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A Grand Day Out

Blogs & guides and tales of woo by forum members.
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: A Grand Day Out

Post by rubber_jonnie »

Well, that was a pleasant surprise. The PLA and MMU just appeared via the postie, which I wasn't expecting since I only got the eBay email saying they were dispatched this morning!!

So the desolder gun is warming up and we'll get this old one swapped out :)

Could be a good day as the PAL <=> NTSC adapter for the OSI should be here later on, and possibly the SD card cassette for the MZ-700 too :)
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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PhilC
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Re: A Grand Day Out

Post by PhilC »

@rubber_jonnie should be a fun and productive day for you
If it ain't broke, test it to Destruction.
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: A Grand Day Out

Post by rubber_jonnie »

PhilC wrote: Sat Feb 17, 2024 11:48 am @rubber_jonnie should be a fun and productive day for you
Nice quick change thanks to the desoldering gun:

IMG20240217114112.jpg
IMG20240217114112.jpg (407.11 KiB) Viewed 951 times
IMG20240217115435.jpg
IMG20240217115435.jpg (324.91 KiB) Viewed 951 times

Or as some YouTubers like to call it, 'The Moo Gun'.

Very glad I got a replacement gun for my base unit, it works really well and cleared the holes so well I just needed a tiny bit of heat on one pin to get the old PLA out.

Turns out the PLA isn't at fault though, or the MMU. I've swapped both and whilst I can still get into C64 mode using the boot time keypress, C128 mode is just not happy, with a blank screen most of the time, and neither run the diag carts anymore. Or any carts for that matter.

I swapped the PLA and MMU back to the old ones and it's just the same, and I can't shake the feeling that handling the board made it worse, so could it be a mechanical issue like a dry joint?

I'll come back to it later and probably Electrolube all the sockets that I haven't yet done and give the underside a really close look.

Right now though, I need to walk the dog :)
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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PhilC
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Re: A Grand Day Out

Post by PhilC »

@rubber_jonnie swap out the single wipe socket of the mmu. I bet it’s that as I’ve seen that behaviour before.
If it ain't broke, test it to Destruction.
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: A Grand Day Out

Post by rubber_jonnie »

PhilC wrote: Sat Feb 17, 2024 12:39 pm @rubber_jonnie swap out the single wipe socket of the mmu. I bet it’s that as I’ve seen that behaviour before.
Hmm, I thought it was a double wipe, but I'll check later, thanks.
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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PhilC
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Re: A Grand Day Out

Post by PhilC »

My whole board was a single wipe, hopefully you’re luckier.
If it ain't broke, test it to Destruction.
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stephen_usher
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Re: A Grand Day Out

Post by stephen_usher »

I hope it's a simple fix. I guess that there's a whole load of buzzing out traces in your future.
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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PhilC
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Re: A Grand Day Out

Post by PhilC »

stephen_usher wrote: Sat Feb 17, 2024 1:29 pm I hope it's a simple fix. I guess that there's a whole load of buzzing out traces in your future.
Me too, it looked to be a simple fix when I sold it.

Particularly troublesome chips I found on those C128 boards were the 74LS 06, 08. 257.& 244s

I can give you a few tips if needed but without the MMU doing its thing you won’t get much else
If it ain't broke, test it to Destruction.
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: A Grand Day Out

Post by rubber_jonnie »

PhilC wrote: Sat Feb 17, 2024 1:40 pm
stephen_usher wrote: Sat Feb 17, 2024 1:29 pm I hope it's a simple fix. I guess that there's a whole load of buzzing out traces in your future.
Me too, it looked to be a simple fix when I sold it.

Particularly troublesome chips I found on those C128 boards were the 74LS 06, 08. 257.& 244s

I can give you a few tips if needed but without the MMU doing its thing you won’t get much else
Honestly, I don't mind as I knew it wasn't 100%, and I enjoy the fault finding side of things.

I'll start by looking at all the sockets and see how they're doing, take it from there.
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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stephen_usher
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Re: A Grand Day Out

Post by stephen_usher »

244s are always iffy. :-)
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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