While on parental leave for a new baby I realized something that I had forgotten over years of being a parent; Newborns don’t actually do that much. This means that outside of feedings and diaper changes there’s a lot of baby down-time for napping.
I used this time to perform a couple of updates to my original release Nintendo Switch. Things were going exceptionally well. I had fusee gelee down to a science. I even modified a joycon to be used for RCM mode. The problem occurred as I was trying to minitiarize the Dock. I’m not sure if the problem was caused by the dock, or if there was an issue with the PSU that finally bit me. Either way, I was using a Steam Deck power supply and suddenly I smelt magic smoke and the Switch was no more. A much smarter person than I would’ve checked the PSU first. However, before my baby brain was able to process things completely I had plugged the Steam Deck into the same PSU.
Surprise of surprises. Magic Smoke poured out of the Steam Deck vent. I had managed to destroy my Switch and Steam Deck in a matter of 14 hours. I was incredibly heartbroken originally but then I used my Steam Wallet funds that I was saving for the new Deckard and pulled the trigger on an OLED Steam Deck. That thing is a masterful upgrade in its own right.
Nevermind all that for now. What this has actually driven is what I like to believe is my big villain arc. For months if not years now I have been trying to come up with excuses for buying a hot air station. I’ve always though that surface repair of boards would be too daunting for my unsteady hands. After successfully soldering a resistor to the joycon rail I believe that I do posess the physical muster to complete the daunting task of Switch and Steam Deck board repair. I mean, I’ve got all the tools already that I could possibly need for flashing EEPROMs. Plus, I’ve already swapped shells on the Deck twice. How hard could it be?