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  • C128 and C64 OS

    From Daniel@me@sc1f1dan.com to comp.sys.cbm on Saturday, August 17, 2024 11:59:39
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.cbm

    Hi folks -

    I've been really tempted to jump back into the CBM world after watching
    a few demo vids of the c64 OS. Heard an interview on a podcast the other
    night and... Well, impressed the guy got a wikipedia app running on the
    OS. I actually reached out to the developer asking why he stood up a
    propxy to scrape wikipedia vs pulling the data with existing API's. He
    simply didn't know about it.

    Anyway, tangents aside, I'm considering a purchase of a C128 and would
    like to know if the C64 OS supports 80 column mode or does the user have
    to switch to C64 mode to make it work?

    RIght now, my only access to CBM is on a Mini i purchased at gamestop
    some time ago but it's finicky about the sort of image it'll load from a
    flash drive.

    I bought an actual C64 off ebay a few years ago but haven't had a chance
    to recap it. There's alot of residue and cleaning to do yet, and figure
    out what else if wrong before I can plug it in.

    Thanks.

    Daniel
    --- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2
  • From phigan@phigan@bbs.penisys.online to comp.sys.cbm on Sunday, August 18, 2024 22:10:30
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.cbm

    On 2024-08-17, Daniel <me@sc1f1dan.com> wrote:

    I bought an actual C64 off ebay a few years ago but haven't had a chance
    to recap it. There's alot of residue and cleaning to do yet, and figure
    out what else if wrong before I can plug it in.

    Don't have the answer to your C64OS question, but there usually isn't a
    reason to recap a C64. Unless of course you actually see the caps
    looking bad. One big thing to worry about is the original power supply.
    If possible, use a new one, or one of those little adapters that combine
    two modern power supplies.

    --- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2
  • From kalevi@kalevi@kolttonen.fi (Kalevi Kolttonen) to comp.sys.cbm on Sunday, August 18, 2024 23:15:51
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.cbm

    phigan <phigan@bbs.penisys.online> wrote:
    If possible, use a new one,

    This recommendation is simply too weak. You should
    avoid the old power supply at all costs. If and when
    it fails, it will usually take a lot of C64's chips
    along with it. Do not play with fire!

    br,
    KK
    --- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2
  • From Robert Roland@fake@ddress.no to comp.sys.cbm on Monday, August 19, 2024 14:42:55
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.cbm

    On Sun, 18 Aug 2024 23:15:51 -0000 (UTC), kalevi@kolttonen.fi (Kalevi Kolttonen) wrote:

    You should
    avoid the old power supply at all costs. If and when
    it fails, it will usually take a lot of C64's chips
    along with it.

    Do you have any references for this? I mean, actual facts.

    Have you ever seen an overvolting C64 PSU?

    I suspect the issue is massively overhyped.
    --
    RoRo
    --- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2
  • From kalevi@kalevi@kolttonen.fi (Kalevi Kolttonen) to comp.sys.cbm on Monday, August 19, 2024 14:24:07
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.cbm

    Robert Roland <fake@ddress.no> wrote:
    On Sun, 18 Aug 2024 23:15:51 -0000 (UTC), kalevi@kolttonen.fi (Kalevi Kolttonen) wrote:

    You should
    avoid the old power supply at all costs. If and when
    it fails, it will usually take a lot of C64's chips
    along with it.

    Do you have any references for this? I mean, actual facts.

    Have you ever seen an overvolting C64 PSU?

    I suspect the issue is massively overhyped.

    I am not sure.

    Commodore Finland has several thousands of members
    and I guess it is safe to say that everybody there
    always recommends ditching the old power supplies.

    I have just believed in those warnings.

    br,
    KK
    --- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2
  • From phigan@phigan@bbs.penisys.online to comp.sys.cbm on Monday, August 19, 2024 21:36:02
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.cbm

    On 2024-08-19, Robert Roland <fake@ddress.no> wrote:

    Do you have any references for this? I mean, actual facts.

    Have you ever seen an overvolting C64 PSU?

    Just my own experience. And yeah, both of my breadbins have been
    affected by bad PSUs. In one, the PLA got half-borked. In the other, one
    of the sdram chips got messed up. Actually, the ram one might be a
    coincidence of just ram gone bad along with the system's PSU gone bad.
    The same thing happened to my Atari PSU that I've had for over 30 years
    since NIB. Maybe it's this desert climate.

    The PSUs from c64psu.com are worth it, imo.
    --- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2
  • From Adam Sampson@ats@offog.org to comp.sys.cbm on Tuesday, August 20, 2024 00:38:38
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.cbm

    Robert Roland <fake@ddress.no> writes:

    Do you have any references for this? I mean, actual facts.
    Have you ever seen an overvolting C64 PSU?

    I found one earlier this year -- an Ismet-made wedge PSU that came with
    a breadbox C64. The output was approaching 5.2V at the C64 end of the
    cable under load.

