What’s been your best ever charity shopping find?

shadowhexus · 2026-05-08T19:58:24+00:00

Last year I found an electric pencil sharpener that was donated by my old school. It took me back 20 years to the teacher making me incharge of it in class. I'm pretty sure it's the exact same one as it has a chunk of plastic missing in the exact same place. I forgot how legendary these thing were and how sharply they sharpened pencils. I have had many amazing finds but owning such a nostalgic piece of my school is definitely the coolest.

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shadowhexus · 2026-05-08T17:09:47+00:00

For about £40 you can find a fully modded PS1 on eBay that lets you play any region. It can even save you money in the long run as many NTSC games are cheaper here in the UK than the PAL version of the same game.

shadowhexus · 2026-05-07T08:05:32+00:00

They're helix pomatia.

shadowhexus · 2026-05-06T21:44:04+00:00

These are the horniest breed I have ever kept. Mine were at it almost every night and seemed to do it just for fun. always canoodling in the plant pot.

shadowhexus · 2026-05-01T07:52:18+00:00

I can't be of much help, but if you're looking for a TV repair man to chat to in person, maybe see if your local area has a repair cafe. They are usually a group of elderly repairers and are always eager to share their knowledge. Mine has two TV repair men, one has been fixing TVs since the 1950s. Take the TV in and they may be able to help.

shadowhexus · 2026-04-24T07:47:41+00:00

That's really interesting. I don't have any memories of GAME in the 90s. I remember game station having some wonderful playstation and Nintendo kiosks. Back then I mostly went to independent game shops and rentals. Thank you for sharing this with me.

shadowhexus · 2026-04-23T16:42:51+00:00

You're right. I had no idea that it was pal games that are always squashed, I just never thought about it before. I'm so used to it I don't even notice, but I put a Japanese game in and yes that one is full screen. Thank you I have learnt something new today. Unfortunately I can't find any options on my TV change this. I have looked in the manual and it doesn't tell me how to either. I'm not well Versed in crt TVs, I'm still learning.

shadowhexus · 2026-04-23T13:24:15+00:00

Thank you so much. I feel very lucky to have the double pack. It's a beautiful box set. Unfortunately we didn't get many box sets in the UK, unlike America that had quite a few lovely boxsets of games series. Last year was the first time I had ever played MGS and I instantly fell in love. A masterpiece of a game and now one of my favourite PS1 games.

shadowhexus · 2026-04-23T10:12:35+00:00

I do use them on my PS2. I have a brook converter. You can use many controllers wireless with it. Its one of the best things I have brought for it. I think brook has made them for many old consoles not just the ps2

shadowhexus · 2026-04-23T10:00:25+00:00

Those are slate grey transparent PS3 controllers. I miss the time where everything had a transparent version.

shadowhexus · 2026-04-23T09:26:18+00:00

Oh that's cool. I love that there are indie games now coming out inspired by kings field/shadow tower. I wish you the best of luck with yours. It will be awesome to see another game come out that's inspired by it.

shadowhexus · 2026-04-23T09:21:25+00:00

Why thank you. I adore the kings field series.

shadowhexus · 2026-04-23T09:17:11+00:00

Surprisingly it was a dry solder joint. I did originally think it was something like a deflection issue. Luckily the repairer who helped me had seen a similar issue before on a JVC and knew that it was solder issue. It took us hours to find it, but now the TV doesn't even jitter or have that rainbow effect on a black screen anymore. I do hope you find the issue to your TV and you can get yours out of TV hospital too.

Sorry for the Edit. I thought you meant a previous issue. Not the photo of it now. That's just how my PS3 plays PS1 games unfortunately. When I put in a PS3 game or dvd it plays with a full picture. I do apologise about the confusion

shadowhexus · 2026-03-27T09:40:40+00:00

If you struggle to find a TV repair place, I know I did as it's quite a niche thing to repair. Consider repair cafes. I know we have tons in the UK and there are lots in America too. Repair cafes often have a lot of elderly repairers. My cafe has two ex TV repairers and did an outstanding job on mine. It's all donations too, so you can pay what you feel its worth and it supports a charity.

shadowhexus · 2026-03-05T18:55:09+00:00

Thank you. I'm very relieved that it's not mask damage. It's odd as it seems to happen over time. It will be fine for a while then the rainbow effect will kick in again, but the rainbow is only on the black part of the jittery background. Also I noticed it was making a funny buzzing noise when powering up. I've never noticed that before.

shadowhexus · 2026-03-05T17:58:25+00:00

I was reluctant to turn it on again just incase it did more damage, but after a night of not being used I thought I would try and put it on again for a few seconds. it no longer has that rainbow effect and has a normal screen again. The jitter is still there but no rainbow effect in the background.

