Today I received.....
Re: Today I received.....
A pair of bionic legs then?
Re: Today I received.....

- Lardo Boffin
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Re: Today I received.....
Will find out tonight if they work!
Pity the manual is missing from Exile.
I’m not sure what came in the SS big box version of Elite?
Edit - both working!
Pity the manual is missing from Exile.
I’m not sure what came in the SS big box version of Elite?
Edit - both working!
Last edited by Lardo Boffin on Fri Jun 08, 2018 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
BBC model B 32k issue 4, 16k sideways RAM, Watford 12 ROM board, Acorn 6502 coproc
BBC model B 32k issue 7, turboMMC, Opus Challenger 3 512k, Pi 3 coproc
USA Model B
BBC Master, Datacentre + HDD, pi co-proc, econet
BBC model B 32k issue 7, turboMMC, Opus Challenger 3 512k, Pi 3 coproc
USA Model B
BBC Master, Datacentre + HDD, pi co-proc, econet
Re: Today I received.....
I have these two book in the BBC micro versions, same publisher date. Be interesting to see if I can play spot the difference, other than the cover.
- flaxcottage
- Posts: 3401
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Re: Today I received.....
Managed to get my hands on a Plotmate A4 plotter. Yippee! I have always wanted one of these.
I have tested it without a pen attached and it appears to be fully working. I do love that warm, musty, old electronics smell.
Now the challenge will be to source a suitable pen. I know BITD I used sellotape around a biro. I'll also need the software for this, especially the ROM, but that is for another thread.
I have tested it without a pen attached and it appears to be fully working. I do love that warm, musty, old electronics smell.

Now the challenge will be to source a suitable pen. I know BITD I used sellotape around a biro. I'll also need the software for this, especially the ROM, but that is for another thread.
- 1024MAK
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Re: Today I received.....
My Q68 arrived today
Thanks Derek
Mark

Thanks Derek



Mark
For a "Complete BBC Games Archive" visit www.bbcmicro.co.uk NOW!
BeebWiki - for answers to many questions...
Logic Levels for 5V TTL Systems
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BeebWiki - for answers to many questions...
Logic Levels for 5V TTL Systems
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Re: Today I received.....
Hi Mark,
The only thing missing is a Q68 logo on front of case.
I tried to get 8mm letters 1mm thick. But not being successful.
I did do a 3D model in FreeCad of the Front Plate with raised logo letters. But no 3D printer to test it out.
The only thing missing is a Q68 logo on front of case.
I tried to get 8mm letters 1mm thick. But not being successful.
I did do a 3D model in FreeCad of the Front Plate with raised logo letters. But no 3D printer to test it out.
Regards,
Derek
Derek
- 1024MAK
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Re: Today I received.....
A kit of PCBs and parts for the Acorn Master and Electron cartridge breakout err, 'system'
Mark
Thank you fizzyade 


Mark
For a "Complete BBC Games Archive" visit www.bbcmicro.co.uk NOW!
BeebWiki - for answers to many questions...
Logic Levels for 5V TTL Systems
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Logic Levels for 5V TTL Systems
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- marcusjambler
- Posts: 522
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Re: Today I received.....
A few hidden gems in a cheap Beeb off tinterweb
- 1024MAK
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Re: Today I received.....
I presume the keyboard fits okay when EPROMs are installed all along the bottom row?
If so, nice design
And a nice find
Mark
If so, nice design

And a nice find

Mark
For a "Complete BBC Games Archive" visit www.bbcmicro.co.uk NOW!
BeebWiki - for answers to many questions...
Logic Levels for 5V TTL Systems
Fault finding index
BeebWiki - for answers to many questions...
Logic Levels for 5V TTL Systems
Fault finding index
Re: Today I received.....
A jiffy bag of capacitors, allowing me to bring this sorry looking Pentium 3 motherboard back to life after 10yrs in the loft. Amazingly it now works, although I also had to swap out the PSU which is similarly affected (smaller bag of capacitors now on order). This will form the basis for a Windows 98 system, giving me access to some old games that Windows 10 doesn't like, and the programs from my university masters, which were written in Microsoft QBasic
Before: After:

Before: After:
Re: Today I received.....
Have you tried Dfend reloaded? Loads of games in there running in DOSBox and works fine on 10.Andy1979 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 19, 2018 4:13 pmA jiffy bag of capacitors, allowing me to bring this sorry looking Pentium 3 motherboard back to life after 10yrs in the loft. Amazingly it now works, although I also had to swap out the PSU which is similarly affected (smaller bag of capacitors now on order). This will form the basis for a Windows 98 system, giving me access to some old games that Windows 10 doesn't like, and the programs from my university masters, which were written in Microsoft QBasic![]()
Before:IMG_5570.JPG
After:IMG_5578.JPG

Jon


Re: Today I received.....
A new from old stock Olivetti Prodest 128S, the italian remake of Master Compact tried by Olivetti.
With new warranty ready to fill with my name...
With new warranty ready to fill with my name...

