I cobbled together an anachronistic retrostation out of an old ASUS laptop today.

https://youtu.be/Rqgvd-eWBOs

I have noticed something "unusual" about the Baron's VSBHDA. If you load the 32bit version of it, then *IMMEDIATELY* unload it and the hdpmi host, load the 16 versions immediately after, unload the 16 bit versions, then reload the 32bit versions *again*, then games that normally only work with the 16 bit version mysteriously start working with the 32bit one.

Getting Wolfenstein 3D working today was kinda the focus of my activities. You can see the automated install/uninstall/install/uninstall/install AGAIN happening in the video, but it's fast.

Ydee wrote on 2026-02-28, 08:57:

TheAbandonwareGuy wrote on 2026-02-27, 06:07:

Now the question is:

* Will the much smaller Pentium3 heatsink be enough to cooler an Athlon 1500? My guess is its going to be very borderline. I might have to mess around with underclocking/undervolting this thing.
* Will the anemic 100 watt max continous output PSU explode trying to power it?

Bestec ATX100-5 with 10A at 5V rail? And 2A at 12V? If yes, then good luck with Thunderbird or Palomino, integrated GPU and board with 5V only CPU VRM... You will need much better PSU, cable management and some airflow inside the case and even so I am affraid, that heatsink for cca 30W CPU will not be enough for cca 60W. My 5 cents only.

"We do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard" - John F Kennedy

The PSU is non standard form factor so I cant exactly upgrade it, and the cable management is as good as it's going to get just due to the location of the IDE ports on the board and the confines of the case.

To be clear: No part of this is a good idea. I just wanted to see if I can make it work because if it does it's a fairly neat compact machine. If I end up destroying the hardware, oh well. It's all useless hardware that was destined for the dump anyways.

TheAbandonwareGuy wrote on Yesterday, 05:08:

"We do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard" - John F Kennedy

The PSU is non standard form factor so I cant exactly upgrade it, and the cable management is as good as it's going to get just due to the location of the IDE ports on the board and the confines of the case.

To be clear: No part of this is a good idea. I just wanted to see if I can make it work because if it does it's a fairly neat compact machine. If I end up destroying the hardware, oh well. It's all useless hardware that was destined for the dump anyways.

Indeed, I understand - but: this is custom designed case for set with Celeron CPU (about 20W TDP), some 64-128 MB SDRAM, onboard audio and video, one HDD. For it is 100W PSU maybe ok, consumption could be about 60-70W?). But if you use an Athlon 1400 with about 70W TDP and mobo with 5V CPU VRMs, it simply can not work. You need strong 5V rail on PSU - 25A or more. Now: you need to take the heat away from the processor and heatsink for 20W CPU can hardly cope with three times the radiated heat. And you still need to get him out of a case that doesn't have airflow or vents... Maybe try some low clocked Duron instead, but even so IDK.

Ydee wrote on Yesterday, 08:52:

Indeed, I understand - but: this is custom designed case for set with Celeron CPU (about 20W TDP), some 64-128 MB SDRAM, onboard audio and video, one HDD. For it is 100W PSU maybe ok, consumption could be about 60-70W?). But if you use an Athlon 1400 with about 70W TDP and mobo with 5V CPU VRMs, it simply can not work. You need strong 5V rail on PSU - 25A or more. Now: you need to take the heat away from the processor and heatsink for 20W CPU can hardly cope with three times the radiated heat. And you still need to get him out of a case that doesn't have airflow or vents... Maybe try some low clocked Duron instead, but even so IDK.

The big issue would be cooling not so much power I think.
I've ran a M810LR with a Thoro-A 2000+, OEM 64bit Rage128Pro and a ALS4000 with the stock 90W PSU out of an HP Vectra VEi8.
I can't remember the rating on the 5V rail, but it was an Astec so probably extremely overbuilt.

A Palomino or a Thunderbird is perhaps a bit much though.
The late Thoro-B Semprons can probabily be undervolted a fair bit and/or mobile-modded* and nobody really wants them so they are still cheap.

*https://fab51.biosbude.de/cpu/barton/athlon-e24.html

onethirdxcubed wrote on 2026-02-28, 23:35:

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2026-02-27, 22:53:

Back plates for cards are still the one thing I can't figure out how to replace. I am not a machinist, I have no tools or shop for working with metal, 3D printed back plates are just not the same... If i could solve the backplate thing I could complete dozens of awesome cards that I've salvaged over the years.

