Javatari is a new cross platform Atari 2600 emulator designed for the Web.

It’s great for displaying games running inside webpages. You can launch the emulator and load ROMs with a single link. And now you can play Atari 2600 games with touch controls on your Android/iOS device, even when offline!

New in Version 4.0:

• Support for mobile iOS and Android devices
• Finally enjoy Atari 2600 games on your iPhone/iPad!
• Customizable Touch Controls, with Haptic feedback
• Install as a WebApp on iOS/Android/Desktop, then run offline!
• Open files from local storage, iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, web links
• Higher resolution GUI for high-density displays, Retina displays
• Menu navigation by keys. Easy GUI switches for most used options

Features:

• Cross platform HTML5/JS. Runs in any Browser, tested in Chrome/Firefox/Safari
• Finally enjoy Atari 2600 games on your iPhone/iPad
• Customizable Touch Controls for mobile devices (iOS, Android)
• Real Atari 2600 Console panel for a nostalgic feel!
• Install as a WebApp, then run offline
• Put Atari 2600 games in webpages easily
• Show games running with a single link to the Javatari page
• Drag & Drop system for loading files
• Savestates support. Export and share Savestate files
• Fully customizable Joysticks, Joykeys and Touch controllers
• Adjustable speed, Pause and Frame-by-frame advance
• Screen Capture and Debug modes
• Resizable Screen, Full Screen mode
• Javascript API for loading ROMs and Console control

Download: Javatari.js v4.0.1 (1138)

source: javatari.org

Repair Commodore 64 (ASSY 250407) 1 of 6

Asserted defect:

• Sometimes works, sometimes not, check solder.

Fix:

I state now that this Commodore 64 has been socketed.

The work done is not bad but was better clean up the remaining flux around the pcb pads, the eye wants its part.

The defect occurred twice on 55 switching on and off (i counted them)

In one of these two times i have noticed the problem that was missing the CPU Output Clock on the solder side pad. I redid the solder and fixed the socket pin and everything worked again.

I also noticed that one of the eight RAM it was warmer than the other, but working, i have decided to replace it. I don’t exclude that this operation has only fixed one of the problems, the other might to be the power supply that i don’t have.

I have twisted several times the PCB on itself, i dropped down at least 10 times on the table and leave power on for four hours, now i  can exclude solder problems.

In the photos you will see a PLA 906114 (U17) that for some bizarre reason have solder it on the socket, really curious.

Gallery of the repair:

Repair Commodore 64 (ASSY 250425) 2 of 6

Asserted defect:

• Black Screen.

Defects found:

• Missing the Composite Video Signal.
• Black Screen.
• Missing Audio.

Repair:

• Replaced 1 x MOS 8701 Clock Generator (U31)
• Replaced and Socketed 1 x MOS 906114 PLA (U17)
• Replaced 1 x MOS 6581 SID (U18)

Gallery of the repair:

Repair Commodore 64 (ASSY 250407) 3 of 6

Asserted defect:

• Black Screen.

Defects found:

• Black/Garbage Screen.

Repair:

• Replaced and Socketed 1 x MOS 906114 PLA (U17)

Gallery of the repair:

Read more…

The ‘Ultimate II+’ is a storage solution for your Commodore C64/C128(D) home computer or in stand-alone mode for C16/Plus4/VIC-20 and so on.

This cartridge implements a ‘real’ 1541 Diskdrive for Commodore computers and with a simple press on one of the buttons, a menu will pop-up on the Commodore screen, allowing the user to view the USB storage content, and ‘mount’ .d64 or .g64 images into the Floppy Drive.

