We are safely ensconced in our prison on the Bath Road at Heathrow Airport. Luckily it’s only a one night sentence prior to moving off to Icelandic shores on the morrow.
Our view from our prison window for the night
To be totally honest we have a nice hotel room, it’s clean and comfortable and has all we require. The view to the front is right on the runway, however we are looking into the centre of the hotel.
View from the front
I’m only joking using the HMP and prison title, it’s been a good journey down from the East Midlands to West London with only minor delays on the way. We did it in good time.
If you are familiar with British Motorways I have a question. I Have lived between Hertfordshire and Leicestershire all my life. I use the M1 motorway more than I’d like to, I have all my life. So why is it I have never seen the M1 motorway without major works and speed restrictions my entire adult life? I have never seen it open at its full speed potential. What’s that all about? And don’t get me started on so called “Smart Motorways”.
Anyway we are in our room all comfortable contemplating dinner. For the moment it’s a coffee for me and an English breakfast tea for the wife.
Wow, from our friends at Hackaday, who would have thought the time would come when you could downland and print a camera. Even the shutter.
A nice read for those interested in photography and some good links to follow regarding the build. Don’t think I’ll be starting one as I’ve only just mastered the standard paper printer 😂
A couple of years ago we were excited to read news of an entirely 3D printed camera, right down to the shutter. We wrote it up back then but sadly …
If there was a biography about you, what would the title be?
Mañana man
Procrastination, thats me to a tee, or should i really say it used to be. I don’t know, ill tell you what, ask me tomorrow.
That’s me that is 👆
I used to always work in the future, always putting off until tomorrow something that could be done today. Even my bosses knew that i could be relied on to do a job, they just didn’t know when though.
They tried getting me to do daily to do lists, this worked for a while until i turned them into daily tomorrow lists. They gave up in the end and just subtracted 24 hrs off my weekly schedule to make it look like i was being productive on a daily basis. It made them feel as if they’d achieved something. Losers.
It’s probably why i loved visiting our friends in Cyprus so much. The procrastination levels there are through the roof and i thought i fitted in well. My mate would tell me he had a Plumber coming Wednesday, however the key thing he omitted to find out was just on what Wednesday they would be arriving! The levels of procrastination were skill level 2000, these guys were ultra professional.
Over time i have gotten better, but do you know what? It’s never really caused any issues and on many occasions my putting off doing things has fitted in extremely well when there have been changes made to plans along the way…I hadn’t wasted any time, unlike others.
And as for my wife and her numerous 6 monthly reminders..
Ill do it tomorrow
I always tell her it will be done tomorrow. And we all know that never comes.
Most EPROMS made around this time in the 1980s had memory that could be formatted by using a method of exposing them to high levels of Ultraviolet light for between 10-30 minutes. The Psion Datapaks required about 30 minutes of “exposure” in one of these units to format the drive.
The unit I have purchased a Mk1 formatter
By high levels of light, i mean UV light around the wavelength at or close to 253.7nm. A UV light you may have in your home or in the form of a torch operates at somewhere around 395nm, a considerably safer wavelength of operation than what is needed to format these EPROMS.
The UV light spectrum. As you can see the wavelength we need to format the Datapak at 253nm falls into the dangerous UVC Shortwave spectrum. The standard house hold UV light or torch falls into the much safer UVA Longwave category at around 395nm. Picture courtesy of The Hepacart blog.
