PAT Testing steps back in time at retro gaming centre
26 August 2016
When MRB Electrical & PAT Testing were asked through recommendation to carry out the "portable appliance testing" before a retro gaming centre could open in Rochester, inspection & testing engineer Martin Bruce was happy to oblige.
AllGen Gaming is a new start-up in Rochester High Street, realising the long ambition of owner Shane Clark, who has so far amassed a collection of over 100 Micro Computers and Games Consoles, from the Sinclair ZX80 and Atari 2600 of yesteryear to the more recent Playstation 4 from Sony, Microsoft's Xbox One and Nintendo's WiiU.Although receiving some machines by donation, Shane had mainly bought machines online from all over the world. Those in need of a bit of TLC or repair have been lovingly restored to their former working glory to bring the earliest of video and computer games to life once more.
Shane had also purchased lots of pre-flat screen CRT televisions to provide gamers with added authenticity.
MRB Electrical & PAT Testing’s Martin Bruce commented;
“I remember playing Pacman on an Atari 2600 with my mates during our school dinnertimes in the early 80’s at the old Bentalls store in Chatham where Argos is now, so doing the PAT Testing at AllGen was certainly a trip down memory lane for me. With such a diversity of appliances from the last 36 years, as well as transformers and IEC leads all requiring inspection and testing to ensure they were safe for continued use, it was surprising that only one power supply failed as far as insulation resistance and earth leakage tests were concerned”.
“Normally it is the cheap imported IEC leads and power supplies that fail most often these days when tested, hence the saying, ‘they don’t make ‘em like they used to’. Despite the number of years’ service a majority of this equipment has had, only a small handful of the original 3 pin plugs failed where there was no insulation on the live and neutral pins, but these were easily replaced”.
AllGen Gaming’s Shane Clark commented;
“AllGen Gaming is the culmination of a lot of hard work and at a crucial stage Martin was recommended to me by word of mouth as i knew i had to have my equipment tested to comply with various legislation. Martin took me though the whole process so there were no nasty surprises as far as the testing or cost were concerned. It is extremely gratifying to know that all my equipment is just as safe today as it was more than 35 years ago and I can’t wait to see it all being put to good use when we open”.
AllGen Gaming opens its’ doors Sunday 28th August when gaming enthusiasts of all ages can buy a pass for just £10 to play games all day from a library of thousands.