These are the most important differences from the previous version of the cartridge (1541 Ultimate-II)

• No more MicroSD! (… that needs to be pushed in with something sharp, could fall into the case, … etc)
• More USB ports (… one to compensate for the lost SD, and just one bonus: 3 in total)
• IEC connector moved (… further back to facilitate use on some C128 models)
• Integrated Ethernet (… no more need for an external USB2LAN adapter, and a smaller step to CS8900A compatibility)
• Dual Flash (… no more worry that a software bug or upgrade failure leads to a bricked device)
• Integrated Speaker (… who connects a speaker set to the audio jack for hearing drive sounds??)
• External power supply connector with auto-switch over circuit (… for stand alone mode, and to lower the demand on the power supply of the C64)
• Improved Audio (… audio codec, 24 bit/96 kHz*, for sampled sounds and SID emulation)
• Improved Tape connector (… no more custom board and able that snaps in on the bottom, but standard USB 3.0 cable)
• Improved power supply circuits (… for some reason they seemed to break down relatively often)
• Slightly bigger and faster FPGA, as to control the new features.

Gallery:

source: 1541ultimate.net facebook.com

Apple Computer 1, also known later as the Apple I, or Apple-1, was released by the Apple Computer Company (now Apple Inc.) in 1976. It was designed and hand-built by Steve Wozniak. Wozniak’s friend Steve Jobs had the idea of selling the computer.

The Apple I was Apple’s first product, and to finance its creation, Jobs sold his only means of transportation, a VW Microbus, and Wozniak sold his HP-65 calculator for $500. It was demonstrated in July 1976 at the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto, California.

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Apple 1 (Mimeo / Mike Willegal Clone) Assembled for a friend of mine; Paolo Cognetti.

Many thanks for the Technical & Moral support to: Piero Todorovich and Alessandro Polito.
I also thank for some electronic components: Gabriele Molesto Zaverio of Museo Dell’informatica Funzionante, Piero Todorovich.

I had several problems with this Apple 1 clone, i very briefly describe the problems below and i attach some photos of the assembling stages.

• 1 – No video image, all voltages are ok.
• 1 + MPS3704 Transistor failure replaced with a 2N3704 pinout not compatible.

• 2 – Garbage screen during boot.
• 2 + Replaced 2 of 7 Shift Register 2504V

• 3 – Keyboard inputs not working, the WOZ monitor is freezed and shows an “@ \” but the “\” does not wrap.
• 3 + Replaced a 27k resistor half broken, probably during transport the capacitor has crushed the resistor.

• 4 – The keyboard does not respond correctly, typing A they print @, typing 1 they print 0 … and so on …
• 4 + Keyboard adapter from Apple II/+ to Apple 1 in short circuit. A wire is skewered in a pin of a Socket.

• 5 – The computer does not respond correctly, but it seems to work. The WOZ monitor responds to commands but does not write to memory and print random locations.
• 5 + Replaced a 7410 which had a pin always at high level.

• 6 – The keyboard has several problems, some switches are completly dead.
• 6 + Replaced switches.

Photos of the assembling stages:

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Video:

…from the author website:

Since the end of 2015, it became clear that the “good old” 1541 Ultimate-II was at the end of its life cycle. Xilinx, the manufacturer of the most important chip of the cartridge, had started to increase the prices of the chip. Also the memory chip started to be harder to get and at higher cost. When the news came that the company that made the black plastic cases for the 1541 Ultimate-II had lost the injection mold tool, it became evident that the 1541 Ultimate-II would be no more.

I have given it some thought. What would be the best way to continue with this project? When the feelings of being upset about the lost injection tool had subsided, I realized that this may be the perfect moment for an upgrade. This is when set backs change into opportunity.

Since then, a lot of work, and I really mean A LOT OF WORK has been done to create a successor: the “Ultimate-II+”.  Why not “III”, you may ask or think. Well, the foremost reason is the software. The install base of the “1541 Ultimate-II” is rather large (>3000 units), and I do not want to let my customers down that have just purchased a unit. This means that in case of new hardware, the same software should run on both the new board, as well as on the older board. So, the new board will offer similar functionality. You could see it just as an upgrade, not an entirely new product.

