In addition to the fake GBA games I went over in my last post, I’ve also ended up with a number of counterfeit Nintendo DS games as well. In this post, I’ll go over how to spot a fake Nintendo DS game, both from the inside and out. As with fake GBA games, fake DS Read More…
Author: Justin Paulin
Identifying Fake Game Boy Advance (GBA) Games
Since I’ve started purchasing large lots of games on eBay, I’ve acquired a number of Game Boy Advance games of dubious origin (All of which were covered by PayPal’s Buyer Protection on counterfeit items). In this post, I’ll go over how to identify counterfeit GBA games, and what steps you can take to avoid getting scammed. Read More…
Security Screw Identification Chart
I’ve found this chart to be very helpful when looking to purchase screwdriver bits to open proprietary hardware held together with security screws. This should cover some of the most common bits, including those used in Nintendo and Sega consoles and games.
Dumping 27C301 EPROMs (Or, How To Build A 27C301 to 27C010 Adapter)
I recently purchased several EPROM prototypes for the original Game Boy. After finding that some of the cartridges had differences from the final versions of the game, I attempted to dump them for preservation purposes before they fell victim to “bit rot“, but was thwarted by an EPROM type incompatible with my shitty Willem programmer. Read More…
Coney Island Boxer Restoration Project – Finishing Touches
In this post, I’ll go over the last minor fixes that I made to get the Boxer looking good as new. First off, were the lightbulbs; both the halogens on the top and LED indicators on the inside. As for the indicators, replacing them was as simple as twisting out each old bulb and replacing Read More…
Coney Island Boxer Restoration Project – Installing The Electromagnet
As it turns out, the designers of this machine were crafty in choosing parts. After receiving the electromagnet in the mail, I did some research on it’s part number and manufacturer, only to find that it’s actually a starter solenoid for a number of Fiat-like vehicles built in the 80s, most notably, the Lada. From Read More…
Coney Island Boxer Restoration Project – Installing The Coin Acceptor
The Coney Island Boxer is designed to work with an expensive Alberici mechanism, that uses somewhat proprietary signalling. In this post, I’ll go over how I got around that and was able to install an inexpensive generic multi-coin acceptor in it’s place. As I also received the new buttons in the mail, I’ll install those as Read More…
Coney Island Boxer Restoration Project – It Works!
I plugged in the boxer for the first time to test it today and received some good news. It works! I also cleaned out the inside, ran the tests, and did a few minor touchups to the display holder to make it usable. Here are some pictures: I did some research, and from the stickers + Read More…
Coney Island Boxer Restoration Project – Fixing the Display Board
I took a look at the display board today, and was pleasantly surprised – It’s fixable. The wires that were on it, are just to fix bad solder joints + breaks in the lines on the board. To fix it, I desoldered all of the segments to record the paths that needed re-soldering, and put it back Read More…
Coney Island Boxer Restoration Project – First Look
Here’s a few images of the exterior of the unit before I’ve done anything – It isn’t in that bad shape. The inside is a mess, with broken plastic, screws, nuts, and more everywhere – At least a copy of the manual + the parts list was included. The bad display board was also included, so I’ll Read More…