faulty – Page 3 – Foxes Den

Amstrad Notepad NC100

What the listing said:

Amstrad Notepad NC100+ Vinyl Case

Not working not powering on, the vinyl case has some marks and scratches.

EBay

I’ve been after one of these for a little while, I’ve just been awaiting one at a good price and this one became available, post included at £30GBP, they retailed for £199Gbp back in 1992. It says it is not working but that’s good in my eyes as it makes these posts more appealing, as it gives me something to repair. I don’t know what the issue is off hand as the post didn’t state that, but I do know these items have suffered with capacitor problems over time, but that is not necessarily the case here. We will just have to wait until we do the assessment on its arrival. And as it comes from around the early 90s it fits right in with my modus operandi. And this little cutie dates from 1992.

Here’s a little history behind this unit courtesy of Wikipedia:

The Amstrad NC100 Notepad is an A4-size, portable Z80-based notebook computer, released by Amstrad in July 1992. It featured 64 KB of RAM, 256KB of Rom, the Protextword processor, various organiser-like facilities (diary, address book and time manager), a simple calculator, and a version of the BBC BASIC interpreter. The computer’s design, evocative of the TRS-80 Model 100, features a screen with 80 character columns by eight rows, and not backlit, but this let the NC100 run for up to 20 hours on four standard AA cellbatteries. There was an RS-232serial port, a parallel port for connecting a printer, and a PC card socket, by means of which the computer’s memory could be expanded up to 1 MB.

Assessment

The unit has arrived and cosmetically it is in very good condition apart from the peeling plastic screen cover. A little bit of dust and grime, all keys in good order and no dinks or dents. the vinyl bag is a little tatty but that’s not a problem, it’s obviously done it’s job over the years due to the good condition of the unit.

The unit on its arrival, generally in good condition

So down to testing. First thing I’ve done is check the power supply is giving a 6.5 v output and this is ok.

Secondly I’ve put 4 AA batteries in place and turned the unit on but then it abruptly stops, displaying a lithium battery issue.

The lithium battery is an old CMOS type battery, a CR2032 coin battery. This is the battery that keeps the info in the system when you turn it off. I thought I’d run this through the multimeter and was surprised with the voltage I saw, the battery seemed fine to me at 2.8v, so I replaced it with a new one measuring 3.4v. And the issue came up again…..head scratching time!

Looking on line it seems there is an issue with the lithium cell battery contacts on these units when they are being resurrected to modern day usage, time has not been good to them. The coin contacts have now been cleaned and slightly bent to ensure a better contact and hey presto it’s operational with no further issues.

Battery contacts needed cleaning and repositioning

The main AA battery contacts are fine and the external supply is doing what it should. Now let’s look at sorting that screen issue.

Quite simply there were two options, use a bit of heat to try and stick the plastic down, but I decided against this as it would not lay flat, it had too many kinks in it. So the only other option was to remove it and this is what I did, it peeled off with no issues. In time I will see if I can get a suitable replacement but to be honest it isn’t really required as I’m not going to be using it that often.

I’ve tried every function and keystroke of the board and all is good there are no issues and I now have a perfectly acceptable unit for my collection. It looks like i have had a second win against the “Untested” brigade who sell on EBay. This was the simplest of repairs and the issues are readily available to research on line. There is no excuse for not looking into the issues, when a good unit like this can now sell for up to three times the amount that I paid for it.

Your loss my win. Another one kept from landfill.

I’ve given the unit a good polish and I think you’ll agree that the project has come up good.

Now to just go and read the user manual on line to see if I’ve missed anything. Thanks for passing by, as always it’s most appreciated.

Samsung SQ3000 electronic typewriter – assessment & repair

This is the follow up to a recently obtained electronic typewriter that was purchased in January 2025, the initial post can be found here: Samsung SQ3000 electronic typewriter.

The following post will deal with the assessment on its arrival and what I am going to try to do, to get it back working again, as close as possible to its original state.

I’ve downloaded an instruction I manual, I’ve had to download one for a Smith Corona Wordsmith 200, it is in theory the exact same unit, just under a different manufacturers branding.

