CD32 FMV Resurrection! A second attempt at saving a trashed module

[@RMCRetro]

Thanks for watching. Just to clarify something because watching back I think it's a little unclear, we highlight that the problem is a lack of red on the console splash screen as is seen, and then comment on the dominance of red on the picture, which sounds like a contradiction. For clarity, red is lacking when the FMV module isn't in use (but the image is routed through it to output) and red is dominant when a MPEG video is being decoded. So it's a little of both. Neil - RMC

[@theatheisthammer]

Be careful messing with FLUX and CAPACITORS as you could erase yourself from history😂😂😂😂

[@SullySadface]

@@theatheisthammer Good job these things dont reach 8.8mhz

[@weepingscorpion8739]

@@SullySadface Well, 8.8 mps is roughly 14 kph and IIRC, the CD32's 68EC020 CPU runs at 14 mHz.

[@coffeecuparcade]

This entire video was amazing, but seeing STOO at the end chatting about the game... that was legendary. Love it so much!

[@Lucasrainford]

Awesome insight to the making of the vid :)

[@craigmacdonald4987]

He should get the old team back and make some more FMV's!!!!! 😃

[@robertmoss556]

I visited Commodore HQ in 1993 and saw a prototype CD32, which was caseless and mounted on wood. I also saw a high end Amiga running an MPEG1 video file of Adamski's Killer. I made friends with an ex pat Brit called Spencer, he told me he'd previously worked at Argonaut. We also bumped into Lew Eggebrecht.

[@chrisoregan9966]

If ever there was a case of 'watch until the end' then this is it. A great video and a wonderful end to this interesting tale. Whoever tried to repair it originally needs to have a restraining order put against them for being within 10 miles of a soldering iron!

[@nickwallette6201]

Ah cmon. We all start somewhere. SMD soldering skills don’t come from the womb.

[@leeg4116]

Not a pad repair kit, but for those pads I'd use some fine enamel wire from the via to where the pad was, coil the wire to size of pad and cover in uv solder mask, then wheb dry, scrape it back to expose the coiled wire. Does the job and looks quite tidy

[@absalomdraconis]

Another possibility (especially relevant given that these are semi-small smd components) is copper foil (commonly available from stained-glass hobby supply stores in the form of tape rolls- as far as I recall it's available adhesive-free, which I can't say for the larger sheets that I was interested in when I went looking), stuck down with a temperature-resistant resin of some sort. Given the pads in question, I'd say oversize the pad a bit, apply the solder mask you mentioned to divide into two sub-pads, and then just use a variant of your method.

[@wilburt6131]

You don't even need to scrape the enamel off the wire, as the hot soldering iron heat removes the enamel.

[@leeg4116]

@@wilburt6131 once in position, I cover the whole thing in uv mask so it covers and gets inbetween the coil, then scrape back to the wire as I find this makes it a rather solid connection

[@johnbos4637]

I've done this exact repair the right way 100's of times. Copper tape is the way. Cut a piece with scissors, glue it down, hook up the pad to the old trace using a small piece of wire (0.1mm), solder the SMD part back in place, job done. UV mask isn't required and does nothing. It is mainly for when replacing BGA pads or when there are multiple points that might touch, otherwise it does nothing and can actually impede the repair next time. UV solder mask is mainly used by noobs who don't have a clue and think it's good LOL!

[@MrDuncl]

@@wilburt6131 There was a complete prototyping system based on that principle with special wire with low melting point enamel. Make sure you have plenty of ventilation though as the fumes are supposed to be quite nasty.

[@tekk9995]

Well Neil (concerning 10:52) I used to own a CD32 and got the DEMOCD for it. Donated to me by Commodore NL for demoing purposes. And the commercial running on my CD32 attracted quite some viewers back in the day.

[@TerryRed]

For 15 years I did electronics repair. We used a dental tool kit to scrape traces, and use small wire to patch traces as needed with bare wire, etc. It was clean, and worked well. I had to do this with many things that were heavily waterdamaged and there were no replacements available for the board / circuit.

[@raggersragnarsson7994]

Best partnership on You Tube. Great Job. A joy to watch, thanks.

