Back from holidays with a new post

After a very exciting but also exhausting summer time the Kompjut0r blog returns with new posts. I had the chance to take a photo of my current collection and would like to share it. I'm not going to fight for "The Biggest Obsolete Computer Collection" title, it's just a bit of bragging about my stuff because I'm proud of it.

Most of them are in good condition just need cleaning inside and out, but still need to test a few of the C64's since they are newcomers and I never switched them on.

ps: I'm looking for a bigger flat and a huge shelf to store all this stuff


.....



Today's music: Surprise, just click and pump up the volume

Super Nintendo - From Yellow to Reborn

Sooooo, it took around 2 weeks to clean a SNES and it could have been shorter if we had sunny days... instead of natural UV light I had to use a UV light bulb which is not that efficient. Other than this the procedure was kinda the same as with the C64. Basically this is the short version of the SNES Story.

Longer version:
I was happy when I received the special screwdrivers and finally was able to dismount the SNES.
Everything started with a dirty-dusty, yellowed machine:

As I already mentioned in a previous post, it was fairly easy to clean the cartridge slot with earbuds and compressed air, so the SNES was in a good working condition but the plastic was, well, just look at the photo...

Disassembly is easy if you have the right tools:

However, I still don't understand why it was necessary to use 2 different type of screws (check previous post).

Surprisingly, the interior wasn't that dusty as I expected. A slight push of the compressed air bottle and a soft brush touch did the job well.

And then... no sunshine for days... what a sad week was that. I mounted the UV light to the slot, moved my bed from the bedroom to the kitchen and put the cardboard box into the bedroom.

For a few days only.
Then a bit more...

Cardboard box and aluminium foil interior, it helps to reflect the UV light to EVERYWHERE.

Switch on the UV light:

And we wait.

Still wait.

Even more...

After 6-7 days I was fed up with this procedure and cleaned the plastic parts from the cream, using a lot of warm temperature water in the bathtub.
Result:

After reassembly:

And... what is that..? Oh, no, again...

A leftover screw...
I have no idea where it belongs. Really. There were no empty slots, no holes, nothing. All I can think of this screw belongs to another device. Hopefully.

But at least the SNES works fine, I played with many games since I cleaned it.

Conclusion:

• SNES disassembling is easy
• UV light bulb s*cks. Should use natural UV light or a lot more powerful bulb.
• Clean the plastic after 2 days and re-apply the cream again to achieve more even whitening
• SNES parts are a bit harder to reassemble, it has more parts and it's a bit more complicated inside than a C64
•  SNES is fun. SNES is a robust machine.
• Aluminium foil is great, it reflects the UV light and spreads it everywhere.

.....


Today's slightly annoying music: Pac-Man DX soundtrack
 

Question of the day

A new post about refurbishing a SNES is on the way, and in the meantime I was wondering what a Nintendo Engineer could have been thinking during the planning phase of the console?

I just can't get it why... just look at this photo:

What could be the idea behind using 2 different type of screws?

The screws on the right side of the photo are used to hold the plastic case, the others are used inside the SNES. I still don't get it. The inside screws are simple and usual + headed screws, I believe 95% of the average households have a screwdriver to them.

But the other type of screws is something different. It's called.... wait, I need to Google it...

Result: "Torx styled Nintendo security screw"

Now I know. It's the fault of E.M.O.S. aka Evil Manufacturers of Screwdrivers!
 

You have to use a special set of tools to be able to assemble/disassemble a SNES, this way they will be rich and will rule the world. It might happen slowly, they might rule the world in 50 years or more.

AND IT'S GONNA HAPPEN!!!!!11!1

Seriously, does anybody have a good and reasonable explanation to this question? Please share it with me.

Good night.




.....


Today's last thought: I hope you get the irony :)

Super Nintendo - part 1.

I was happy for the SNES, it's a beautiful and massive console, built for eternity. And it came with Street Fighter 2! One of the games I loved when I was a kid, we spent our pocket money in the arcade with friends, playing it all day long.

My favourite character is Guille, you can guess why. Yes, it's because of Jean Claude van Damme.

While the Street Fighter movie wasn't really great I still liked it because of the characters.

Sidenote: the first Mortal Kombat movie is awesome, don't try to convince me that it s*cks.

So, here is this SNES with 5 games, let's switch it on. Oh, wait. I don't have cable to connect with TV.

AV cable ordered. Now we wait.

Cable arrived! We happy, Vincent.

First, it looked like... "no games today...":

Thanks to Jay @ArgysAttic and his instructions, I was able to quickfix it:

While the SNES is nearly unbreakable, looks like it is very sensitive to dust, even if the cartridge and slot look clean. They need a bit more cleaning than I expected and using earbuds and compressed air helped.

Now I can enjoy some good ol' games until the special screwdriver set arrives and I can disassemble the SNES for a deeper cleaning.


.....


Today's music: Mortal Kombat soundtrack