This unit was purchased after I had spoken to the seller, a nice chap that specialised in old diy tools and computer peripherals, but wasn’t quite sure what this unit did or how it operated. He had stated that the red light was working, but nothing else. My concern here was that the UV light inside was broken, and these tubes i believe are known as low pressure mercury discharge tubes, and finding them in this size is pretty difficult to say the least. The UV tube in this unit could potentially be 40yrs old as this is a Mk1 unit circa 1984. I just don’t know if its tube has ever been replaced at all in its lifetime. Have a read of this post by Dave Curran who had similar issues sourcing a light supply for one of these units, it resulted in him having to make a hybrid concoction combining one of these units and a cheap Chinese import – Eprom eraser/upgrade
I asked the seller, John, if the Ultraviolet light inside was operational and I have supplied a screen shot of his reply:
The reply to my question
When I received John’s reply I jumped in with an offer and this was accepted. He had been so helpful. I’m now awaiting the unit, but I’m now a lot more confident that the unit, and most importantly the UV light is currently operational. However it’s probably going to be subjected to some pretty rough conditions on its delivery journey, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed for now.
This formatter is a series one version that came out around the same time as Psions Mk1 organiser first appeared on the scene, circa 1984. It was used right through to when the MK2 organisers were released sometime between the years 1986/89.
Mk1 version (My unit) MK2 versionThe two available Psion branded formatters
This unit will be cleaned, opened up, checked for electrical and mechanical stability, its safety features will be confirmed and it will then be reassembled and PAT tested prior to use. Once this is done i will attempt my first format of a Psion Datapak whilst the unit is in my possession. However we have a little way to go just yet, before we can consider carrying out that task. The seller was very prompt at getting the unit out to me as it has arrived less than 24hrs later.
Dirty Filthy
The general condition on first inspection is that it looks good, but it’s very dirty and has a slight musky dampness to it. I have given the plug and the cable and case a good clean with a bit of degreaser and this has cleaned well. I’ve done this just so getting inside is a slightly more pleasant experience without my hands getting covered in gunk. The unit looks a lot bigger in the pictures. It only measures 19cm L, 10cm W and 7cm H, so in theory it’s relatively small.
Before I do go inside I have first checked the plug, it currently is carrying a 13amp fuse that is way to large for this unit. It only requires a 3amp fuse so I have replaced this. I haven’t used the Pat tester yet I’m just using the multimeter, and I’m a bit concerned as there is no continuity between the earth pin and the unit case. Time to get inside.
Inside the unitWait! No connection to the earth wire.There was a potentially dangerous earthing problem
Inside looks tidy but I then become aware of a problem immediately. The earth wire from the mains cable is just sitting there in mid air connected to nothing. No wonder there was no continuity. I have now connected this back in place where it should be and I now get a good earth continuity throughput the casing. All other connections checked and tightened accordingly. This proves that the Pat test would have failed miserably. This was a potentially dangerous situation, that’s why it’s best to carry out these checks on any old powered units you get from a third party. Trust no one.
Next I need to check that the safety switch that turns off the UV light when the drawer is opened is operating. Again I use the multimeter to probe the switch and this seems to be ok. A good listen to the action confirms that it is clicking in and out. A quick clean inside and then the internal checks are complete.
The safety switch clicking in and out
There is no real way to test for actual operation until the safety case is back in place, that’s the safest way. Case on and another quick clean and the unit is looking good .
BeforeAfterLooking nice and clean
At this point I’ve carried out the Pat test before plugging it into the mains and the results have come back good and it’s a pass, the earth is good. I’m now confident about plugging the unit into the mains.
Door closed light is on inside Door open, light offThe safety switch confirmed as working
Everything seems fine I now just need to place a Datapak inside to see if the format process works. Also it’s a good time to check if the 30 minute timer is working. No time like the present, so I’ve found a suitable candidate and what better way to do the 30 minute countdown than with a Psion organiser I just happen to have hanging around. Here goes 🤞
The unit has been on about 15 minutes and all seems fine, the unit is not overheating and there is nothing occurring that shouldn’t be occurring. Fingers still tightly crossed. 🤞 The Psion timer duly sounded at the 30 minute mark, the unit turned itself off about 2 minutes later.
It continued about another 2 minutes after the timer finished
So 32 minutes seems to be the actual time under the lamp. Not too bad considering its age. The unit was only slightly warm to the touch after this time. I’ve left the Datapak to allow it to get to room temperature before testing it .
