Stephen
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  • Here's an example of the Электроника Б6-03 — Elektronika B6-03 Digital LCD watch. This particular model, among three others, has arrived from Ukraine. It's the first of the three I've purchased which was in good enough condition to bring back to life. The other two were "battery bombed".

    IMG_2939.jpg

    This watch has a "presidential" story, here's an excerpt from this nice article:

    There is an anecdote, which seems to be true because it is referenced in many articles and comments , that during this last visit, Brezhnev showed an interest in the wrist watch that Kissinger wore, which was the Pulsar P2, which had gone into production in 1970 and was the first digital wrist watch with an LED display. It is not difficult to imagine Kissinger wearing a Pulsar on his wrist, since it was a very exclusive watch, expensive of course, and technologically advanced for the time. Kissinger kindly showed Brezhnev his watch from him, at which point Brezhnev explained that the USSR had already developed this technology, but they were not yet in a position to produce it on a large scale.

    The next day, Brezhnev gave Kissinger a digital watch model, with the B6-02 LCD module. The US Secretary praised the Elektronika watch, while examining it closely. He was allegedly told it would be a magnificent model for export. However, Kissinger's concern was evident because he was unaware that the Soviet Union had CMOS technology , and this had serious implications. This meeting, so to speak, was the presentation of the Soviet Union in the field of digital watchmaking.

    If you're interested, you can find more information about early Soviet digital watches in this forum post. For me, I'm just happy to have one that finally works... but I have to admit... there are more in the mail!
    Here's another mod, this time with transparent 3D printing filament as a light pipe:

    1649299673536.png

    Originally these SNES Jr. (SNS-101) don't have an LED power indicator at all. This simple mod (with my own twist, the light pipe) tidies up what feels like a "missing" feature.

    For this console I also removed the tabs on the interior of the cartridge bay. These tabs are added by Nintendo to prevent imported carts from working. I had planned to recap it but when I took the original OEM caps out and measured their Vloss and ESR it was clear they were all high quality caps in excellent condition.

    Next up is to brew up my own RGB amplifier mod, which I think will close this project out.
    Finally found why the N64 logic board - which I got a great deal on - wouldn’t start (no sound / video).

    two pads (AD6 & AD9) had a break directly where the trace meets the pad. A quick bodge (once you find it) and I’m playing GoldenEye!A9C577A4-BEF6-4B0D-81D2-6CCB9716999A.jpeg
    Here's an open-source 3D reproduction of the Macintosh Portable battery (M5137) available to download on Thingiverse. Big thanks to @alxlab for loaning his battery to me for 3D modeling!

    1641532726500.png
    Stephen
    Stephen
    @Drake, about 45 but you'd have to use flat tab connections! 🤪 I guess that's around... 10,000 mAh! That's like 2x the next best eBay option (C4.5S(T1) 6V4.5Ah)!
    P
    Paolo B
    Very interesting, thanks. What are you planning to put inside? I’m afraid you need to have the same chemistry as the original battery pack for the Mac to recognize and properly manage it.
    Stephen
    Stephen
    @Paolo B I’ll let someone else crack that egg - my goal is to make the 1:1 3D model available.
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