[@chrisrobson8540]

more rare retro tech brought back from the dead......well done chaps........no gummy bears or innuendo required 🤣🤣🤣

[@RetroSegaDev]

Well done guys and great to see Stoo talking about the Cannon Fodder video at the end :)

[@Xoferif]

I probably would've soldered replacement SMT caps to the proper pads at the non-damaged end, and then linked the end of each cap that was "flapping in the breeze" to the corresponding via with a little bodge wire... But, the leany-over-through-hole-cap solution worked like a champ, so that's a win!

[@andrewchilcott5312]

Sounds like a Dave Jones and Louis Rossman type of repair :)

[@wilburt6131]

When I ruined a solder pad on a ps3, I used some sticky copper roll you stick around the top of garden potted plants, for slugs, cut it to the right contours, and put it on the bad pad. and Glue it down very gently. then solder the chip leg back on in the right place

[@AmigaofRochester]

Awesome fix gents. Those are FK Panasonic capacitors. They are low esr caps, no reason to replace them :) Very high quality caps.

[@MatSpeedle]

Fantastic work chaps! Saved that board from the brink of death!

[@CommodoreFan64]

As a big Vic-20/C64/C128 fan as a kid having owned all 3 systems in the 80's, and early 90's, I really wanted an Amiga, but they were not cheap so my parents always said no when I asked, and I nearly shat myself when I read about the CD32 coming out, and said yep that's the Amiga I can convince my parents to buy as it will be cheaper, they can play their music on it, and even watch movies, but sadly we never got the CD32 here in the USA, only having learned years later that only a handful of gray market NTSC units made their way into Canada, and that I missed the boat to get them at a cheap price when they did not sale well, and where put up on eBay in the late 90s, but now they go for a fairly hefty sum when the pop up online, and well out of my price range. 😭

[@lindastone6868]

I never thought I would be glad to hear an advert, but the mention of Romantic Robot helped me track down a Specky game I had been trying to remember the name of.

[@tommylakindasorta3068]

It's cool to see that celebrities are already visiting the cave!

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Ah thanks but I'm not that famous. ;)

[@Kazuo1G]

Next time, to replace a pad, I've found a high-temp (up to 500ºF/260ºC) epoxy that you might be able to use for SMD components. I'm planning on using mine to replace and strengthen some old through-hole support vias (as in, no trace connections, just separate vias to hold a connector component) in an LCD control board. For me, it cost about $7/£5.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Do you have a link to the type of epoxy you mean?

[@mgarnett02]

@@MarkFixesStuff Hi Mark, I’ve used Chemtronics CW2500 Epoxy 2 Part to glue thin copper foil .1mm, cut to size, to the PCB and then just solder to that. The epoxy is good up to 315 deg C or 600 deg F. I suppose you could glue the SMD component direct to the board, although that’s probably a bit medieval. Cutting copper foil to replace the pads and soldering direct to the foil takes longer, but looks professional and works fine.

[@mgarnett02]

@@MarkFixesStuff also, the epoxy is available from Amazon, is a little expensive at around £25, but it works.

[@kuro68000]

Nice repair. To fix the pads you can cut a very small sheet of copper foil into the right shape with a craft knife. Then a tiny bit of adhesive and some solder mask to cover the parts you don't intend to solder to. It's fiddly but very possible to do.

[@absalomdraconis]

Sources for copper foil would be good to mention. I've found it at stained-glass hobby supply stores (which I was surprised to learn exist), where did you find it?

[@dennislindqvist5461]

The dynamics and flow of the presentation is much improved since last time. Kudos to you :)

[@MegaManNeo]

I feel like having an early Amiga that plays actual video CDs is extremely impressive, it wasn't a given to have such devices in the early 90's. That said, you two did an amazing job restoring this machine along with the MPEG decoder.

[@MrDuncl]

I had some Video CDs with a CDi and the quality was better than I expected.

[@nathan_tasker]

Don’t call me Shirley. Great video as always.

[@putridscene]

Repairs like this are so much fun to watch. It doesn't need to be pretty to be impressive

[@pneptun]

So glad you got to filming a part 2 of this!!! 🖒🖒🖒

[@milk-it]

I love the tag at the end!

[@Rob.Coleman]

Saw a nice feature about The Cave on my regional news programme Points West earlier, good publicity, nice to get the word out to a wider audience 👍👍

[@timballam3675]

Put a piece of wire into the via and bend down to create a new "pad" you can fix down with UV curable solder mask for a better look/stronger install.

