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leaded solder
@leadedsolder.com
600 followers 180 following 650 posts
I never met a broken TV I didn't like. Come read the blog at https://www.leadedsolder.com and see what old junk computers I'm fixing this week.
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leadedsolder.com
leaded solder @leadedsolder.com · Nov 13
Hello new readers! This is the bsky account for the Leaded Solder blog at www.leadedsolder.com, which since 2017 I have been writing regular articles on repairing old computers and game consoles.

Also: modern clones of the ColecoVision and the Sega SG-1000, with the VTech CreatiVision ongoing!
A poorly Photoshopped cover of a children's book: "The Elves and the Internet Weirdo." Two elves are beating on a smoking Coleco Adam home computer with hammers.
Reposted by leaded solder
partlyhuman.com
Did you know that LoopyMSE, the Casio Loopy emulator, has printer emulation? You can customize what it runs on the exported image so here it's using Python to send the image to this bluetooth printer which can print full-colour 3"x2" stickers!
www.youtube.com/shorts/zzCtG...
January 11, 2026 at 11:48 PM
leadedsolder.com
Old blog post! Remember when.. I spent a lot of time trying to mod a PlayStation before accidentally buying one that was already modded? Good thing it was broken too, or I would have nothing to write about. #retrogaming #playstation #modchip #artdink

www.leadedsolder.com/2021/04/20/p...
Modding a PlayStation (Eventually)
Several attempts at installing a modchip into a Sony PlayStation game console
www.leadedsolder.com
January 10, 2026 at 6:52 PM
Reposted by leaded solder
sega-16.bsky.social
Damn. He was my grail of Sega interviews. I was able to interact through a 3rd party but never got to spoke to him. He was a true coin-op legend and will be missed. R.I.P. 🙁

www.replaymag.com/segas-dave-r...
Sega’s Dave Rosen Passes on Christmas Day in L.A. – RePlay Magazine
www.replaymag.com
January 4, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Reposted by leaded solder
philsalv.bsky.social
This is unreal. In this month's @romchip.bsky.social: This author was researching "superguns," unofficial devices used to play arcade games at home

Sooo they built their own, following the instructions from vintage Japanese electronics magazines from the 80s/90s

romchip.org/index.php/ro...
A list of various arcade adapters with names like "TV Game Controller" and "Power Unit." The list also includes the magazines where their instructions were published.
December 31, 2025 at 12:17 AM
leadedsolder.com
🎶 New blog post / it's one you can read / this Sun's Timekeeper is toast / so why don't we / cut a hole in it with a Dremel? 🎶

#sparc #sunos #sparcstation #retrocomputing #powertoolabuse

www.leadedsolder.com/2025/12/30/s...
Giving the SPARCstation some jumper cables
My SPARCstation 1+ is very forgetful, and the cause is the old evil of batteries. In this case, the battery is entombed in an immortal epoxy container, which makes it really hard to swap! That’s why m...
www.leadedsolder.com
December 30, 2025 at 4:08 PM
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nicole.express
Surprise, a new "byte" post: a little writeup on a color LCD game from 1999. The mirror vision trick to get more brightness on a color LCD didn't die with the Panorama Screen, it turns out. nicole.express/2025/stop-in...
Narcissus' Direct-to-VHS Return: MGA's Space Invaders Color FX
Remember the Game & Watch Panorama Series? The use of mirrors for a clever approach to a portable color LCD console. Of course, in 1999, you didn’t need ...
nicole.express
December 28, 2025 at 2:45 PM
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partlyhuman.com
🎁 FIRMWARE UPDATE! A gift to all my Floopy Drivers out there, this update greatly improves flashing speeds, ex.
•Harihari Seal Paradise 59s→18s🔥
•Little Romance 102s→36s🔥
To update, just plug in your Floopy like normal, and click the update notification. Give'r a reload if you don't see.
#CasioLoopy
December 24, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Reposted by leaded solder
nicole.express
New blog post! A smaller one, taking a look at some LCD games and how the segmented LCD game declined over the course of the 1980's. nicole.express/2025/gentlem...
How the Segmented Game changed, through the Eyes of Golf
The 1980s were a period of slow decline for the segmented LCD or VFD game. At the start of the decade, companies like Coleco were putting out tabletop games ...
nicole.express
December 21, 2025 at 1:21 PM
leadedsolder.com
New blog post! As everyone knows, the Commodore 64 likes to get sick and die. How many C64 boards in a free pile can we fix in three hours?

#commodore64 #c64 #retrocomputing #itsthepla #itsnotthepla

www.leadedsolder.com/2025/12/09/c...
Commodore 64 black screen failure round-up
Through the kind contribution of a friend, I was able to move a bunch of broken Commodore 64s into the hands of other folks. And then help those folks fix those Commodore 64s, because they’re broken a...
www.leadedsolder.com
December 9, 2025 at 4:53 PM
leadedsolder.com
Fixing Commodore 64s is some kind of fun, but not a normal kind of fun like fixing broken Japanese computers. #commodore64 #retrocomputing
A Commodore 64 main board attached to a 1702 that won't show colour for some reason, but basic is booting
November 30, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Reposted by leaded solder
nicole.express
New blog post! The Jakks Pacific "Atari Paddle"; it plays only the games that used the less common of the major Atari controller. How well does it do it? nicole.express/2025/paddle-...
Giving the Jakks Atari Paddle a Spin
Some things I like to talk about on this blog are “paddle” games that use a potentiometer to control the player position, and plug-and-play consoles. Oh, and...
nicole.express
November 23, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Reposted by leaded solder
polpo.org
It's official! #PicoIDE, the open source IDE/ATAPI drive emulator I've been working on for the better part of this year, will be launching at Crowd Supply! Go there to sign up for updates and to be notified when the campaign is live: www.crowdsupply.com/polpotronics...
PicoIDE
An open source IDE/ATAPI drive emulator for vintage computers
www.crowdsupply.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:59 AM
leadedsolder.com
New blog post! It's a Samsung CRT TV/VCR that rolled out of the swamp of eBay. Some kids shoved Christmas ornaments in it. And Starburst candies. And a... Pokemon card? That's not what's wrong, though!

