Red Arcade Thing Repair I resurrected a dead AliExpress arcade handheld by swapping the blown 3.3V regulator (I now own 99 spares), adding a TP4056 charger with Schottky diode isolation, and nursing a 0V LiPo back to life. A bit of hot-plate rework, tidier wiring, and—flip the switch—boom: it boots! It’s not pretty, but it’s alive again. 14 September 2025
It blew itself up! I recently got my hands on a cheap mini handheld game console from AliExpress that gave up the ghost a bit sooner than expected! After some detective work with a multimeter, I found a dead battery and a suspicious burn mark on the PCB. Looks like the culprit was a failed capacitor, with some diodes to blame too. I managed to jump-start the board, though it lost its voice in the process. Replacement parts are on the way; stay tuned for the next round of electronic surgery! 03 September 2025