Re: Today I received.....
Wow - good work 

Re: Today I received.....
Thanks danielj, but no work at all, i will leave this in the box as i bought it! for the dirty jobs, i will use one of my other pc128s, wich is filled with turbommc, videonula, mouse adapter, ecc. ecc...

but about working... the A4000 in the background got a lot of my time.. bought on the bay last week with battery damage and floppy and drive not working... now it has a ps2 mouse and keyboard, new battery and repaired tracks for a working gotek floppy! Waiting for the right cf card for final testing
Re: Today I received.....
At the weekend BigEd, Revaldinho and myself visited the Frome Radio Rally.
I had rather low expectations, so was very pleasantly surprised to pick up this animal: It's a crazily fast scope, sold by HP and the Agilent between 1998 and 2001: It was pretty cheap because it has a minor fault with offset calibration on channels 1 and 2. But that doesn't stop it being very useful. Heaven knows what an 8 GSa/s scope would cost, even today.
Here's it measuring it's own calibration signal, an edge with a 350ps rise time. Here's the data sheet: Oh, and thanks to the internet it now has the latest software and voice control
Dave
I had rather low expectations, so was very pleasantly surprised to pick up this animal: It's a crazily fast scope, sold by HP and the Agilent between 1998 and 2001: It was pretty cheap because it has a minor fault with offset calibration on channels 1 and 2. But that doesn't stop it being very useful. Heaven knows what an 8 GSa/s scope would cost, even today.
Here's it measuring it's own calibration signal, an edge with a 350ps rise time. Here's the data sheet: Oh, and thanks to the internet it now has the latest software and voice control

Dave
Last edited by hoglet on Wed Jun 20, 2018 10:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Today I received.....
Nice find!
- flaxcottage
- Posts: 3401
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- Lardo Boffin
- Posts: 1377
- Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2015 6:47 am
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Re: Today I received.....
An Atari 520STFM! Also the mouse, leads and some games.
Is there anything I need to check before switching this on? No sources of magic smoke etc.?
Is there anything I need to check before switching this on? No sources of magic smoke etc.?
BBC model B 32k issue 4, 16k sideways RAM, Watford 12 ROM board, Acorn 6502 coproc
BBC model B 32k issue 7, turboMMC, Opus Challenger 3 512k, Pi 3 coproc
USA Model B
BBC Master, Datacentre + HDD, pi co-proc, econet
BBC model B 32k issue 7, turboMMC, Opus Challenger 3 512k, Pi 3 coproc
USA Model B
BBC Master, Datacentre + HDD, pi co-proc, econet
Re: Today I received.....
Somewhat surprisingly, there have been times where a 100MHz scope wasn't quite good enough. Optimising PiTubeDirect is a good example, where each GPU clock cycle saved in critical code shifts the read data timing by 2.5ns.
Dave
- 1024MAK
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Re: Today I received.....
Magic smoke, not normally, no.Lardo Boffin wrote: ↑Wed Jun 20, 2018 12:19 pmAn Atari 520STFM! Also the mouse, leads and some games.
Is there anything I need to check before switching this on? No sources of magic smoke etc.?
Typical faults are:-
- Faulty PSU on/off switch, non-functional or crackles when operated (either clean the contacts or replace)
- Dry joints on some of the components on the PSU PCB (resolder)
- Crashes, picture disturbance, floppy disk operation erratic (life expired capacitors in the PSU - renew capacitors)
- Faulty reset switch means machine does not start up (spray with a solvent cleaner if it's just gunk, if it's fallen apart, renew)
- As with any machine with socketed chips, a loose chip will cause various problems (reseat chips)
- And then there are the normal floppy disk drive faults... (although keep in mind the original 520STFM machines were supplied with a single sided drive)
- Often the mouse and joystick 9 pin D-connectors on the keyboard PCB will need resoldering due to dry or broken solder joints.
- The mouse rollers and ball will need cleaning, there may be a internal break in the mouse cable.
For a "Complete BBC Games Archive" visit www.bbcmicro.co.uk NOW!
BeebWiki - for answers to many questions...
Logic Levels for 5V TTL Systems
Fault finding index
BeebWiki - for answers to many questions...
Logic Levels for 5V TTL Systems
Fault finding index
Re: Today I received.....
I know what you mean. On my external Tube 6502 2nd processor prototype I had a memory issue (a setup time violation) must have been a few hundred ps out. No chance seeing this on a 100Mhz (hacked) Rigol 1054z 4ns resolution (4 channels active) you just can't see +-250ps!
Re: Today I received.....
Oh yeah, those STFM mouse / joystick connectors under the keyboard. What a poor design.
Last edited by jonb on Wed Jun 20, 2018 3:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Today I received.....
You really want to know?
...
OK then, it was £3.00 to get in.
Last edited by hoglet on Wed Jun 20, 2018 3:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Lardo Boffin
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Re: Today I received.....
Thanks Mark. Doesn’t sound like anything likely to kill it, cause it to explode or set the smoke alarms off then! I will switch it on and see what is what.1024MAK wrote: ↑Wed Jun 20, 2018 2:39 pmMagic smoke, not normally, no.Lardo Boffin wrote: ↑Wed Jun 20, 2018 12:19 pmAn Atari 520STFM! Also the mouse, leads and some games.
Is there anything I need to check before switching this on? No sources of magic smoke etc.?
Typical faults are:-Mark
- Faulty PSU on/off switch, non-functional or crackles....
BBC model B 32k issue 4, 16k sideways RAM, Watford 12 ROM board, Acorn 6502 coproc
BBC model B 32k issue 7, turboMMC, Opus Challenger 3 512k, Pi 3 coproc
USA Model B
BBC Master, Datacentre + HDD, pi co-proc, econet
BBC model B 32k issue 7, turboMMC, Opus Challenger 3 512k, Pi 3 coproc
USA Model B
BBC Master, Datacentre + HDD, pi co-proc, econet
- Lardo Boffin
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Re: Today I received.....
From what I can see they used to be where the disc drive ended up being put when they started fitting them internally. Shame they didn’t put a but more effort into finding a better home for them.
BBC model B 32k issue 4, 16k sideways RAM, Watford 12 ROM board, Acorn 6502 coproc
BBC model B 32k issue 7, turboMMC, Opus Challenger 3 512k, Pi 3 coproc
USA Model B
BBC Master, Datacentre + HDD, pi co-proc, econet
BBC model B 32k issue 7, turboMMC, Opus Challenger 3 512k, Pi 3 coproc
USA Model B
BBC Master, Datacentre + HDD, pi co-proc, econet
- 1024MAK
- Posts: 8277
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Re: Today I received.....
The original Atari ST (without internal PSU, modulator or disk drive) was in a case that was considerably smaller. The mouse / joystick ports were on the side of that model.Lardo Boffin wrote: ↑Wed Jun 20, 2018 7:07 pmFrom what I can see they used to be where the disc drive ended up being put when they started fitting them internally. Shame they didn’t put a but more effort into finding a better home for them.
On the STF, STFM and STE models, the mouse and joystick ports are actually scanned by the intelligent keyboard micro-controller. So in some ways, it's logical that the connectors are soldered to the keyboard PCB.
The normal work around back in the day, was to buy 9 pin D connector extender leads

