root42

root42, 15 days ago

@rnbastos oh I wish I had a boxed copy of Battle Chess! That was obviously a game everyone had, too.

root42, 16 days ago

@iangriffin ...and this is the pollution that we can see. If CO2 were visible, people would be much more cautious.

root42, 16 days ago

@iangriffin In low earth orbit? sure. But not here! 😄

root42, 16 days ago

@logicalerror or ADUHD

root42, 17 days ago

@dentaku @Fischblog Auf jeden Fall hat das gezeigt, dass der Turingtest doch ziemliche Mängel hat. Oder, dass ihr alle einfach nur sehr überzeugende LLMs seid!

root42, 17 days ago

@DavidBFox a whiteboard to draw the puzzle graph for Thimbleweed Park 2?

root42, 17 days ago

@1024Bytes ...41 years old and I can repair it without great problems! Even have a service manual and schematics. Try that with current devices...

root42, 16 days ago

Sadly, we still have issues. The HEADER command does nothing at all. Drive doesn't even go into error mode. No spinning and no head movement. Error channel lists error 10, no error string. That error isn't document in the manual...

Two CBM 8050 drives stacked on top of each other. The top one is turned on and has a green status LED.

root42, 16 days ago

The DIRECTORY command does move the heads and spins the disk, but ends in an error LED lighting up. Error status in BASIC is still 10 / empty.

CBM 8050 with red LED lit up, indicating error.

root42, 16 days ago

Well, if you plug the IEEE-488 plug all the way in, things suddenly start to work! @8bitgames 's Hibernated works, and PETSCII Robots, too!
I think this was a resounding success! From literal trash to treasure. I still have to do something about the rust on the top cover, as well as perhaps replacing the regulators with @elosha's low noise switching regulators, to protect the mainboard from future overvoltage events, and make it run much cooler. But at the start I never thought to get this far!

Two CBM 8050 drives on top of each other, top one turned on, and on the right side a CBM PET 3016 micro computer with black and white screen, and same black and white metal case as the floppy drives, showing a level of PETSCII Robots.
The CBM PET's screen showing the starting screen of Hibernated, This Place is Death by Stefan Vogt.

root42, 16 days ago

@ColinHaynes Lots and lots of cleaning and lubricating, one dead TTL Chip, one shorted mains filter. Other than that it was fine!

root42, 16 days ago

Drive 1 has some startup issues. Drive 0 seems fine though. I think either the motor or one of the bearings is still gummed up. After a few tries it starts working just fine. I mean, come one! If you spent the last thirty years in a damp basement you would need a couple of minutes to get up to speed right?
I can HEAR how it is turning too slow!

root42, 16 days ago

@chriswho aren‘t they? And the manual specifically forbids you to stack them. Mainly for overheating reasons. The bottom one is off, so we are fine…

root42, 16 days ago

After lubricating drive 1 and adjusting its speed using the potentiometer on the analog board, it is running reasonably well.
Next up: replacing the voltage regulators with ultra low noise switching ones. The old ones are fine but the cases have a bit of corrosion and they produce much more heat than the new ones. The new regulators also have protection should something go haywire.

root42, 16 days ago

Removing the regulators requires careful drilling of the rivets. Cost saving at its best.

root42, 16 days ago

One of the 7812s took a pad with it. However on the top side it’s merely structural. The pad on the bottom side is still there.

Bottom side of the PCB showing two good pads.

root42, 16 days ago

With the heatsink removed we can see that the top pads are not connected.

root42, 16 days ago

@apzpins I use the ones by @elosha and Mr Floppy. They are ultra low ripple, but a bit more expensive than the cheapest replacements. See my video about them on YouTube...

root42, 16 days ago

The M4 screws look like they are a bit large, but I think they will do nicely to hold the regulators in place.

Bottom of the PCB showing the M4 nuts attaching the regulators solidly to the PCB and heatsink.

root42, 16 days ago

We need to do something about that rust. It is not only superficially on the paint. I will apply some rust-converter, which is -- I think -- only concentrated vinegar acid, maybe with some additives. Afterwards I need to figure out how to paint over those spots to keep further corrosion at bay.

root42, 16 days ago

@apzpins Doesn't hurt. The regulator still outputs 1.8W under maximum load, according to the data sheet.

root42, 15 days ago

Two IEEE488 cables came with the drive. But those are even worse corroded than the rest of the machine. The screws are interesting in that they are one way.