Stuff and Things.

Blogs & guides and tales of woo by forum members.
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by rubber_jonnie »

Bit of a break this last weekend, hence not a lot of posts going on.

Had a nice trip to the seaside though :)

seaside.jpg
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Even had a paddle in the sea.

Better get back to my basic troubleshooting articles though!!
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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rubber_jonnie
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Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by rubber_jonnie »

Very pleased with my £10.99 microphone arm, pressed into action as my retractable bench microscope :)

Microscope_2.jpg
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And yes the image on the scope is a real one, for the money I really can't complain as the microscope was only about £30 itself.
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...
Tomswork
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Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by Tomswork »

Could you post the links to your scope and mount. Does the scope have video out ?.

Hows the mac classic going

Tom
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by rubber_jonnie »

Tomswork wrote: Mon Aug 24, 2020 4:51 am Could you post the links to your scope and mount. Does the scope have video out ?.

Hows the mac classic going

Tom
The microscope I bought no longer has a link, but if you search for: 1000X Magnification 4.3"LCD Display Portable 720P Digital Microscope With Holder

You'll find the same sort of thing.

This is the arm I used: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00 ... UTF8&psc=1

The microphone clip is flexible enough that you can open it up and the 'scope will drop all the way in.

The scope has a USB connection that allows it to be charged, but if you power on it can be viewed on a PC with something like Amcap.

The Mac is still pending, I'm waiting for some dead logic boards from Germany to practise on!
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...
Tomswork
Posts: 775
Joined: Fri Nov 22, 2019 10:05 pm

Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by Tomswork »

@rubber_jonnie

Thank you for the info. I had a idea of making an extention cable up with a video mixer on it for mac with the 14pin connector on them so the board can be left out of the mac to test it just need little pcb cad help


Tom
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by rubber_jonnie »

Tomswork wrote: Mon Aug 24, 2020 3:31 pm @rubber_jonnie

Thank you for the info. I had a idea of making an extention cable up with a video mixer on it for mac with the 14pin connector on them so the board can be left out of the mac to test it just need little pcb cad help


Tom
No problem, it's a good way to get around the shortcomings of the 'scope. Admittedly because of the movement of my workbench I do get some wobble, but it settles down quick and I expect I could dampen it down by adding some weight.

Yeah, the Macs truly are a fiddle to power up with the board out, i have my analog board loose but connected now and can just about manage it with the screen lying on its side. Could really use an extender. Hopefully my spare boards will arrive soon and I can see what works best for soldering on a socket.
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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rubber_jonnie
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Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by rubber_jonnie »

@Tomswork FYI I received a slightly dead Mac Classic mainboard today, so have all my parts now and will make a start on the next phase of the repairs.

I'm reasonably confident the analog board is good, So I just need to solder on the new socket, and I at least have spare chips on the other board. I'll be interested to see if the spare I received does anything, though it is in quite bad condition from the Maxell bomb and subsequent corrosion.
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...
Tomswork
Posts: 775
Joined: Fri Nov 22, 2019 10:05 pm

Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by Tomswork »

@rubber_jonnie

Those batteries are the worst things. Then add the capacitors. I have some boards here that need recaping but I have a different problem
20200822_231725.jpg
20200822_231725.jpg (218.28 KiB) Viewed 2948 times
The crt has no phosphor in the center but it works

Tom
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by rubber_jonnie »

@Tomswork Wow, that has to be the worst phosphor I've ever seen!!
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...
Tomswork
Posts: 775
Joined: Fri Nov 22, 2019 10:05 pm

Re: Stuff and Things.

Post by Tomswork »

@rubber_jonnie

I'm working on the power video cable for the 14pin molex Mac.

I think this will work for the video
unnamed.jpg
unnamed.jpg (14.83 KiB) Viewed 2928 times
This should work for the cable

Tom
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