Two Hobbyists Chasing Vintage Console History From Aswan
We document collector finds, teardown notes, and hardware mods for consoles that shaped a generation of players, one board revision at a time.
Read Our StoryWhat Drives This Archive
No affiliate spam, no filler — just the hardware and the history behind it
Every PCB variant we cover gets cross-checked against multiple units before we publish, so serial numbers and revision notes hold up under scrutiny.
We don't write about a mod until we've socketed the chip, reflowed the capacitors, or swapped the region lock ourselves and logged the results.
This site exists because we love opening old shells, not because we're chasing ad clicks. Every post is written for readers who already know the hobby.
From PAL boards to obscure export models, we track how consoles differed across markets, not just the version most collectors already know.
From the Community
Their teardown on that early-run Genesis board caught a capacitor difference nobody else had documented. I checked my own unit after reading it and sure enough, same variant.
I've been restoring old hardware for years and their mod writeups are the first ones that actually explain why a fix works, not just how to solder it.
Found this site looking for info on a weird export cartridge and ended up reading the whole archive in one sitting. Refreshingly specific compared to most collector forums.
How We Build Each Post
From a dusty find to a documented piece of console history
Source the Find
We start with a collector unit, a swap meet discovery, or a reader tip about an unusual variant, then decide if it's worth a deeper look for the archive.
Open and Document
Shells come off, boards get photographed, and serial numbers, chip dates, and revision marks get logged before anything is touched or modified.
Test the Mod or Fix
If hardware work is involved, we perform it ourselves, tracking every step so readers can follow along and understand what changed and why.
Publish and Cross-Check
Notes get compared against other known units and community references before the article goes live, and we revise posts when new information surfaces.