[@PunkNDisorderlyGamer]

That repair is good don’t worry too much about it. I would only suggest feeding the leads of the component through the via and clip the other leg short and solder them closer to the existing pad.

[@SullySadface]

I'm actually surprisingly bothered by the lack of stereo separation on the Cannon Fodder music. Bang up job, by and large. Now you've got to be bothered to get that bit of pad repair kit after all That ending! Wow!

[@stuartcastle2814]

Ahh, the Commodore Fmv module. I always wanted one, to play the video CDs I didn’t have on the cd32 I wanted but couldn’t afford. I wanted one immediately I saw it at a commodore expo in the 90s..

[@ricardobornman1698]

And a nice addition to the cave!

[@Monkey_SK]

Well done gents, a brilliant repair and loved the bit at the end with Stoo.

[@IntyMichael]

The Commodore riser came, of course, with the FMV card. Nowadays sellers seem not to be aware of that. I've seen auctions where the CD32 and the FMV card were sold separately with the riser left in the CD32. It seems my FMV card already had the final rom (I did a look, yes it has 40.30). I always was able to watch the non standard CD-i movies. Awesome part with Stoo! Whenever I play the game on the CD32 I watch the video 'til the end. :)

[@stanleyyyyyyyyyyy]

Excellent job guys!

[@Vaskomyr]

Haha, that ad has some hardcore Marty McFly and Doc Brown vibes. Wonder if that was the intention, not sure when that aired.

[@MegaManNeo]

I see I'm not alone with this impression, especially the _Marty_ guy for the ad.

[@TheSudsy]

the tax man out of Darling Buds of May? in the CD32 advert?

[@robertmoss556]

Yes! kzbin.info/www/bejne/gmKwopiEeZdlf6s

[@LuxorVan]

If you do decide to replace pads make sure to epoxy them into place, I usually use copper foil that doesn't have adhesive "available on amazon" and trim it to size with a craft knife and place it with a tooth pick. I've had to do this on several car audio amplifiers I've repaired that used smd components I've also used it on pads for through holes, on aliexpress you can also get extremely small copper rivets for fixing some via's as well.

[@unshapedadrian]

Well done guys, it's great to watch you bring these old consoles back to life

[@fxtblues]

You guys is well smart innit !

[@runcmd8851]

Great repair and I'm glad to see this fully working... Also was a lovely to fine Stoo little interview what a treat... :)

[@UberNeuman]

I think the video on the wing commander/dangerous streets cd wasn't mean to sell the format, but to reassure the buyers that they didn't throw their money away on a nearly useless add on.

[@The_Studioworkshop]

Small wire can be used to solder between via and one of the terminals of the caps which has a broken trace

[@worldofretrogameplay6963]

Time Gal! I told you about this game in the comment section of the last video! I even provided a link to get the game. 🙄

[@RMCRetro]

Time Gal uses the AGA chipset nicely but doesn't support the FMV module, it works on a standard CD32

[@Spazilton1]

You can use pure copper sheeting of the correct thickness cut to pad size. Expoy to board, tin copper and lap solder to trace, or use small bridging wire between pad and trace. I used to have hundreds of trace and pad repair kits in the military no idea they cost that much. They are really nothing more than precision cut thin sheets of tin or copper.

[@AcornElectron]

Saving it is what matters. Good work fellas!

[@gavinc5255]

Great vid again 😁 lost pads, I epoxy glue a new tiny copper pad cut from a cheap sheet of copper for good mechanical fix of the SMD item, then solder across the pad to the exposed trace or just add a bodge wire if needed. At least the SMD is well fixed then 👍🏻

[@RobA500]

Great work, it might not be pretty but it works and you can’t see it when assembled anyway. Nice bonus piece from Stoo at the end.

[@kev7345]

i reckon if you just snipped the legs on those caps a bit it would look just as elegant (!!!) as it would have done with the SMDs

[@absalomdraconis]

But they don't plan to keep those caps in there.

[@martech3596]

Amazing end to a great video. Loved seeing Stoo, creator of one of my all-time favourite games ever!!

[@Ejrupolsen]

Great video Niel. but you forgot the game alien breed tower assault on the CD32. it also had full motion intro movie. 👍👍

[@CastleFamilyThe]

It wasn’t FMV, It was CDXL 1/4 screen video

[@leebumble]

Really is chill this channel, genuine fellas.