Assessment

It’s arrived and apart from a little age yellowing it looks ok. There is a PAT testing sticker that says it was last electrically tested back in 1998 and is due a retest in 1999. This corresponds with my date estimate of mid 90s.

I will retest and renew the safety checks when I’m finished working on it. I have noticed that the paper bail/release rail is broken on the left hand side so I will have to add that to the repairs, this shouldn’t be a major concern.

Before I took the roller out to get to the paper bail I did start the machine up. Everything went as expected and when I tried to type I was getting some weird reactions to the keys I was pushing. All kinds of characters were appearing.

I checked the daisy wheel and there was a click. It wasn’t sitting right. I reset the machine using the two reset buttons and the machine then went through its reset programme, pretty much the same effect as turning it off and on again. (Not much changes in the way of tech there then)

Well that’s worked fine, I have tried every combination on the keyboard including the erase function and this is now fully working. It really was quite simple. My next job is to try and fix this paper bail.

There is quite a bit of dust and dirt inside that needs removing. And whilst I’m at it I will lightly re grease the areas that need it. Let’s be honest it’s not been done in the last 30yrs so now is as good a time as any. Inside will get a light hoovering and a bit of a tart up, I’m not going to go mad. I will clean the outside and all knobs and buttons and try to get rid of some of the yellowing, but to be honest as long as it’s clean I’m not too worried about age marks.

The keyboard has lost a few of its letters. I will remove what is left of some of them and use some keyboard decals to replace the missing ones. This will be one of the last jobs I do.

Well that’s the assessment done and apart from a few small issues and requiring some basic maintenance I don’t think we have an immense amount of work to carry out. We know it now works. Let’s hope I don’t cause any further carnage whilst working on it.

Let’s get to work.

Repair

Right it’s straight onto the paper bail to try and fix the snapped end. Firstly I’m just going to use some superglue to get it in place. When this is dry I’m going to create two “Doublers”, place one either side of the damaged part and glue these in place to create a stronger repair and to add some stability to this area.

I’ve got some black semi rigid plastic. I’ve created a small template from a tracing that I did of the good right hand side of the bail.

I now have two doublers cut from the plastic that I will use as explained above.

It doesn’t matter that they are not perfectly shaped, however they both fit perfectly well into the profile of the bail arm, and this portion of the arm is hidden in the typewriter housing anyway, so the part will not be visible, but it will now be strong.

The Doublers have been put in place using a quick set epoxy resin, I will leave this to dry for a good few hours before I tidy it up, with a light clean, and then I will try to get it back in place.

Bail arm repaired, installed and working.

Now that’s done i’ve gone inside and there were a nice couple of spider webs around the transformer that are now history. I’ve secured the cable in the rear of the unit that never had any tension restraint, so that there will be no issues, should anyone now give a good yank on the cable lead. This is a safety addition I have made that was never on the original unit.

Cable restraint screwed to base to prevent strain on internal wires in and around the transformer bay.

I have also tightened all screws and checked the wiring and this all seems ok. Plug and fuse have been checked and all is looking good. I’ll carry out a PAT test once I’ve finished the clean up.

I’ve cleaned the main roller with alcohol, and removed all the old grease and dirt from the platten adjuster switch and the roller advance knob. I have removed the platten plate as well as the six mini rollers that are here. I’ve cleaned them all and re assembled/installed them.

I have cleaned the daisy wheel as well as in and around the printing head unit.

Inside the unit I have given a good hoover as well as a light clean and again removed more old grease. I have given the exterior plastic a preliminary polish, this has removed some of the yellowing and made it look “cleaner” I am not going to worry too much about the yellowing as it isn’t that bad, and I don’t really want to venture into carrying out a “Retrobrite” on this unit. It would take too long and there would be no benefit for this project.

I’ve now added very small amounts of a watch lubricant to those areas that i have previously cleaned and removed the old grease from.

The unit has been reassembled and I’m pleased to say it is still working fine. It’s running smoothly and all aspects of the unit seem to be working just fine. To be honest it seems to be printing clearer to me.

Daisy wheel and print quality is perfect

I don’t know how long the print cartridge has been installed but I suspect it may have been a few years back. It’s almost finished, and I do have a replacement on order. I’m sure a fresh cartridge will make the print stand out even more.

