VZ300: Part 3 (Fixing the joysticks)

Channel:
Australia The Clueless Engineer
Subscribers:
3,280
Published on ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tHdIEswCb4


Duration: 16:34
159 views
16

Some further work on my Dick Smith Electronics (DSE) VZ300, also known as the Laser 310.

The main issue was that having the joysticks (DSE JS20) plugged in with @bennvennelectronics SD loader caused the machine to hang. Ben suggested maybe the address decoder in the joystick interface box was playing havoc.

So I tried swapping out the 74LS138 (3-to-8 decoder) ... and it worked! I also swapped out the 100µF electrolytic and the four 473 ceramic disc capacitors (because I hate them).

I also made some repairs to the cabling with some good-ol' glued heat shrink.

Seems to be working now!

It's possible to upgrade the video RAM from 2KB to 8KB and thereby enable "super high resolution" of 256x192! I will definitely be giving that a try.

Ben's shop full of interesting widgets:
https://bennvenn.myshopify.com/

Loads of info here:
http://www.vz200.org/bushy/index.html

And the quite-active Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/4609469943



Other Videos By The Clueless Engineer


2022-11-29Электроника МС 0511 (Elektronika MS 0511): Part 3
2022-11-27Электроника МС 0511 (Elektronika MS 0511): Part 2
2022-11-26Электроника МС 0511 (Elektronika MS 0511): Part 1
2022-11-26Ратон (Raton) 9003: Part 2 (Troubleshooting required)
2022-11-25Ратон (Raton) 9003: Part 1 (Quick look & power supply)
2022-11-24Sidenote: Package from Ukraine (Speccy clone parts)
2022-11-19#MEGA65 Demo: XANADU (assembly version)
2022-11-19#MEGA65: Mega Wizards v3 - Test #1
2022-11-18Мешок (Meshok): Post-Soviet ebay
2022-11-18#MEGA65: Trying "Thrust" (PAL C64 disk) - Attempt #1
2022-11-12VZ300: Part 3 (Fixing the joysticks)
2022-11-12VZ300: Part 2 (Pulling it apart)
2022-11-11VZ300: Part 1 (Intro & SD Loader)
2022-11-09My Soviet Speccys: Quick comparison of the working ones (10-Nov-2022)
2022-11-08Koala asleep in a tree (9-Nov-2022)
2022-11-08Trying to repair Mark's Amstrad CPC464: Part 3 (No major progress)
2022-11-07Lighthouse Beach: lunch break walk (8-Nov-2022)
2022-11-07Lighthouse Beach: iPhone 13 mini 4k 60fps test
2022-11-06Trying to repair Mark's Amstrad CPC464: Part 2
2022-11-05Trying to repair Mark's Amstrad CPC464: Part 1
2022-11-04Didaktik M: Part 8 - Keyboard clean & lubrication