Although the “Ultimate-II+” is similar, there are also differences:

• No more MicroSD!  (… that needs to be pushed in with something sharp, could fall into the case, … etc)
• More USB ports (… one to compensate for the lost SD, and just one bonus: 3 in total)
• IEC connector moved (… further back to facilitate use on some C128 models)
• Integrated Ethernet (… no more need for an external USB2LAN adapter, and a smaller step to CS8900A compatibility)
• Dual Flash (… no more worry that a software bug or upgrade failure leads to a bricked device)
• Integrated Speaker (… who connects a speaker set to the audio jack for hearing drive sounds??)
• External power supply connector with auto-switch over circuit (… for stand alone mode, and to lower the demand on the power supply of the C64)
• Improved Audio (… audio codec, 24 bit/96 kHz*, for sampled sounds and SID emulation)
• Improved Tape connector (… no more custom board and able that snaps in on the bottom, but standard USB 3.0 cable)
• Improved power supply circuits (… for some reason they seemed to break down relatively often)
• Slightly bigger and faster FPGA, as to control the new features

source: 1541ultimate.net

In the Commodore Pets and CBMs, ROM expansion area is available in empty sockets on the main logic board. These sockets are addressed as 4K byte blocks and are used by many of the software packages available for Pet and CBM!.

These include the Commodore Word Processors, the BPI business package, VISICALC from Personal Software, Inc., Rabbit from Eastern House Software, BASIC Programmers TOOLKIT from Palo Alto ICs, Sort from Matric Software, Inc., and many others.

Several of these ROMs are to be installed in the same ROM socket within the Pet. Spacemaker II is a utility device which allows switching of up to four ROMs into any socket from a single board. Since Spacemaker II is jumper programmable for each of its four ROM sockets.

ROM type may be different for each socket. Switching can be done with a side mounted switch or via ROM DRIVER, an accessory device which allows software and keyboard control of ROM selection.

Spacemaker II is also available for changing character sets with Math or Foreign language ROMs available from West River Electronics.

Gallery:

Download: MicroTech - SpaceMaker II Manual (1014)

The KIM-1, short for Keyboard Input Monitor, was a small 6502-based single-board computer developed and produced by MOS Technology, Inc. and launched in 1976. It was very successful in that period, due to its low price (following from the inexpensive 6502) and easy-access expandability.

The KIM-1 consisted of a single printed circuit board with all the components on one side. It included three main ICs; the MCS6502 CPU, and two MCS6530 Peripheral Interface/Memory Devices. Each MCS6530 comprises a mask programmable 1024 x 8 ROM, a 64 x 8 RAM, two 8 bit bi-directional ports, and a programmable interval timer. The KIM-1 brochure said “1 K BYTE RAM” but it actually had 1152 bytes. The memory was composed of eight 6102 static RAMs(1024 x 1 bits) and the two 64 byte RAMs of the MCS6530s. In the 1970s memory sizes were expressed in several ways. Semiconductor manufacturers would use a precise memory size such as 2048 by 8 and sometimes state the number of bits (16384). Mini and mainframe computers had various memory widths (8 bits to over 36 bits) so manufacturers would use the term “words”, such as 4K words. The early hobbyist computer advertisements would use both “words” and “bytes”. It was common to see “4096 words”, “4K (4096) words” and “4 K bytes”. The term KB was unused or very uncommon. The KIM-1 was introduced in the April 1976 issue of Byte magazine and the advertisement stated “1 K BYTE RAM” and “2048 ROM BYTES”.

Also included were six 7-segment LEDs (similar to those on a pocket calculator) and a 24-key calculator-type keypad. Many of the pins of the I/O portions of the 6530s were connected to two connectors on the edge of the board, where they could be used as a serial system for driving a Teletype Model 33 ASR and paper tape reader/punch).

One of these connectors also doubled as the power supply connector, and included analog lines that could be attached to a cassette tape recorder.

Earlier microcomputer systems such as the MITS Altair used a series of switches on the front of the machine to enter data. In order to do anything useful, the user had to enter a small program known as the “bootstrap loader” into the machine using these switches, a process known as booting. Once loaded, the loader would be used to load a larger program off a storage device like a paper tape reader. It would often take upwards of five minutes to load the tiny program into memory, and a single error while flipping the switches meant that the bootstrap loader would crash the machine. This could render some of the bootstrap code garbled, in which case the programmer had to reenter the whole thing and start all over again.

