Projects
Everything here gets worked on, not just displayed. The current bench queue, planned builds, and a trail of completed restorations.
On the bench now
Williams Indiana Jones — cold-boot chase
An intermittent failure on cold boot. The interlock switch has been replaced and ruled out; a memory-protect switch is on order and next in line. Classic 90s Williams diagnosis: one suspect at a time.
BKM card hunt for the BVM-20E1U
The primary E/F-series broadcast monitor has two open card slots waiting for the right input cards. See the wanted list.
Sony AMS-100 monograph
The deep technical write-up is finished — history, internals, the module system, a registry of documented frames and the market record. Read the monograph →
JVC X'Eye — full servicing
The Genesis/Sega CD combo unit is off at iFixRetro (@ifixretro) for a complete going-over. It'll come home better than new.
Planned builds
WLED garage lighting
Addressable RGB throughout the arcade bay: WS2815 strip, ESP32 running WLED, a proper Mean Well supply, and aluminum channel so it looks built-in, not taped-on.
Arcade bay airflow
A room full of running CRTs makes real heat. A thermostat-controlled exhaust fan is the plan for keeping the tandem bay happy in summer.
Completed
Sony AMS-3 — volume pots cleaned
Two AMS-3s arrived untested, and they are monsters: 35 lbs apiece — a 14-inch PVM's worth of steel and heatsink for a speaker — and loud enough to hold their own in a room full of running CRTs. One has since moved on to another collector. The keeper had exactly one thing wrong with it, a scratchy volume pot, and a can of fader cleaner sorted it. See it next to an AMS-100 →
Big Blue PSU rebuild
Full rebuild of the cabinet's switching supply, with voltages trimmed to spec. The foundation everything else in the cab depends on. Before and after →
Indiana Jones board replacement
Rottendog main driver board and Fliptronics board fitted to the Williams widebody, alongside a full shop-out. The full work log →
Big Blue side art installed
The decal hunt paid off — Capcom-logo side art is on the cabinet, finishing the look the PSU rebuild started. The full work log →
Capcom Q-Sound amp repair
RCA jack reflow on a CPB-001A Q-Sound amplifier — small fix, big soundstage. The full work log →
LMD fleet scan-mode setup
The LMD squadron configured for zero scan (with the 940W on Normal), trading a little edge clipping for the full-frame look.
BVM-20E1U calibration
Chased down a gain calibration quirk on the primary BVM — the kind of menu-diving only broadcast monitors ask of you.
PS2 MemCard Pro 2 setup
A PS2 slim running its library through FMCB/OPL from a MemCard Pro 2 — modern convenience, original hardware.
