-$25, and then fix them. They usually suffer from two faults that are easy to repair: corrosion on the battery connectors, and vertical lines on screen. However, in some cases, the screens are beyond repair (if they have dead horizontal lines, or damaged flexible PCBs). Then, a VGA mod may come in…
Read more
In this post, I will make a full disassembly of a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), including cleaning the 72-pin cartridge connector. If you experience “pink” screen or having problems running games, this is the first measure to get your NES in working order again. The unit I am working on is an ex-rental. This unit has never been opened before, and is in excellent condition,…
Read more