Got another 386 for my projects box, this one is a AM386-DX40 which has had previous repairs done to the battery circuit by the previous owner, it was listed as not working but only because the seller couldn't test the board. It was only 20 dollars and its a lovely little board and certainly worth saving if I can.

If anyone has advice or pointers in repairing these battery circuits feel free to throw it my way !

I think aside from initially testing with a post card and looking for obvious damage components I will have to undo the previous repairs and see if I can fix/clean the corroded traces and hook up an external battery. It also possible the board will be in working condition, but I dont know.

The board in question

The old repairs

Trashbytes wrote on 2024-01-29, 03:14:

tauro wrote on 2024-01-29, 03:13:

About the one you already have that stopped working: It could be a cold solder joint. I'd reflow the IDE pins.

I have done this before with these cheap adapters and it works for a bit but more often than not its other parts that fail.

There's not a lot to fail on them. They are pretty much passive components, no microcontrollers there.

Trashbytes wrote on 2024-01-29, 03:14:

Also what is up with Vogons and these stupid errors when posting ?

I think it was my fault, since I was using a slow computer, it couldn't handle the javascript well and I thought I hadn't posted the first time. Then it wouldn't let me delete the duplicate message.

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-01-29, 03:24:

I've bought a few of those IDE-to-CF adapters. Mine look similar albeit without the solder blobs on the back. The ones I bought do work and I've been using them for awhile now without issue.

I've been using similar ones (green PCB) adapters for years and they are one of the most reliable things I've used in retro computing.

CF > SD

tauro wrote on 2024-01-29, 09:35:

There's not a lot to fail on them. They are pretty much passive components, no microcontrollers there. […]
Show full quote

Trashbytes wrote on 2024-01-29, 03:14:

tauro wrote on 2024-01-29, 03:13:

About the one you already have that stopped working: It could be a cold solder joint. I'd reflow the IDE pins.

I have done this before with these cheap adapters and it works for a bit but more often than not its other parts that fail.

There's not a lot to fail on them. They are pretty much passive components, no microcontrollers there.

Trashbytes wrote on 2024-01-29, 03:14:

Also what is up with Vogons and these stupid errors when posting ?

I think it was my fault, since I was using a slow computer, it couldn't handle the javascript well and I thought I hadn't posted the first time. Then it wouldn't let me delete the duplicate message.

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-01-29, 03:24:

I've bought a few of those IDE-to-CF adapters. Mine look similar albeit without the solder blobs on the back. The ones I bought do work and I've been using them for awhile now without issue.

I've been using similar ones (green PCB) adapters for years and they are one of the most reliable things I've used in retro computing.

CF > SD

Nah the Vogons errors have been a plague of late, either you get a blue screen error when posting or you get a blank white screen in either case you have to reload the page which forces the browser to resend the previous request. This can lead to double posts but more often Vogons picks up the double post and lets you discard the changes.

tauro wrote on 2024-01-29, 09:35:

Trashbytes wrote on 2024-01-29, 03:14:

Also what is up with Vogons and these stupid errors when posting ?

I think it was my fault, since I was using a slow computer, it couldn't handle the javascript well and I thought I hadn't posted the first time. Then it wouldn't let me delete the duplicate message.

Trashbytes wrote on 2024-01-29, 09:39:

Nah the Vogons errors have been a plague of late, either you get a blue screen error when posting or you get a blank white screen in either case you have to reload the page which forces the browser to resend the previous request. This can lead to double posts but more often Vogons picks up the double post and lets you discard the changes.

Ok yeah, there's something weird going on. I got this "violet screen", but my message went through anyway.

tauro wrote on 2024-01-29, 09:42:

Ok yeah, there's something weird going on. I got this "violet screen", but my message went through anyway. vogons.png […]
Show full quote

tauro wrote on 2024-01-29, 09:35:

Trashbytes wrote on 2024-01-29, 03:14:

Also what is up with Vogons and these stupid errors when posting ?

I think it was my fault, since I was using a slow computer, it couldn't handle the javascript well and I thought I hadn't posted the first time. Then it wouldn't let me delete the duplicate message.

Trashbytes wrote on 2024-01-29, 09:39:

Nah the Vogons errors have been a plague of late, either you get a blue screen error when posting or you get a blank white screen in either case you have to reload the page which forces the browser to resend the previous request. This can lead to double posts but more often Vogons picks up the double post and lets you discard the changes.

Ok yeah, there's something weird going on. I got this "violet screen", but my message went through anyway.
vogons.png

We have discussed it here before... Seems to be normal.
Re: New forum suggestions/Feedback

DerBaum wrote on 2024-01-29, 09:58:

tauro wrote on 2024-01-29, 09:42:

Ok yeah, there's something weird going on. I got this "violet screen", but my message went through anyway. vogons.png […]
Show full quote

tauro wrote on 2024-01-29, 09:35:

I think it was my fault, since I was using a slow computer, it couldn't handle the javascript well and I thought I hadn't posted the first time. Then it wouldn't let me delete the duplicate message.

