Відео

So what happened for you, power switch fail as well?

Yeah, the gun actually DID suck out the solder from the underside, but it failed to pull the large blob of it that was actually on the top side as well. Later, I tried to get the anchor blobs to suck up, but the anchor pins were too thick to into the mouth of the gun. So in the end I resorted to solder wick. The C128d was one of the inspirations for this series, as it was first to fail when trying to play Wasteland, then the C64 would not power on, hence this video. Then I found the switch fiddle got it to turn on, and I tried to use my 1541 drive with it, and THAT just spins on power on, so then I got my 1541 II and THAT wont format disks correctly. Yeah, a big chain of fails. Not sure what you mean, by the heatsinks are differenct?

@RetronautTech C128 has the shield acting as heatsink, also if you dont use it, C128 has not 1:1 chips to C64, it has more chips, looks like new video? Dont worry about things failing in chain, its "for free" ideas for new content, right? Of course if your desoldering gun cant fit over the pin, it will not suck properly. Also check the internet for mods, some cheaper desoldering gun can be tweaked for higher suction power.

Indeed!

Both machines have particular histories that lead to their function and form. Both were in a race to get to market, and its fascinating how they both cut corners to get there. I was reading the service manual last night, an interesting first "in" to a platform. I wonder if I can get ahold of the ACTUAL user manual for a decent price. It would be good to get an overview of the machine more from the software side. Thanks for the tip on the mouse! I wonder if there is a mod that can prevent that mouse port damage?

Yep, lots to do. I have the TOS upgrade on the go, but I did not find a commercial option (just buy the ROMs) so I am having to take some 32 pin EPRoms and modify them to work in 28 pin sockets. The EPRoms and sockets to do this are ordered, but its probably going to be next week before I can tackle this. Fingers crossed it works!

@RetronautTech Dont forget to set the 3 switches W2 (2-3), W3 (2-3), W4 (closed), and you need also those small caps next to ROM sockets, if I remember right.

@@madigorfkgoogle9349 Sorry, not sure what you mean by the three switches?

@RetronautTech on mainboard there are 3 switches (zero ohm resistors) where you select the size of the ROMs. When you look at the mainboard from above with the front panel edge facing towards you (rear ports being the top, FDD place being the bottom), then under ROM sockets there is a rectangular custom chip called MMU, almost at the bottom of the board. Left of it search for W2, W3 and W4 solder switches, you have to change the setting from 2xROM to 6x ROM otherwise the decoding will not work correctly.

@@madigorfkgoogle9349 Ah yes, I get you. I've actually decided to go the 2 ROM route, which means I will have to try to adapt two 32 pin EPRoms to work in the boards 28 pin sockets. Apparently its possible, not tried it before, but I guess it will make an interesting section in next video, as I have not found anyone doing this in ST focussed videos, at least NOT with a Mega ST. Believe me, I checked looked!

OK, I'll take a look ;)

@RetronautTech I second that, I checked on my MegaST and you are in wrong port.

But they both had broken plastic fractures at their bases. Sorry, cant show this now as they are glued in. Maybe there are plastic pins in the standoff, which push into a hole in the PCB and its those pins which have snapped off?

Wet wipes would be a solution, but I have found soap and water is cheaper and probably works better. Also less waste as wet wipes have plastic in them.

Yes, I have watched both channels, but mostly The Retro Channel, as he focusses 100% on repairs and seems to do it at least semi-professionally (in a good way I mean..). So you do get some great tips/methodology from him. I'm currently buffing up on Commodore 1541 floppy drive repairs, as I have a pair of drives which have issues. Not sure about the car shampoo idea. I think washing up liquid or other similar soaps are all good. The main thing is they remove grease and oils which I think tend to bind together the grot that gets onto these old machines. I do then rinse them down thoroughly. Off camera, I then went back over the case with 100% alcohol and cotton buds to get rid of some small area of dirt remaining, ESPECIALLY in the Mega 4's washing grill on top. That turned out to be world of filth. Then I finish by wiping it all with Aerospace 303 protectant spray, which gives the plastic a nice new sheen and protects against UV.

