The crash and come back

It's been a hot minute since the last blog post so let's catch up so grab a drink.

The not great

I made a video about it and I'll link it here in case you'd want to hear the whole of July. TLDR July was horrible. The laptop I was using ate the SSD that stored all the goods; 3D designs, PCB designs, video footage for DS mods (being redone now), images, BGs,.. you name it it was vanish doomed like nothing else along with important personal things too.

August came and went as the pieces were being picked up and rebuild. Some print designs were improved - so that's a good bonus. Meanwhile September felt like everything settled while still finding things that were lost that need to be recovered.

The YT Vid.

Ongoing Releases

DS mods are FINALLY making their way out with videos. Sure, I could have released them without install instructions, but that feels lazy and it'd be bad if someone got it and had no reference to use it. It's just a matter of making more videos.

Currently Available

• DS

• DS Lite

Next Release

• DSi

Follow ups

• DSi XL, 3DS, 3DS XL, 2DS, 2DS XL, New 3DS, New 3DS XL

In case you missed it, the WiiU Gamepad Doc USB-C mod is available .The WiiU Gamepad is also completed and needs a video before it'll be made available.

PS2 USB C Mod update

It's been a bit of a challenge, but it's been picked up again since being delayed because of Q3 crashing and burning. A new revision from scratch is ALMOST ready to get prototype PCBs made and a small batch of parts ordered. It's significantly smaller, set for 2oz Copper, still geared for at minimum 90% efficiency.

I'm hoping that November / December will be the time when the dream will become reality as the existing budget was used lieu of the posed threat of a 100% increase in tariffs against China. It doesn't help that with that in mind, PCBWay and JLCPCB are still more affordable that state side options. Navigating these changes stinks as it's damned if you do and damned if you don't. I don't want to push insane costs to folks.

Like the FMC mod, which is also undergoing a revision, the PS2 mod will be hand assembled and have been looking at suitable hot places to assist in the job as 0402 sized components are pushing my limits on hand soldering. While there also seem to be PNP machines, I remain sceptical on what's around for the general market, but that would be a nice piece of equipment to have in the future. Why not utilise turnkey services? Simple; cost. It was something I looked at for the PS2 mod, but the cost didn't make sense for just the buck converter side alone without even including the cost of the components.

New Projects in Mind

I recently learned about the NES Revival - Power-Module Redesign project that made a replacement PSU for the American NES from a repair job. It's pretty cool! The OG guy behind the project as stopped working on it in June, and I want to continue the spirit of the project with USB-C power in mind. There's good things to learn from the project, and I will also be looking to use the same trigger IC from TX Instruments that I have implemented in the PS2 USB C mod. Additionally, I will plan for that mod to support the AV configuration for TRRS as well the OG RCA cables.

I was thinking of also supplying Zaxor's 3BP mod V2+ mod as it also supports composite out restoration which is really nice. I've only seen one other place provide it so why not me as well? It'll also be good for genesis units that haven't gotten new homes too.

One of our discord members showed me someone showing a WiiU modded with a 15V 3A trigger which apparently work to my surprise since OEM PSU specs are 15V 5A. It begs the question of what is the actual consumption of the WiiU and what is the buffered amount between that and 3A? We don't want to run at 3A because operating at the limit from what's being delivered by the wall adapter through to the trigger then to the unit can stress and damage any part of the chain once the voltage and current has gone through successful negotiation.

December Plans

The GameCubes need homes! - not to mention all the other consoles. I'll be looking to doing a sale with free shipping in mind. There's still unlisted DS / 3DS units that are ready to go, a few NTSC-J games that need test validation, and a few other things.

Changes

The past number of months have shown that the demand for color options for the mods was very short lived. Green was discontinued earlier this year and only got a single inquiry about it since. Demand for Red and Blue is not apparent. Black dominates and Translucent is fairly steady. It will be planned to discontinue Red and Blue depending on their demand in the following months and use the resin for prototypes or other things. This leaves little confidence for solid color choices, but maybe a final choice will be the clear black, translucent, and solid white - or just the black and translucent. No sense in having an inventory of resin that isn't being used.

Depending what happens during the next few months will help shape 2026. One thing I want to additionally offer is electroplating for restoring rusted heat shields. Another is NanoFlowx coating for PCBs to give them protection against the elements; corrosion, humidity, salt spray, bacteria and gas; increasing their longevity. Imagine sending over your console knowing that when it returns that the board will be more robust than when it first left the factory to resisting environments that would otherwise ruin it over time.

Past video ideas were lost, then found, and being rebuilt. From repairs, reviews, and other bits; it's nice to see what I had thought up of before and sad to see some of those things yet to happen. I'm still learning what I can do with DaVinci Resolve as I've moved away from all Adobe products, and you can spot what I've been able to pick up with some of the more recent videos. A new segment I do have planned is showcasing repairs done from what you as clients send me to repair (100% anonymous of course) - see what happens your treasures first hand; love it, hate it, critique it. Other's do it and so can I.

Other things I'm looking to change are the reviews - I would like to see how I could showcase reviews from Etsy and see if there's a plugin for making a testimonials for the mod repair services I provide. On top of this is thinking of how to further better improve the service request form for the custom estimates; and one thing that comes to mind is shipping. One option I'm thinking is for me to provide shipping labels at rates I get that may be lower that what'd you might pay directly at the post office or UPS - how'd it'd work because I'd need certain details remains to be fleshed out well before doing any such thing. Rates always increase it would be nice to assist on that to keep some of that cost to you lower.

Closing Thoughts

I've probably gone long enough, but it's been a while and thanks for reading this far if you made it or not. 2025 wasn't the year I thought it'd be and though some things went horridly wrong, my stubbornness to succeed keeps me from shutting things down and just spend months applying for another corporate job where I'd managing data, reporting, automation, and other things; yes, that's what I did before opening my shop as part of my prior career journey.

October is basically over so let's see how November turns out. Happy Halloween to everyone who celebrates; and if you don't, then I hope it'll be a great day for you regardless!