Trashbytes wrote on 2024-01-29, 09:39:

Nah the Vogons errors have been a plague of late, either you get a blue screen error when posting or you get a blank white screen in either case you have to reload the page which forces the browser to resend the previous request. This can lead to double posts but more often Vogons picks up the double post and lets you discard the changes.

Ok yeah, there's something weird going on. I got this "violet screen", but my message went through anyway.
vogons.png

We have discussed it here before... Seems to be normal.
Re: New forum suggestions/Feedback

For me its only being doing it for about two months now, before that it was fine.

Perhaps an new update broke a previous fix to the forum software.

Trashbytes wrote on 2024-01-28, 10:54:

went through my PII graveyard box and found a SL2QC Klamath 300 which is perfect. […]
Show full quote

PcBytes wrote on 2024-01-28, 10:50:

I'd suppose some early Deschutes might work as well with the latest BIOS.

went through my PII graveyard box and found a SL2QC Klamath 300 which is perfect.

Never thought I would go digging through that box again, I should really do some testing and sell off the PII 400s in there.

The latest BIOS from Gigabyte is a beta BIOS, no notes about what they added or anything and The Retroweb is down for some reason .. been getting SQL server errors from the site for a few weeks now.

-Edit board will accept 333 and 366 so the first two Deschutes should work.

Question, can a 350 be run at 300 ? I know the muti is locked going up but is it locked going lower same for FSB ?

I guess that some 350 CPUs could be multiplier unlocked:

List of UNLOCKED Pentium II CPUs - A Quick Glance

I received a NOS 3com 3C509B-TPO (card only) for my low profile Gateway 2000 486 today. Works great so far with NT 3.51 and 4.0. I'll try it with WFW 3.11, Win9x, and OS/2 later this week.

Did not want to move beyond 386. Like, not a huge fan of XT or earlier machines (the only exception is Commander X16 and homebrew 6502). But yesterday I could not resist and it started.

First I thought about MDA videocard for my 386 setup to try 2-display debugging. Then I thought about EGA graphics. So ordered EGA videocard (looks like Octek EGA EG-3000 with 800x600x16 resolution - kind of SuperEGA).
Then I found mostly assembled Polish clone of IBM AT in good condition - hell, yeah. 12MHz AMD CPU, 10MHz AMD FPU, 1MB of RAM, working 500MB IDE (pretty big), 1MB of IC RAM extendable with SIPP modules.
Oh, so why not buy Harris 286-25 and try it? Done. And 50MHz crystal for sure - thank you, AliExpress.
And what about better FPU - IIC 287 has matrix instructions, want to try - done.
Oh, why go SIPP - it's boring, just SIMM with legs. I want real memory card - 2MB EMS/XMS memory board - done.
And then 80 ICs to populate it with tool to straighten DIP pins - also done.

Blasterboard 2.0 - modern replica of SB2.0 will also go there. Probably along with PCMidi to add MT-32 hardware emulator.

It will be nice 286+EGA build of year 1990. And while most of the stuff is coming and I don't have EGA-VGA adapter, I'll play with Paradise VGA of the same year.

And it's also capable of real mode DOS programming being not so slow.

The only remaining question is FDDs. It has black 3.5 FDD matching the front case put into 5.25-3.5 adaptor. And I want 5.25 one, but seems like all black 5.25 floppies were 360K. That's also cool to have as lots of software was on 360K floppies in 1990, but I think it would be quite strange 360K floppy + 1.44Mb.

rkurbatov wrote on 2024-01-30, 09:01:

Did not want to move beyond 386. Like, not a huge fan of XT or earlier machines (the only exception is Commander X16 and homebre […]
Show full quote

Did not want to move beyond 386. Like, not a huge fan of XT or earlier machines (the only exception is Commander X16 and homebrew 6502). But yesterday I could not resist and it started.

First I thought about MDA videocard for my 386 setup to try 2-display debugging. Then I thought about EGA graphics. So ordered EGA videocard (looks like Octek EGA EG-3000 with 800x600x16 resolution - kind of SuperEGA).
Then I found mostly assembled Polish clone of IBM AT in good condition - hell, yeah. 12MHz AMD CPU, 10MHz AMD FPU, 1MB of RAM, working 500MB IDE (pretty big), 1MB of IC RAM extendable with SIPP modules.
Oh, so why not buy Harris 286-25 and try it? Done. And 50MHz crystal for sure - thank you, AliExpress.
And what about better FPU - IIC 287 has matrix instructions, want to try - done.
Oh, why go SIPP - it's boring, just SIMM with legs. I want real memory card - 2MB EMS/XMS memory board - done.
And then 80 ICs to populate it with tool to straighten DIP pins - also done.

Blasterboard 2.0 - modern replica of SB2.0 will also go there. Probably along with PCMidi to add MT-32 hardware emulator.

It will be nice 286+EGA build of year 1990. And while most of the stuff is coming and I don't have EGA-VGA adapter, I'll play with Paradise VGA of the same year.

