themightymadman

Vote for My Workshop in “Shed of the Year” 2026

I’m very pleased to say that my shed electronics workshop has made it through to the public vote for Shed of the Year 2026, a competition celebrating the best sheds across the UK which is currently in its 20th year of running. This includes a diverse range of sheds divided into several categories – mineContinue reading “Vote for My Workshop in “Shed of the Year” 2026″

1990 Apple Macintosh SE/30 Repair & Restoration

Way back in 2023, I bought my first Apple Macintosh SE/30, to go alongside my 1986 Mac Plus, 1991 Mac Classic I, and 1993 Mac Classic II. This was in unknown condition and bought sold-as-seen on eBay, requiring at least service and probably repair – it came with its matching MO116 ADB keyboard and G5431Continue reading “1990 Apple Macintosh SE/30 Repair & Restoration”

1984 Seiko Talking Watch A965-4000 Repair & Restoration

For Christmas 2025, my wife bought me a lovely 1984 Seiko A965-4000 “talking watch”, which had been sold-as-seen on eBay as non-working for spares/repairs. She likes getting me non-working stuff for presents because you can get a lot more for your money and the repairs keep me entertained. When it arrived, sure enough it didn’tContinue reading “1984 Seiko Talking Watch A965-4000 Repair & Restoration”

1999 Gateway GP7-500 PC & EV700 CRT Display Repair & Restoration

Early last year, I bought a very nice 1999 Gateway GP7-500 PC and matching EV700 17″ VGA CRT display from someone fairly local who got in touch with me via my website. This had been plugged in on a desk in his loft since he got it back in 1999 along with the rest ofContinue reading “1999 Gateway GP7-500 PC & EV700 CRT Display Repair & Restoration”

1980 Sharp MZ-80K Repair & Restoration

A few weeks ago I picked up a small haul of vintage computers fairly locally from someone who got in touch with me via my website, including a Sharp MZ-80K in its original box – these are pretty cool computers and I’ve been after getting one for a little while. The computer was in goodContinue reading “1980 Sharp MZ-80K Repair & Restoration”

1994 Panasonic 3DO (FZ-1) Repair & Restoration

Last year, a friend of mine very kindly gave me my first Panasonic 3DO, an FZ-1 model, in good physical condition but unknown operational condition – it had been stored in a loft for several years. I hadn’t actually seen one of these in-person before. The Pansonic 3DO is are fairly uncommon, although you canContinue reading “1994 Panasonic 3DO (FZ-1) Repair & Restoration”

2001 Toshiba SD-23VB (3850R-Z243G) VHS/DVD Player Repair

Last year, a colleague of mine very kindly gave me this Toshiba SD-23VB VHS/DVD combi player, which was apparently completely dead, likely a fault with the internal PSU. I tested it when it arrived, and it was indeed completely dead – there was no response to the power button or any other button at all,Continue reading “2001 Toshiba SD-23VB (3850R-Z243G) VHS/DVD Player Repair”

1983 Milton-Bradley Vectrex Repair

Last year, I repaired a Vectrex games console for a friend of mine who runs Re:Wired Museum & Arcade CIC, a community-run project in Teesside which helps to preserve and showcase technology that has impacted society. Apparently the unit worked OK for a while after being whacked on the side, then stopped working completely followingContinue reading “1983 Milton-Bradley Vectrex Repair”

2003 Microsoft Xbox Crystal Green Repair & Restoration

A couple of weeks ago, I repaired a 2003 Microsoft Xbox for a friend of mine – a very lovely and rather rare green crystal limited-edition Xbox with a translucent case. The symptoms were that the power button didn’t work, but the console could still be powered on with the eject button – a prettyContinue reading “2003 Microsoft Xbox Crystal Green Repair & Restoration”

1982 Commodore PET 8032 Repair & Restoration

Last year, I repaired a Commodore PET 8032 for a friend of mine. The PET wasn’t working and needed its mains filter can removed, a keyboard service including a new shift-lock mechanism, and a general clean up – it’s matching 8050 dual 5.25″ FDD wasn’t working and needed its mains filter can removed with aContinue reading “1982 Commodore PET 8032 Repair & Restoration”