Nick Charles

It's just a prop, but it looks so cool. Made with the Avery 95272 card stock using a Dymo 550 to print the dot code on 30256 shipping labels, then cut to size. I cold laminated the front and used the glossy side for the back eon ticket side itself. Shame it wasn't double sided glossy paper.

And yes, with some careful cutting, I got it to work first try. Didn't even need the other 5 I printed. Of course, this whole thing wasn't necessary because I've been able to print straight from the Dymo labels this whole time, but, c'mon, it's so much cooler to use a fully recreated card!

So other than the HDMI nightmare, everything WAS working this morning. Well, I still need to finish the console mods for the NES TL and SNES Jr. Those are sitting on my workbench waiting to be done. Hopefully tonight. But in the meantime, I have well tuned Retrotink profiles configured now!

NES top loader composite mod finished tonight. Of course I planned to record it for YT and the X-T3 decided it was having none of that today. Really need to budget to replace that POS... Anyway, not bad from a budget 80s console that was never supposed to have composite video in the first place lol

So other than the HDMI nightmare, everything WAS working this morning. Well, I still need to finish the console mods for the NES TL and SNES Jr. Those are sitting on my workbench waiting to be done. Hopefully tonight. But in the meantime, I have well tuned Retrotink profiles configured now!

I never thought I'd hit the stage in life where a label maker is a genuine source of relief in my life, let alone having 2 different types, but uh, here we are. I just can't get exactly the right faceplates for every system here and 3d printing is difficult without multi material option, so, labels!

So other than the HDMI nightmare, everything WAS working this morning. Well, I still need to finish the console mods for the NES TL and SNES Jr. Those are sitting on my workbench waiting to be done. Hopefully tonight. But in the meantime, I have well tuned Retrotink profiles configured now!

And finally the component video stack. SNES Jr will be here soon. Genesis, the video is kinda noisy through the 32x and not the best through the model 2 either. Both might need recaps. PS1 is solid, Wii is solid but soft (normal for those). All in all pretty pleased.

So other than the HDMI nightmare, everything WAS working this morning. Well, I still need to finish the console mods for the NES TL and SNES Jr. Those are sitting on my workbench waiting to be done. Hopefully tonight. But in the meantime, I have well tuned Retrotink profiles configured now!

As for HDMI...well they're digital signals so they either work or they don't. Thankfully, as of now I've had the PS3 running in game for over an hour and not a single signal drop. The Wii U, Switch, and GC with the Carby are rock solid as always. And on the 4K side, the PS5 and Switch 2 are fine.

So other than the HDMI nightmare, everything WAS working this morning. Well, I still need to finish the console mods for the NES TL and SNES Jr. Those are sitting on my workbench waiting to be done. Hopefully tonight. But in the meantime, I have well tuned Retrotink profiles configured now!

For my S Video signals, just the PS1 and N64 for now. I have a second S Video AV cable coming for the Gamecube for my DOL-101, but it'll be a few days. These look really nice for such old tech. N64 definitely softer, I might try to RGB mod one in the future.

And here I thought the HDMI part of this setup would be the easy one....nope, the PS3 had something to do about that. First, HDCP is a no-go through the Retrotink. Fair enough. So I routed it through a separate HDMI switcher instead to bypass the retrotink. That's where all the problems started...

It just worked. Of course it did. Why? Hell if I know, but now I have 2 hdmi active switchers, 1 passive switcher, and 1 splitter out to my TV and capture card to maintain connectivity across everything. And it took the better part of ANOTHER day to get it working.

And here I thought the HDMI part of this setup would be the easy one....nope, the PS3 had something to do about that. First, HDCP is a no-go through the Retrotink. Fair enough. So I routed it through a separate HDMI switcher instead to bypass the retrotink. That's where all the problems started...

I try 10 different HDMI cables. No dice. An HDMI splitter to bypass one of the switchers. Nope. I try running it DIRECTLY to the TV. It works *better*, but not perfectly. At this point I'm thinking there's a genuine problem with the PS3's video signal.

And here I thought the HDMI part of this setup would be the easy one....nope, the PS3 had something to do about that. First, HDCP is a no-go through the Retrotink. Fair enough. So I routed it through a separate HDMI switcher instead to bypass the retrotink. That's where all the problems started...

It feels like it was only a few months ago I was setting this kallax shelf up thinking it'll hold every retro game console I'll ever want Yeah that didn't happen. The last slot is going to an Atari 7800, and I officially have no room for an og Xbox or 360, or a 3DO if I ever get so lucky. Oops.

I even had to ditch the bin storage just to fit it all. I'd hoped I could squeeze the NES TL & snes jr on one shelf but it's just a bit too wide But it's all roughed in, ready for routing. My modern consoles go by the TV, but this setup will actually keep the wired controllers nearby this time lol

On a related note, I really wish retro stores would stop carrying these awful "Old Skool" power supplies. This is the 5th one I had for various consoles & every single one fails after a few years. When they start to act up like this they can take out the voltage regulators on your consoles too!

Well, that was interesting. I had an Atari 2600 that wasn't outputting color even when the color switch was on. Opened it up, connected it to the TV to try and figure out what was wrong, and it shows in full color. I literally did nothing but take it apart and it started working!

I was out doing some furniture shopping and just dropped in to a game store on my way home, and what did I find? A nearly complete set of NES E Reader cards for the GBA! Custom cases and artwork and everything. This kind of stuff rarely comes up at all, let alone so well cared for. I had to grab it!

I've been spending a lot of time on trying to print these cards, and though I did come up with a reliable printing method for printing the rare stuff, nothing beats having the originals where possible!

Ok, so game case art reprints...on the one hand, it's nice to get an actual case for your more expensive games. On the other hand, when reputable retro game store print labels like this...yikes The cut is awful, the blacks are crushed, and the resolution stinks. And they wanted cib pricing for it.

Placed side by side with my original copy of Suikoden IV, my reprint isn't 100%. I had to shrink it down a bit to fit on a standard page with my printer's minimum margins, but if it bothers me too much I can always go source a ream of larger photo paper instead. For now, this looks great to my eyes.

Ok, so game case art reprints...on the one hand, it's nice to get an actual case for your more expensive games. On the other hand, when reputable retro game store print labels like this...yikes The cut is awful, the blacks are crushed, and the resolution stinks. And they wanted cib pricing for it.

So I've been busy... Well, not today. Today I got nothing done for the project 😭 But the past 2 weeks I've been quite busy indeed. Started a fresh run of crystal and made it to the lighthouse. Also got a Japanese copy of sapphire to go with box and colosseum, so I can do stuff like this:

The clock is ticking...can I complete the Master Pokedex Challenge I started in 2023 (and procrastinated on for 3 years) in time? I'll post regular updates here on bksy only, and to save time I won't be making any videos on it for now (that would just cut my time down even more!)

So...checking my project I have already recorded 51 hours of footage for all tasks in the 3DS and older era. Sounds like a lot, but it's not even one full game yet!

Frankly I don't have even the slightest idea whether or not it's even possible to finish in time, but I'm going to try my best. At the very least I want to finish the main challenge, but many of the star challenges will likely be too time-consuming to complete.

So...checking my project I have already recorded 51 hours of footage for all tasks in the 3DS and older era. Sounds like a lot, but it's not even one full game yet!