Fixing Commodore 64s is some kind of fun, but not a normal kind of fun like fixing broken Japanese computers. #commodore64 #retrocomputing

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-...

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...

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...

“Retrocomputing Repair” themed claw game. 🤪

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!

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...

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...

buy this

Current mood

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

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

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

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...

That is a lot of bad MK4332s! At least it's a nice round number. #apple3 #apple2 #retrocomputing

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...

I forgot to post up my VCFMW table setup yesterday. There were so many lovely folks to chat with and share my love of these systems with. The lead-up work for conventions is so stressful, but seeing so many folks connect with systems from Japan makes it all worthwhile.

New blog post! The Sega Master System... Girl? Another variant of Sega's 8-bit console that I haven't looked at before; I hope you enjoy! nicole.express/2025/sega-mi...

Old blog post! Remember when... I made a halfway decent Atari Jaguar AV output adapter? This thing still works great years later, which continues to surprise me. www.leadedsolder.com/2021/09/21/a... #retrogaming #atari #atarijaguar #kicad

Fucked up in the crib playin soggy-1000

Do I know anyone with the equipment onhand to program a new U13 CPLD for repairing CV-1000 Cave PCBs? github.com/buffis/cv1k_...

New blog post! The Unique High-Tech Computer... all this time and I've never taken a look at a *proper* famiclone, let's fix that now. nicole.express/2025/a-compu...

In 1980, Nichibutsu put out a brochure which advertised their company, including an extensive look inside their offices. A very rare peak at the extensive inner workings of even a small Japanese coin-op company. www.flyercade.com/nichibutsu-v...

“My family thinks I’m at work, just like they used to think I was in school.” With tens of thousands of arcades shuttered from decades of policy and changing lifestyles, Xu Shouzhong’s arcade is the last one left in Shenyang, a time capsule for the heady days of youth.

New blog post! 80s Sony wasn't always an unstoppable cyberpunk megacorp. Sometimes they sat down and spent an unfathomable amount of Bubble money making their own proprietary 8-bit computer from scratch. Let's fix it! #retrocomputing #sony #smc777 #smc70 #z80 www.leadedsolder.com/2025/08/26/s...

I managed to buy a laptop with a copilot key not realizing that it can't be set to act as the ctrl key, and all workarounds ignore the fact that the hardware actually sends "win+shift+f23", taking over the shift button and making shift+ctrl+arrow key selection impossible. Well. NO. MORE. COPILOT.

Hey. Hey! Got a cute gaming site over here that covers everything from brand new releases to old favourites, arcade classics, and really, *really* obscure wonders that don't get the recognition they deserve: kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com

Happy birthday!

Read more about T&E SOFT's New 3D Golf Simulation series, with videos, scans, timelines, playlists, and trivia! blog.gingerbeardman.com/2024/11/09/n...

New blog post! I have finally gotten my '90 SparcStation 1+ workstation to do something useful, but a terrible price was asked in the process. Don't worry, the magic smoke came out of a *new* thing. #retrocomputing #retrounix #unix #sun #sparc #mame www.leadedsolder.com/2025/08/05/s...

The closer Canada can move to digital sovereignty and public supported tech services, the better we will be.

New blog post! I'm tired of my TRS-80 Colour Computer needing an old school RF connection to get video out. How about crudely jamming in a composite mod from an *entirely different* obscure computer? That'll work. #coco #trs80 #retrocomputing www.leadedsolder.com/2025/07/15/t...

New blog post! Hey kids. Have you ever wanted to display the Impressionist masters on your NEC PC-6001 home computer system? Apparently I have. Let's learn some Z80 assembly and, more importantly, how the PC-6001 graphics work. #retrocomputing #pc6001 #z80 www.leadedsolder.com/2025/06/24/p...

Thread 🧵 of things you might not know about Puppy Love Story. 1. It starts out with ~15 mins of naming and training a puppy, but the story has nothing to do with owning or playing with a cute puppy. It takes a hard left turn into an isekai...

26 Issues of SOFT SECTOR Magazine, a magazine for Sanyo PCs that hits all the established marks of "We want to be Compute! and A+ Magazine, but for Sanyo." archive.org/details/soft...

To put a bow on my Puppy Love Story localization (the 🎀 kind, not a bow-wow), I made a very, very small run of physical carts by hand. I bought a bunch of loose copies one at a time, designed a small flex PCB to adapt the mask ROM to a 5V flash module which I programmed with the English romhack.

The Bandai Pippin? Yeah, it runs Quake. blitter.net/blog/2025/06...

The video from my talk at VCF East 2025, "Making a Hardware Emulator for a Legendary PC Sound Card" is now on YouTube! www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTLA...

The infinite redness of outer space looks weird on this SMC-777. #retrocomputing #smc777

...what was I thinking? #kicad #retrocomputing

New blog post! Remember when trusted adults promised you that you could be anything? Well, the Raspberry Pi Pico actually _can_ be a ROM cartridge for my beloved NEC PC-6001 home computer. Try not to get jealous of its success. www.leadedsolder.com/2025/06/03/p... #retrocomputing #pc6001 #kicad

If you can write new software for old computers, build new hardware for old computers, or just show up and play online poker once in awhile with other people who also have old computers, it would help out the project a whole lot.

Heard about #FujiNet? Connect Apple, Atari, C64 & more to the internet & EACH OTHER. Game w/friends on different platforms. Chat & share info - it's awesome! But! They NEED developers. PC? Amstrad? BBC? Others? They need help to do 'em. Go to https://fujinet.online/#FujiNet?and become a developer, today!

It's RetroFest 2025 THIS WEEKEND!! Why not stop by and say hello. www.retrofest.uk

Incredible things are happening in Mark III land.

I, a cishet male, require treatment to boost my testosterone levels following an orchiectomy for testicular cancer. I will need this for the rest of my life. Everyone should be able to access the health care they need equally without barriers.

Psst~! Hey! Personal, passion-led, ad-free websites are still around! Come take a look! (And please pass the link on - it's hard to attract visitors when everyone assumes you don't exist!) kimimithegameeatingshemonster.com

I don't know if this modern stuff is going to take off. What even is an "nvidia?" #xbox

#FujiNet is a #WiFi Network Adapter for #retrocomputing and #retrogaming platforms. youtu.be/-sKjDuqvTII The #RS232 version of the #FujiNet can be plugged up to any vintage PC, like a #PCjr. Wanna help? Check fujinet.online!

New blog post! Taito's Kiki Kaikai arcade hardware runs a fun game and tears down some strange assumptions I had gotten in my head about arcade boards. nicole.express/2025/pocky-b...