Console Teardowns and Modding Notes From Aswan's Bench

Field notes, wiring diagrams, and restoration logs from a growing library of vintage hardware documentation.

Notable Reads From the Bench

A running log of teardown sessions, mod builds, and hardware finds worth a second look

01

Inside a Famicom AV Mod

A step-by-step look at converting an early RF-only motherboard to composite output, with notes on trace-cutting and shielding.
02

PC Engine CoreGrafx Capacitor Survey

Documenting failure patterns across a batch of units pulled apart over several months, region by region, board revision by revision.
03

The Neo Geo AES Cartridge Slot Problem

Why contact oxidation plagues this connector more than most, and what a careful re-tension actually fixes versus what it doesn't.
04

Rebuilding a Dead Mega Drive PSU

A teardown of a corroded power board, tracing the fault back to a leaking electrolytic and a cracked solder joint nobody expects.
05

SNES Jailbar Fix Without a Full Recap

A targeted approach to a common video artifact, isolating which capacitors actually matter before reaching for a full replacement.
06

Dreamcast GD-ROM Laser Drift Notes

Logging read failures across units of different ages and proposing a maintenance interval based on what the teardowns actually show.

Recent documentation pulled from ongoing teardown and restoration work

A full board-level walkthrough of the original Sega Genesis chassis, comparing revisions and noting what changed between production runs.

Documenting the wiring path and shielding choices for a clean composite-to-S-Video upgrade on a late-run NES2 unit.

A slow, deliberate cleanup process on corroded traces, with notes on which components survived and which needed full replacement.

Comparing North American and Japanese board layouts side by side, and what those small differences mean for collectors and modders alike.

New teardown logs and modding documentation are added regularly from the Aswan bench.