FM TOWNS hit RETRONATION!!!!

I just got two FM TOWNS UX20 PCs in, and both need some cleaning and testing. The good news is that they both power on.

The FM TOWNS UX20 is an all-in-one PC solution created by Fujitsu near the end of the FM TOWNS lifecycle. It is one of those machines that just looks cool sitting there. It has that weird “only Japan in the 90s would make this” energy, and I mean that in the best way possible.

That said, these units are old, and FM TOWNS machines can be a little spicy. More often than not, they may power on, but the built-in CRT monitor may not function properly. Usually, that means they need service like a recap, and sometimes the flyback transformer needs attention too.

They will still be listed for sale, but the descriptions will be very clear about what is working, what is not working, and what still needs repair. No mystery box nonsense. If something is wrong, I’ll say it.

I started getting into FM TOWNS PCs about two years ago. The design of the Model 2 is what really pulled me in at first. Then I saw the quality of the games running on the machine, and yeah, that pretty much sold me on the FM TOWNS line.

I love the CD setup on the Model 2, the placement of the volume control, and how easy it is to take apart for cleaning or adding memory. But the UX20 is the one I always wanted for my personal collection. The units are beautiful, they have a built-in full-color monitor, the CD drive is surprisingly quiet, and they are not insanely heavy, so moving them around is not a full-body gym workout.

The games on the system can look and sound incredible. A lot of them are basically arcade-perfect, or at least arcade-quality. The only real downside is that there just are not a ton of games for the platform compared to other systems.

I have had a few UX20 units come through before, but most of them needed new flybacks, recaps, or other monitor-related repair. And I’ll be honest here, dear reader: I am very bad at recap work. Like, “please do not hand me your prized motherboard and hope for a miracle” bad. So for me, a lot of the time these end up being sold as junk or repair units instead of fully restored machines.

I’m going to clean these up, test them properly, and then list them with full details in the item descriptions. Once I know exactly what is working and what is not, I’ll make sure it is all clearly noted.

As always, I would rather tell you the truth up front than make something sound better than it is. These are awesome machines, but they are also vintage computers, and vintage computers love drama.

Dean
Retronation Games