The KIM-1 included a somewhat more complex built-in Terminal Interface Monitor software called TIM that was “contained in 2048 bytes of ROM in two 6530 ROM/RAM/IO arrays”. This monitor software included the ability to run a cassette tape for storage, drive the LED display, and run the keypad. As soon as the power was turned on, the monitor would run and the user could immediately start interacting with the machine via the keypad. The KIM-1 was one of the first single-board computers, needing only an external power supply to enable its use as a stand-alone experimental computer. This fact, plus the relatively low cost of getting started, made it quite popular with hobbyists through the late 1970s.

Gallery:

Download: Commodore-MOS KIM-1 Docs (1096)

 source: wikipedia

Click to view original size

I have repaired last year these computers for a dear friend.

Commodore 64 #1

Defect:

• Black Screen.

Replaced parts:

• Replaced 4 x 4264 RAM (U9,U10,U11,U12)

Commodore 64 #2

Defect:

• Out of Memory.
• Expansion Port (Cartridge) don’t works.

Replaced parts:

• Replaced 3 x 4264 RAM (U12,U24,U22)
• PCB track interrupted of the expansion port (A5 Address Line). Fixed with a bridge.

Commodore 64 #3

Defect:

• Garbled screen and then Out of Memory.

Replaced parts:

• Replaced 4 x 4264 RAM (U24,U12)
• Replaced 1 x 74LS257 Data Selectors/Multiplexers (U13)

Commodore 64 #4

Defect:

• Black Screen and then Out of Memory.
• No Sound.

Replaced parts:

• Replaced 2 x 4264 RAM (U9,U10)
• Replaced 1 x 74LS257 Data Selectors/Multiplexers (U25)
• Replaced 1 x 6581 SID (U18)

Read more…

CBM prg Studio Version 3.2.1 is released. There are a lot of new features in this version. I’d really appreciate it if you report any bugs you find or have any suggestions/comments.

CBM prg Studio allows you to type a BASIC or Machine Code program in using a nice Windows environment and convert it to a ‘.prg’ file which you can run on an emulator, or even a real C64 / VIC20 or PET if you’re feeling brave and have the right kit.

CBM prg Studio is the result of merging C64PrgGen and VIC20PrgGen. Adding new features and fixing bugs in two apps which were 95% similar was a bit of a nightmare so merging them made sense.

It was also a good opportunity for a face lift and to add some new features, such as:

• Programs are project based, meaning all related source files, sprite files etc. are kept in one place and multiple source files can be linked more easily.
• Tabbed MDI.
• Syntax highlighting.

What CBM prg Studio isn’t is a front-end for tok64, cbmcnvrt, bastext or any other tokeniser / detokeniser / assembler. It’s all been written completely from scratch.

New features:

• Screen designer speed up.
• Speed up of switching/adding/opening files and projects.

Bug Fixed:

• Assembler:
  • Duplicate labels not detected in projects.
  • SYS call always created at start of file.
  • Build order not correct.
  • Assembly dump showing both parts of the code within conditional assembly statements.
  • Code reformatting issues.
  • Negative numbers in BYTE and WORD sequences not assembled properly.
  • Numbers in strings in BYTE sequences not assembled properly.
  • Numbers in TEXT sequences not assembled properly.
  • Arithmetic in WORD sequences not assembled properly.

• General:
  • Sprite Designer grid glitches.
  • Exception thrown when generating .prg with the output window closed.
  • Code indent/outdent/comment/uncomment would add extra carriage return.
  • Code comment/uncomment would add extra REM statements.
  • Problem adding existing files to a project.

Download: CBM prg Studio v3.2.1 (1088)

source: ajordison.co.uk

Hi all, like one year ago Manosoft amazes us again, this time he did a great job of merging the ITS TAP Player module with the C64SD and from this merger comes the Princess, an interface with both previously released interfaces.
The Princess interface is elegant as only Manosoft can do, the box color has changed and is a white sand that matches perfectly with the whole 8-bit Commodore Home Computer series.

