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McWill Game Gear "Full Mod"

By samson7point1
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Nearly every handheld console released between the original Game Boy and the DS has some kind of screen mod available to replace its original LCD technology with a "modern", backlit, high speed LCD. This is mostly because early LCD technology had a lot of shortcomings, from washed out colors, to slow, low contrast LCD cells, to complicated high-voltage fluorescent backlights that severely limited viewing angles. The oldest such modern screen for an old handheld I can recall is the "McWill" LCD mod for the Atari Lynx.  The Lynx "McWill" mod was nigh legendary because it was such a perfect match. The new screen was bright, responsive, exactly (or nearly exactly) the same dimensions, and used perfect integer scaling. It took the Lynx from a blurry washed out screen to a sharp and crystal clear display. Of course the first thing many people wondered after seeing it, was what options might exist for other, more popular handhelds such as the Sega Game Gear.  Aft
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The LaserActive That Almost Wasn't

By samson7point1
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Not the most pristine of specimens but this LaserActive has seen battle and lived to tell the tale. At any given moment I probably have three or four "projects" sitting on the back burner, either because I bought parts but by the time they arrived, I had lost my motivation, or because life happened and hobbies had to make way for more important priorities.  One such back catalog project was restoring my LaserActive PAC-S10 module closer to its original function. Just a quick primer on LaserActive in case this is the first place you're reading about it. Pioneer partnered with both Sega and NEC to integrate game consoles into a Laserdisc player. The result was a player with an expansion slot for various modules. To my knowledge only five modules were released for it. The PAC-S1 and PAC-S10 are the Japanese and North American versions of the Sega Genesis. The PAC-N1 and PAC-N10 are the Japanese and North American versions of the Turbografx-16. Finally the PAC-K1 is a module
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Cassette Players and Sony TC-KA3ES Repair Log

By samson7point1
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Until the last couple of years, I admit, I had no idea what the significance a 3-head cassette deck was.  In case you're wondering too, I'll try to summarize it if you're curious.  Otherwise if you're just here for the repair log, skip to that section below. The Principle of Playback The playback head of a cassette player works on almost exactly the same principal as a record player cartridge.  The motion of a magnet across a coil is used to generate alternating current. In the case of a record player, the movement of a stylus as it travels through the groove provides the physical motion of the magnet and coil to generate the electrical waveform - the shape of the groove determines how much or how little movement happens and that variance creates the waveform that is amplified to produce the sound.  In the case of magnetic tape, the tape itself is the magnet moving over a coil inside the tape head, and the waveform is generated based on the varying strength of the magne
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