Firing up that old iron

[WelshWizard]

That why it pays to fit one up with Sockets so when its working you can swap out chips one at a time from a faulty one , speeds up the check in chips, so that if still faulty after all the chips have been changed out, you are down to caps. resistors and faulty traces. or even a Crystal gone faulty.

[tezza]

Yes, having chips in sockets can speed up diagnosis. In saying that, sockets can CAUSE issues too. My two PET boards, my Kaypro II, a System 80 and the Apple II+ have all had socket issues, where a socket was not connecting as it should. In some sockets it's easy to see the damaged pin but in others it is not.

I'm always careful when re-seating ICs in old sockets now. They need to be removed and put back very gently, especially if they have been sitting in there a long time.

[tezza]

Finished my firing up project. I'm actually quite pleased. From my 48 models the only things untoward were:

- A wavy screen on one of my pristine System 80s. Probably caused by weak caps in the PSU (actually my junk/test System 80 could also do with a PSU cap change).
- A capacitor which blew in the Telecom Computerphone monitor (bound to be an AC filter cap...easy fix...assuming I can get the thing open)
- Dodgy power connectors in my Spectravideo 318 (Very sensitive to movement of the cord...just needs resoldering I think).

A few small projects for those rainy weekends then.

What's even better is that I've taken the time to document all the accessories as I went through. I now know what I've got which will avoid the embarrasing scenario of buying something off Trade Me which I already had (yes, it's happened)!

Still have the PC cards and a few other misc things (PC cords, connectors, spare drives) to enter into the spreadsheet. I won't be documenting individual ICs and components. That's simply a bridge too far (at the moment).

[SpidersWeb]

Yes I spent two hours the other day looking for something I bought from trademe, still haven't found it.
I also lost a hard drive, which I found yesterday inside a case and I'd totally forgotten I'd used it.
I need to make up a spreedsheet (or database) too, making sure I take note of which box or machine bits are in and actually keept it updated.
I was thinking of using it as an excuse to use some old software like dBase or PFS:FirstChoice.

Only 3 repairs, that's a good result, and I bet you enjoyed having a good reason to see each one fire up again.

[tezza]

Yes I spent two hours the other day looking for something I bought from trademe, still haven't found it.
I also lost a hard drive, which I found yesterday inside a case and I'd totally forgotten I'd used it.
I need to make up a spreedsheet (or database) too, making sure I take note of which box or machine bits are in and actually keept it updated.
I was thinking of using it as an excuse to use some old software like dBase or PFS:FirstChoice.

Only 3 repairs, that's a good result, and I bet you enjoyed having a good reason to see each one fire up again.

Yes, it was fun actually. There's nothing like an excuse to play with one's toys

I just use EXCEL as it's quick and easy. My spreadsheet is very simple. I just have columns for the object, what date it was last tested, the nature of the test, any major issues, any minor issues and any repairs done. The accessories are listed under the model that uses them unless they have a generic use (like my several composite monitors) in which case they are listed in a Misc Hardware section. Many of the accessories (say cords) were not tested so those columns are blank.

[tezza]

Finished this little exercise and here is the result:
http://www.classic-computers.org.nz/blo ... tch-on.htm

[SpidersWeb]

For the spectra reflow, did you use a gun or iron?

[tezza]

For the spectra reflow, did you use a gun or iron?

Just used a simple soldering iron.