Next I’m going to have a go at replacing some, or even all of the keyboard letters. It all depends how it looks when I start replacing them. I’m going to gently rub off the lettering that is left and clean the keys using a 95% pure Isopropyl alcohol solution (IPA).

All damaged and missing key decals removed in preparation for replacement new decals. Others may have to be removed dependant on how the new ones look when in place.

These are the replacement key decals I will be attempting to use.

I’ve replaced the damaged key decals. The ones I’ve used are a lot brighter than the original ones and really accentuate the yellowing. I’m not troubled by this as it keeps its “Old” look. I would have to scrape and wipe for hours to remove all the other keys and to be honest it would look just like someone had gone abroad to have a bright white set of dodgy veneers installed, it would look quite out of place, and in your face. Just like a Cheshire Cat smile.

It serves a purpose and just allows the unit to be usable again.

The final product:

Fortunately a lot of the equipment and parts I have used, I was already in possession of, so there are no additional costs for this project. Below you can view the total costings for this project as they currently stand:

Purchase inc postage £13.14
Cable restraint £0.25
Keyboard decals £1.25
Total cost of project £14.64

Again I have managed to save a fantastic 90s retro item from landfill for very little cost, and that is a fantastic result. It has years of use left in it, as long as the consumables remain available, and of that I am confident that they will be available, for at least the next few years. The unit is clean, I’ve just carried out an electrical PAT test and it is electrically sound.

Believe it or not I’m going to go back in time and will write some traditional typewritten letters to friends and family. I’m looking forward to doing that and it will certainly surprise them, it will be totally unexpected.

When all that is done, i will donate this unit to our local LOROS Hospice shop so they can sell it on and raise much needed funds. They deserve it. Edit: This was done in March 2025 at their shop in Hamilton Leicester. I hope it gets them a good price.

Watch the brief video for the final words on this restoration. All 13 seconds of it.

And that’s it folks..

Thanks for passing by.

Samsung SQ3000 electronic typewriter

What the listing stated:

Offered here is a good vintage Samsung SQ-3000 electronic typewriter. It powers up and operates when the keys are pressed. However, the symbols printed do not match the button pressed ! The daisywheel may be out of line. Otherwise, good cosmetic condition. Any questions, then please ask.

EBay

I have again succumbed to purchasing something very retro, a typewriter. Yep it has a fault just as most things I buy have, that’s part of the fun of it all, can I fix it and save another item from landfill? Who knows but I’ll give it a try.

This Typewriter, the SQ3000 was also sold as the Elite S-7500, Hanseatic Europa II, Leader MD, Olympia Textstar MD, Opperman S-7100, Privilege Electronic 2600, Royal RT 7700, Silver Reed EX-133 MD, Smith Corona Wordsmith 200 and Welco EX 260 DS. It was manufactured sometime between 1990 -1995 and was a mass produced low cost typewriter of the time. Personally I think it was around 1995 as this was when regulations insisted that electronic items such as this required wired in power supplies, and this unit is a hard wired unit.

Samsung loosely translated/stands for “Three Stars”Apparently the three represents “Something big, numerous and powerful” and the “Stars” represent “Everlasting and eternal” so there you have it, that is today’s history lesson.

I loved using typewriters prior to the word processor/Pc rendering them useless. There is just something special about them, I can’t quite put my finger on it.

This item looks to be in fantastic cosmetic condition, and I have also checked that the consumables are available, they are so I might have struck lucky. From what I can see in the pictures a number of letters have worn off the keys, hopefully I can source replacements, or decals or I may even repaint them myself.

I have had to download the instruction manual for the Smith Corona Wordsmith 200 as it is the exact same unit under a different name, Samsung just don’t seem to have anything listed or historically available for download.

I think I’ve bagged a bargain (if I can get it working) I’ve paid a grand total including the postage of £13:14 GBP and that was after knocking the seller down a few pounds from the original price. He bit my hand off to be honest, so we’ll just have to wait and see what arrives. If all else fails I can certainly use it for spare parts in the future.

Anyway, this now gets added to the long list of other items I have, that need to be repaired. Please check back to view the “Assess and repair” post that will follow, explaining what arrived, its condition and what I will be doing to get it back in working order.