In addition to the color were also added new controls and visual led. Below the instructions of each command on the front/back side of the Princess interface.

Front side:

• [1] Play/Stop switch for TAP file.
• [2] Reset button.
• [3] Disc Change button. (down/autoswap.lst)
• [4] LED:
  • Yellow – Virtual Motor of the Tape.
  • White – Reading.
  • Red – General Error.
  • Green – Power.
• [5] Floppy Drive Connector (IEC) Computer side.
• [6] Connector Cassette side Computer
• [7] Auxiliary Power 9v.

Back side:

• [1] SD Card slot.
• [2] Red Button – Setpoint tap file / (up/autoswap.lst)
• [3] Dip Switch for selecting the Floppy drive Device (SD2IEC).
• [4] Audio volume (monitor function) TAP Player.
• [5] Mini DIN 8-pin connector to be connected to the tape port of the Commodore 264 series.
• [6] Auxiliary Power 9v.
• [7] Pass-through Floppy Drive Connector (IEC)
• [8] Pass-through Tape connector to use with a Datasette 1530 or 1531 with a another adapter.

Like the previous C64SD v2.0 interface, the Princess has a pass-through connector for the cassette recorder and one for the Floppy Disk Drive.

I don’t forget to speak about the nice addition, a small Piezo Speaker to hear the sound of the bytes that are loaded with the TAP Player and also a nice “beep” that warn if the interface on power up working correctly.

Damiano alias “Manosoft” is a good manufacturer of 8 Bit peripherals and also a great friend. I take the opportunity of this article to greet Damiano and congratulate for this new interface for the 8-bit Commodore Home Computer series.

Soon will be available on the Manosoft website two new software packages (C64 and AIO)

“AIO” is an innovative system that will allow the creation of the SD Card of 4GB or higher in a few minutes from an image file created ad hoc.

On the Commodore 64 side was also written a new program called “MENU” with some utilities like the initialization of the SD Card for the Princess C64SD v3.0 interface.

The development of the TAP Player firmware with the SD2IEC protocol has been made possible thanks to the collaboration of Hawui1 promoter and developer of the ITS Module and some other things.

The Princess C64SD v3.0 interface will be available for sale in the next months on the Manosoft site.

Princess C64SD v3.0 Video Preview:

Gallery:

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This is a disk interface system made by Micro Peripherals Ltd which was later badged by Sinclair as their “official” disc system.

It used its own software (written by Richard Miller) and did not conform to the QJump “FLP” system used by most companies at the time (it used the name FDK to access the disk drives). The fact that the device name was not “FLP” put a lot of users off. The unit does not support direct sector access.

The interface had an 8K onboard EPROM providing the device driver and toolkit extensions, which included:

• DGET – Load sector into an array
• DPUT – Save an array to a sector
• MSET, FSET – Toggle microdrive emulation mode
• VSET – Rename the disk device (the interface normally uses the drive name FDK rather than the FLP used by most other QL disk systems)

Plus several other extensions similar to those in other disk interfaces, and some utility programs such as a disk and memory editor were supplied on disk.

The interface was supplied with either one, or a pair of DSDD 720KB drives, the first of which took its power from an external transformer via a 6-way power connector, and the second took its power from the DC output of the first drive via a 5-way connector, plus a ribbon connector from one drive to the other.

The interface had switch-selectable options via a series of jumpers to format single or double sided, and 3ms or 6ms track to track time. Another jumper could be set to make the QL boot from an ‘mdv’ named disk.

Powersupply Pinout:

Download:

• Micro Peripherals Floppy Disk Interface Manual (1522)
• Micro Peripherals Ltd Floppy Interface ROM v5.3 (Italian) (1331)

source: rwapadventures.com

Gallery:

Thanks to Paolo Pascolo and Carlo Pascolo (founder of Co.r.el) i have received more information about this interface.

This interface was designed and distributed by Co.r.el in Italy and assembled by Asem or Computer Control, two Italian companies.