Normal D connectors need a bit of bending of the metal tabs, but if your eBay foo is good, you can find long joystick/controller leads (search for "Extension cable for SEGA controller"). Then if too long, you can cut it in half and fit a normal male D plug on the end

Mark
Last edited by 1024MAK on Wed Jun 20, 2018 9:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
For a "Complete BBC Games Archive" visit www.bbcmicro.co.uk NOW!
BeebWiki - for answers to many questions...
Logic Levels for 5V TTL Systems
Fault finding index
BeebWiki - for answers to many questions...
Logic Levels for 5V TTL Systems
Fault finding index
- Lardo Boffin
- Posts: 1377
- Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2015 6:47 am
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Re: Today I received.....
Well sadly it is doa. When I switch it on nothing happens and neither of the leds come on, nor does the disc try to spin. I have cycled the switch a good few times but to no avail.
Having taken the lid off, the rf shield (of which there is a lot) runs under the PSU at the back so presumbly the PSU has to come off first. The tear down videos I have found so far seem to just skip the shielding removal...
I don’t touch the 240V side of things so I will have to send it off to be looked at I think. The fuse is ok on the PSU and none of the capacitors look to have leaked or have bulges.
Given that I can’t remove the shielding I can’t reseat ROMs but I suspect that if the leds don’t come it may not be getting that far anyway.
Having taken the lid off, the rf shield (of which there is a lot) runs under the PSU at the back so presumbly the PSU has to come off first. The tear down videos I have found so far seem to just skip the shielding removal...
I don’t touch the 240V side of things so I will have to send it off to be looked at I think. The fuse is ok on the PSU and none of the capacitors look to have leaked or have bulges.
Given that I can’t remove the shielding I can’t reseat ROMs but I suspect that if the leds don’t come it may not be getting that far anyway.
BBC model B 32k issue 4, 16k sideways RAM, Watford 12 ROM board, Acorn 6502 coproc
BBC model B 32k issue 7, turboMMC, Opus Challenger 3 512k, Pi 3 coproc
USA Model B
BBC Master, Datacentre + HDD, pi co-proc, econet
BBC model B 32k issue 7, turboMMC, Opus Challenger 3 512k, Pi 3 coproc
USA Model B
BBC Master, Datacentre + HDD, pi co-proc, econet
Re: Today I received.....
Check the voltages coming out of the PSU. And the fuse in the plug.
don't fret the mains stuff, just don't touch it whilst it's on, and use a screwdriver with a nice rubber handle to discharge the mains caps after you turn it off...