Thanks for passing by.

Sega Game gear – game cartridges

What the listing stated:

Untested

EBay

Yep that’s it. The good old EBay untested. Anyone who buys from here knows that this can mean anything from working to totally wrecked, or even should have been binned because a good portion of it is missing.

But I try to remain positive… some people call it stupid.

Here I have purchased two of the same games for the grand total of £1.49 GBP. About 75 of your finest British pennies each. My suspicions are such as the guy who posted is selling a couple of “tested” game cartridges (the same game) for a considerably higher price. I just don’t understand how he couldn’t test these two. I suspect they are knackered to coin a phrase.

Anyway, let’s await the mailman.

I’ll apologise in advance for how easy this fix was. They arrived and both game cartridges looked ok. I then loaded them into the unit and one worked and one didn’t.

Both Cartridges tested

I decided to just clean the contacts on both cartridges with a bit of IPA and hey presto. Two working game cartridges for next to no cost.

2nd cartridge up and working

So again, I apologies for the simplistic fix, I was hoping I would at least be opening the cartridge and doing a bit of trace repair, but sometimes that is all it takes. I’ll keep one, and the other i will move on with another unit that I’m currently repairing.

But most importantly they are not off to landfill. Result.

Rock & Roll clock

Here’s what the listing stated:

The clock features a swinging pendulum and is a great addition to any music memorabilia collection. However, please note that the clock mechanism is currently faulty and may require repair or replacement.

It’s been a while since I’ve been tempted to fix something totally outside my comfort zone, so here it is a novelty “Elvis Presley” Rock & Roll clock. I quite fancy learning how to repair clocks, perhaps this is the best place to start with nothing too complex.

From what I can gather the clock is a fairly std mechanism with a separate mech that operates the pendulum “legs”. I know the wife won’t entertain this in the house, however my elder sister is a massive Elvis fan so I may even shove it in her general direction… if I can fix it.

No assumptions as to what is going to arrive at the moment as you never know what you will end up with from auction sites, so let’s just await the mail man’s knock on the door.

The clock has arrived and apart from having to just straighten the hands, a battery has been put in and the clock is ticking well and keeping good time. However Elvis isn’t shaking his hips as he should be even with a separate battery in place so there is an obvious issue there.

No hip shaking Elvis?

Well the issue is a bit of a pain in the ass one. The pendulum effect comes from a small electromagnet that opposes a magnet on the pendulum, hence when working the pendulum continuously swings. However this one has two of the wires from the coil broken. These wires are just about the width of a hair and had to be coaxed back into place using my microscope. I’ve tacked the wires back into place and the clock is currently working.

However, apparently these wires are known to break even if a butterfly farts in the vicinity of them, they don’t hold up to repair that well, so I’m going to order a new electromagnet replacement. Cheap as chips.

Elvis shaking those hips

So I’m happy a fix has been possible, I’ll just wait for the replacement magnet until I move it on to my sister. In the meantime the wife has to put up with it shaking its stuff in the conservatory.

Edit: New magnet 🧲 has arrived, Elvis really going for it now and shaking his booty like a mad man 😂

Shaking like a mad man.

Now he’s off to my sister. can’t stand that much activity around me.

Another item saved from landfill. Result.

Happy days 👍

Modified Sega game gear 2110-50

You may wish to refer to this post: Sega game gear 2110-50 where I purchased a non working Sega Game gear and brought it back to life.

The (I thought it was repaired) Game gear

I’m now ready to do some modifications on this unit, and I will save the replaced items for use on later projects.

Pretty much every Game Gear that was ever produced (and that is approximately 10.6 million units) has suffered with the dreaded (Capacitor plague) that I have discussed in an older post. The first job that is recommended to be carried out when purchasing an old Game Gear is to replace the old capacitors, it’s quite an easy task and nine times out of ten will remedy any issues that you have and allow you to continue gaming for years to come.

However there are other issues.

The screen is an old tube powered system that is exceptionally power hungry, you can replace this with much superior LCD versions, I’m withholding from doing this at the moment as I want to get as much use out of the old screen, and to be honest my unit doesn’t require replacement just yet, there’s still life in the old girl. I’m sure that this will be a future project though.