For cards with D-sub connectors that have screw lugs to hold the backplate to the card, all you really need to make your own backplate from a slot blank is a power drill, a set of drill bits, files, clamps, and a block of wood to drill into. I've had to do this for a few cards that met a terrible fate with a scrapper or only came with Low Profile brackets. For cards that don't have any screw lugs for attachment I sometimes steal brackets from WinModems, and rectangular holes can be cut with a Nibbler or a lot of filing.

Yeah, scrap modems are something almost nobody wants and can supply brackets. Key is to have a good stash of them to pick through so the big telephone RJ hole is the center of your biggest connector. Either pick one where at least one bracket hole lines up, or make sure you cut slots just tight enough for the hex screw posts on a D port to hold it on.

However, if you wanna do it from scratch, aluminum, brass and copper are far easier to work with. If you get thinnish plate, you can draw your holes on it, put it down flat on a piece of hard wood, get a nice sharp chisel and pound it round the edges to punch it out. If you have done it in brass or copper, you can tin it afterward to get it silvery so it doesn't look out of place... or polish it for steampunk cred 🤣 .... possibly this can work out with some thin steels also, type you will find in discarded cans that are flat metal... would suggest the base of large "cans" that are cardboard drums... some of those may be aluminum... probably only get one bracket out of the middle though, unless you want some lo-pro too.

Another suggestion, cheap baking sheet... if you get some good metal shears, you can probably cut one of those, preserving the edge for the top right angle bracket... saves problems of bending it straight... find one with a good sharp corner though, not an overly rounded one. Probably thicker steel than you find in discarded cans, but not so thick you can't use shears on it.

I recapped the neckboard of my NEC Multisync 3D monitor basically fixing the problem which was crippling it since I got it few years ago (same problem as described here: https://www.leadedsolder.com/2024/03/19/nec-j … crt-repair.html )!

It required adjustment. Tube is very bright and sharp and colors are great! Can't wait to test it on something else than regular VGA (like all 80s NEC Multisync monitors it supports both analog and digital RGB / CGA, EGA, Amiga, Atari ST, Macs, Apple IIGS and odd japanese hardware...

And yesterday I replaced power switches in my Philips CM8833 and Commodore 1084S-P1.

Continued to work on my electronics repair work bench in a never ending quest for a more optimal setup.

I recently added an articulating arm for my microscope to the stand off the desk. This let me re-arrange my soldering setup and reclaim some space.

I also recently upgraded my soldering station to a Hakko FX-972 and added a stand for my desoldering gun.

And last, added some proper fume extraction replacing the tabletop smoke absorber I'd be using previously. This one uses a flexible plastic arm which I can move out of the way when not needed.

Shponglefan wrote on Today, 02:29:

Continued to work on my electronics repair work bench in a never ending quest for a more optimal setup. […]
Show full quote

Continued to work on my electronics repair work bench in a never ending quest for a more optimal setup.

The attachment Workshop March 2026.jpg is no longer available

I recently added an articulating arm for my microscope to the stand off the desk. This let me re-arrange my soldering setup and reclaim some space.

I also recently upgraded my soldering station to a Hakko FX-972 and added a stand for my desoldering gun.

The attachment Workshop - Soldering Setup March 2026.jpg is no longer available

And last, added some proper fume extraction replacing the tabletop smoke absorber I'd be using previously. This one uses a flexible plastic arm which I can move out of the way when not needed.

The attachment Workbench Fume Extraction.jpg is no longer available

Looks like an awesome setup. One thing though, for me personally, I would cover the back of those CRTs with something if they have to stay there. When I'm doing a lot of soldering work there are times when I find a little hard piece of solder or a stray leg clipped from a capacitor on the floor under my desk. If you were sitting at the desk and some conductive bit managed to go from your desk to your lap and then into the back of a CRT, bad things could happen. 😀

Shponglefan wrote on Today, 02:29:

Continued to work on my electronics repair work bench in a never ending quest for a more optimal setup.

what a great set up, well organised but also tidy! (for now 😀 ) You certainly have a good set of tools there, lots of things you can do

Started repair work on two new 486 motherboards, both battery damaged. One looks like a lost cause, so I started on the other. There are some exploded tantalums (which I will replace with low ESR electrolytics, fuck tantalums) and some broken ceramics I don't know the value of. The other ceramics on the board are 10pf-22pf-27pf-47pf and 10nf which is a huge jump. Tryint to figure out what that capacitor value is some way..