This is another interesting machine I picked up a little while ago but hadn’t gotten around to updating the website.
This console/computer was released in 1978 and was named the Magnavox Odyssey 2 other in the USA (They got a much cooler name!). Many people refer to this as a console, but with it having a full qwerty keyboard and its own programming language, surely it’s a computer? Although the keyboard is absolutely awful so full respect goes to anyone that actually wrote a program for this thing using the assembler cartridge.
The system came in its original box which is in pretty nice condition, along with a selection of games to keep me entertained for a few minutes. The system itself is also in very good condition and seems to be working perfectly. Such a strange design!
I’ve always wanted to grab a Mega CD but the prices have always put me off. But recently I came across a listing for a Mega CD that was “not powering on” for £100. After previous research, I believed this was likely due to the pico fuse gone in it as is common on these units. So I decided to take the chance, and sure enough, after replacing the fuse it came to life. I’ve since replaced all the capacitors in it also as these are prone to failure in these units too.
Now I’ve gone this far I guess the 32x now has to be added to my shopping list!
For those who have not heard of this, the Sega Nomad is a portable Megadrive (Genesis) that was only released over in America. I’ve wanted one for a while but they don’t often come up for sale in the UK, and with current exchange rates, importing stuff from America isn’t a great deal at the moment.
So when this one popped up on eBay in the UK, I decided to go for it. Its all fully working and it pretty good condition except for a few minor scratches on the casing.
My next project for this one will be to design and 3D print a battery pack for it using 18650 cells. I have ordered all the pieces I require so will hopefully post about its progress in the near future.
After buying one of these as spares or repairs to try and fix up, I hit a bit of a stumbling block when I discovered the internal DC-DC converter seemed to be dead. I looked around for the schematics but didn’t have any luck. So I decided to get a second one and combine the two using the best parts of each, and now I have a fully working one I can measure the voltages and maybe resurrect the other one in the future.
But for now I have this one fully functional with the 40mb Hard Drive and a 4MB Ram expansion. Looking at the contents on the HDD it seems it once belonged to Woolworths! I guess they didn’t have proper disposal procedures back then.
Whilst I had it in pieces, I also fixed the common issue with the Dallas RTC chip being dead. This means it doesn’t remember any of its settings after you turn it off, and you then have to boot it from floppy to configure the HDD.
I’ve replaced it with a modern alternative so now the battery is easily replaceable in the future.
I’ve had the Vectrex for a while now but didn’t own any original games for it. I started by using a multicart and then moved on to the Pi-Trex.
The issue with this is the original games used to ship with colour films that fitted over the screen to add some colour to the vector art. That issue is now a thing of the past as I have not only purchased my first original game, but also purchased a pack of 9 original overlays from one of the retro Facebook groups.
So here for your viewing pleasure is Scramble running on the Vectrex with its matching overlay!
I have had a 21inch CRT in the bedroom for a while now with the Playstaion 1 and 2 hooked up to it for lightgun games. It did the job and was free so certainly no complaints. But I have always been on the lookout for a 21inch Sony Trinitron flat screen to take that spot.
Well, I am still on the lookout. But! I did comes across a Samsung 21inch CRT flatscreen on Facebook Marketplace for free. I messaged the guy as soon as I saw it but didn’t hear anything back so just assumed I missed it. Then 3 weeks later I recieved a message to say it was still available if I wanted to collect it. By the time I finished reading his message I was already in the car!
I was starting to run out of shelf space for new toys, so I had a move around and cleared a new area in the lounge. Originally I considered buying some of the usual cube storage that everyone gets. But it was just the wrong shape/size and didn’t fit my needs.
So I busted out my “not to bad” DIY shelf making skills and constructed another shelving unit to hold a mixture of computers, consoles and some drawers for random retro stuff.
if you look carefuly you might spot some spoiler alerts for systems I have not yet added to the site! And you will also spot an ominous empty shelf crying out for something different to sit on it 😁
I’ve been a bit lazy recently and have been buying stuff without adding it to my site, so over the next couple of days I will update it with some new purchases and projects. The first of which is the ZX Spectrum +3.
Like most +3s the drive belt had gone and needed replacing, I also had to do the audio mod so the sound is no longer distorted over RGB scart. But other than that it all works beautifully. The next issue is the orignal games can be quite expensive. You can put a Gotek drive in these but I already have multiple DivIDEs for the spectrum so loading games isnt an issue. What I really want is something to make use of the drive. So, I have purchased some blank disks and a Multiface 3 expansion so i can snapshot games to disk. That should keep me entertained for a few minutes at least.
and here is a photo of it in pieces undergoing an internal refurb
As much as I love my Hydra Scart switches, they are a tad on the pricey side. I’ve got a few of them for the main bulk of my consoles/computers in the lounge, but I have two more TVs in the bedroom that require a Scart switch solution.
I did try building my own a while back and they kind of work, but I get some weird interference sometimes which needs a re-design on the board I made to overcome the issue. But before spending any more time on that I had a look around on Aliexpress to see if there were any new options on the market.
That is when I came across these:
They looked to be exactly what I was after as they are fully automatic and also have some additional output options such as a 3.5mm audio which I needed as the speakers on my CRT are terrible!
The other thing that appealed to me was the fact it uses relays to switch the sources. This may seem like an old-fashioned way of doing it, but it means the system will likely be robust and minimises the chance of any interference as it will create a physical air gap. The hydras come with a warning (my version did at least) that connecting consoles whilst the unit is scanning could result in the chips being damaged. It’s not the end of the world, but I just think the setup on this unit is a bit less likely to fail.
I have connected one of these up already and have it switching between a Playstation 1, PS2, Sony VCR and a Digital TV box. It just works absolutely perfectly, automatically switching when a new console is turned on, then falling back to the previous source when turned off.
I purchased my units from here https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003688535345.html and they took about 3 weeks to arrive in the UK which isn’t too bad really. So far I am extremely happy with them. I’ll be sure to update everyone if I find any additional features or any issues in the future.
And no I don’t mean the A500 Mini! My latest acquisition is non-other than the Amiga A600. Not the most popular machine back in its day but it is pretty cute and it fits onto a small shelf a lot easier than the Amiga 500 did.
This one currently has a fault with its floppy drive which I need to look at (or replace with a Gotek). It also has a bit of yellowing on its keyboard so I will be stripping that down and retro-brighting it over the weekend. But other than that it’s in pretty good condition. Due to a lack of space, I am probably going to retire my Amiga 500 to storage for a bit as I need the shelf for my Archimedes. So hopefully I will find a smaller spot for the 600 to sit.
As well as a general clean and refurb, I will also be fitting a Compact Flash adapter to this one so I can use it with WHD-Load.