@RetronautTech a very thorough cleaning process. Aslong as it does the job, thats what matters. So far, ive onky used IPA to clean up my old machines. So i couldnt say from personal experience which is best. Ive got a dirty and smokey dreamcast that ive been putting off for months. It despereately needs it before i can use it properly, mind you 🙈

@RetronautTech by the way, i posted a comment with some archive links that may have helped you with the PSU but it seems to have disappeared.

@paulward2076 Well, plastics can be yellowed, they can be dirty, a combo of those two. But if its one thing I have learnt from watching renovations of old machines is, start with just washing with soap and water. Get the dirt off first, BEFORE worrying about yellowing. In the Mega's case, it does not need retro-briting I think. Or at the most, needs a little if I had some left over peroxide needing to be used up. They keyboard is slightly different, some of its keys do seem to be yellowed, and I think they would benefit from retrobriting, but again, its mild yellowing so its not top of my list of things to do. I may do so in the summer, when I can put my retrobrighter (the UVNator) on the cabins veranda...

@RetronautTech i think having things clean rather than retrobrite them is my priority. I dont mind a bit of patina on an old comouter or console 🙂. I think, in yours and others cases, when having a channel, its good to retribrite things but, like you say, its not a priority. I thinks thats pragmatic and sensible. Aslong as its working eh?

When I have time, I think I will remove ALL of the PSU's caps and the logic boards ones as well, and TEST them all. Then I can see if they are all at spec, and only replace caps that show poor specs. I know its a thing to replace all caps, but this machine is from the late 80s when caps were still decent, and so far none of its caps show any VISIBLE issues, but yeah, they need measuring out of circuit to be sure.

The exact name of the adapter on Ebay is "ATARI ST DIN13 TO VGA ADAPTOR LOW-MEDIUM/HIGH SWITCHABLE WITH AUDIO OUT" Of course, with time, I assume this listing will end of course. I believe what it does is, wires the Mono VGA signal in the usual pinout and then has a switch to change to a RGB signal piped to VGA. The "magic" is in the monitor. I believe the one I bought, can handle colour VGA at 15khz, which is non standard, with it normally being 30hz. I THINK back in the day, you would have termed this a multisync monitor. But in the "modern" era of LCD flat screens it appears some decoders were provided with the ability to convert 15/30khz and this is what the 2nd screen in the video has. I bought it as a hedge bet. My thinking was the first screen (ASUS VS247HR) which handles HDMI/DVI/VGA is more modern than the VGA only screen and would focus more on HDMI (newer tech at the time of release). The VGA ONLY screen (ASUS VS228DE), well, it must only decode VGA, so I hoped it had better VGA decoding, and it does! An educated guess, that worked out :)

@RetronautTech Ah, I missed that those are 2 diff monitors! Now makes sense, thanks for clearing this out. So, looks like that Supera Color HD box is still the best/only option to have all of the resolutions on the same regular, standard VGA monitor - at least it is cheap, ~$50 🤔. When mentioning 15khz, Arcooda monitors look very promising, and they are 4:3!

@@vmisevYes, they were two different monitors. Actually, that reminds me, the Dell monitors I bought, they DO have a VGA port and are from circa 2004. I should give them a try with the Mega as well. Could be 15khz compatible, I'll give it a try!

Happy you enjoyed it. More soon hopefully.

Hear! Hear!

I've not done much research into those. Any ideas what they might be?

@RetronautTech exxos forum has a list of mandatory reliability fixes that would be a good start.

I see, and was this a fix that was applied to earlier revisions? I'm assuming that without this board in place, the machine is un-stable? Or does it produce visual glitches?

@RetronautTech Exxos has a great overview of what the blitter patch actually does. In many instances it isn't needed.

@@powerofvintage9442 I'll have to have a watch, so he has a UA-cam channel, or is this a written article?

Reach out to me on the channels email, and we can discuss ;)

I have ordered one from here centuriontech.eu/, one of the few places with a grey cable, tested to work etc.

Oh the rivalry is still around. I'm never quite sure if people are joking about it, but... Well, I do have MANY tables off camera, and Im actually just popping to where I have items set down, as I am working on those as well. One of the MAJOR benefits of the cabin is I can now have multiple projects on the go at once, and of course machines out to use, rather than packed away, indeed, stuff on the shelves as well, which I can just reach out for. Getting used to filming in the larger space, standing feels odd, I need to get me catalogue poses up to scratch, looking a bit stiff at the beginning of this one. I'm debating with myself if I should get as steady-cam, as these have a follow feature, which would follow me around the room. Might be worth trying for more fluidity?