[@snowman5020]

Really good channel this. Great to see classic gaming presented in such a professional and interesting way, with a little bit of humour thrown in. I think you two work well together too. Keep it up!

[@vans301]

Yay for the ultrasonic cleaner! A true chip-pan if ever I saw one! 😂

[@williamwilliam9993]

9:30 mario in cannon fodder FMV

[@myretrohobby2750]

Great jop!!! I`m very happy that another great console is saved!

[@idj20]

Good work you two. Was that Rik Mayall in the advert? Sure does look like him.

[@dragonheatgaming5005]

Just seeing that video intro of cannon fodder put a huge smile on my face

[@jason_a_smith_gb]

Be fun to see you make your own FMV video? Well done on getting it working, that’s more important - fixed well and clean.

[@alexanderwingeskog758]

Have to say, love this stuff! Had my first "real" computer when I was 13-14 (C64->Amiga 500->1200>accelerator and so on) and did electronics in (UK equivalent upper secondary school). I don't have the FMV expansion but I do have a CD32 (which I just took up from my storage a couple of months ago to see if it still works, and it does... needs to be recaped though)... Anyway! this is awesome stuff! Love it!

[@bathmallow]

Great Video. The Sound is a bit fuzzy. First I thought it was my speaker but I played another video and it wasn't fuzzy.

[@dutchretrogamer4018]

cannon fodor and part 2 are one ogf my favorite games

[@davebarnes2601]

Fantastic video as always and amazing snippet at the end from Stoo =)

[@russelledwards001]

Nice touch at the end

[@lejonhamstra]

Shame that no one every made a replacement version of the FMV. Because the are so scares to get or so expansive!

[@Ariannus]

I understand that it may only be a temporary repair, but why didn't you trim the legs on those capacitors to a reasonable length?

[@aliabdallah102]

There's nothing more permanent than a temporary solution.

[@jason_a_smith_gb]

I understood it was because the original pads were damaged, so had to stretch it.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

I wanted to see if it would work without being too fiddly. My intention is to go back and repair the pads at some point.

[@TheBasementChannel]

Well done! It would have been easy to just call it a basket case and move on. Congrats for persevering and a victory well deserved.

[@djtransnazgrz]

Jamming a component lead through a via is a good way to destroy it. Good luck repairing it then. You don't need a pad repair kit. If you're worried about mechanical stress, you can glue a cpacitor to the board, but I don't think that's necessary. As many pointed out, just use a thin wire.

[@AdiSneakerFreak]

Nice Easter eggie at the end 🙂

[@AK-nb6hz]

I’d be more than happy to repair the rest of this for you. It’s all about the right tools for the job. As others have alluded to, enamel wire and solder mask are your friends. I repair a ton of Macintosh products with similar issues. Not sure how you’d contact me but the offer is there. I’m in the uk and happy to film my input / provide references to my prior work..

[@SirHackaL0t.]

Nice one getting it working but I wondered why you didn’t chop the capacitor legs down a bit. :)

[@VerseChorusCurse]

That FMV module was a clusterflux

[@chriscrossan8034]

What a TEAM!

[@cbmsysmobile]

Oh, now I want to go rewatch Naked Gun.....

[@TheSulross]

after game market crash of '84 Commodore stayed well away, but by '87 gaming had recovered. If Commodore had released a gaming console then based on Amiga chips and architecture, they could have preempted Nintendo and Sega with what would at that time been far superior tech

[@Andre-pe9mm]

Great video glad you got it working.

[@therushden]

Great save chaps 👏

[@MRSTU1210]

Great fix lads keep up the good work big up

[@alexscarbro796]

Never ever put a PCB assembly in an ultrasonic cleaner if the board contains crystal oscillators - it’s a sure fire way of destroying their delicate internals! Most crystal datasheets will have a warning stating this. If a board must be cleaned, it’s often best to remove the crystals first.

[@RetroJay1974]

I have a large pile of original VCD's but no FMV module. I sadly missed one, if I had only been a week earlier I would have snagged one to go along with the vcd's :(

[@dingdongbells3314]

I've never touched a soldering iron before in my entire life, but I'm confident that my solders are better than whoever did this before Niel got to it

[@tonylancaster8704]

Theres nothing wrong with sitting and watching any of the "Naked gun" fims well done for the fix

[@bufordmaddogtannen]

I'm not against the workaround per se, and yet I would have preferred not seeing the legs of the first two capacitors overlapping. Put some katpon tape between them maybe?