This is a small article of an old Italian magazine (MCmicrocomputer) where they speak of what are sold under the name Co.r.el (see picture)

This interface is a converter from IEEE-488 Bus to RS-232 to be use with the Watanabe plotter, the data are send via a device number from the Commodore PET (CBM).

ASAP is a player of 8-bit Atari music for modern computers and mobile devices. It emulates the POKEY sound chip and the 6502 processor.

The project was initially based on the routines from the Atari800 emulator, but the current version has a completely new original emulation core.

Changelog ASAP 3.2.0 (2014-06-23):

• Reduced amplitude by half to avoid clipping on loud tunes.
• Silence detection regarded GTIA and COVOX sounds as silence.
• asapconv supports conversion to one WAV/RAW/MP3/XEX file per subsong.
• File Information window in the foobar2000 plugin.
• Updated the XBMC plugin for the new XBMC.
• OS X VLC plugin no longer requires OS X 10.8.

Android changes:

• Android 4.4 can now read the memory card.
• Switch to the next song when the current one ends.
• Playback couldn’t be resumed after a while of pause.
• Search files using on-screen keyboard.
• Removed HTTP playback.
• Files with duplicate titles were lost in the details view.

Download: ASAP v3.2.0 (1476)

source: asap.sourceforge.net

I really enjoyed this donation that was made by Mokuccio and Zibri. Many thanks.

Donated items:

9 x CGS 8580R5 COMMODORE 64 SID
1 x MOS 8580R5 COMMODORE 64 SID
3 x CGS 6581R4AR COMMODORE 64 SID
2 x MOS 6581R4AR COMMODORE 64 SID
5 x MOS 6532 RAM-I/O-Timer (RIOT)
6 x MOS 8565R2 VIC II (HMOS)
1 x MOS 8501 COMMODORE 264 SERIES CPU
7 x MOS 6504 28-PIN 6502, 8K ADDRESSABLE MEMORY, ON-CHIP
1 x MOS 901229-05 COMMODORE 1541 (OLD) KERNAL
2 x MOS 901226-01 COMMODORE 64 BASIC
3 x MOS 901227-03 COMMODORE 64 KERNAL
1 x MOS 901225-01 COMMODORE 64 CHAR
1 x MOS 901486-07 COMMODORE VIC-20 KERNAL
2 x MOS 390059-01 COMMODORE 128 CHAR
1 x MOS 251913-01 COMMODORE 64 KERNAL+BASIC
1 x MOS 901460-03 COMMODORE VIC-20 CHAR
1 x MOS 901486-01 COMMODORE VIC-20 BASIC
1 x MOS 318004-04 COMMODORE 16 KERNAL
1 x MOS 310654-03 COMMODORE 1571 KERNAL
1 x MOS 325341-08 COMMODORE 1526/MPS802 ROM
1 x CGS 251968-03 COMMODORE 1541 II (NEW) KERNAL
1 x MOS 325302-01 COMMODORE 1541 DOS V2.6 LOW C000-DFFF
1 x MOS 251828-01 GATE-ARRAY 1540/SFD1001/C128D
3 x MOS 317054-01 COMMODORE PLUS/4 ROM
2 x CGS 8701 COMMODORE 64 VIDEO CLOCK GENERATOR
1 x MOS 8701 COMMODORE 64 VIDEO CLOCK GENERATOR
1 x MOS 251641-02 COMMODORE PLUS/4 PLA
1 x MOS 318006-01 COMMODORE C16/116/PLUS 4 BASIC ROM
1 x MOS 317053-01 COMMODORE PLUS/4 3-PLUS-1
1 x CGS 6559R5 COMMODORE 64 VIC II
7 x MOS 6569R3 COMMODORE 64 VIC II
1 x MOS 6569R3 COMMODORE 64 VIC II (CERAMIC)
9 x CGS 6510 CPU
4 x MOS 6510 CPU
1 x ROCKWELL 6502 CPU
1 x MOS 325340-03 MPU COMMODORE PRINTER 1520
1 x SHARP 252535-01 COMMODORE 64C CUSTOM PLA MEMORY CONTROLLER
10 x CMD G65SC22P-2 (VIA)
5 x MOS 6522 (VIA)
5 x MOS 8520 (CIA)
6 x CGS 8520 (CIA)
9 x MOS 6529B COMMODORE 16/116/PLUS-4 KEYBOARD CONTROLLER
7 x MOS 6561-101 COMMODORE VIC-20 PAL VIDEO CHIP
4 x MOS 8551 PLUS-4/A2232-3 ACIA
3 x MOS 8568 CRTC COMMODORE 128
5 x MOS 5710 COMMODORE 1571 CIA
7 x CGS 8372R8 AMIGA FAT AGUS
3 x MOS 8372R8 AMIGA FAT AGUS
1 x MOS 8372R6 AMIGA FAT AGUS DIP (CERAMIC)
3 x CGS 8373R4 AMIGA DENISE HI-RES
3 x MOS 8367R0 AMIGA AGNUS
2 x MOS 8364R4 AMIGA PAULA (CERAMIC)
1 x MOS 8364R7 AMIGA PAULA
5 x CGS 8364R7 AMIGA PAULA
7 x CGS 8375 AGNUS HI-RES
4 x CGS 8372A AMIGA FAT AGUS
3 x MOS 8371 AMIGA FAT AGNUS
15 x CGS 5719/318072-01 AMIGA GARY
3 x MOS 5719 AMIGA GARY
4 x KICK ROM v1.2
2 x KICK ROM v2.05
2 x KICK ROM v3.0 (39.106)

