Repair on Pimp my retro handheld

Ultimate Amiga 1200: PiStorm, CD32 Mode and Full Hardware Expansion

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 21:15:04 +0000

Some time ago, I had the opportunity to get both an Amiga 500 and an Amiga 1200. While the Amiga 500 was restored as a fairly traditional machine, I had a more ambitious project in mind for the Amiga 1200.

My goal was to build three different machines into a single computer:

A high-end Amiga with a powerful CPU, graphics card, networking capabilities and all the modern conveniences normally associated with an upgraded Amiga 4000.
A more traditional Amiga 1200 with Fast RAM and a hard drive for maximum software compatibility.
A CD32-compatible system able to run games specifically enhanced for Commodore’s console, without requiring dedicated CD32 hardware such as the Akiko chip.

To achieve this, I combined several solutions:

Pimped Amiga 500

Sat, 15 Nov 2025 20:22:23 +0000

Back in the early ’90s, I had an Amiga 2000 with just one expansion card: a SCSI controller paired with a massive 290 MB hard drive. Getting software and games to run from the hard drive—with only 1 MB of chip RAM—required a lot of tricks. But it was fun, and it taught me a lot about computers.

A few months ago, I stumbled upon a cheap Amiga 500, and I couldn’t resist. I decided to restore it from the ground up and add a GottaGoFast RAM + IDE controller to finally build what would have been my dream machine in 1990: an Amiga running OS 1.3 with fast RAM!

Playstation 2 : new lens / silent fan / FreeHDBoot

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 20:28:20 +0000

Some time ago, I had the chance to buy a used PlayStation 2 for cheap because it was sold as “defective.” In fact, the console was unable to read any discs, whether DVD or CD. I thought that wouldn’t be a problem, as installing FreeHDBoot is easy, and replacing the DVD lens should be straightforward and inexpensive. It turned out I was right—except for the lens replacement.

Here is the story of my upgraded PS2, featuring a new DVD lens, a silent fan, and FreeHDBoot…

PSP Go : screen replacement and microSD storage

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 20:28:03 +0000

Repairing a scratched PSP Go screen and expanding its limited storage with a microSD-based solution.

Pimped socket 7 / BabyAT with K6-II 400 + Riva 128

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 22:12:15 +0000

Building a Baby AT Socket 7 PC around an AMD K6-II 400 and Riva 128, with period hardware choices and configuration notes.

Nintendo DSi XL touch panel replacement

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 09:53:49 +0000

I recently had to replace the touch panel of my Nintendo DSi XL : it was not working anymore and some games were even crashing while touching the screen. I think it is worth replacing it : the DSi XL has better colors and viewing angle compared to the regular NDS and even DS Lite. Some prefer to use a 3DS XL which is also compatible with DS games, but even if the 3DS XL has better color rendering, DS games look blurry on it, because the native resolution is not the same, so the 3DS does some sort of scaling.

Pimped Amiga 600

Sun, 22 Oct 2023 16:38:09 +0000

Restoring an Amiga 600 and adding practical upgrades including storage, RGBtoHDMI, memory, Wi-Fi and AmigaOS configuration.

Revive the colors of an original Famicom

Tue, 12 Apr 2022 21:10:20 +0000

Restoring the original white and red appearance of a yellowed Famicom with a practical paint-based finish.

Repairing and Extending PC Engine Duo Backup-Memory Life

Wed, 23 Feb 2022 22:08:02 +0000

Repairing the PC Engine Duo’s backup-memory power circuit and extending save retention with a replacement supercapacitor solution.

Atari Lynx 2 : replacing the speaker

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 21:04:10 +0000

One of the most common problem with the Atari Lynx 2 is bad sound output. It can becomes very low and / or kind of saturated. Usualy, the source of the problem is the speaker. The replacement is easy, cheap and as a bonus, the sound quality can be improved with better low-ends / low-mids.

This is the short story of my Lynx 2 speaker replacement…

Needed materials

An atari Lynx 2 : I don’t know if the first Lynx version use the same speaker
A phillips screwdriver to open the console
A soldering Iron
A 2 watts 40mm speaker, 8 or 16 Ohms
A small Flat screwdriver

Replacement

I already opened the console to change the screen as explained in a previous post, so I did’t took new photos of theses steps.

PSP 3000 : changing an old and yellowish screen

Sun, 06 Feb 2022 21:32:26 +0000

Replacing a yellowed PSP-3000 LCD screen and documenting the repair for a handheld with fading display colour.

Replacing All Capacitors in a PC Engine Duo

Mon, 17 Jan 2022 22:16:36 +0000

A PC Engine Duo recap covering replacement of the ageing electrolytic capacitors that commonly cause faults in the console.

Game Boy Color : IPS display and new shell

Thu, 23 Dec 2021 18:37:08 +0000

The Game Boy Color is a pretty good portable console with some funny games (e.g. Wario land 3, Motoross maniac 2). Unlike others handhelds, the screen has not a big ghosting effect like the Sega Game Gear or the Atari Lynx. But even if the Game Boy Color’s display is brighter than the one found on the Game Boy Advance, it is not always easy to see as it is not backlit. In addition, over the time the console may have been scratched and often lacks its battery cover. Chance is that we can easily find custom replacement shell and backlit IPS display.

Game gear : from trashed console to brand new with TFT display

Mon, 06 Dec 2021 21:06:47 +0000

A Sega Game Gear restoration covering repair work, a TFT display upgrade, and a replacement shell.

Neo geo pocket : repairing the battery cover

Sun, 19 Sep 2021 12:17:29 +0000

I found a Neo Geo pocket color in very good condition at a little lower price than others. The reason was that the batteries cover’s closing tip was broken. The only way to make it stayed closed was by using some adhesive tape. This post is about repairing this cover…

Needed Materials

A 3D printer with some PLA filament
Vallejo Hobby spray paint for Metal and plastic (gray or white)
Dark blue and black Sharpie pens
Dual component Epoxy glue (Power epoxy from Loctite)

Initial state of the cover

This is how the cover was when I bought the console: the closing tip that retains the cover was broken and a part was missing.