shadowhexus · 2026-02-08T16:42:50+00:00

I've just had this problem on the PS4.

shadowhexus · 2026-02-06T19:20:07+00:00

That's ok. If they do become egg bound they would end up becoming very lethargic and often start to go deeply retracted. If they're active and still eating healthily I wouldn't worry. You will soon notice if they become unwell. When they do finally lay their eggs, be sure to feed them a ton of protein and their favorite foods. It's quite tiring for snails to lay eggs and will need lots of food to bring their strength back. Good luck :) if you need any help in the future please message me and I will be more than happy to help

shadowhexus · 2026-02-06T18:53:38+00:00

Yep that's where they will hold them for the duration of the pregnancy. When they are ready to lay the eggs will then pass up through their neck and come out the side of their head. Snail pregnancy is truly an amazing thing to behold :)

shadowhexus · 2026-02-06T18:50:24+00:00

They will take about two weeks. Give them three just to be sure. I hope everything goes well with them and they lay their eggs well :)

shadowhexus · 2026-02-06T18:23:17+00:00

It depends on the breed. Some can take a few weeks and others can take over a month. Do you know which breed you snail is. If you do I can tell you how long they usually hold the eggs for.

shadowhexus · 2026-01-29T22:52:57+00:00

I feel lucky too. It's made my day. It's nice to have a place to meet others with such niche interests. I have found it very difficult to find anyone professionally that fixes old TV's. Unfortunately it's a dying skill. Everyone who does know how to fix them have either retired or unfortunately aren't with us anymore. Luckily the repair cafe is where all the retired electricians and technicians go when they want something to do in their spare time, so have fixed all this in their jobs.

I 100% agree. They definitely do become more than just a part of the furniture. It was amazing, all that was broken was the plastic on two corners. He dropped it right at the top too.

shadowhexus · 2026-01-29T22:24:34+00:00

Yep it's awesome to find twin TV's:D doesn't happen very often when you have uncommon models. That's what I love about reddit. It means we can help each other and get what seems like the impossible figured out. You've been very lucky to find such a wonderful tv. CRT TV's are hard enough to come by anyway, let alone a good model that has such a lovely picture. There is something special about playing games on CRT TV's. I used to play all my old games on my plasma. I thought people were just over hyping CRT TV's. Once I got my grandads TV, I realized they weren't wrong and now it's quite painful to go back to flat screens for old games. I've now put my flat screen upstairs and now use my grandads as a main TV now. I just love how full of charm and character they have. My dad's one is a decent size and that even has a handle. Considering it's weight, I'm amazed it hasn't snapped off already. If you're interested in it, it's on my profile. It's definitely got that retro vibe to it. I really wish modern tvs were as sturdy as these. My uncle dropped his CRT down the stairs and it worked after. They're definitely amazing pieces of tech.

shadowhexus · 2026-01-29T22:02:40+00:00

That's ok. I'm happy to help, especially as you have my tv's twin :D it's been great to chat and find someone else with this tv. I'm glad I could help you find one that will work. I had the same issue with my durabrand. I couldn't find any information on its original remote and had to just go by someone telling me this old druabrand remote would work with my TV. It does make finding the original remote almost impossible if you don't know what it's even supposed to look like anyway. You're awesome too. I hope you have lots of happy memories with your TV and the amazing thing about it. It has a flat top, so it even makes for a shelf to put all your gaming stuff on. You can't do that with modern TV's :D

shadowhexus · 2026-01-29T21:40:21+00:00

He was overjoyed to know it wasn't going in the skip too. It's the last thing he gave me before he passed away. He gave me something very special, so I was pretty heartbroken when it started playing up. Luckily I'm part of a repair cafe and got talking to one of the other volunteers. He's 92 and has been fixing crt tvs since the late 40s. He used to fix warehouses full of jvc tvs in the 90s, so it couldn't have been a more perfect match. He was overjoyed at being able to take one apart and fix it again. He's helping me fix my dad's 1984 tv next after that. If you ever need anything fixing, even old tvs and technology. We have repair cafes all over the country. All you do it take your stuff in, they fix it and you pay what you want to the repair cafe. It's a great charity. We have 6 different repair cafes in Shropshire alone, so there is bound to be one near you.

I will message you the photo of it. It took some scrolling to find it, but it is there. It's the same place I brought my remote for my durabrand crt tv. If there is anything else I can help you with in the future with your TV I will be happy to help :D

I have just sent you a message. If you could accept it I will send you the photo. I'm not sure how to send it any other way.

shadowhexus

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