Success the system is sizing
Here we go, and it’s fantastic news as the format has worked. When plugged in it has informed me it is going through the sizing process that occurs on these organisers when you put in a newly formatted pack.
BeforeAfter
And when you go to check the info you can see the previously stored old data has now been deleted.
I now have a very useful, safe and working item of equipment. A very slight mustiness remains but that is only to be expected with an item that is 40 years old that you have had no input into how it is stored. I’ll probably store this in a sealable bag with some silica gel sachets to try and draw that mustiness out. I’m really pleased with this project and now have a very handy piece of kit to boot.
As I said earlier, make sure you always check thoroughly any items electrical such as this, coming from a third party. It’s your life, preserve it, safety first and trust no one. It’s a good mantra in this aspect or restoration.
Another item saved from landfill 👍
Thanks for taking the time to follow this project.
I know this sounds like a stupid title for a post, it is really, it’s one of those impatient child like statements that we, so called adults make from time to time.
We’re off to Iceland again this weekend and it’s always been one of my dreams to be able to witness an erupting volcano. However not a massive one, a small inconspicuous non invasive one would do just fine.
Picture courtesy of Perlan
At the moment the weather in Iceland is actually warmer and better than it is here in the East Midlands, and that always confuses me due to their proximity to the arctic circle. I lay money on it, what usually happens is we head on home and then the land blisters and there is a new eruption for a few months. But when we plan to return the land seals up like a small surface cut and then scabs over.
It’s quite frustrating
Icelands volcano cams
I constantly check in with the local news streams, as well as looking at the large amount of Volcano cams that are online and providing live coverage of the most susceptible areas.
That said we are really looking forward to our break in the land of ice and fire, however at the moment there doesn’t seem to be much of either.
I recently purchased this camera and wrote about it in a previous blog entry Werra 1
I’ve commenced taking the Werra to pieces. The winder was not working and the shutter was not firing. Before starting this work I’ve viewed this page at Everything Vintage where they have recently carried out a full strip down of the Werra and you can view the page HERE, it’s all great advice.
Getting below the top plate was relatively easy exposing the mechanics from 58 years ago, I don’t think it’s ever been opened in all this time. I always love to see the ingenuity that went into these old cameras in years gone by.
Werra 1 stripdown
The internals look dirty in the photo but to be truthful I don’t think the lighting is doing it any justice, yep there is a fine oxidation coating but it’s at a very acceptable level considering its age. When I get to the point of dismantling as much as I can, I will start to clean and lubricate these pieces. But at the moment my goal is getting to the shutter.
Werra winding system – shutter not working
In the video above I’ve managed to get the shutter cocking using the lens ring, however the shutter actuator does work intermittently, but there is no movement of the shutter (Or is there…)
The only reason I ask the question above is that after reading the “Everything Vintage” link in the first paragraph it appears there is a second shutter that closes the light path to the film back when you wind on. When you are ready to expose the film this shutter opens and then there is a second shutter that controls the exposure. if you watch the small video above I think it is this shutter you can hear when I wind the camera on. Hopefully this one is working, I just need to get the one on the rear working, and for this I need to remove the lens from the housing. To do this I need a tool I don’t currently have but have now ordered. More to follow when the lens ring removal tool arrives.
Lens ring spanner
The lens ring spanner has arrived, the ring is being right stubborn at the moment and Im struggling to release it from its 58 years of rigidity. I’m tired as well and don’t want to cause any damage to the shutter so I’ll come back to this later.
18 hrs later, I’m rested and have another go at releasing that lens ring, this time I’m successful and I manage to release it. Sometimes it’s better to sleep on a problem and approach it with fresh eyes rather than continuing whilst tired and prone to making mistakes.
Werra Lens ring removed
With the lens off the body, the shutter cassette can now be removed. It amazes me just how intricate this cassette is and the workmanship that must have gone into it. I’d estimate at least 10 small cogs and a number of tiny springs with levers and pivot points, amazing really considering it’s about 60 years old. It’s amazing how modern technology has advanced.
