Things you have fixed/modded recently

[nasune]

Fixed my headphones (a broken wire near the strain relief). These headphones are old, and, honestly, not great in quality but they do have a nice long lead. Soldering the wires was simple enough, the problem was getting into the bloody thing.
Other than that I've repurposed an old taillight by making myself a new circuit board out of a CD case and some copper tape to make a rechargeable light (with the addition of an old vape battery + tp4056 board), and I did something that I would never normally do and that is spray painting a controller. Under normal circumstances I'd leave things looking stock, but this controller is a frankensteined one made from two broken controllers anyways so there's always the other shell to swap back to.

The light:

Spoiler

back of the 'circuit board' :

Lighting it up:

And the controller:

Spoiler

 

[JuanMena]

Well... fuck me...

Couple months ago, I ghetto-ed these Headphones + Mic from scraps.

But the mic never worked, it didn't recorded anything.
So I rewired the cables from the 3.5mm jack into the pcb, and now they're working, that is, I got them to record.

This morning, I bought these, because I never could make the ghetto-ed ones work no matter what.

Now, the ghetto-ed ones can even record voices from the living room all the way to my bedroom, and these new ones, works only in my phone and has a very low recording volume, on top of that, they're not recognised by my laptop.

 

[JuanMena]

Jesus Christ...
I just fixed my stupid phone.

Plugging and unplugging my Headphones broke something inside the 3.5mm Audio Jack... when I unplugged my headphones, the phone thought there was something plugged still, so it blocked the speaker, naturally.

So I had to disassemble, and had to check if all the pins in the Jack were grounded, but no, fortunately, it probably was the internal switch (usually a small metallic prong).

And then I just bent a little that tiny speck of metal while the phone was on until the headphones icon disappeared from my screen.

And then, it indeed disappeared from my screen, then plugged in my headphones, and the icon came back, then unplugged, and the icon returned, did it three more times and I think it's fixed now.

Before I disassembled my stupid phone, I tested how to take it apart with the one that was actually mine and that my dumb niece kicked and broke.
During the disassembly, I broke the main Camera connector, so, it it had been this fucking phone I wouldn't have camera by now and I would've definitely yeeted everything to the wall.

In the meantime, I cleaned with IPA the cameras and the plastic cover on the case...

It's working now.

 

[emcintosh]

Acquired a cheap Bluetooth numpad and remapped some of the buttons to the keyboard shortcuts for the drawing tools of the online whiteboard I tutor with (NB pencil erasers are called rubbers in British English). I made labels with the tiny manual Dymo label punch I have had for, like, three decades and barely used. The adhesive on the also-decades-old label tape is still holding up!

Fun fact, when I first got it, I didn't understand that the scissors symbol is for cutting the tape when you've finished a label (which also needs a firmer grip than I had then), and was disappointed I couldn't type this cool icon.

As this is a gaming forum, here's an EarthBound reference:

 

[Skv0ra]

Finally figured what was fucking with new RAM just not running and getting shelved for solid half a year, and thank all fuck it was listed on the sticker - 1.35V vs my mobo default of 1.2V....... and good god does extra 16gb actually make a difference! MH Wilds now actually runs at 60fps on medium vs stuttering around 30 in low and at 900p res.

 

[hippy dave]

Acquired a cheap Bluetooth numpad and remapped some of the buttons to the keyboard shortcuts for the drawing tools of the online whiteboard I tutor with (NB pencil erasers are called rubbers in British English). I made labels with the tiny manual Dymo label punch I have had for, like, three decades and barely used. The adhesive on the also-decades-old label tape is still holding up!
View attachment 509387
Fun fact, when I first got it, I didn't understand that the scissors symbol is for cutting the tape when you've finished a label (which also needs a firmer grip than I had then), and was disappointed I couldn't type this cool icon.

Fucking Dymo, there's some unexpected nostalgia!

 

[SylverReZ]

Fucking Dymo, there's some unexpected nostalgia!

The mechanical ones have great nostalgia to 'em. I have a vintage Dymo label maker from the 70's that still works, has the different coloured tapes.

Nowadays, they have digital label makers but they're so greedy by adding DRM meaning you can only use official labels.

