A couple of months ago, I bought an adorable little 1989 Tektronix 222 miniature CRT portable oscilloscope locally on Facebook marketplace – I love old electronics test gear, and the 222 is particularly desirable among collectors due to its cuteness. The Tektronix 222 is a portable battery-powered 10 MHz dual-channel CRT oscilloscope with digital storageContinue reading “1989 Tektronix 222 Miniature CRT Portable Oscilloscope – Battery Pack Replacement”
Category Archives: Collection
1983 IBM PC 5160 (XT) Power Supply Rebuild & Modifications
A few weeks ago, I bought my first IBM PC, a 1983 5160 (XT) with matching monochrome IBM 5151 CRT display and IBM Model F keyboard. I’ve been wanting to get hold of an IBM PC for a while now, as it’s an interesting piece of history, and I’ve enjoyed several videos from Adrian’s DigitalContinue reading “1983 IBM PC 5160 (XT) Power Supply Rebuild & Modifications”
2002 Nintendo GameCube Restoration & Modifications
I recently bought my first Nintendo GameCube on eBay – I never actually had one back in the day, I had a PlayStation 2 at the time instead, though a couple of my friends did. I’d been after one for a while due to their game library and available modifications. The Nintendo GameCube is aContinue reading “2002 Nintendo GameCube Restoration & Modifications”
1993 Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) Restoration & Modifications
I recently bought my first Super Nintendo Entertainment System from a vintage toys and games market in Houghton-Le-Spring, as I’d been after one for a while. The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo, following the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The console introduced advanced graphics and soundContinue reading “1993 Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) Restoration & Modifications”
1958 Marconi T69DA Vacuum Tube Radio Restoration
A couple of months ago, I bought a vintage 1958 Marconi T69DA tube AM/FM radio set in an antique shop in Marske-by-the-Sea, Vintage by the Sea. The T69DA was in good physical shape, however it was in unknown operating condition. The T69DA is a reasonably simple mains-powered six-tube superheterodyne radio receiver, with a channel switchContinue reading “1958 Marconi T69DA Vacuum Tube Radio Restoration”
1974 Texas Instruments TI-2500 Datamath Calculator Repair & Lithium Battery Upgrade
A few months ago, I bought a bundle of a few very nice vintage calculators on eBay, including a 1974 Texas Instruments TI-2500 “Datamath” – this was in good physical condition but was untested and sold-as-seen. The Texas Instruments TI-2500 Datamath was a professional pocket calculator from 1972 with an early LED display and aContinue reading “1974 Texas Instruments TI-2500 Datamath Calculator Repair & Lithium Battery Upgrade”
1992 Acorn Archimedes 3010 Repair & Restoration
Earlier in 2024, I bought a large lot of very interesting vintage electronics – including test gear, computers, and audio equipment – which belonged to a local electronics engineer, who had sadly passed away quite recently, and whose family wanted it to go to a good home. Among this was a very nice Acorn ArchimedesContinue reading “1992 Acorn Archimedes 3010 Repair & Restoration”
1955 Radio City Products “Model 314” Vacuum Tube Tester Repair & Restoration
Earlier in 2024, I bought a large lot of very interesting vintage electronics – including test gear, computers, and audio equipment – which belonged to a local electronics engineer, who had sadly passed away quite recently, and whose family wanted it to go to a good home. Among this was a very cool 1950s RadioContinue reading “1955 Radio City Products “Model 314” Vacuum Tube Tester Repair & Restoration”
2001 Sony PlayStation 2 Upgrades – Free MCBoot, Network Adapter, 1TB HDD
A couple of years ago I repaired my wife’s childhood Sony PlayStation 2, which had stopped reading discs (as discussed in another blog post). This was a temporary fix for the worn out laser, so I wanted to do some modifications to bypass the need to use the optical drive for the most part, including:Continue reading “2001 Sony PlayStation 2 Upgrades – Free MCBoot, Network Adapter, 1TB HDD”
2003 Microsoft Xbox (Original) Upgrades – OpenXenium, 1TB SSD, 128MB RAM, and XboxHD+
I bought a non-working 2003 Microsoft Xbox a couple of years ago, which I fixed at the time (as discussed in another blog post). After a while of using it stock, I wanted to do some modifications to bring it a bit further into the 21st century, including: I also wanted to perform some preventativeContinue reading “2003 Microsoft Xbox (Original) Upgrades – OpenXenium, 1TB SSD, 128MB RAM, and XboxHD+”