Freshwater Crocodile

I got this Action Replay MK-I module. According to the seller it was untested, and for that reason sold as defective. It was in a… let's say very used state. The case was dirty, to a point that it was almost revolting to touch it. A side of the case was cracked open, and a knob was missing. The module must have been dropped at some time.

The Action Replay, in the sad state that I got it.

I carefully opened the case. The top and bottom shells are just stuck together, there are no screws, so it was easy to pull them apart. Inside I found some kind of coating on the PCB, so perhaps a drink had been spilled on the module as well. I also found a lot of fine paper dust like from a cardboard, and a small dent at the corner of the PCB that was caused by the drop.

Even the inside is filthy.

The first thing I did was to give the entire module a proper cleaning in an ultrasonic cleaner, just with warm water and a drop of dishwasher detergent. And yes, I also washed the PCB that way, then dried it off and sprayed it with IPA to remove the last traces of water. That bath did wonders.

Before cleaning: Dirt everywhere, and also this strange matte coating on the PCB. After cleaning, the board looks almost as new. I removed a few parts before the bath.

I expected that the dirt also reached the inside of the mechanical parts, so I decided to replace them all. They were a bit hard to find as replacement parts, but still available. As the original knob was lost, I used a different potentiometer that came with a knob. Unfortunately the new one is white, while the original one has likely been black, so I couldn't fully restore the original outside look.

New electrolytic condensors and mechanical parts for the rejuvenating cure.

The case was cracked open at one side because two pins inside were broken off. I fixed the pins with superglue. After that I exposed the case to the sun for a day, which removed quite a bit of the yellowing. Then I could put everything together again. Compared to the original state, the Action Replay is now looking nice and clean.

The Action Replay, shiny and as good as new.

I gave it a test run in my Amiga 500, and it was working fine! Now I have an Action Replay for my Amiga collection. The only sad thing is that it cannot be upgraded to an MK-II or MK-III, as these modules are constructed differently.