 

[JuanMena]

Fixed my mom's Motorola

 

[The_Dizzy_Vizzy]

Just fixed a CyberPower 1500AVR. It died a couple of weeks ago so we got new batteries and I finally got around to fixing it..

Nothing too stellar, but it's nice to have it functioning again. Pair of batteries is roughly $43.00 off of Amazon.

Post automatically merged: Jul 4, 2025

Fixed my mom's Motorola

Motorola what?

Post automatically merged: Jul 4, 2025

Jesus Christ...
I just fixed my stupid phone.

Plugging and unplugging my Headphones broke something inside the 3.5mm Audio Jack... when I unplugged my headphones, the phone thought there was something plugged still, so it blocked the speaker, naturally.

View attachment 509058

So I had to disassemble, and had to check if all the pins in the Jack were grounded, but no, fortunately, it probably was the internal switch (usually a small metallic prong).
View attachment 509059

And then I just bent a little that tiny speck of metal while the phone was on until the headphones icon disappeared from my screen.
View attachment 509060

And then, it indeed disappeared from my screen, then plugged in my headphones, and the icon came back, then unplugged, and the icon returned, did it three more times and I think it's fixed now.


View attachment 509061

Before I disassembled my stupid phone, I tested how to take it apart with the one that was actually mine and that my dumb niece kicked and broke.
During the disassembly, I broke the main Camera connector, so, it it had been this fucking phone I wouldn't have camera by now and I would've definitely yeeted everything to the wall.

In the meantime, I cleaned with IPA the cameras and the plastic cover on the case...

It's working now.

Damn Juan, you got gutts!!!

 

[balemoc]

Last modded is the Wii U ...then it was asking for Pretendo login, and for whatever reason, I can't be bothered making one. Like, Luma3DS never needed a Pretendo login, why do I have to make one for Nintenod Wii U now

Post automatically merged: Jul 4, 2025

How's this? I had two old broken DS Lite's. On the white one, the plastic supporting the hinge had crumbled to junk. On the black one (so used the serial number is worn completely off), the top screen was dead. Now I have one DS Lite. It works perfectly, even though it's still cosmetically rough and I did pretty badly mangle the little rubber squares that cover the top screen screws.

Craving Orio and warm milk now...like I'm 10yrs old

 

[SylverReZ]

Last modded is the Wii U ...then it was asking for Pretendo login, and for whatever reason, I can't be bothered making one. Like, Luma3DS never needed a Pretendo login, why do I have to make one for Nintenod Wii U now

This has always been stated in their guide that you do need to sign-up to a Pretendo ID regardless. You cannot link a NNID with Pretendo.

 

[balemoc]

Last modded is the Wii U ...then it was asking for Pretendo login, and for whatever reason, I can't be bothered making one. Like, Luma3DS never needed a Pretendo login, why do I have to make one for Nintenod Wii U now

Post automatically merged: Jul 4, 2025

Craving Orio and warm milk now...like I'm 10yrs old

Next mod is the Sony Vita ...but I can't decide which ...the PS Vita TV, the 2000, or the 1000?

 

[JuanMena]

Hm... I dug out my HP Photosmart C4580 because today I pirated Photoshop CS6 (lol just edit a .dll file) and I would LOVE to draw on paper and add color digitally with either my "pirated" copy of Photoshop CS6 or Autodesk Sketchbook

BUT, the device was sitting in place for over 10 years unused... and you can try to imagine how it was... literally a bug graveyard, even on the other side of the scanning glass so had to disassemble and clean thoroughly.

I'm done with it, and didn't killed it:

OH! BANANA!

Scanned at 300dpi (can go up to 600 or 900 if I recall correctly ) but that'll have to wait till I can upgrade to Intel Core-i7

Post automatically merged: Jul 6, 2025

Damn Juan, you got gutts!!!

That's what she said.

Post automatically merged: Jul 6, 2025

Edit: WRONG! IT GOES TO 2400dpi

 

[Jayro]

Installed 64DOOM on my MiSTerStation.

 

[The_Dizzy_Vizzy]

Not really fixed, but I "retrobrighted" my yellowed SNES I got for free some weeks ago. It was sunny and warm for a couple of days so I put my SNES casing outside in hydrogen peroxide. Two days for the top, one day for the bottom part.

