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Wife thinks I am mad

Gary C

Veteran Member
Joined
May 26, 2018
Messages
2,258
Location
Lancashire, UK
So the PSU of the MZ-80K has been reunited with the computer and it works. Monitor is clear and bright with no screen burn. The rest of the computer on the other hand is filthy. The keyboard keys are sticking and some of the graphic keys have labels under the plastic covers, obviously to represent a numeric keypad for some program.

Keyboard has now been stripped, this required desoldering of every keyswitch, but after that they pop out of the frame as easy as anything and the keytops pull off easily for cleaning. Will get a small amount of lubrication on the stems to make sure they are nice to use once reassembly, and the paper labels will be removed from the keys, but it looks as if this machine never saw sunlight as the keytops are nice and vibrant.

A really nice chap gave me a call last Thursday "would I like some DEC Alpha machines and a VT240 ?", err yes, so a blast down the M6 and they are now sat in the back of the car awaiting space in the workshop.

Aren't vintage computer people nice.

So back to the multibus. Daver2 has sent me some files of example code builds but getting the software into the machine requires a slow serial link to simulate typing in the code into the monitor.
After some frustrating time trying to find an easy library to code a serial port in C++ I have switched to C# and have managed to get a bit of a program to send the data only to find my machine will no longer startup.

From the CPU lights, it looks as if its doing something, but then crashing. Suspects at the moment ? maybe the EPROMS have an error, will whip them out and do a CRC check on each of them, then maybe things involved with the iLBX interface. I do think I might need to look at cooling. It does have a fan blowing directly up the boards, but its a bit old and the machine had been on for longer than I had had it on before so it maybe heat related (I know when the machines were upgraded to 286's at work, the fans were also modified) so new high flow fans I think.
 
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