A5000 - diving in at the deep end!

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rubber_jonnie
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Re: A5000 - diving in at the deep end!

Post by rubber_jonnie »

alexh wrote: 26 Feb 2023 15:02
rubber_jonnie wrote: 26 Feb 2023 12:52 The thought had crossed my mind, the main problem is finding a suitable pin.
Pin 4? It should still work with Pin 4 missing.
Pretty sure it's pin 8, plus that pin is what buzzes out back to the right switch on the mouse.
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stephen_usher
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Re: A5000 - diving in at the deep end!

Post by stephen_usher »

Apparently this is the pinout (socket view)

A400-mouse-cable-pinout-1.png
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Re: A5000 - diving in at the deep end!

Post by rubber_jonnie »

stephen_usher wrote: 26 Feb 2023 18:31 Apparently this is the pinout (socket view)


A400-mouse-cable-pinout-1.png
So it's pin 8 for sure.
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
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Re: A5000 - diving in at the deep end!

Post by alexh »

I know.

You asked "Where do I get a replacement for pin 8?" and I replied "pin 4".

Pin 4 is signal gnd. You steal pin 4 as a replacement for pin 8 and it would still work 100%
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Re: A5000 - diving in at the deep end!

Post by rubber_jonnie »

alexh wrote: 26 Feb 2023 21:10 I know.

You asked "Where do I get a replacement for pin 8?" and I replied "pin 4".

Pin 4 is signal gnd. You steal pin 4 as a replacement for pin 8 and it would still work 100%
Ahh, sorry, misunderstanding :)

I thought you meant it was pin 4 that was broken.

TBH I've been busy with other stuff this afternoon, and I have a replacement plug on the way anyway, not to mention missing the point completely :dizzy:
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
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Re: A5000 - diving in at the deep end!

Post by rubber_jonnie »

alexh wrote: 26 Feb 2023 21:10 I know.

You asked "Where do I get a replacement for pin 8?" and I replied "pin 4".

Pin 4 is signal gnd. You steal pin 4 as a replacement for pin 8 and it would still work 100%
I carefully removed the plastic shroud/strain relief and found this:

PXL_20230228_090220983.jpg

I'm hoping that the new plug will come soon, as this is soldered closed, and I'm guessing there may be potting compound in there too. I'll see what I can do to open it up, be nice to see where the individual wires go to rather than buzzing them out, but I guess we'll see. at least it's a nice long cable so I at least have some wiggle room when trimming.
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Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
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alexh
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Re: A5000 - diving in at the deep end!

Post by alexh »

They really didn't want that thing to be opened did they?
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Re: A5000 - diving in at the deep end!

Post by rubber_jonnie »

alexh wrote: 28 Feb 2023 10:14 They really didn't want that thing to be opened did they?
I got a little further, but nope is still the answer...

PXL_20230228_102557348.jpg

I'll just wait for the replacement plug to arrive.
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Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
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Re: A5000 - diving in at the deep end!

Post by stephen_usher »

Well, it just shows that it was well made and they tried to prevent all the possible failure modes, other than broken pin.
Intro retro computers since before they were retro...
ZX81->Spectrum->Memotech MTX->Sinclair QL->520STM->BBC Micro->TT030->PCs & Sun Workstations.
Added code to the MiNT kernel (still there the last time I checked) + put together MiNTOS.
Collection now with added Macs, Amigas, Suns and Acorns.
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: A5000 - diving in at the deep end!

Post by rubber_jonnie »

stephen_usher wrote: 28 Feb 2023 11:25 Well, it just shows that it was well made and they tried to prevent all the possible failure modes, other than broken pin.
Agreed, there really wasn't much that was going to break this plug other than a pin failure, or a wire breakage somewhere between the mouse and plug. Even dismantled to this level, it feels rock solid and I can't imagine the wires ever becoming disconnected from the pins.
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...

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