@RetronautTech i think anything is worth a try to see how it goes. You could sit when it suits you too. I guess it depends on what youre more comfortable with at any particular time. Im glad youre able to have lots of stuff out to work on and tgat its easy to get to. Ive had loads of my stuff in storage for years too and ive recently got round to sorting through them and having a space to use them. It makes a difference, doesnt it?

@paulward2076 Absolutely. In fact, right now its WHY the cabin is still messy. I found things I had forgotten I had bought. And I am still missing things I remember buying. There are things tucked away in cupboards and still stashed somewhere in my loft. I will need to do a clear out at some point, to sell things I don't need. For instance I have two 2008 Mac Pro's. I'm going to merge those machines into a single best one, and then sell the remaining machine. Same thing for my Apple Duo Drives, I have two of those. And the list goes on. Still, lots of stuff to now show on the channel ;)

@RetronautTech that sounds great. Nothinv like a good clear out is there? Fortunately, my collection isnt so big but i still dont have enough room for everything now that my partner needs the spare room as an office. Its where everything is stored at the moment. I have been offered sn old 90s pc by a fruend but im not sure where thats going to go 🙈

@paulward2076 I had stuff stored in my loft, under our spare bedroom bed, in my home office cupboards, in the old Retronaut studio (its mini loft, on AND in cupboards) and in our front lounge at various points. Now its ALL in the cabin, so its a bit squeaky. Still now I can see it all out, or under tables in here, I can make decisions about what to keep and what to let go. Certainly I dont want to hoard anything, so working duplicates HAVE to go. I also have about 4-6 broken CRT monitors which really need fixing or handing on to others who can. Its expensive, and with only 1 channel supporter, it all rests on my (financial) shoulders.

Indeed, budget was a factor. If you follow my tech history videos (first videos in channel). you'll know my family was not well off, but I did manage to trade up from an Atari 2600 (second hand), to a Dragon 32, etc. Watch those videos and you'll see how I was able to afford an Amiga 500. Mind you, I did have to wait until 1987 to get one, the A500 was released in October of that year, but the 2 year gap gave me time to accrue more to trade up with.

That would be very kind of you. If you are certain you have no need for it, I'd be happy to receive it. Converting a drive is OK, but an original Amiga drive is 100% compatible. Please reach out via the channels Email address ;)

@RetronautTech no problem speak there 👍

Yes, I thought it might have been an earlier model thing. Yep, two ROMS is a lot easier to manage than six, certainly!

@RetronautTech If you want you can swap them to English TOS

You probably also have a german copy of TOS installed in the machine. A UK TOS 1.04 burnt into two chips will be a drop-in replacement for the two ROM chips currently in your Mega 4 and switch the machine to English (and remap the keyboard). There's a later TOS version (2.06) but that requires an additional address decoder.

Yes, I have watched some vids on the ST, and I recall in one of them that they had to change the TOS Roms as they were in another language. I'll take a look at that standoff, apparently they have a tendency to break. I watched a vid by Power of Vintage and his Mega 4 had all four stand-offs broken! For the next vid, I think Ill disassemble it fully, to get used to the layout of the board and allow me to clean its base. Then I'll fully clean the case, which does seem to be brown with dirt. Maybe order a new cable to replace the completely ratty one I have, and maybe clean the keyboard as well. I'll also have to get those new TOS Roms burnt. I'm waiting for the video adapter to arrive before I do all that, as I need it to test the machine really. To be fair, overall, its actually in good condition. Pretty lucky really.

Does it have any delay in games... Well "FujiNet" is actually more a communications and storage device. It can store game images and then load them, as if it were a Disk drive. It can of course do this over WIFI from remote servers, so thats its key function. It is NOT an emulator or anything else, the Atari 800 is running the games natively. So yeah, no issues with lag or delay as far as I am aware...

