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After nearly a year, the PCB Ident tool is now out of beta testing and is finally being released to the public.

Link to the tool is here: PCB Ident

The tool is based around a vision AI model that has been trained in-house over several months to detect components on arcade PCBs. The sytem detects and classifies these components, builds a layout / map of the PCB, and compares it to other known PCB layouts to identify the board. Here’s an example of what this looks like in practice.

We are just shy of 600 known arcade PCBs that the system can identify. We need a lot more submissions to improve the tool. I am asking for volunteers to submit any pictures of boards that have kicking around. There is more value in submitting less common boards, but in the end all submissions are welcome. It doesn’t even matter if the board has already been submitted or not. Duplicating boards strengthens identification, and later this information will be used to build a better and faster system.

For those interested, the link to the training guide is here: PCB Training Tutorial

As always, thank you for your support!

— pcbjunkie

A plugin i used for uploading ROMs into the tool got updated, and with the update came a “security feature” that randomized the uploaded filename to a point where it couldn’t even be used. Rolled my own admittedly less impressive upload form and we’re back in business.

The tool is here: ROM Ident

Nobody reported this which was interesting and slightly depressing. This is, in my opinion, the best and fastest arcade ROM indentification tool out on the interwebs, so at least there is that. 🙂

Link to PCB Ident

I spend the last 6 months or so writing an arcade PCB indentification system that can identify boards from photos. The idea is to upload an image for identification and have the system identify your board from just that. Easier said than done…

The system detects individual components, and creates a layout of the board. It then compares that with all other known layouts in its database to identfy the PCB. Boards with similar layouts will also be returned, which can identify variants, bootlegs and games that use similar hardware. The following image provides some visualizations that will help illustrate how the system works.

The system needs to know about every board in order for it to identify them, so I have provided a way for people to submit their own photos of boards to train the system. Instructions on how to do that on can be found on PCBIdent’s landing page.

Up until August 29 of 2025, the US allowed for up to $800 of goods to be shipped into the country without tarrifs or duties. This “de minimis” exemption allowed foreign small business owners, such as myself, to ship products directly to customers with very little difficulty, usually without any customs interference.

On August 29 however, a Trump administration executive order cancelled the de minimis exemption, which now applies tariffs and duties to products from all countries, regardless of value.

As of this date, Canada Post, who I use exclusively to ship to the US, requires that duties and tariffs of additional 34% + processing fee be prepaid at the time of shipping. The tariff payment system is managed by a separate company, it is very new, barely works and the integration with the shipper and my stores in non existent.

Other shippers have similar issues, so there is no viable alternative.

For that reason, I am suspending shipping to the US for the time being. I’m going to explore a few options and wait until the dust settles before resuming. Hopefully the US and Canada goverments can come to a mutual understanding and get this resolved soon. In my opinion, free trade (not just in name) should be the goal for both countries.

For those outside of the US, there is no impact to you. Feel free to order as usual.

Sorry for the bad news, understandingly this is inconvenient and frustrating to everyone involved. Thank you all for your continued support.

CanadaPost went on strike again as of Friday May 23. This was clearly coming. The issues from the last strike were never resolved and employees were just forced to return to work by the federal government.

This strike is much different that the last one. This time around, at least for now… deliveries are being processed but no overtime work is being done. This means that there are going to be inevitable delays, although I haven’t yet seen any serious impacts to delivery times.

Please consider this when placing your orders. CanadaPost is the only viable choice in my area. Couriers like UPS and Fedex exist but the prices are up to 500% more for a similar CanadaPost shipment, and low cost alternatives service only the big metropolitan regions.

I’ll make updates here as the situation develops. As always, thank you for your patience.

Made an hdmi_timings calculator for custom medium resolution video modes.

Use this to get your PJ adapter to output medium resolution graphics or for other arcade hacks involving the Rasperry Pi. If you don’t know what this is, your most likely don’t need it.

The tool is here:

Medium Resolution Arcade Monitor Calculator

The Etsy store has been set to “on vacation” mode for the last while. I’m considering stopping it altogether though.

While I like the idea of Etsy and think that the community of small makers fits the type of work I’m doing here, the company does not care to support the community. They make it more difficult to list and sell products, and their fees are some of the highest out there. It’s not what those small sellers need the most when building their brand.

Etsy charges a high fee for “marketing”, and it seems that a large percentage of my stuff sells through their ads which triggers the marketing surcharge. That is all fine, but my annual Etsy sales are a small fraction of what my other e-stores do without marketing, and the average fees have been around double. Last year for example the fees, taxes and marketing ended up being about 25% of total gross sales, compared to Ebay’s 13% or so.

The last straw was asking to constantly provide documentation in order to satisfy legal requirements in overseas markets that I do not want to be selling to.

I’d rather not maintain a 3rd e-store, sell less and pass the savings onto you guys.

CanadaPost went on strike as of Friday Nov 15. Packages are no longer being moved, so everything in the system so far is stuck in its present location. If you have ordered from me just before the week of Nov 11, please accept my apologies. Your stuff will be delayed. There is nothing I can do about this at the moment.

There are no other viable shipping options in my area. There is UPS and Fedex but the prices are 3x-5x for a similar CanadaPost shipment.

My solution right now is to cross the border into the US and send with USPS. Normally this would be no big deal, but as a small business I have follow commercial procedures. This requires a manifest and import forms to be filled out, and the crossing must be done as a commercial vehicle, which could mean waiting in line for hours with the rest of the trucks. In addition there are commercial fees which I’m really trying to avoid. I can only do this once a week at most.

So… Please hold off on ordering if you expect to get your items fast. If you don’t mind waiting a week or more, go ahead and order. Normally these strikes don’t last this long but the last one in 2019 I think, lasted about 4-5 weeks.

I created and posted a new arcade PCB ROM Identification tool. This may just be the best and fastest web based ROM Ident tool out there? You be the judge!

This one allows you to submit multiple ROM files at once, search by using CRC values instead of file contents, and to navigate through all the compatible romsets and hardware to explore potential board cloning options.

ROM Ident Tool

Current database contains:

• 145.5 K ROM entries
• 44.8 K ROM Set / Machine entries

I will be updating the database periodically.

Sean S was kind enough to share with us a 3d printed case that he designed for the Arcade Montor Tester. The link to the design files and more pics can be found at the following link:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6801254

This is just a simple frame and backing plate that snaps in place around the tester PCB and prevents it from scratching your surfaces and shorting out the battery. It fits great with the minimalist philosophy for this tester. Very nice indeed!

The link to the video tester project page is here in case you want more information on these devices.