Chiclet Keyboard Commodore PET 2001 - Keyboard Internals 99% Alcohol, Cotton Swabs - Episode 2458
0Always interesting commentary...It is time to clean the contacts...and then the little rubber pads...we are not here to save alcohol or swabs...once this is done, we never want to go back into this keyboard again!
I hate losing screws...so when it comes time to remove the tiny little screws that hold the chiclet keyboard in the old PET, it is always a challenge...they are typically Phillips head screws...and I will have a tiny bag ready to store them away...lest Penny might come along and they they are fun to smack onto the floor...Anyway, there are 8 screws to remove and of course you have to unplug the keyboard from the circuit board, and then, it is out...and ready to be assessed...this one has some wire repairs, and I am pretty sure that it is dirty inside and will need to be opened up and cleansed...one step at a time...
I am waiting for this Chess program to start...and while doing that, I talk about the new 1581 drives that we learned about on the latest online TPUG meeting. oh and yes, the fellow also makes new and vastly improved and safe full of all sorts of protection power supplies...indeed the old units are a ticking time bomb...just recently, I picked a power supply off the pile that I had recently tested and used only to find that it was now reading 10.5 killer volts...and quickly, the cords were snipped...also, there is more information about the World of Commodore coming up on November the 30th and December the 1st, 2024...got to TPUG.CA for the latest information! And I am not sure why, but this chess program seems to take forever to be ready to play...but as I am used to loading programs from a tape drive and then a 1541, waiting and being patient is part of the commodore equation...
When I was talking to Rudy of @RudysRetroIntel he strongly suggested that I take the circuit board out of the new PET and put it in the case of the other working computer. It gives me a chance to look at the bottom of the board, but also to determine if the keyboard and datasette work with the board, or do I still potentially have chip troubles that could cause such issues...so here we go...time to load up and play a bit of Black Jack and Chess even!
I headed to the PET room to find some tapes that I had tested to see if the datasette on this PET was indeed working...or not...tape drives are slow and sometimes even though things load, and report no ?load errors, things can sometimes be a bit wonky...but generally speaking, way back in the day, they were a fairly reliable way to store programs and files...but disk drives were of course way better! Onward with the tests!
After finding that most every chip worked, it is time to put everything back in the board of this new addition to the family...and see what is what...maybe it will work...maybe it will not...I am not at all sure...yet! I do find that the chips go into the sockets nicer after the DEOXIT application...even though it has been several hours...it does seem to have added a bit of lubrication to the equation...and sufficient lubrication is always a good thing! Let's see what happens!
Baffling circumstances with this vintage PET...so I called Rudy of @RudysRetroIntel to bounce some thoughts off of him...and yes, I should have been playing much closer attention to that one chip that goes in backwards to pretty much everything else...and of course, do not forget the World of Commodore...November the 30th and December the 1st, 2024! Got to www.tpug.ca for more and updated information! Rudy will be presenting at 11 on Sunday about his SuperPET findings...and he found lots of things! Also, he will be selling the last of the PET Companion boards that he made last year...it will be a great time...see you all there!
RAM chips are often going bad in these old machines...but there is an easy way to check them inside the computer...if the computer is up and working, one by one, put the RAM chips in one of the screen RAM sockets...if the screen still comes up perfectly with a flashing cursor and no other strange characters, the the RAM chip is good...if you do this many times, sockets can get upset as is what happened here with me...I will not tinker in the screen ram socket on the left side ever again on this PET...like many things, this takes as much time as it takes...there are no points for rushing and damaging the pins on chips...or the sockets...
Time to test the 6520, 6522, and 6502 chips as well as a ROM that is way in the back...these chips near the back are harder to get in an out as it is very hard to see all the pins on the chips due to the top of the machine...maybe it is time to use the PET COMPANION...hmmmmmm...will ponder that!
The Toronto PET Users Group will be holding the World of Commodore in 2024! For all the specifics to this moment and details, go to the link below!
In my video, you will find out some other interesting things!
https://www.tpug.ca/world-of-commodore/world-of-commodore-2024/