exxos's Atari, Amiga & retro forum

HigashiJun wrote: 09 Oct 2026 10:39 Glad you have sorted it out !

Me too!

Nicely done.

I think I swapped the CPU in mine as well as the oscillator when I was having problems. Guess I fixed it by accident then :lol:

PhilC wrote: 09 Oct 2026 10:46 Nicely done.

I think I swapped the CPU in mine as well as the oscillator when I was having problems. Guess I fixed it by accident then :lol:

Maybe, who knows as long as it works :)

Coincidentally the FDD board now works:


The disk I have in does boot but gives an error and drops me to BASIC where if I hit F1 the loader then works and I can boot happily to the loader and pick games to boot and run.

Big leap forward but will the case fit ok with a socketed CPU? Did yours or did you not use a socket?

@rubber_jonnie I always fit sockets, so I would have to presume it did as I didn't really notice.

PhilC wrote: 09 Oct 2026 11:21 @rubber_jonnie I always fit sockets, so I would have to presume it did as I didn't really notice.

Cool thanks.

rubber_jonnie wrote: 09 Oct 2026 10:41 Oh, and I also found this near pin 3 of the CPU on the underside:


PXL_20261009_090725517.MACRO_FOCUS.jpg


Which explains the bodge wire on the topside going from pin 3 to the ROM port. I'll fix that later.

That almost looks like a PCB manufacturing fault.

With respect to the CPU, if you swap it for a Z80B you can change the crystal and run at 6MHz.

That's a good tip @stephen_usher I take it there will be game issues though?

PhilC wrote: 09 Oct 2026 12:53 That's a good tip @stephen_usher I take it there will be game issues though?

Not really, as far as I'm aware. The system was designed to run at 6MHz by the developers from the looks of things as the chipset detects the faster clock rate and adjusts timings appropriately.

stephen_usher wrote: 09 Oct 2026 12:47
That almost looks like a PCB manufacturing fault.

I decided to put the bodge wire back as tracing the track along the PCB there was another similar blank space at the other end. On the off chance it was deliberate I just restored it as is.

Whilst it looks like a manufacturing error it not 100% clear.

stephen_usher wrote: 09 Oct 2026 12:47 With respect to the CPU, if you swap it for a Z80B you can change the crystal and run at 6MHz.

Yes I have seen that, and thought I could at some future point use one of my clock boards and a switch to allow for alternate frequencies.

stephen_usher wrote: 09 Oct 2026 13:01

PhilC wrote: 09 Oct 2026 12:53 That's a good tip @stephen_usher I take it there will be game issues though?

Not really, as far as I'm aware. The system was designed to run at 6MHz by the developers from the looks of things as the chipset detects the faster clock rate and adjusts timings appropriately.

Hmm good to know.