The Southampton three

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rubber_jonnie
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The Southampton three

Post by rubber_jonnie »

As per my previous post, I recently acquired 3 new machines from @mrbombermillzy earlier in the week, namely:
  1. Atari 800XL
  2. TI99/4A
  3. Archimedes A5000
First off the 800XL. Pretty much all this needed was a clean, and overall it has come up very nicely and is on a par with my other 800XL, though they have slightly different keyboards.

Once cleaned up, I ran the obligatory Atari self test to ensure the keyboard was all good, and it was. That was followed up by a run through using SysCheck:

PXL_20220520_144349729.jpg
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PXL_20220520_144340189.jpg
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As you can see, all tests passed ok, so I gave it a quick run up with a game from my SDRIVE_MAX and all was fine and dandy. Happy days, my 4th A8 now, so the 600XL, 2x800XL and the 65XE :)

Next up was the Texas TI99/4a. Of all the machines in this group, this was the one I really wanted. I have a vivid memory of going to a store in Liverpool called George Henry Lee, and sat next to each other were the TI99/4a, all chrome and black and smart, next to the Atari 800XL. We were there to take back my 600XL, as it was just not very reliable, And the sexy looking TI drew me in, but it was just too expensive, plus I already had some A8 accessories. I came home with the 800XL and was really happy with it. I'm not sure that would have been the case with the TI.

Fast forward to now, and one of the reasons I wanted a TI was because of that day in the shop, and finally I have a TI on my workbench.

This also didn't need much obvious attention and is overall in very good order, the black plastic of the case coming up lovely with the plastic wipes usually used for the car:

PXL_20220520_112115542.jpg
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What gave me a laugh was the PSU, which is pretty much just a transformer, with all the heavy lifting done using the TI's internal PSU board. It's weird because there is quite a complex PCB, but it's completely unpopulated:

PXL_20220520_112918975.jpg
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Finally I plugged it all in and the picture is not great:

PXL_20220520_140410553.jpg
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It may just be my modern TV does not like it much, so I will probably pull out my old beaten up CRT TV, see if I can get a better picture. There are also mods to make the modulator work better with modern TVs. The main thing is though, it works, as do the MunchMan and TI Extended Basic cartridges, which is great. The TI also outputs component video, so I think it should be a breeze to wire up a new cable for a decent picture, and my TV in the retro room does have a component input which isn't currently in use, plus I could also feed it via my OSSC and use that to convert the component to HDMI.


Also, the modulator is HUGE!!!

PXL_20220520_132129783.jpg
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The Atari 2600 cart is there for scale ( didn't have a banana for scale). Like the VIC-20 modulator, it's huge and horrible, and I don't really want to use it, so will figure out some sort of alternate cable.

But what about the Achie you ask.

Well, that's going to be a tale in a separate thread, because currently it isn't powering up and has some battery leakage damage that needs repairing, and I'm still assessing that. It looks mostly like the RTC Ic and surrounding area bore the brunt of the leak, as a bunch of pads just lifted off when I desoldered it, and there are some very fine tracks that are no longer conductive!!

I'm also going to need a mouse ball!! I hadn't looked closely at the mouse, it was all in a box, but I found what looked like toffee coming out of the ball hole!!

PXL_20220520_171036466.jpg
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Yep that is a mouse ball I'm holding, well most of it!!

This is not something I've ever seem before so I need to see if I have any mice with suitable sized balls!!

So you've guessed it, the Archie is going to get a repair thread all of its own :)
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: The Southampton three

Post by stephen_usher »

Ah, typical A5000 damage then. You need to read everything in the Stardot forums about rescuing them. You'll also need a "post box".

A lot of the critical circuitry goes next to the battery and the traces are almost not there to begin with. You'll probably have a rat's nest of bodge wires before you'll get anything working from other's experiences.
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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exxos
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Re: The Southampton three

Post by exxos »

rubber_jonnie wrote: Fri May 20, 2022 6:34 pm Yep that is a mouse ball I'm holding, well most of it!!

This is not something I've ever seem before so I need to see if I have any mice with suitable sized balls!!
:shock: :shock: :shock:
Definitely no good when your balls start to crumble! I guess that is a age thing. At least Atari balls stood up to the test of time, so they got something right I guess :lol:
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viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1585 Have you done the Mandatory Fixes ?
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Re: The Southampton three

Post by stephen_usher »

Looks like that Acorn mouse ball was actually an old gobstopper.
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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rubber_jonnie
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Re: The Southampton three

Post by rubber_jonnie »

stephen_usher wrote: Fri May 20, 2022 9:14 pm Ah, typical A5000 damage then. You need to read everything in the Stardot forums about rescuing them. You'll also need a "post box".

A lot of the critical circuitry goes next to the battery and the traces are almost not there to begin with. You'll probably have a rat's nest of bodge wires before you'll get anything working from other's experiences.
Already started a thread on Stardot, but there is a PLCC socket in the vicinity that has to come out too, it's very badly corroded and I need to see what, if any, damage is underneath.

The traces are very similar to my ALT-386, very fine and easily corroded, and like you say, almost not there to begin with.
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: The Southampton three

Post by rubber_jonnie »

stephen_usher wrote: Fri May 20, 2022 9:33 pm Looks like that Acorn mouse ball was actually an old gobstopper.
I was thinking toffee, but gobstopper works 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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rubber_jonnie
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Re: The Southampton three

Post by rubber_jonnie »

exxos wrote: Fri May 20, 2022 9:30 pm
rubber_jonnie wrote: Fri May 20, 2022 6:34 pm Yep that is a mouse ball I'm holding, well most of it!!

This is not something I've ever seem before so I need to see if I have any mice with suitable sized balls!!
:shock: :shock: :shock:
Definitely no good when your balls start to crumble! I guess that is a age thing. At least Atari balls stood up to the test of time, so they got something right I guess :lol:
I have no problem with my Atari balls, or Apple either, and a few 3rd party seem fine.
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: The Southampton three

Post by rubber_jonnie »

Once again, Cool Novelties has come up trumps!

A component cable is on the way for the TI99/4a, so once I can get a FinalGROM 99 I'll have a neat setup :)
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: The Southampton three

Post by stephen_usher »

I'm surprised that the output from your modulator is poor as the one which came with the TI99/4A I generated a pretty good picture on the telly:


IMG_2619.jpg
IMG_2619.jpg (209.7 KiB) Viewed 1294 times

I also notice that the power supply brick you have is HUGE relative to the one I had. Still, yours is a later model, maybe that's why.
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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alexh
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Re: The Southampton three

Post by alexh »

Looking forward to seeing the Acorn A5000 repair thread.

The most knowledgeable person for repairing A5000's (that I know of) is Ian Jeffray over at stardot.org.uk. He's fixed 10s of them since I started looking into it. If you get stuck he can help with suggestions, even sell you a PostBox, a device which connects to the A5000 [edit] dedicated POST header and interprets the messages sent via RiscOS boot process. Help narrow in on what is wrong.

I myself have an Acorn A5000 Alpha (33MHz) sitting on my desk waiting to be repaired.

https://stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopic ... 16&t=22332
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