Yeah, I think I may be out of luck with plan A. I don't have the manual for the G4 Cube, but I get the feeling that the USB Amp, and its specific speakers, may be integral. So I don't think Ill be able to plug what I have, into that Amp. Its kind of sad, as by some odd circumstance, I've ended up with 3 sets of speakers for the G4 iMac, and they are all in great condition... I wonder if some other USB amp would do the job. Problem is, this is earl2 2000's, so early days of USB, and I am assuming the amp that Apple provided was VERY specific, and had specific drivers built into the OS for it. Still, its an idea, but a USB based amp, that takes power via USB AND the Audio signal + 3.5mm photo output, is a real long shot?

Thanks for the very kind words. It's a classic machine, for sure, the IIc, I sadly don't have desk space for it in my new cabin. I want to have the IIe out, as it represents the original Apple II design and I also want the next gen IIgs, so its hard to justify the IIc as well. Maybe I will rotate it with the other Apple IIs to give it some limelight. A lovely machine and one I still have a buzz about that I have in my collection. Its a peach :)

I'm not sure, about that. For me, the Apple II design was good in its day, it beat its own path. For a start it did break the block appearance, with its wedge design. But by 1984 it was looking pretty old fashioned, both in colour and form. So Apple had already hired a design guru to come up with a new design language, the Snow White style, and the IIc was the first Apple machine to try it out. Personally, I think the machine is a bit of a looker, bit of a design classic, especially when paired with its cute monitor. It's just leaps and bounds nicer than PCs of the same era. Is it easier to type on, better keyboard? I think so. But more than that, it also included pretty much all of the features that older Apple II users wanted. But that was also its weakness, a lack of expandability, or customisability if you will, which was a cornerstone of the Apple II to that point.

Thanks for the kind words. It was actually a spur of the moment video, no planning. Just thought I'd share the experience of the double whammy fail. Certainly the 128D IS pretty over-engineered, but as space is still tight, even in the new space, I thought its the better machine to have out, with the C64 ready in the wings. Anyway, as you say, they ARE both old machines and they will need TLC to keep them ticking along. Once I have the cabin repair area sorted, I will get them on the bench to work out their issues and get parts ordered. I guess it will be new caps for the C128Ds PSU and a switch to give it the drive number mod, Ill just hang this out the back of the case, Im not up for drilling holes in it. For the C64 Im praying its JUST the mechanical switch, but I think I may also get a new PSU ordered for it as well...

@RetronautTech In Australia we never got the C128Ds with the fans, we got the ones with the metal cases with no fans - but they still make a hum. If you have another drive like the 1541 II which I've found to very reliable as it has an external power supply, you can connect it to the C128D, then change the 1571 drive number via software (I load in a program which changes the drive to 9), then switch on the 1541 and use that as your drive 8. That said, it's just a lot easier to use a C64 with a 1541. Poland makes good PSUs for the C64 which you can also use to power your 1541 II off as well.

@@mcd3379 When I got the 128D, it was all new, so I took a light touch and ONLY replaced the fan and the chip thermal paste, and it was all tickey boo. But now I think I may go a bit more drastic and see if there is a viable Meanwell PSU that could replace the original. It makes sense, but it may not be practical due to combo of size vs power rails required. It's a small space for the PSU, so there may be no matching modern replacement. I will fit a switch to the drive select header, but I will dangle or relcro it to the back of the machine, not going to make a hole. Will make the mod 100% reversible for a future owner. Then I'll see how the SD2IEC gets on with it. I have an original 1541 and a 1541II, and I would like to use the 1541II, but with the SD2IEC and the internal drive, it would really be of little use.

I will check it out at some point ;)

I have not, I thought, well, lets see what Wasteland 1 is like before looking at sequels. They are MUCH more modern though, right?

@RetronautTech Indeed. Wasteland 2 came out in 2013 for the PC after one of the original Kickstater campaigns. It took them a while to get it balanced, however by 2015 they had released a free Directors Cut of the game that runs much better. If you get the game on Steam you'll get the Directors Cut and it's less than $10 last time I checked. I haven't played Wasteland 3 yet, but picked it up with the DLC on the Steam Sale last summer for less than $20. They both keep the original Fallout 1 and 2 isometric view on a modern engine and you can rotate the screen to see all angels.

