atari stfm tos 1.4 order problem

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sirsull
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Joined: 05 Jan 2026 23:04

atari stfm tos 1.4 order problem

Post by sirsull »

hi all i am new hear and ordered the tos 1.4 eproms i received them today and started my mod de soldered all the holes to fit 4 sockets installed them then de soldered jumper pads started to install eproms and got to the last one low 2 and noticed after inspection one of the end legs was bent tried to straighten and it was hanging by a thread then tried to repair with a quick dab of solder on the back of the leg unfortunately it did not do the trick and had to fish it out of the socket i did do a bodge fix with a axial cap leg pressed in with a touch of solder was going to do a ram upgrade but closed it all up to see if it booted it dose but i get some graphics glitches after but not on every boot now i hate doing bodge fixes and not truly happy and i would like to ask every one how would i look at getting a replacement sent out i dont want to cause to much of a fuss for the owner of the site as i have read he is not to well with his rsi what is the proses to get the damaged chip replaced i can remove it and clean the solder would i need to send said chip first and await the new chip witch i dont mind as i would prefer everything to be working as should to add the 520 stfm the my collection or should i send him the vids and pics showing him everything and see what he says just need his email many thanks for reading from sir sull
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derkom
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Re: atari stfm tos 1.4 order problem

Post by derkom »

Is that all one sentence? :dizzy: :lol:
sirsull
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Re: atari stfm tos 1.4 order problem

Post by sirsull »

Sorry i have dyslexia and was to busy playing games and modifying consols to go to school lol
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: atari stfm tos 1.4 order problem

Post by rubber_jonnie »

OK, so first off testing the machine after the ROM upgrade but BEFORE the RAM upgrade was 100% the correct thing to do, that way you have just a single issue to troubleshoot.

Secondly, I have never had an issue with repairing a leg on an IC as you have described, so whilst annoying I'd suggest that it probably isn't an issue and the chip is likely good, especially since it's booting. It's probably not worth the hassle of sending something back and waiting for a replacement.

Just be sure that the replacement leg you've installed is pushed all the way into the socket before soldering. Alternatively you can take a leg from a dead IC and solder that onto the 'stump' to replace the leg. This works very well.

I'd suggest going over all your work with a magnifying glass or microscope to be 100% sure all of the soldering is good, re-flow if needed and also ensure you've fitted the missing decoupling capacitors as well, there should be one each for all of the 4 new sockets you've installed. The schematics seem to suggest .1uF (104) as the value you need for those.

I know people have successfully run machines without the decoupling capacitors but I always install them for completeness. I note that you haven't mentioned them in your original post.

If the issue remains once the caps are installed, you may want to try running YAART to test the RAM. Unless you have a diag cart, in which case you can test the RAM with that.
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...
sirsull
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Re: atari stfm tos 1.4 order problem

Post by sirsull »

Thanks very much for the reply and I did not add the caps I will definitely be doing that as I done it all from memory from a vid I watched 2 weeks ago so I will definitely check to see the right spec caps before I order them and I will get my microscope out to give all solder points a once over after I have done the caps I will try a boot after that and if everything is fine I will be happy if not I will remove the chip and do a better job on the leg repair thanks again very much appreciated I will post a update when I have got around to it
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: atari stfm tos 1.4 order problem

Post by rubber_jonnie »

sirsull wrote: 06 Jan 2026 12:44 Thanks very much for the reply and I did not add the caps I will definitely be doing that as I done it all from memory from a vid I watched 2 weeks ago so I will definitely check to see the right spec caps before I order them and I will get my microscope out to give all solder points a once over after I have done the caps I will try a boot after that and if everything is fine I will be happy if not I will remove the chip and do a better job on the leg repair thanks again very much appreciated I will post a update when I have got around to it
No problem :)
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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derkom
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Re: atari stfm tos 1.4 order problem

Post by derkom »

sirsull wrote: 05 Jan 2026 23:51 Sorry i have dyslexia and was to busy playing games and modifying consols to go to school lol
No worries, just having fun. I'm dyslexic myself so I feel your pain. :)
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Re: atari stfm tos 1.4 order problem

Post by Darklord »

I tend to get things bass ackwards occasionally myself. :lol:
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sirsull
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Re: atari stfm tos 1.4 order problem

Post by sirsull »

rubber_jonnie wrote: 06 Jan 2026 13:17
sirsull wrote: 06 Jan 2026 12:44 Thanks very much for the reply and I did not add the caps I will definitely be doing that as I done it all from memory from a vid I watched 2 weeks ago so I will definitely check to see the right spec caps before I order them and I will get my microscope out to give all solder points a once over after I have done the caps I will try a boot after that and if everything is fine I will be happy if not I will remove the chip and do a better job on the leg repair thanks again very much appreciated I will post a update when I have got around to it
No problem :)
just want to check i got the part right i found on ebay value (ceramic Disc Capacitor 100nf 50v) sorry i have been tinkering for years and never had to use a ceramic Disc Capacitor and always want to make sure the right part is fitted i am still a noobe but absolutely love modding maybe one day i might take a course on electronics
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: atari stfm tos 1.4 order problem

Post by rubber_jonnie »

sirsull wrote: 06 Jan 2026 19:23
rubber_jonnie wrote: 06 Jan 2026 13:17

No problem :)
just want to check i got the part right i found on ebay value (ceramic Disc Capacitor 100nf 50v) sorry i have been tinkering for years and never had to use a ceramic Disc Capacitor and always want to make sure the right part is fitted i am still a noobe but absolutely love modding maybe one day i might take a course on electronics
The schematics say .1uF and TBH I usually fit axial caps rather than disc, look at these on Exxos' store: RAM decoupling caps

Discs should be fine, I personally am a bit OCD so I like to fit what matches with what's already 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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