It's not perfect, the bottom and logo part is a bit darker. And the reset-button is bleached. But I think it still looks a lot better then before

Fuck the nay-sayers, that looks FANTASTIC!!! Way to go!!!

 

[zxr750j]

I decapitated the stub on the antenna of my mini R55 going out of a carpark (rolling door was going down when it wasn't supposed to. Bought a secondhand complete replacement including mount but it lacked a wire (GPS?). So I swapped the internals from my old broken shell into the "new" one. It all works again

 

[The_Dizzy_Vizzy]

Alright so, this actually took place in early June. Some of you may remember that I have an Atari 5200 that I won in an auction on eBay. I had TWO of these things when I was a kid (more on that in another post), so the nostalgia it brings is just incredible. You wouldn't know it by looking at it, but this console is 43 years old.

Anyway, ever since I had gotten the unit, the top two firing buttons on both controllers, having been tested in all four controller ports were not working. This means that any game that I have for this unit that employs those two buttons is unplayable. Defender, Qix, Countermeasure and a few others (I currently own 26 games for this unit) all make use of these two buttons, so I did some YouTubing and discovered that the unit needed some chips to be replaced, specifically, chips that control the, well, controllers. The chip number is CD4052BE (for all of you tech-junkies out there), and I'd seen numerous videos that all said the same thing - these chips needed to be replaced. I opend up my system with care and trepidation, and unfortunately these chips were soldered directly to the motherboard instead of being seated in a socket chip (which I could have repaired on my own if they had been), so soldering needed to be done and I don't know how to solder at all and wasn't about to use my 5200 as a guinea pig.

To make a long story short, I had the system worked on by a guy I know from AtariAge.com (in the forums). He replaced all five of those chips with a socket chip and the CD4052BE's as well (duh). He cleaned out all of the grunge and dust and crap it had accumulated over time, fixed the channel selector on it (literally 2 days before I shipped it to him the signal kept dropping out which scared the crap out of me but THANK GOD this started happening BEFORE I sent him my console because I would have been going NUTS if it started AFTER he sent it back to me). So, the chips, channel selector, and he did extensive work on my controllers and the Trak-Ball and double-checked everything and sent it back. Total was $137.00 which was great, but the SHIPPING was basically $90 there and $90 back, ugh!!!

When I got it back the controllers felt TOTALLY DIFFERENT than when I had had them before, and they were just dead-accurate in gameplay. He also replaced the red power led on the unit (with my permission of course) with a blue one that looks DOPE. Here are a couple of pics, this thing is up and running like a motherfucker...

(Note the red power-led)

(I had this thing in my bedroom for a couple of nights before I stuck it back in the living room)

(I got a dust cover for the cartridge slot, even though I don't need it as I have a dust cover for the whole unit)

Blue power led...

Dust cover...

Trak-Ball...

Dust cover for the Trak-Ball (that pic is old and the Trak-Ball is now perched on a shelf)...

(This is the controller holder [joystick craddle?] used for Robotron 2084 & Space Dungeon.). Enjoy!

 

[JuanMena]

Okays!
I've officially fixed this bricked tablet! My god! What a rabbit hole I went into!

Was running it from SD as every image I downloaded couldn't be written to NAND. So didn't had high hopes... but then a miracle happened and found the proper image to flash to NAND.

Now it's running from NAND, and I can go back to use my SD.


Soldering madness!
Boot images nightmare!
Interesting learning experience!

 

[emmanu888]

Reshelled my GBA in a red shell and installed an IPS screen in it. The difference that it makes!

Also reshelled an already reshelled GBA SP, its honestly a pain in the ass to reshell a GBA SP, and i have to reshell it again.
AliExpress shell was a pain to work with so... I'm just gonna use an ExtremeRate shell instead.

 

[ILoveWiiU]

A quick search on the topic yielded me with no results.

So I'm curious to see what you guys have recently repaired or modded.

If you repaired something it would be interesting to know how it broke and what you did to fix it.
And if you modded something it would be nice to know how it was done and what your final thoughts are.

Pictures is always great and if possible, please do upload at least one.

It doesn't have to be a gaming device, but preferably something electronic.

I at the moment don't have anything going on, but I'll post something soon.

I hacked a Wii U lat year, 2 Wii’s A year before that, and a 3DS this year. I also respelled a DSLite with my Dad.