Commodore 64 Repair – When It’s Not the CIA or the PLA… This C64 arrived with a blue screen and a few suspicious past repairs, including chopped ROM legs and a mismatched CIA chip. After a quick inspection and a few educated guesses, I started working through the usual suspects: CIA, ROMs, CPU, PLA… But even after swapping and testing most of the major ICs, the machine still wouldn’t boot correctly—until I tried one last thing. This repair takes a few twists and turns, and ends with a surprising culprit

I went to visit the Northwest Computer Museum where they were having a Tech Jumble Sale! It was a looooooong drive.

On a recent visit to the RMC/RetroCollective/Cave/Mill/Heber I met up with a bunch of people who were kind enough to hand over a bunch of stuff for me to take home. Was a fun day!

This is the third and final part of my extreme repair of an Amiga 600. Over the first two episodes I cleaned the case and keyboard, retrobrighted the plastics, and started repairing the damage on the motherboard. In this concluding part I finish the motherboard work, tackle the last of the issues, and reassemble everything to see if this Amiga 600 can finally be brought back to life. If you enjoy Commodore Amiga restorations, vintage computer repairs, and seeing stubborn old hardware saved from the scrap heap, you’ll enjoy this finale.

In this episode I’m tackling another batch of Commodore 64s in need of repair. Some power on but show strange graphics, some don’t start at all, and each one has its own unique fault to track down. Join me as I work through the triage process, testing, diagnosing, and seeing which of these classic 8-bit machines can be saved.

A stack of ZX Spectrums has landed on the bench, and it’s time for a bit of triage. Some of these machines are working, some are completely dead, and others fall somewhere in between. In this video I go through them one by one to see what’s salvageable, what needs repair, and what’s heading straight for the parts bin. If you enjoy ZX Spectrum repairs, testing vintage hardware, or just seeing what state old 8-bit computers turn up in, this should be a fun one.

Pt 2 Repairing the worst recap job ever. In this episode I peel back a few layers of nastiness to reveal the extent of the damage. I also look at the case and keyboard with a view to making them look a little less orange.

Another ZX Spectrum lands on the bench, this time with no sound at all. I go through the usual checks, track down the fault, and get it working again. A quick fix, but a satisfying one.

In this video I review the Omnifixo PCB holder, a modular helping hands tool designed for electronics and soldering. I show how the magnetic clamps and flexible arms work, how it handles holding circuit boards, and share my thoughts on whether it’s a better option than traditional helping hands or PCB vices.

In this episode of More Fun Fixing It, I take a look at a Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128K +2 “Grey” – the Amstrad-built machine that followed Sinclair’s iconic designs. This one came in with a note from its owner: “DC connection not good, black and white screen.” As it turns out, the repair list doesn’t stop there. I dive inside to check the condition of the motherboard, diagnose faults, and tackle the problems one by one. Along the way we find a stretched tape deck belt, some power issues, and a few interesting quirks in the design of this revision. If you’re into retro computing repairs, Spectrum history, or just enjoy seeing old hardware brought back to life, this one’s for you.