Occasionally after doing the capacitor replacement on the power board, other components such as a small IC and three transistors that control voltages across the system, start to misbehave causing the unit to switch off after just a few seconds. This is currently occurring with mine and I am intending to replace these components to see if this sorts out my issue. I have also ordered a replacement power board from China that is a fraction of the cost of a European one, it may work, it may not but if the change out of components dosen’t work at least I’ll have an alternative option.

There are a few checks we can do prior to replacement of these components on the power board that will confirm the various voltages required by the system. It’s best that these tests are done prior to diving in head first to replace them. You could be just wasting time. You may need a new power board or maybe even consider converting to a rechargeable battery system. It’s all doable.

Expected voltages – photo courtesy Retrosix

Here are the results from my test of voltages on the power board, I’ve injected 9v via a bench power supply to the battery contacts on the board:

At the 34v pin I had 0v
At the 9v pin I had 8.9v
At the 1.28v pin I had 1.28v
The three ground pins read as ground
At the two 5v pins I had 0v

So as a result I obviously have an issue with the 5v rail and the 34v rail, I believe the 5v rail is the one that affects the boot sequence and the 34v is not an issue at the start up, however, it’s there for a reason and this simple test proves there is an issue. I will therefore only change the IC and three transistors as the capacitors were changed when I did a full recap.

For my modifications I am getting a new clean amp duo audio board with dual speakers instead of the single mono one that is standard. This is an upgrade on the original, extremely efficient and with better sound processing.

I am also replacing the shell with a new Blue case and glass to replace the scuffed old screen, this shell also has dual speaker outlets to compliment the audio board replacement. The shell is already prepped to accept a rechargeable battery system should I decide to install it at a later date.

I shall be getting these upgrades from Retrosix who specialise in supplies and modifications for gaming consoles.

All the items have now arrived and the first thing I’m going to do is sort out the replacement IC and transistors on the power board. The rest is fairly straightforward. However they have sent me the wrong shell, a single speaker one instead of a dual speaker one, so I’ve now got to await a replacement, annoying!

Scratch that, they are saying that they never did have any duo speaker ones even though they were advertising them on their site ( as per picture above..) and after a protracted discussion with the supplier / owner i’ve come to the conclusion that he might think he is a wizard at modding and designing circuitry but is totally and utterly inept at customer service, he wouldn’t know good service if it bit him in the ass. Hey ho on we go, it is what it is.

If you choose to use them in the future then just be aware. They have an uncanny knack of trying to pin their inadequacies and mistakes on you, the customer. Caveat Emptor – as they say.

So now the sound will be original mono, but hopefully improved. I have a spare speaker and mount as a result and I can use the new clean amp duo board in a mono configuration. Should I get a duo speaker shell sometime in the future I can always do a swap out.

Today I’ve taken the empty new shell and installed the new audio card and speaker, as well as the new buttons and silicon pads. I’ve then installed the main board minus the power board that still needs the new components.

I’ve also installed the new front lens on the unit and I must say it looks nice.

Let’s get to the difficult bit, replacing the components on the power board. I’m not joking when saying that some of these items are not much bigger than a grain of rice. I suspect a lot of bad language will be used here, as this is a new level of soldering for me. I’ve never replaced anything so small before. If I balls it up I’ll just have to await my cheap Chinese power board.

Ok, the power board from Ali Express got here really quick, to be honest even before I could set some time aside to change the components on the old board, so therefore I’ve decided to try this new board as a straight swap.

I will keep the the components and the old board to use at a later date.

First though I have used the bench power supply to test it is ok, and it’s a big tick on all voltages as per the test I did on the old board. All voltages are stable and consistent, so I have secured the board in place and put the required batteries inside. Works perfectly.

Back together, awaiting the big switch on

Working perfectly

I now have a perfectly good looking updated Game gear that I am exceptionally pleased with. The sound system is a good upgrade, it has a really loud volume (adjustable) and is crisp. The powerboard from China at a total cost of £10.80 is an absolute bargain, and works perfectly with good stable voltages. The case is good, fits well and the lens is clean easy to install and scratch free, the whole thing looks brand new.