Yeah, its kind of part of the retro scene, to be willing to repair. Unless of course you are only dipping in via emulation or FPGA. I'm up for the repair work, just need to let things settle down here in the cabin. Got some DIY I still need to do, to get the space into decent shape. Still a lot of mess, need to get storage nailed.

Thanks a lot. Glad the new format is working for you, no complains yet. I DO still have a small table on castors, which I may need to use sometimes, but its movable, so thats nice an flexible. I hope to move around the room, and to that end I have a pretty cool idea in mind... more on that soon. I'm pretty sure I'll get both machines working again soon, unless of course they suffered an over-voltage event, which could be severe. But to be fair I did not smell any burning or hear bangs or whatnot. Think I'll tackle the C64 first, its just a LOT easier to open and get access to. Looking forward (still) to playing Wasteland. I understand its available on Steam, but Id like to experience it old schooly. Im, excited to see what they did with the Bards Tale engine, guess they may have extended it quite a lote. Now, wouldn't it be cool if someone could port it to the Amiga/ST...

@RetronautTech now theres an idea... Youre welcome. I think having that flexibility will work a lot and, hopefully, help your channel grow. I have to be honest, most of my favourite retro computer and gaming channels are small channels that should be bigger. I do hope you manage to repair them. Playing Wasteland from the original disks will be fun and nostalgic, im sure 🙂.

Well, something to put on your to-get list maybe, the SD2IEC has been a staple for Commodore users for years. Another option maybe is FujiNet. I beleive they are working on porting it to the C64, maybe also for the VIC20, not sure...

Indeed, I am UP for the repair work, but it would have been nice to have a quick crack at Wasteland before the pfut happened (twice). Still, I'm hopeful that no long term damage is done. I THINK the 128D is the PSU, as it did stay on for a while then pfut out, must be heat related. Maybe its fan has gone wonky... The C64, Im not so sure. My money is on the aged power switch, but who can tell. Will need to spend some time diagnosing that one... I am nearly there setting up my repair area for all of this, and more. In fact I may do a short video on it, asking for advice/input. Im not an expert in that area and I find my viewers give really good advice on occasion.

Thank you, fixed!

Yeah, Im praying its not the C64 PSU, ill test it in the next few days and see where the fault is at. Hopefully that switch is just the issue, something just mechanical. I think Ill order a replacement for it now, as it needs replacing no matter what, it has a horrible feel to it. The 128D however, PSU is integrated, so I either fix it, or maybe replace it, not sure how viable it would be to do that. Probably better option in long term, its a 30+ year old PSU and it appears to already be failing so...

@RetronautTech Worth getting over to Amibay. Plenty of stuff to acquire there 👍🏻

And you too!

If you think its underrated, please go out and rate it to people. Share the links ;)

Yeah, it was quite a saga. Of course the video presents it as a single series of events. But in reality much of it was weeks apart. I had to keep on taking holiday from work to paint the cabin and then later build the shed behind it (separate video coming). Yeah, a LOT of work.

Thanks, next video up soon. Probably after NY as I have to get prepped for all of that malarky ;)

Glad you enjoyed

@RetronautTech Which company did you go with, if you don't mind me asking

@@richardhogben3776 Not sure it will help you. Are you local to Surrey UK?

Thanks, the Cabin build (another in this series) will be released in the next day or so. Keep an eye out for that!

Thanks a lot. Sadly, I can't make any adjustments to this video, apart from removing it and replacing it with a new version. UA-cam does not have tools to make such adjustments. I DID remove quite a lot of noise from the audio, so maybe that reduced the overall volume. I'll try and remedy this in future videos in the series...

@RetronautTech Just a little tip as your channel grows 🙂 Merry Xmas, mate!

sorry to say but i found the volume level just fine. i think many channels are overdriving their audio to try and get the maximum effect. i can hear some microphone dampening sometimes which is a bit odd.. probably post-fx being a bit overzealous?

@@al3k I use de-reverb when in-doors, to remove that, and as I live close to a large road, I use de-noise. I hiked it for these videos, as on wet days tyre noise was audible. But you are meant to raise the DB to compensate, as both effects remove some volume. I don't think the volume drop was massive, but Ill try and address it in the next video in this series, due very soon..