Werra lens breakdownWerra shutter moduleWerra lens – another shutter on the rear
It takes some time getting into the shutter cassette as there are springs and things flying off everywhere, you really do have to photograph everything you do just to be able to check what goes where and how.
Inside mechanism – where is that spring from?Complexity of the shutter mechanism
The shutter itself is rather clean apart from some fingerprints on the shutter leaves that must have been from years ago. I have cleaned this down with IPA and then used some finely ground carbon (pencil lead) as a dry lubricant and this has got the shutter moving just fine.
Werra shutter after being lubricated with carbon
I’m now starting to reassemble the lens and shutter as I’m happy that there is nothing else restricting the shutter and it is now moving quite freely. I will clean the camera as I progress and put some watch lubricant on the mechanics that are external to the lens and shutter assembly.
Werra 1 rearWerra 1 baseWerra 1 topWerra 1 front
Well it’s all been reassembled and is now back in one piece. It looks good, the shutter works fine and I’ve now vacuum packed it to go back into storage. I won’t be firing up a roll of film on it yet as I don’t have the time to did so at the moment. I’ll probably save that until the summertime when the weather is more favourable. I’ve really enjoyed this restoration even though at times it was very frustrating. This rebuild has taught me patience, or at least that I need to have more patience and just take my time. Intricate jobs on such old equipment need a clear head and a lot of concentration. I’ve learned my lesson and will endeavour to remedy that situation in my future dealings with such equipment.
I’ve just read this post on the “Old man pondering” blog page and it really struck a chord with me. Kind of reminded me of that horrible day last August when our dear little four legged companion finally left us. It’s true to say it feels as bad now as it did back then. Grief and loss is a horrible experience.
When my parents were at my current age it would have been 1986. They were probably doing their best to just get by, and they both had multiple jobs. I remember a few details from this period as there were some significant goings on around this time.
My mother would have been a shop worker in a local store as well as a cleaner at the company i worked for. I would have been in the photographic industry about four years at this time, i would have had a darkroom in the spare bedroom and would have probably been on my third computer at this point. I’d have ditched the Sinclair ZX81 and the Commodore Vic 20 and I’d probably be trying to master the Amstrad CPC464. I loved the start of the computer era, as did a lot of my friends at the time.
I had my first SLR camera around this time and that would have probably been a Praktika. I was saving as much as i could, to try and purchase my all time favourite camera at the time, and in fact it is still my favourite of all time to this very day. A jet black Canon A1.
I know that i was heavily into photography at This time, as i took one of the most iconic photos i have ever taken in my family history, of my father. I have it to this day. He was leaning on a coal bunker in the garden, it was a beautiful sunny day and i took it, and processed the film and enlarged the photos in my little darkroom in the spare bedroom, on a Gnome enlarger. It was a black and white photo and it represented a turning point in all of our lives.
He had just had a heart attack, and he suffered a deep immersive depression that he never really came out of. Please don’t misunderstand me he lived for another 21 years with no other medical issues, however he had changed and became highly abusive to my mum, my little sister and me. He was heavily into alcohol at this stage, and we were paying the price. I had to grow up quick as i became the protector of my Mother and sister, it was hard and i was not prepared. We were the only ones at home at the time as my two elder brothers and elder sister had all left at that point, and boy how we suffered big time. Our lives were changed the very day his heart attack occurred.
He was a very good electrician, he had been an aircraft electrician but was now working for a local building company, he was also a part time baker.
In the next few years my mother would lose all her brothers and sisters as time took its toll. Father would lose his mother and sister and the family began to dwindle in size.
But thats enough of the bad as its all in the past and though i never forget what happened, i have to move on with my own life for purposes of maintaining sanity.
I loved the 80”s as the world was opening up and starting to develop technologically, however i do believe the older generations did struggle. It’s strange really as it is a mirror image for us older generations today, with some of the things that are going on around us currently. Perhaps all generations have their own Groundhog Day periods.
