PSX + Free McBoot

I recently acquired a rare piece of gaming history:

Among the major design flaws, its well known that when the internal HDD goes, the console is essentially a paperweight...until recently.  A specific Free McBoot install for PSX is available - however you will need to manually direct the console to boot from the memory card.  The button you need to hold down on system startup is R1.

This will throw you into the file browser where you can then execute your .elf of choice (such as OPL).  I spent entirely too much time trying to find this info on the web - you're welcome.

Hori FightingStick PS conversion

Something interesting I came across on twitter: These old Hori fight sticks have both the PlayStation (PS) and Saturn (SS) headers on the PCB.

I was searching for a good Saturn controller for my fighting games and this seemed like a cool project.  I purchased the cheapest one I could find, which ended up being the PS version.  It actually looked very similar to the first picture above, rust and all.

What was not mentioned in the tweet, is that these controllers come with at least two different PCB variants.  This is important to note, because the header wiring is reversed depending which one you have.  Mine was model 0888-31 (versus model 0888-100A).

CN2 is where the PlayStation cable was hooked up.  CN1 is the unused Saturn header.  I soldered in a spare Saturn controller cable which I sourced from a Gen 1 US pad - these are absolute shit so it won't be missed!  Unlike the 0888-100A PCB, pin 1 is white.  Stripping the controller cable was surprisingly difficult as they are very small gauge and have thread intertwined.  I then soldered on additional wire for slack.  I used the same colors except for the blue wire, which is now purple:

You can keep both controller cables connected, but I removed the PlayStation one as I intend to only use this with my Saturn.  Restoration is ongoing so I will save those pics for a future post - but the controller works!

8bitdo N30 Sanwa Mod

Almost forgot this blog existed 😅

Earlier this year I decided to swap out the components in my N30 - the stock ones get the job done, but are garbage in comparison to quality arcade sticks.  This is an extremely easy mod if you know basic soldering.

The default joystick is soldered to the harness, while the JLF I chose uses a connector.  So the wires have to be soldered directly to the micro switches like the stock unit.

You then need to cut three of the traces so each switch can be properly grounded.  Circles in red show where they have been cut (used an x-acto knife).  Here is the finished product:

The buttons are just drop in replacements, no modification needed.

BOM:

• 1x Sanwa JLF-TP-8YT-SK-VER
• 8x Sanwa OBSF-30

Hope this helps someone out there!

Duo Disc Rubbing

When I restored a broken Duo a few weeks back, upon testing I realized the cdrom unit was making a terrible noise when reading discs.  The center hub appears to sit ever so slightly too low in the casing.  My initial quick fix was to put a few small pieces of electrical tape to raise the disc height.

While this worked, its not aesthetically pleasing.  After some trial and error, I finally found a thin enough o ring / rubber gasket that eliminates the need for tape.  The spare o rings that come with vape tanks seem to do the trick perfectly.

(In my case, one from a Nautilus 2 kit.)

PC Engine Turbo Duo Restoration

Just a few shots from the restoration I did this week.