CRT Cellar

Salvaged screens, arcade relics and home-computer history, logged on tape.

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The Case for Keeping Your Original Manuals

Otto Brennan 09-06-2026 10 Comments
Photo for The Case for Keeping Your Original Manuals

Every manual we have is scanned, but we keep the originals too. Paper carries pencil notes, coffee rings and the occasional registration card nobody sent back.

What paper keeps

  • Owner notes in the margins of the BASIC chapter.
  • Printing errors that were corrected in later runs.
  • Inserts and errata slips that scans often skip.

The best thing in our archive is a pencil note that says “this bit does not work”.

Jonas Leclerc

Those details are history too, and they vanish the moment a scan is cropped to the printed edge.

OT
OTTO BRENNAN AUTHOR
Member since 2019 8 posts

Arcade restorer and JAMMA wiring pedant. Otto has rebuilt more cabinets than he can fit in his garage, which is saying something.

COMMENTS

10 REPLIES
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  1. PR
    PRIYA SANDOVAL 14-06-2026 @ 23:05 MEMBER

    Nice work. For anyone reading: the service manual is on page 14 of the archive scans.

  2. TA
    TAPE_WARDEN 15-06-2026 @ 23:23

    Nice work. For anyone reading: the service manual is on page 14 of the archive scans.

    1. NO
      NOOR AZIZ 19-06-2026 @ 01:18

      Agreed, and thanks for adding the page number.

      1. LE
        LENA VOSS 03-07-2026 @ 04:00

        Ha, we have all been there. The scar is educational.

  3. LO
    LOWRES_LARRY 18-06-2026 @ 21:29

    Would love a follow-up in six months to see how the recap holds up.

  4. DU
    DUSTY_JOYSTICK 22-06-2026 @ 19:41

    Great photos. The one of the chassis with the shield off is going on my wall.

  5. KA
    KARL FROM THE CLUB 23-06-2026 @ 20:45

    Honestly the composite version has a charm the RGB one lacks. Fight me.

  6. HU
    HUGO BRANDT 03-07-2026 @ 03:32

    This is exactly the write-up I needed before opening mine. Bookmarked.

  7. BE
    BETH ROWAN 03-07-2026 @ 21:09

    The scanline shot is gorgeous. What camera settings did you use to avoid the moire?

  8. VB
    VBLANK 04-07-2026 @ 13:43

    That colour bar test pattern is a nice touch. Makes the comparison easy to read.

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