Here are some points of interest that also occurred back in 1986
Plans were announced between the UK and France to build the channel tunnel
The space shuttle Challenger exploded just after its launch
Halley’s Comet makes a show
The Soviet Mir space station is launched
Microsoft goes on the stock market
The Chernobyl nuclear plant explodes
Argentina wins the World Cup
The M25 motorway – The UK’s biggest car park opens officially
A lot happened that year and these are just a small selection of them. However the dynamics of my family changed that year and what occurred from that point on will never be forgotten . WordPress really couldn’t have chosen a worse time line to talk about for me than this one I’m afraid, but then, it’s good to get it out there.
However, time moves on, wounds heal and we all learn. This is why it is important that we don’t erase our past, otherwise how will we ever learn to be better people and treat others with the mutual respect and belonging they all so rightly deserve.
I have been on a run of night shifts this week, and when I awoke this afternoon, I checked my phone and I had a missed call. I listened to the message and tears flooded my eyes. A fantastic colleague and friend had passed away as I slept and its hit me hard.
20th April 2014. We won.
Chris had been a slave to the big “C” for a couple of years now, he had his ups and downs and for a while he seemed to be winning. But that bastard Cancer did not allow him any respite and today I have lost a wonderful friend and colleague.
Chris was a signaller on the route between Leicester and Peterborough and I used to regularly meet him at signal boxes between Melton Mowbray and Oakham. He, like me was a fan of Leicester City football club, and we loved nothing better than to talk about the club and try to sort the issues out in our own way, just as every football fan across the country does.
Chris spotted on Tv at the Leicester v WBA match 20th April 2024
The pictures above were broadcast on BBC tv when we were playing West Bromwich Albion in the championship in April 2024. We won that game so we both had something positive to chat about.
Something to talk about
51 years of age is no age at all.
Chris was a wonderful human being and a lovely soul. He always had a smile to greet you and there was always the offer of a cup of tea the moment you walked through the door. Some people are put on this earth to make others lives better, and Chris was one of those people. Now he has left us and the world will be a sadder place for it.
My life has been blessed for knowing him, he was an outstanding work colleague, and i am glad our paths crossed. He will always be remembered with fondness.
The Psion II range was well ahead of its time when it came to saving data on its machines, however there was an element of strangeness in its design and usability.
You have to realise we are talking early eighties technology and to be totally honest it was the infancy of computing, or hand held computing to be precise. There are three drives on this range of handhelds, they are A:, B: and C:
A: is the internal memory of the unit and it is RAM memory and ranges from 8KB in the CM model, to 16KB in the XP model right through to 32 or 64KB in the LZ/LZ64 models.
Datapaks on a Psion II unit
B: and C: drives are found on the rear of the unit. Into these slots you can place memory modules that are the equivalent of disk drives you’d find on a computer, however they are pretty much early solid state in design as they have no moving parts. These modules can come in sizes between 8-128Kb in size. B: is always the top slot closer to the screen, C: is the bottom slot closer to the battery compartment.
Types of memory
Rampaks are as it says on the label – Ram based plug in memory modules. When you store something in the units internal memory or on a Rampak, and then you later erase it, it really is erased in its entirety and space on the unit or Rampak is freed up, ready to be used again. Rampaks will have their own small “Coin” type battery as part of the module, this allows the unit to allow the constant input and deletion cycles. They use very little power and are probably the best medium for writing programs.
Datapaks are a different beast. They are known as EPROM (Erasable Programmable read only memory) Erasing a record is comparable to crossing out a piece of work written on paper, it has now been deleted but will always remain on the paper, just crossed out. It’s exactly the same on the Datapak. Hence in time the memory space will dwindle due to the deleted files that remain still occupying dead space. The benefit of the Datapak is that they are more secure and are not affected at all when battery power runs low.