    Having dismantled it, the reason was that it uses a 7805 regulator with
    a resistor divider to lift its ground reference pin a bit, and the
    resistor values had drifted considerably. The PSU runs quite hot (not
    helped by the heatsink and 7805 being buried in potting compound), so
    this isn't terribly surprising after 40 years.

    Initially I just replaced the resistors, which worked fine, but I later
    found timperi's replacement PCB that uses a modern switching regulator:
    https://github.com/timperi/c64-wedge-psu-pcb
    I've built a couple of these now (using boards from an eBay seller) and
    they run much cooler than the original.

    Thanks,
    --
    Adam Sampson <ats@offog.org> <http://offog.org/>
    --- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2
  • From Anssi Saari@anssi.saari@usenet.mail.kapsi.fi to comp.sys.cbm on Tuesday, August 20, 2024 12:27:19
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.cbm

    Adam Sampson <ats@offog.org> writes:

    Robert Roland <fake@ddress.no> writes:

    Do you have any references for this? I mean, actual facts.
    Have you ever seen an overvolting C64 PSU?

    I found one earlier this year -- an Ismet-made wedge PSU that came with
    a breadbox C64. The output was approaching 5.2V at the C64 end of the
    cable under load.

    Does that actually matter though, is 5.2V high enough to cause damage to anything?

    --- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2
  • From Robert Roland@fake@ddress.no to comp.sys.cbm on Tuesday, August 20, 2024 12:36:43
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.cbm

    On Tue, 20 Aug 2024 00:38:38 +0100, Adam Sampson <ats@offog.org>
    wrote:

    Having dismantled it, the reason was that it uses a 7805 regulator with
    a resistor divider to lift its ground reference pin a bit, and the
    resistor values had drifted considerably.

    I have been thinking about various failure modes that could possibly
    cause an overvoltage condition. This is the only one I have been able
    to think up. Thank you for confirming.

    Not all versions use these voltage boosting resistors, though, so the
    myth that all of them will fail, is still on thin ice as far as I am
    concerned.
    --
    RoRo
    --- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2
  • From Robert Roland@fake@ddress.no to comp.sys.cbm on Tuesday, August 20, 2024 12:53:59
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.cbm

    On Tue, 20 Aug 2024 12:27:19 +0300, Anssi Saari <anssi.saari@usenet.mail.kapsi.fi> wrote:

    Does that actually matter though, is 5.2V high enough to cause damage to >anything?

    It is still within the tolerance of both TTL chips and the DRAM chips,
    so no damage should occur. Yet.

    However: The voltage will not have been this high when the PSU was
    new. The fact that it is this high now means that something has
    changed. If it has changed, it may continue changing, and one day the
    limit is reached.
    --
    RoRo
    --- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2
  • From Daniel@me@sc1f1dan.com to comp.sys.cbm on Thursday, August 22, 2024 09:25:59
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.cbm

    phigan <phigan@bbs.penisys.online> writes:

    On 2024-08-17, Daniel <me@sc1f1dan.com> wrote:

    I bought an actual C64 off ebay a few years ago but haven't had a chance
    to recap it. There's alot of residue and cleaning to do yet, and figure
    out what else if wrong before I can plug it in.

    Don't have the answer to your C64OS question, but there usually isn't a reason to recap a C64. Unless of course you actually see the caps
    looking bad. One big thing to worry about is the original power supply.
    If possible, use a new one, or one of those little adapters that combine
    two modern power supplies.

    The breadbin case is in great shape and the keyboard is complete. I had my neighbor test the PSU when I got it and he said it was junk.

    After opening the case, it was obvious that a good number of the
    capacitors were misshaped, leaky, and left quite a bit of residue and some rusty looking traces.. Some of the resistors flaked off too, so I
    ordered a few of each type from the BOM online. Didn't cost more than a
    few dollars.

    It's going to take a ton of work to restore it, then I need to get a
    test rig to see if any of the chips need replacing, if any. I don't know
    if the previous owner plugged in the power supply it came in but I knew
    well enough not to. I really hope the chips are in good shape.

    In the meantime, I have a C64 mini that I use for daily driver.

    I have a growing interest in getting a C128.

    Daniel
    --- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2
  • From phigan@phigan@bbs.penisys.online to comp.sys.cbm on Friday, August 30, 2024 11:34:03
    From Newsgroup: comp.sys.cbm

    On 2024-08-22, Daniel <me@sc1f1dan.com> wrote:

    ordered a few of each type from the BOM online. Didn't cost more than a
    few dollars.

    Ah, ok. Good luck with this.

    It's going to take a ton of work to restore it, then I need to get a
    test rig to see if any of the chips need replacing, if any. I don't know

    Are there any C= users groups near you that might have someone with a
    test harness? I always want to get one myself, but I just can't bring
    myself to spend the money on it :).

    I have a growing interest in getting a C128.

    Yeah, I had always wanted a 128 since I was kid, so I finally bought one
    from Europe a couple years ago. Definitely wanted PAL so I could watch
    all the demos!

    --- Synchronet 3.21e-Win32 NewsLink 1.2