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Archive for the ‘Retro Computers and other stuff…’ Category

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Commodore 16 ASSY 251789-01 REV B Empty PCB

July 24th, 2014 1 comment
Commodore 16 ASSY 251789-01 REV B Empty PCB

Gallery:

Commodore 16 ASSY 251789-01 REV B Empty PCB

Commodore VIC-20 ASSY 251040-01 Empty PCB

July 22nd, 2014 1 comment
Commodore VIC-20 ASSY 251040-01 Empty PCB

Gallery:

Commodore VIC-20 ASSY 251040-01 Empty PCB.

Commodore VIC-20 found in the garbage

July 7th, 2014 No comments
Commodore VIC-20 found in the garbage

I have to thank my friend Andrea S. for having warned me that he had seen a Commodore VIC-20 near the trash loot.

Short gallery:

Fujitsu FM Towns II PSU Repair

June 29th, 2014 6 comments
Fujitsu FM Towns II Repair

I start to saying how much i hate repairing psu switching, one of the most boring things second only to the repair of CRT Monitor, at least for me.

However this repair was made. The failure is almost certainly caused by a copious spillage of electrolyte (conductive fluid usually formed from a salt solution or acid which is located inside of the electrolytic capacitors) and a dangerous test if the machine works again after the electrolyte was leaking over the pcb.

The moral of the story is easy to figure out, a short circuit has made several deaths, a good portion of the Primary (PWM) and Secondary.

The components that have been replaced are the following:

  • 1 x Electrolytic Capacitor 3300µF 16v 105°
  • 1 x Electrolytic Capacitor 1000µF 25v 105°
  • 1 x Electrolytic Capacitor 2200µF 35v 105°
  • 1 x Electrolytic Capacitor 1000µF 100v 105°
  • 1 x Electrolytic Capacitor 330µF 160v 105°
  • 1 x Electrolytic Capacitor 47µF 25v 85°
  • 1 x Electrolytic Capacitor 10µF 100v 85°
  • 1 x Electrolytic Capacitor 22µF 25v 85°
  • 1 x Sanken Hybrid Voltage Reculator Module STR 53041
  • 1 x Photocoupler TLP 541G
  • 1 x Overcurrent Protection Elements ICP N10
  • 1 x Transistor C1815GR
  • 1 x Transistor DTC114 ESA (C114 ESA)

After 1 week i have decided to replace also all capacitors of the power supply section of the computer.

Components replaced:

  • 1 x Electrolytic Capacitor 3300µF 25v 105°
  • 3 x Electrolytic Capacitor 5600µF 10v 105°
  • 1 x Electrolytic Capacitor 2200µF 10v 105°
  • 1 x Electrolytic Capacitor 330µF 35v 105°
  • 1 x Electrolytic Capacitor 1000µF 16v 105°
  • 1 x Electrolytic Capacitor 470µF 25v 105°
  • 1 x Electrolytic Capacitor 1µF 50v 105°

Gallery of the repair:

Chinook Technology RAM 4000: All 4 banks filled

June 18th, 2014 No comments
Chinook Technology RAM 4000: All 4 banks filled

Chinook Technology RAM 4000: All 4 banks filled for a total of 4Mb.

Chinook Technology RAM 4000 for Apple IIgs

June 17th, 2014 No comments
Chinook Technology RAM 4000 for Apple IIgs

Gallery:

Apple IIgs Memory Expansion Card. This card has 4 memory banks with a total capacity up to 4Mb (only two banks is presently populated for a total of 2Mb).

The ram that are used for this expansion memory are DRAM HY51C1000LS-10/KM41C1000AP-10.

Unboxing & Testing R&D Automation CFFA3000 v1.0 Rev C

June 8th, 2014 No comments

R&D Automation CFFA3000 v1.0 Rev C Apple IIgs through the GBS 8200 v4

First of all, I must thank my dear friend Andrea for helping me financially to purchase this interface (one of the last pieces of the third batch).

Unboxing R&D Automation CFFA3000:

This is a CompactFlash / USB flash drive interface for Apple II family of computers.

Specifications:

  • Support 1 to 13 partitions under ProDOS and GS/OS, and 2 virtual floppy drives
  • Virtual Floppy image support allows the use of almost any non-copy-protected floppy disk image, including .dsk, .2mg, and .nib files. Note: .nib files of protected floppies will not work with the CFFA3000
  • Allows storage of thousands of floppy and smartport disk images
  • User configurable partition count
  • Boot from either device and any partition
  • Allow booting from Dos3.3, Pascal, CPM, Contiki, ProDOS or GS/OS directly from the Interface card (for a floppy-less system)
  • Configurable as a CFFA smart port controller (i.e. a mass storage device) or as a floppy controller, or both. When configured as both, requires 2 slots in your Apple II, one for the physical card, and one for the virtual floppy controller.
  • Hardware supports DMA, although v1.0 software does not currently support DMA. Future support is planned, but not guaranteed.

Apple IIgs through the GBS 8200 v4:

Apple IIgs through the GBS 8200 v4 (display scalar board) to a VGA Monitor.

The cable that i have made takes from the Video Connector of the Apple IIgs the 12v voltage for the GBS 8200.

Schematics:

Video Demostration of CFFA3000 through the GBS 8200:

source: CFFA3000 Homepage