I now have two perfectly good looking and working examples of 90’s retro rivalry in perfect working condition. The plan is to display these in the house, on a custom made display. I’ve really enjoyed working on this little project and I’m made up with the outcome.

The only things left to be done would be to change the power supplies to rechargeable and to change the screens to new IPS/LCD screens, but I don’t think I’m going to do that on these two, I’m keeping them original or as close as possible to original, I want to keep these as they are, to cherish in this condition for as long as I can.

I love them. And they are fantastic.

Namco arcade classics tv plug and play games joystick

Here’s what the listing stated:

FAULTY no power, NOT WORKING for Spare Parts or Repair.

TEST NOTES: Does not power up, no further testing, unable to check any functions. Battery leakage with corrosion in and around battery compartment.

Ebay

Another low priced item that I fancy getting working. And as is standard with me it has corrosion. This item is from 2003, it is a self contained game arcade system that plugs into the tv. It has five games installed including classics such as Galaxian and PAC Man, so compared to some items I’ve purchased of late, at 21 years old this one is a relative baby.

Well, we now await its arrival where we can give it a good look over and assessment. Hurry along now delivery person…..

It’s arrived.

It’s in pretty much perfect condition, all stickers are in place and it hasn’t been previously opened.

I’ve put in 4 new batteries, and damn it. It powers on. It’s working.

I’ve plugged it into the back of a television and it also plays.

Yes there is a little corrosion on the battery springs but I’ve seen a lot worse. I’ll give these a little clean just so I can say I’ve done something.

It’s quite rare these days to get a bargain off of EBay, and for the seller to be truthful in his description, in fact he’s been exceptionally honest, just writing it off without testing. A big bonus to me.

As the saying goes, if it ain’t broken, don’t try to fix it.

Makes a boring post though, sorry about that. A bargain, yes, and another one kept from the tip and will be used at home in the garden pub, the wife will love this as she’s a big Pac-Man fan.

Result!

Sega game gear 2110-50

What the listing stated:

SEGA GAME GEAR Console FAULTY

Ebay

And that was it. Faulty. What’s faulty? I’ll not know until it arrives as i didn’t ask. Foolish perhaps, but I was looking for a challenge and something I could later mod. I think I’ve found it.

I must admit I was looking for a cheap way into a retro gaming repair and I believe this was it. Most damaged game gear units seem to be averaging around the £42GBP price but I managed to get this 2110-50 version at a lower price of £28GBP (and I may have got a game with it, let’s see what arrives!). However I don’t know what the heck is wrong with it but I suspect it’s the usual issue that has plagued these 90s retro units since their inception where the capacitors fail catastrophically.

There is probably not a single one of these units out there that has not suffered this issue or is certainly guaranteed to do so sometime in the not too distant future. Imagine how many of these units have just been discarded as junk considering that 10.62 Million units were sold up to and including its discontinuation date in April 1997….scary!

The first recommendation from anyone in the know is to change the caps before they start popping and corroding everything. I have a set of replacement caps ready in anticipation.

My hope is that this unit has not yet reached that corrosion stage….fingers crossed 🤞

Hurry along now Mr.Postman….

Both Game gear and replacement Caps have arrived. And I’m really happy as there is a game in the unit as well “Columns” Sega’s answer to Nintendos Tetris. A nice bonus.

The unit turns on, there is no sound, and only a very feint green glow when the unit is held at an angle. It’s looking very much like it is the old Capacitor problem.

The unit is in surprisingly good order with scuffs and minor scratches as you expect from a game that’s around 30yrs old. The lens scuffs aren’t an issue as a new lens is relatively cheap. But that isn’t the problem as it stands. Let’s get it working and I can worry about that later in the repair process.

There are no signs of any corrosion in the battery compartments and this pleases me. I only hope that when the unit is opened there are no obvious signs of corrosion on the boards.

Wish me luck, I’m going in….

Overall I’m happy with the condition inside, no bad corrosion, however it’s noticeable that a few capacitors have leaked. The worst seems to be C39 on the main board, it’s easy to see the residue.

This unit separates into three boards. An audio board, a power board and the main board. This is a twin asic board, I have removed the audio and power boards as these are the first and possibly the easiest for me to be working on.