Read more…

Autopsy:

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You can use any power supply with 6v / 1.5 amp with the polarity described below:

Polarity is positive + on the outside or barrel and negative - on the inside or tip

from Wikipedia and The National Valve Museum homepage:

The Sinclair TV80, also known as the Flat Screen Pocket TV or FTV1, was a pocket television launched by Sinclair Research in 1984. Unlike Sinclair’s earlier attempts at a portable television, the TV80 used a flat CRT with a side-mounted electron gun instead of a conventional CRT; the picture was made to appear larger than it was by the use of a Fresnel lens.

The set has a 2 in. screen, measures 5= x 3= x 1< in. and weighs 9= oz. A special Polaroid flat battery that provides 15 hours’ operation has been produced to power it — there’s also a mains adaptor. The set itself goes on sale at #79.95, with the 6V Polaroid lithium batteries in packs of three at #9.95 per pack and the adaptor at #7.95, all prices inclusive of VAT, postage and packing. Normal retail and export sales are expected to start during the first half of 1984. Sir Clive Sinclair predicts sales rising to a million or more a year worldwide, and speaks of the set ‘achieving for television what the transistor radio did for wireless, creating a new one-per-person product’.

The set has some interesting technical features. It is for example a multi-standard receiver with automatic switching between most UHF standards worldwide except for France. Most of the circuitry is contained within a single ic that uses innovative digital techniques to monitor the vision and sound signals and adjust the circuitry automatically to suit the transmission standard. The ic was jointly developed by Ferranti and Sinclair Research and is being produced by Ferranti. Manufacture of the flat-screen tube (the gun is mounted to one side and the phosphor is deposited on the rear section of the viewing part) has been subcontracted to Timex in Dundee, using Sinclair designed and owned automatic plant. Assembly of the sets has been subcontracted to Thorn.

Apart from the tube and the ic, the main electronic items consist of the video output transistor, line and field output stages, the tube power supply generator and the tuner. The latter measures just 31 x 23 x 11 mm and uses hybrid microminiature components with advanced surface mounting. It’s output is at 230 MHz, which has been chosen to avoid image frequency problems in the UHF band.

It was a commercial failure, and did not recoup the £4m it cost to develop; only 15,000 units were sold. New Scientist warned that the technology used by the device would be short-lived, in view of the liquid crystal display technology being developed by Casio.

Download: Service Manual Sinclair FTV1 & FTV2 (2209)

Video:

source: wikipedia r-type.org