Date : Sat, 28 May 2005 21:46:27 +0100
From : Philip Pemberton <philpem@...>
Subject: Re: BBC Master plug types
In message <E14E4ED61DD1D41195B70002A52C476D0AA95E6E@...>
Littlefield Aaron <CALITTLEFIEL@...> wrote:
> I have recently bought three BBC Masters; I've noticed however that one of
> them has a plug made by MARBO which appears to be genuine.
[snip]
> Anybody else got a MARBO branded Master plug? Bit of an odd query but there
> you go!
Check the serial numbers and power supplies. IIRC Acorn used different power
supplies during a certain time period - can't remember when though.
Master 128, s/n 01-AMB15-0053025, white MARBO plug (moulded-on)
PSU markings: ACORN COMPUTER / MANUFACTURED TO BS415 / 240V ~ 50HZ 100 WATTS
0.5 AMP
The power switch is marked both "ON/OFF" and "I/O", I/O on the right of the
switch, On/off on the left.
As far as I can tell, the only parts that have been replaced (besides a 0.1uF
cap in the PSU, replaced by me) are a pair of the ASICs on the motherboard.
The ASICs that seem to have been swapped are socketed, the rest of the ICs
are soldered down onto the board.
> Thanks for any information; I was toying with swapping the PSU over if it
> wasn't original.
I do hope you're joking... Why fix it if it isn't broken? IMO you ruin the
history of the machine by swapping it out, unless you've got a good reason
(i.e. "it's irreparably damaged". If it's had its PSU replaced, so what, all
part of the history of that particular machine IMO...
You wouldn't photocopy a page in an irreplaceable book, tear the original out
and replace it with the photocopy just because the original was a bit tatty,
so why do effectively the same thing here?
Just my opinion, feel free to flame me, but at least do it off-list...
Later.
--
Phil. | Acorn Risc PC600 Mk3, SA202, 64MB, 6GB,
philpem@... | ViewFinder, 10BaseT Ethernet, 2-slice,
http://www.philpem.me.uk/ | 48xCD, ARCINv6c IDE, SCSI
... It's dangerous to be right when the government is wrong. -Voltaire-