#retrogaming #crt #crtrepair

www.leadedsolder.com/2025/11/18/s...
You’re Out of Timer
Now that there are more clubs forming in my local area, I’ve been thinking about taking some of my junk to shows. Of course, this means I’ll need a cheap small colour TV if anyone wants to see that ju...
www.leadedsolder.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Reposted by leaded solder
celgen.org
“Retrocomputing Repair” themed claw game. 🤪
November 16, 2025 at 6:02 AM
leadedsolder.com
The MC-10 also does this "put the 1372 in the RF modulator" shenanigan. It even puts the master clock source in there. Perhaps closer cross pollination than I first thought. Great job!
nicole.express Nicole Express @nicole.express · Nov 9
New blog post! Breaking out the Tandy Color Computer 2 for the first time in years, in order to give it a desperately-needed composite video upgrade. Why does this model get neglected in many composite mods? Take a look! nicole.express/2025/cuckoo-...
Composite Mod on the CoCo 2: The UVD Board
Since at least March of 2019, the Tandy Color Computer 2 has sat there, teasing me. It has a Motorola 6847, the tragically disappointing graphics chip, paire...
nicole.express
November 9, 2025 at 3:12 PM
leadedsolder.com
New blog post! The Apple III was perhaps the most unloved machine of Apple's early-80s losing streak, but that doesn't mean this one should have been used as a toilet for mice. Just how bad can it get? #retrocomputing #apple2 #apple3

www.leadedsolder.com/2025/10/28/a...
Three Times the Fun
Repairing an Apple III computer that was damaged by a mouse infestation
www.leadedsolder.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Reposted by leaded solder
nicole.express
New blog post! Taking a look at a Coleco tabletop game... but is it actually a Coleco? It's time to face off against Mario in Donkey Kong Junior nicole.express/2025/you-got...
Too Good to be First-Party: Coleco's Tabletop Donkey Kong Junior
What was home video gaming like in the early 1980’s? You might consider picturing things like the Atari 2600 or the Intellivision, and those were certainly a...
nicole.express
October 26, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Reposted by leaded solder
arabiafats.bsky.social
buy this
wario64.bsky.social Wario64 @wario64.bsky.social · Oct 20
SEGA AGES Phantasy Star is $2.39 on US eShop buff.ly/OvNei6p
October 21, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Reposted by leaded solder
kohler.bsky.social
Current mood
Sign at a video game expo reading: EVERYTHING IS JAPANESE AND UNTESTED
October 16, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Reposted by leaded solder
thetechknight.bsky.social
I released a Public Service Announcement video on why you cannot use a Macintosh Portable without a good battery, on a Powerbook or after-market AC adapter: youtu.be/ed7-AqrY70s
PSA: Macintosh Portable Powerbook AC Adapter Damage
YouTube video by THEtechknight
youtu.be
October 9, 2025 at 5:56 PM
leadedsolder.com
New blog post! I got a FujiNet adapter for my Coleco Adam. Then I immediately dropped my homemade power supply on the ground and broke it. Will it ever net the Fujis again? www.leadedsolder.com/2025/10/07/c... #coleco #retrocomputing #kicad
Power Surprise with the ADAM
After dropping my homemade power supply for the Coleco ADAM home computer and breaking it, I had to make a new one so I could test the FujiNet network adapter.
www.leadedsolder.com
October 7, 2025 at 2:31 PM
leadedsolder.com
This has to be the first one of these remotes I've seen where all the streaming services are actually available in Canada. Too bad I found it in a park in pieces. #elitter
The rubber membrane from a TV remote offering Apple TV+, Netflix, Crave, and Prime Video. The background is just grass and leaves from a public park.
September 30, 2025 at 5:17 PM
leadedsolder.com
Old blog post! Remember when... I fixed a buddy's clock radio and it had exactly the faults you think it did? #stereorepair www.leadedsolder.com/2023/10/24/b...
No Highs? No Lows? Must’ve Decomposed
Fixing a Bose WaveRadio clock radio that won’t turn on.
www.leadedsolder.com
September 26, 2025 at 12:09 AM
leadedsolder.com
That is a lot of bad MK4332s! At least it's a nice round number. #apple3 #apple2 #retrocomputing
An Apple III 12v memory board. Eight sockets are filled with gold MK4332 DRAMs and another eight are empty because they have all failed a memory test. For some reason my legs are at the bottom of the shot.
September 18, 2025 at 1:17 AM
leadedsolder.com
New blog post! When you want to replace an aging SCSI disk, you go buy a #BlueSCSI. What happens if you want a cheaper BlueSCSI? You can order the parts and build one. What if you want one that costs more AND is more work? Now we're talking. #retrocomputing

www.leadedsolder.com/2025/09/16/d...
Building my own ArdSCSIno
A lot of newer computers need what is called “a hard drive,” and as I work on 16- and even 32-bit ones, I’m finding more need for SCSI drives. There’s already lots of great SCSI emulators out there, b...
www.leadedsolder.com
September 16, 2025 at 4:04 PM