With a Datapak there will come a time when the available memory space remaining is insufficient for what you are trying to achieve. At this point you need to format the drive and this is a particular problem if you don’t have the access to equipment to carry out this task. Here’s why…. They need exposure to Ultraviolet light to erase the memory.
Mk2 version of a Datapak formatter
You need one of these, a Datapak, Ultraviolet formatter. Quite a rare beast to be honest, there’s not many on sale at the moment, specific to the Psion. However there are other systems available for EPROMs used in other branches of electronics. The Datapak has to have its label removed to expose the crystal glass below on the EPROM in preparation for being placed inside the formatter. In theory it is just like an oven that exposes the EPROM for around 30 Minutes, the door is closed prior to formatting to keep the light source from damaging the users vision, as the light is in the UV wavelength spectrum likely to cause some quite serious damage or long term conditions.
Here you can see a Datapak that i have taken the lid off of. On the circuit board you can see a piece of crystal glass with a silicon die below, this is the component that will need approx 30 mins of Ultraviolet exposure to format its contents.
The crystal that the UV light needs focusing on
The formatting process
Erasure of the EPROM begins to occur with wavelengths shorter than 400nm. Exposure to sunlight for one week or to Fluorescent indoor lighting for three years could cause erasure, this is why the Datapak has a label covering the crystal portion of the EPROM. The recommended procedure is to expose the EPROM to a UV light source at a wavelength at or close to 253.7nm that usually achieves the format process within 20-30 minutes, with the lamp at a distance from the glass lens of around 2.5cm.
Then how do I achieve a format of a Datapak without this equipment?
There was always the option of trying a standard UV bulb or torch. However the UV wavelength on these items for public safety is usually in the 395nm wavelength spectrum. There really is very little available to the general public that is as strong as the bulbs required in the 253nm range to complete this task, as they are a serious danger to health if you are exposed to it for any length of time. This then was not an option i was able to pursue.
I now have a few options available to me if i wish to get these Datapaks formatted.
Purchase a cheap Chinese manufactured unit with a European plug. They seem to work and do the job, however you will be lucky if you get a couple of uses from it.
Trawl EBay. As i write there are two working ones including this MK2 version listed at a reasonable asking price that have a lot of people watching them, so I expect the price to rise accordingly as it gets towards the close of the auction.
EBay spares or repair. There is one unit, a Mk1 version that has a buy now price and it seems to have been hanging about in someone’s junk box for a few years and could possibly need repair. This is a tempting option however if the UV light inside is damaged then i have to look for a suitable replacement, and to be honest there are not a lot of compatible low pressure mercury discharge tubes of these sizes available now. You may have to look for suitable alternatives and I’m not sure i want all that messing around. Do i take the risk and go for one that may need repair? A guy called Dave Curran has combined this drive with one of the Chinese low cost options to create this hybrid eraser: Eprom eraser/upgrade
Get someone else to do it. There is this option and a service is available on line that allows you to send your Datapaks off for someone else to format for you. But do you want to entrust data to a third party? For me it’s not really a problem as none of my units have any of my data on them, but it is something to take into consideration. Whilst I’m searching for a suitable unit this may be a route i consider.
So these are my options. I’ve an idea what I’m going to explore, so im just going to take a little time to look into it all.
My decision
EBay spares and repair – seeing that this is a site where i like to purchase and repair items, i have gone for this option and purchased a used and typically untested Mk1 Psion Datapak formatter from EBay. I have had some good dialogue with the seller and i am confident that this unit can be made good with only a small amount of intervention. The UV tube inside is potentially 40yrs old now, i’ve secured it at a very reasonable price as i got in there and was able to complete the deal relatively quickly.
My plan is to get this unit opened, check its mechanical and electrical stability, get it cleaned, reassembled and then Pat tested. Only then can i look at attempting a full format on it for the first time. And for that i will put together another post incorporating the repair of the unit and the formatting of the Datapak.
Foxes Den 
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