Date : Sun, 19 Apr 2009 23:49:58 +0100
From : bbcmailinglist@... (Ian Wolstenholme)
Subject: Easter Disaster
Yes, you're right! This picture was the Master Compact drive box before I
cannibalised it for the PSU and drive for the FileStore E01S. I've
abandoned all hope of getting the drive box back in operation: the drive
doesn't work any more and the PSU inside it is the dead one from the FileStore
which I can't even test because the power connectors don't fit onto the
on/off switch at the back.
At the moment I am powering the Compact with a 5V power supply from
the external CD-ROM drive of my old Pentium 100 laptop. I've temporarily
put in a new floppy drive in the drive box which is being powered from the
aux power of my Tesco Cheese Wedge and I've spent much of the weekend
writing my own version of *VIEW so I can continuously grab the Compact
screen and display it on Station 114 to record the screens in colour.
Nothing has gone bang yet, but I'm not banking on it....
Best wishes,
Ian
----- Original Message -----
From: Michael Firth [mailto:mfirth@...]
To: bbc-micro@...,bbcmailinglist@beebmaster.co.uk
Sent: Sun, 19 Apr 2009 19:55:32 +0100
Subject: Re: [BBC-Micro] Easter Disaster
I've been having a look at the other Compact pages, and one of them has the
definitive answer to your questions a couple of weeks ago about the earthing
arrangement of the Compact PSU, and the orientation of the power connections
to the power switch.
There's a good picture of how it used to be at:
http://www.beebmaster.co.uk/Compact6.html
Regards
Michael
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ian Wolstenholme" <bbcmailinglist@...>
To: <bbc-micro@...>
Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2009 9:57 PM
Subject: Re: [BBC-Micro] Easter Disaster
At this very moment, I have the Compact keyboard on top of Master 128
Station 114 (my new replacement for dead Station 112), so I can easily
compare the two.
The only difference really is that the "@" key has given way to the new
"code" button on the Compact, and the "@" symbol is obtained with
SHIFT-zero.
The keytops have been slightly redesigned on the Compact, they are
a slightly different shape and the font used is very slightly different,
but I'm not sure really why Acorn would have gone to the trouble of doing
this.
The connector to the motherboard is different; two old pictures here
illustrate the above:
http://www.BeebMaster.co.uk/Compact14.html
http://www.BeebMaster.co.uk/Compact19.html
Best wishes,
Ian
----- Original Message -----
From: Alex Taylor [mailto:zeem.uk@...]
To: bbc-micro@...
Sent: Sat, 18 Apr 2009 19:14:17 +0100
Subject: Re: [BBC-Micro] Easter Disaster
2009/4/18 Andy Ford <acorn@...>:
>
> The keyboards are different in that a B has a single connection of about
> 17 pins and the Master has two sets of 15, I am going from memory here
> so those numbers may not be 100% correct.
There's a place on the Master PCB for a pin header which isn't
normally fitted. It's just below the keyboard connector and connects
to many of the same PCB traces. I never noticed it before, until
someone on the list briefly mentioned its existence, and something
about its use for connecting up a Model B keyboard.
> As for length, I'd (guess) you could get away with 30cm (possibly less)
> without issues. You can use something like an old IDE cable if you
> needed a length of suitable cable though, saves buying a (possibly)
> expensive ribbon cable.
I did once use a standard IDE cable when testing a load of hardware on
a Model B. It meant I could run the machine with the keyboard out of
the way of the ROMs, so I could test a bunch of them without having to
move the keyboard out of the way between each operation. I've killed a
Model B before when doing such a thing loosened the solder joints on
the keyboard's connector, which after time broke the motherboard.
> I do have a spare complete Master Compact keyboard in my spares,
> although I am not sure if that would fit a Master or not
> I doubt it due to the extra keys, untested
> though (no Compact to test it with)
Don't the Master and the Compact have the same keyboard? I've only
ever seen one Compact in the flesh, that was for sale many years ago
in a computer shop and I couldn't afford it at the time.
--
Alex Taylor
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