[@NorthWay_no]

Looking down into your cleaning bath I'm not sure it was "flux" that came to mind...

[@MarkFixesStuff]

"come" on.

[@SidneyCritic]

Is that the guy from Alas Smith and Jones (Mel Smith) in Cannon Fodder?

[@V3ntilator]

A friend of mine fixed my CD32 in only 1/4 of this video.

[@me0262]

Very nice job! If you ever find a PCB epoxy kit, let me know. I have a LaserActive PAC-S10 that has 18 lifted pads.

[@tgk3624]

Just seen you on Bristol BBC news. Just subbed 👍

[@kaitlyn__L]

I wonder if the initial replacement worked fine, but the original modder reinstalled it backwards and that killed some components over time?

[@Adam-McG]

Great job getting it working! But I’m concerned that the remaining caps will leak and cause more damage.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

The original caps have already been replaced Adam. I did think I’d change them again to be sure, but decided against it because I kept finding damage. We’ll be keeping an eye on it at The Cave. Thank you for watching!

[@jokkea492]

nice

[@tech34756]

Don’t know if you know, but apparently that DSO can be hacked for 200MHz support. Haven’t tried it myself though.

[@bittitab5963]

Gratulation to the succsesfull repair. So there is anotherone Fmv Modul that work's fine. I say thank God, that mine ist working well. But the Flux Problem at yours is a Sign that the Module does not have many Hours worked. At mine the Flux is black and extremly hard......It got the Konsistenc from dry Bitumen........If you watch a complete Movie ( 2 Disk's- Philips CDi) the Module get EXTREMLY Hot. So hot that i think the Flux is Part of a BBC ;-). Kind regards from Vienna, Chris.

[@Yordleton]

I've always found it weird that Blue-Tack never caught on widely in the US at all. Seems like people in the UK use it for everything, is Duct Tape the American equivalent as far as temporary (half-assed) repairs 🤣

[@ShadowRune]

It's sold here as stuff to put posters up on the wall, most of the time when you buy it from the store it's hard as a rock from being there so long usually easier to use something else lol

[@Yordleton]

@@ShadowRune no wonder i've never used it lol. Closest thing I can think of is using putty as a sealant for small cracks, but like you said, caulking works better because it's not super hard out of the package.

[@MQsto]

Half-assed... I find that insulting! When I'm repairing something with blu-tack, I'm a complete ass!!

[@mrburns366]

i wouldn't worry too much about using thru hole caps instead of SMD. Nobody will ever see them and the bigger caps will probably last longer

[@wimwiddershins]

"I am serious, and don't call me Shirley." I was conflicted back when the CD32 came out, being a loyal C= fanboy, I wanted to own one. But it was obvious the thing was a flop, and the PS1(everyone was talking about) was just on the horizon.

[@crumplezone1]

I forgot Disk 1 of Naked Gun 2,1/2 as I was testing the ROM I had burned for you Doh, but I did post it the same day did you not get it Neil ? if not I can copy my 2nd Naked gun disk 1 as I have two copies, so if you need it just tell me and I will burn you a copy of Disk 1, great vid, glad you saved the FMV guys :)

[@RetroGamerBB]

Isn't it a Amiga 1200 with a CD drive slapped on? I want one

[@ukmk3supra]

Wahey! A board small enough to be used in that Ultrasonic Bath! Did you grab the Allendale Ultrasonics cleaner fluid? It works best at about 60*c for flux removal. For cleaning metalwork of rust - 70*c with three tablespoons of citric acid granules will shift anything :D

[@johnbos4637]

"SMD pad replacement kit costing hundreds of dollars". Eh? LOL! I have done this exact type of repair thousands of times over the last 30 years. Buy a roll of copper tape or brass shim 0.002" thickness, cut out a piece the required size with scissors, glue it down then solder the pad to the old trace using a micro-wire (0.1mm or less, buy a roll of it or take a single strand from a multi-strand wire... note kynar or hookup wire is too thick, think thinner) then solder the part on top using a soldering iron and flux (not hot air). Everything is available on ebay for a total cost of about $2 including the caps and you have enough copper tape and micro-wire to last 100 years worth of SMD pad repairs.

[@CSIG1001]

Give it a pure 91 alcohol bath for a few seconds to get all the water removed