Channel Update 2013: Why No Fix Videos Lately

In autumn 2013 most of my uploads had been “thanks for the package” videos, and I wanted you to know I wasn’t just hoarding donations and playing with them. The real reason for the lack of fix videos: my eldest daughter claimed the man cave as her bedroom, and what I thought would be a one or two day move took over two weeks. Here’s where things stood and what was on the bench.

From man cave to bed cave

The move dragged on because I kept finding things, and I wanted to sort out parts destined for projects (and track down components I’d ordered that seemed to have gone missing). So I was temporarily working from the “bed cave”, with my editing PC on a little desk and my bed right behind the camera.

Mark Fixes Stuff temporary bed cave editing desk during a 2013 channel update — The temporary bed cave setup

What was on the project list

A Game Boy Advance with a third-party backlight, whose front screen had popped out and was full of dust.
Two Nintendo 64 CD64 Plus backup units, neither working.
The Amstrad CPC 464 that Scott sent me. I suspected a RAM fault, so the plan was to check the voltages at the RAM, socket the chips and try known good RAM.
A standalone power supply for the CPC 464, so it doesn’t have to run from the green screen monitor, and an RGB SCART cable for the 464 from Retro Computer Shack to review.
The dirty Dreamcast, still in progress.
My Amiga A1200, which gurus at random whenever I try to do anything useful. I suspected capacitors.
A new Amiga power supply, using an ATX PSU inside a case donated by a subscriber, made to look like the real thing.

Game Boy Advance with a third-party backlight awaiting repair in 2013 — A dusty backlit Game Boy Advance on the list

Amstrad CPC 464 project with a suspected RAM fault — The CPC 464 with a suspected RAM fault

With my birthday coming up, an ESR meter was on the way too, which would help no end with tracking down capacitor problems like the A1200’s.

Mark discussing his Commodore Amiga A1200 random Guru Meditation fault in a channel update — The A1200 was guruing at random

More building work ahead

We were also having the garage converted towards the end of October to make more room for the retro stuff, so I warned that things might go quiet again while everything moved once more. Thanks for your patience.

For how the space evolved, see makin’ room for retro and the man cave progress update. For a later Amstrad tape project, there’s adding an audio input to an Amstrad CPC464.