The audio board has 5 capacitors that require replacing, I can see some leakage on the rear of board but not in the area of the capacitors. I suspect that this is factory flux though I could be wrong. When I remove the caps I’ll clean all the pads and use IPA to clean so this should sort that issue out.

The power board only has three Capacitors that require changing, however it’s clear to see here that C5 has been leaking.

Let’s get on with the removal and replacement of these 8 components. The other 11 are on the main board.

Well that didn’t go too bad. A few minor position changes due to the capacitor types being a different size on the board compared to the 1990s version.

It was obvious that there had been leakage on these two boards due to the fishy smell that arose when the soldering iron was used. That said, the old capacitors came off without too much problem. I used solder braid to remove the old solder and then gave a good clean of the board with IPA prior to re tinning the pads prior to putting the caps back in place.

I knew there wasn’t a big issue with the power board as this was sort of working prior to this project. This was the easiest board to solder as it had through the board components, pretty much a straight swap but for better components.

The audio board was different as I had to reposition these pots so the case could close properly and the shielding could go back into place with no issues. Again I used the same process of unsoldering, cleaning thoroughly and then tinning the pads.

These two boards are now complete. As a test I thought I’d reassemble the unit and see if there was any improvement. Power came on and the red led lit, this was a good sign that there was power and I’d not messed anything up. Secondly there was sound, we didn’t have that before so this is a definite improvement on what we originally had. Volume works with just a couple of occasional crackles so I may have to use some more contact cleaner here.

We have sound

So far, so good. No real improvement to the picture even though you can see something is trying to come through. That said I’m hoping the replacement of the caps on the main board will help this. So with no further a do, let’s get the main board finished.

Just got home from work, now time to get these last 11 caps done. All the old ones removed, all the pads wicked to remove the old solder and what a stink of old fish, these capacitors had definitely died.

All cleaned with some IPA to rid of all the debris and then fluxed and tinned the pads ready for the new capacitors to go into place, I’ve got this off to a tee now and these went on a lot quicker, easier and tidier than the last lot. I’m a lot more competent now, and feel more confident with this process.

Had a little trouble getting it all back together, a couple of the new caps had to be tweaked slightly as they were in the way of a screw post, the earth shield was also causing issues and shorting the system, again a bit of captain tape helped shield an exposed component. All this done I put the strap back on and loaded up the batteries. Switched on and red light, all looking good…

All working

Very happy with the fix, that was my first Cap replacement and I’m happy with my first attempt. Again you learn from these attempts and the reluctance I initially experienced was just nerves. I’d be more than happy to do more of these fixes, maybe using the modern surface mount components next time.

Another one saved from landfill, I wonder how many of the 10.6 million more that were made of these have suffered that very fate. Scary.

Anyway, I’m looking at using this unit to do some mods, so this is going to be my test bed for other projects.

Simple fix, great outcome, I’m happy.

MB – Computer Battleship

Here’s what the listing stated:

VINTAGE COMPUTER BATTLESHIP MB ELECTRONICS GAME FOR SPARES / REPAIRS
APPEARS TO BE COMPLETE BUT THE GAME IS NOT WORKING WHEN TESTED WITH BATTERIES HENCE BEING SOLD FOR SPARES / REPAIRS

Ebay

And here’s some info around it:

In 1977, Milton Bradley released a computerized Electronic Battleship, a pioneering microprocessor-based toy, capable of generating various sounds. Electronic Battleship was designed by Dennis Wyman and Bing McCoy.

Wikipedia

Now this is another toy from my childhood that I had envy over. This game is the one that coined the phrase, “ You sank my Battleship” as seen on many TV ads towards the end of the 70s. This time my nephew was brought one of these games for his birthday back in the late 70s when I was about 12 years old. I’ll be able to give a more accurate date of the unit when I get to see the main board inside. I suspect I’m looking at something around the 1979 timeline. Man this toy was the bees knees, again early computer technology at its finest. Here I am approaching the sixth decade of my life and I’m having another menopausal moment just as I did in this post a few months back: Big Trak CE3962 restoration

This is going to go in the games box in our garden pub / Man cave. I’m confident I’m going to get it working. I’m not too bothered if there are any small parts missing as there seems to be plenty of spare parts available online.