And it's also capable of real mode DOS programming being not so slow.

The only remaining question is FDDs. It has black 3.5 FDD matching the front case put into 5.25-3.5 adaptor. And I want 5.25 one, but seems like all black 5.25 floppies were 360K. That's also cool to have as lots of software was on 360K floppies in 1990, but I think it would be quite strange 360K floppy + 1.44Mb.

There are black 1.2MB floppies around but they are a lot less common, maybe an eighth or a tenth as many as beige or grey. You can probably swap the face plate and lever from a 360kB black one to a 1.2MB that is from the same manufacturer.

EMS board is something you don't really want to use on a 16 bit machine that's faster than 10Mhz unless there's no other option, it is even 4 times too slow at that speed.

PD2JK wrote on 2024-01-20, 20:40:

supercordo wrote on 2024-01-19, 22:35:

PD2JK wrote on 2024-01-19, 17:40:

Thunderbird 700, the plan is to use a GFD and get this specimen to reach 900 or more.

DSC_7909.JPG

Slot A: Aiming for the stars

Asus K7M with missing caps is on the way. I'll post there in a few weeks!

Missing caps, shorting caps... But another Asus K7M is saved. Now to get a Northridge heatsink and a cooler for the CPU.

BitWrangler wrote on 2024-01-30, 14:43:

There are black 1.2MB floppies around but they are a lot less common, maybe an eighth or a tenth as many as beige or grey. You can probably swap the face plate and lever from a 360kB black one to a 1.2MB that is from the same manufacturer.

EMS board is something you don't really want to use on a 16 bit machine that's faster than 10Mhz unless there's no other option, it is even 4 times too slow at that speed.

Yeah, I found the spare black plate already, will compare it to my white drives.

As for EMS board - it's 16 bit one, will it be THAT slow? Will be interesting to compare anyway.

A huge piece arrived today. Only a few models of this computer were produced by Canon and IBM. They are very rare, I saw one live in the early 90's and then never again. It's in very good condition, it looks like new, the biggest problem is the broken screen, I have to find a compatible one... but for €10 I couldn't expect too much. It features a CiryxDX4, 16MB of RAM and even a sound card. Once I have fixed it, it is a candidate to be a very nice DOS retrocomputer with printer, if I find a spare screen...

AlessandroB wrote on 2024-01-30, 17:26:

A huge piece arrived today. Only a few models of this computer were produced by Canon and IBM. They are very rare, I saw one live in the early 90's and then never again. It's in very good condition, it looks like new, the biggest problem is the broken screen, I have to find a compatible one... but for €10 I couldn't expect too much. It features a CiryxDX4, 16MB of RAM and even a sound card. Once I have fixed it, it is a candidate to be a very nice DOS retrocomputer with printer, if I find a spare screen...

I don't know if this is the same model, but I also came across a laptop in the 90s with a built-in printer in the bottom. I'd never see anything like it then or since. I think it had a black and white LCD as well.

Kahenraz wrote on 2024-01-30, 19:12:

AlessandroB wrote on 2024-01-30, 17:26:

A huge piece arrived today. Only a few models of this computer were produced by Canon and IBM. They are very rare, I saw one live in the early 90's and then never again. It's in very good condition, it looks like new, the biggest problem is the broken screen, I have to find a compatible one... but for €10 I couldn't expect too much. It features a CiryxDX4, 16MB of RAM and even a sound card. Once I have fixed it, it is a candidate to be a very nice DOS retrocomputer with printer, if I find a spare screen...

I don't know if this is the same model, but I also came across a laptop in the 90s with a built-in printer in the bottom. I'd never see anything like it then or since. I think it had a black and white LCD as well.

Yes must be this (the previous model) only canon and ibm made some models for a short period (was like a joint venture between canon and ibm).

Picked up this MiroSOUND PCM 20 sound card.

Don't really know anything about it, but it looked unusual so I bought it.

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-01-31, 16:30:

Picked up this MiroSOUND PCM 20 sound card.

Don't really know anything about it, but it looked unusual so I bought it.

I think it has OPL4 on it.

Anyway, nice find! Miro used to make high quality stuff back in the day.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2024-01-31, 16:33:

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-01-31, 16:30:

Picked up this MiroSOUND PCM 20 sound card.

Don't really know anything about it, but it looked unusual so I bought it.

I think it has OPL4 on it.

Anyway, nice find! Miro used to make high quality stuff back in the day.

That's good to know! I'm curious to try this card out and see what it can do. 😀

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-01-31, 17:04:

That's good to know! I'm curious to try this card out and see what it can do. 😀

If it helps, DOS Days has some info and drivers for Miro cards on this page.

I might be crazy enough that I managed to snag myself another P3 laptop with an equally funny design and chips inside.

Except it's the most strange combo - SiS630 + Tualatin. It's a Geritec 1230i, also known as Uniwill N340S8.
Will be here on the 2nd of February, assuming the seller posts it to me tomorrow.