Gallery:

Commodore VIC-20 ASSY 251040-01 Empty PCB.

Gallery of the repair:

Texas Instruments TI-99/4A Repair (#1)

Defect:

• Blue Screen with tiny Vertical lines.

Replaced parts:

• 1 x MCM6810P (128 x 8-Bit Random-Access Memory TTL/DTL)

Texas Instruments TI-99/4A Repair (#2)

Defect:

• Blue Screen with tiny Vertical lines.
• Wave/Raster Lines.

Replaced parts:

• 2 x IC MCM6810P (128 x 8-Bit Random-Access Memory TTL/DTL)
• 1 x IC CD3236A-NL (ROM)
• 1 x Capacitor 12 pF.

Note:

In one photo you can see the curious change made in this TI-99/4A by inserting a resistor in the pitch where in other motherboards is soldered a leg of a electrolytic capacitor and then one leg of the capacitor is welded and the not the other leg.  Compliments.

Video of the defects:

A new version of the firmware for the interface C64SD Infinity + ITS Module by Manosoft is released.

Changelog:

• Implemented functionality that allows to save a placeholder (unique for each .TAP file) pressing the red button on the back of the card. User can set back the read pointer at which TAP data is played back by pressing “Next” button on the card. Useful for multi load .TAP or games asking to reset the counter of the tape and then to rewind the tape that specific point.

Download: C64SD (ITS) Firmware v0.10.3.9 (1523)

source: manosoft.it

Gallery of the repair:

Repair Commodore Amiga 600 (White Screen)

Defect:

• White Screen.

Replaced parts:

• 1 x LM555 (SMD)
• 1 x Electrolytic Capacitor 10uf 25v

Note:

I have thought it was a problem of RAM (U17) since i have measured oddities but the problem instead is a capacitor of 10uF, dead LM555 (smd) and some pcb tracks corroded.

Repair Philips 8220 (MSX2) Black Screen with Sound.

Defect:

• Black Screen but with sound (keyboard works)

Replaced parts:

• 2 x Fuse 250v 315ma
• 4 x Tantalum Capacitor 22uf 6v
• 1 x Electrolytic Capacitor 100uf 25v

Note:

The main problem was caused by the lack of +12 volts that power the RGB Encoder module. The other voltage of -12 volts are used only for the cartridges port (but not all cartridges using this voltage)

I wanted to do a experiment to install a standard PC drive with a adapter (34 pins to 14 pins) on a Philips 8245. I would say that it work but i have tried about 20 Floppy Drives and only 1 it works ;-D

Gallery:

Download: Philips NMS 8245 (MSX2) Floppy Drive replacement (1172)

source: msx.hansotten.com

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:

SNDH archive v4.4 released – 4261 SNDH files (total 8268 tunes)

Ever since the birth of the Atari ST, different chip music formats have had different ways to use them. If you are coding a chip music player for the Atari ST you would have to use dozens and dozens of special ways to replay music.

But in the mid 90′s, BDC of Aura crew became tired of this inelegant system and decided to fix the issue once and for all. He then created the ‘SNDH’ file format. SNDH is actually the original songfile and replaycode with a header bolted on top of the music and replayer. The header has a unified calling interface no matter what type of chip music is hidden beneath it, and it has extended datas about the music.

Download: SNDH Atari ST YM2149 Archive v4.4 (1538)

source: sndh.atari.org

Gallery of the repair:

Phonola NMS 8245 (MSX 2) Repair.

Defect:

• Dirty characters/graphics.
• Floppy Drive dead.

Replaced parts:

• 1 x 41464 Video RAM (U16)
• 1 x Floppy drive belt

Other:

• Frame cartridge connector fix for a easy removal of the components under the frame.

Removing the filter capacitors that are exploded inside the Astec power supply of a Apple //e.

Gallery of the repair and cleaning:

The High Voltage SID Collection (HVSC) is a freeware hobby project which organises Commodore 64 music (also known as SID music) into an archive for both musicians and fans alike.

The work on the collection is done completely in the Team and contributors’ spare time and is proudly one of the largest and most accurate computer music collections known.

This update features (all approximates):

• 749 new SIDs
• 1479 fixed/better rips
• 1 repeats/bad rips eliminated
• 727 SID credit fixes
• 323 SID model/clock infos
• 19 tunes from /DEMOS/UNKNOWN/ identified
• 4 tunes from /GAMES/ identified
• 45 tunes moved out of /DEMOS/ to their composers’ directories
• 5 tunes moved out of /GAMES/ to their composers’ directories

Download:

• HVSC Update #61 (1398)
• HVSC Complete #61 (1523)

source: www.hvsc.c64.org

Some new games or tools (Cracked / Trained or Unrealeased) for Commodore 64 have been released from your favorites groups.

Titles:

• CubeSim64 Preview
• Battle in Space +4
• Oops! +4DH
• Battle Chess +D [EasyFlash]
• Crazy Painter +4HD
• Snakman +2D
• Purple Turtles +2HDG
• Captain Future Preview +3E
• Suicide Strike 101% +3DG
• Softporn Adventure &Sol
• Xain’D Sleena +2
• Xain’D Sleena
• Pluff +2TD
• Amity Island +3H
• A.R.C.O.S. +2 TD
• Knights & Demons +2D
• 8bit Fighters Preview
• Downfall Preview V2
• Rylan +4ED
• Aurum 100% +T
• World Boxing Champ &DGPM
• Your Father’s Nightmare +2
• Graham Gooch All Star Cricket Preview
• Single Extreme Freedom
• Your Father’s Nightmare +2M 101%

Download: All Games in One Archive (3162)

source: csdb.dk

Scene World is a C64 magazine on disk dedicated to various activities of both C64 scenes.

“Both” means, that we are supplying information and texts of both scenes; NTSC and PAL.

Download: Scene World #23 (1121)

source: sceneworld.c64files.com

The TI99 IUC makes me a Interview. Happy reading.

source: ti99iuc.it

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:

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