In episode 9 of More Fun Talking Retro, Andrew Hutchings—better known online as LinuxJedi—joins the conversation to talk about everything from Amiga repairs to microblogging, and why he keeps a Pixel 8 around just for workshop photos. If you’re curious about LinuxJedi Amiga repairs, you’ll want to hear this.
Andrew isn’t just a skilled hand with solder and diagnostics—he’s also a blogger, hardware tinkerer, and contributor to retro hardware projects like PiStorm. While he may shy away from the YouTube spotlight, his detailed blog posts at linuxjedi.co.uk have helped countless people through everything from Acorn A7000 restoration to programming vintage CPLDs with a Raspberry Pi. And yes, he writes those posts partly to help his future self remember how he fixed things the first time.
The episode covers everything from Andrew’s beginnings on the BBC Micro to how a fluke server recovery at a Welsh ISP earned him the “Linux Jedi” nickname. It’s a relaxed, workshop-style chat—complete with capacitor talk, favorite tools (he dual-wields soldering irons like it’s an ’80s action film), and insights into what it’s like keeping a backlog of Amiga 4000s, Spectrums, and Ataris humming again.
As for community tools? Andrew discusses his contributions to the PiStorm project, including diagnostics utilities like WCS Test, and how tools like the BackBit Chip Tester help speed up C64 repairs. He’s modest about his reach, but it’s clear that his work on platforms like retrosupplies.co.uk and GitHub is widely appreciated—even by folks like Terrible Fire and DEZ Test Max users.
This episode is as much about passion as it is technical detail. It’s two enthusiasts chatting over virtual workbenches, sharing soldering war stories, and celebrating how repair work—when shared—keeps retro hardware alive in both memory and function.
