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Re: ACORN A5000 inbound

Posted: 23 Nov 2023 04:20
by HigashiJun
Ok, so here is what yesterday's repair look like:

RTC.JPG

Will have to scratch the epoxy residue and maybe trim the pad a bit.

74HCT245T.JPG

This one is ready for soldering.


The RTC chip should be delivered tomorrow, and as I already have the 2 74HCT245T buffers, solder session should begin soon.

:lol:

Re: ACORN A5000 inbound

Posted: 23 Nov 2023 09:20
by rubber_jonnie
Very nice pad repairs, much neater than mine, though it looks like yours had the battery removed good and early and damage was minimal.

As @alexh mentioned, my FPU socket had damage underneath, but since the FPU is so expensive I opted to not repair mine, but it is in a position where it can be quite quickly if I change my mind.

As far as I can ascertain, the FPUs are stupidly expensive, so you may not bother with one anyway.

Re: ACORN A5000 inbound

Posted: 23 Nov 2023 11:25
by HigashiJun
@rubber_jonnie

Thanks !

If I could find a FPU, I guess I would take it whatever the price...

But first, I want to be sure the A5000 can be resurrected and I hope it will ! 8-)

As you mentioned it, the damage caused by the battery seems minimal (compared to what I had in my A3000) and the board looks quite good.

I also cleaned today the inside of the case, the floppy drive and the external fascia.

Everything looks much more better now, despite the visible yellowing and other scratches.

Re: ACORN A5000 inbound

Posted: 23 Nov 2023 11:40
by alexh
HigashiJun wrote: 23 Nov 2023 11:25 If I could find a FPU, I guess I would take it whatever the price...
It would seem you're not the only one

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276152013920

Travel back in time to 1995 and get us each one will you? (£57.58)

https://www.4corn.co.uk/articles/websit ... pgrad.html

Re: ACORN A5000 inbound

Posted: 23 Nov 2023 11:47
by HigashiJun
@alexh

Yeah, I've seen that auction...

£500 (plus shipping fees) is a tad to much to my "whatever the price" statement.

:lol:

Re: ACORN A5000 inbound

Posted: 23 Nov 2023 11:49
by HigashiJun
alexh wrote: 23 Nov 2023 11:40 Travel back in time to 1995 and get us each one will you? (£57.58)

https://www.4corn.co.uk/articles/websit ... pgrad.html
I wish I could, and not only for the FPU...

Re: ACORN A5000 inbound

Posted: 23 Nov 2023 11:50
by rubber_jonnie
HigashiJun wrote: 23 Nov 2023 11:47 @alexh

Yeah, I've seen that auction...

£500 (plus shipping fees) is a tad to much to my "whatever the price" statement.

:lol:
I would definitely baulk at that price...

As for time travel, not today :dizzy:

Re: ACORN A5000 inbound

Posted: 23 Nov 2023 11:51
by HigashiJun
:lol:

Re: ACORN A5000 inbound

Posted: 24 Nov 2023 12:45
by HigashiJun
Received the RTC chip today, but instead of the planned soldering session, it was rather a de-soldering session:

Mobo.JPG

IDE and FDD connectors are removed.

Close-up.JPG

You can see some suspicious traces, but not as much as expected.

Connectors.JPG

I wanted to keep the original connectors, but of course one pin had to break off... :evil:

I have to fit a spare one, but it's not quite identical to the broken one.

As always, more work than initially expected.

Re: ACORN A5000 inbound

Posted: 24 Nov 2023 13:19
by alexh
Definitely the right thing to do. I've looked at lots of photos of A5000 repairs in preparation to do mine and every one has rot under those connectors even if the pins are not green.