Let’s have a look at what has turned up.

Well I’m impressed. This game is in its original box with original packaging and is in pristine condition. It comes with the original instruction manual and all parts listed in the contents section are there. In fact there are more of the red and white pegs than required so to be honest it looks as if I have bagged a bargain here.

I’ve paid a grand total of £19:96 GBP for this game and that includes the postage, by far the best price that was on offer for any similar advertised games that I could see at the moment of purchase. Considering this game is now somewhere between 45-47 years old, a bargain you might say, if I can get it working.

I’m thinking that all the capacitors on this board as a matter of good practice should be removed and replaced. Let’s face it they are almost the same age as me, could fail at anytime (if they haven’t already) and are as cheap as chips so what’s the point of just replacing a singular one when there are only two of them on the board. I think I will do this, test them all and report back.

I know that this unit is a 70s creation but it is interesting to get some facts on capacitors and problems that they have caused over the years, especially during the 90s and early 2000s. See this old post on capacitor plague: Capacitor plague

I have removed the board and there seems to have been some pre work done where all the wires are relayed through a connector block. This was a dangerous situation as the work that had been done diverted both negative and positive leads through this dodgy connector to the negative side of the board, causing a short that caused the batteries to heat up to a point where I thought they were going to explode as they were so hot. You may as well of just connected the two batteries together…childish mistake. I was testing for voltages and was suspicious that I was getting no readings, just as well I went straight to the battery when I did. Lesson learned for me.

I have checked the speaker is working, this is a 32ohm speaker and it was indicating 31ohm so there were no issues there. I have removed the two capacitors and checked them and they are both within tolerance, hence I will leave these in place.

The batteries are separately wired on this board. The two negative wires go to the negative side and the positive wires go to the positive side, straight forward wiring, I don’t know why the previous clown wired it as he did. These four wires now soldered in place with new leads and connections allow me to attach the batteries and check voltages, all is good and reading as it should.

I clean all the switches with contact cleaner, I clean the board with IPA and clean all the contacts. A good suction and polish of the frame and all is good.

I can confirm the board indicates that this unit is week 24 of 1979 as per the writing on the main board. That puts this particular unit at 45 years old. Will it work.

Hell yeah it does!

Main switch into the on position and the annoying sonar sound kicks in, my dog leaves the room as it’s annoying him, to me I have just been transported back to my childhood. It’s brilliant.

I collar the wife into a game, I have to teach her how to program it and it works perfectly. Every sound is there, it’s noisy repetitive and computer programming at its absolute most basic level. And it’s mine.

Computer Battleship – It works

It’s going down our garden pub to be used by the youngsters and adults alike. I think the kids will love it due to its primitive technology. They’ll learn from it.

Another piece of my past saved from landfill, and it will be put to good use. Just don’t trust any mods or fixes done by others, don’t inherit a fire risk. Check check check.

And enjoy.

Not just Dead….Fully dead

I have just brought this inoperative Roberts Dab Blutune T2 digital radio off of EBay for £8 (GBP). I managed to barter the price down a bit from £12 and I was quite pleased with myself for doing that.

So today I have received the package. A lovely little item cosmetically in good condition with the only external damage being that the speaker cover has a tiny tear in it , and the very tip of the aerial is broken along with the plastic stop that secures it when in the down position….no real issue, all easily dealt with.

The concern is the label on the top of the unit. Fully Dead!

So what’s that then? Is there an in between? Some sort of purgatory for audio systems, or is it a way of saying that someone has ensured it will never work again?

Well, I’ll get the back off tomorrow and have a rummage to see what’s in store for me. Maybe my bartering of the price has meant the seller has removed all internal contents so that I now have a nice “Empty box”.

I just love some of these descriptions sellers use, makes me giggle and wonder what was going through their minds when they decided to sell an item that is fully dead.

Maybe there is just different grades of death that I was just not aware of.

You can find the assessment and repair attempt here: Roberts Blutune T2 breakdown and fault finding

Anyway, thanks for passing by, be safe, be happy.

Assessment

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Assessment

Repair

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