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IBM 5150/5151 Hercules Card Issue

tempest

tempest

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Sep 16, 2014
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SE Michigan
I just got a Hercules card clone off ebay to use with my 5150 and 5151 monitor (http://www.ebay.com/itm/111970778398) but I'm having issues. When I put it in and put both switches 5 & 6 to OFF (MDA or Hercules) the system doesn't want to boot. The hard drive and disk drives never access and the 5151 shows nothing. The system works just fine with a VGA card however. I thought the problem might be too much power draw so I took the hard drive and card out, but I still have the same issue. Once I accidentally left both switches to ON (as I was testing my VGA card) with the Hercules card in the slot, but I never got the Wrong Video Card error beeps. There's just nothing.

Is the Hercules card bad? Is there a way to tell? Also, how do I test my 5151? It was working when I first got it (tested it on someone else system) but when I plugged it into this Hercules card I'm getting no signs of life. This could be because the card is bad I suppose. Does the 5151 normally show any signs of life when the system is turned on or do you need a working video card plugged into it before you can see anything?
 
Make sure you remove the VGA card when you install the MDA card - they will conflict.
Make sure the switches are set correctly.

If the machine is still doing absolutely nothing, and by the time you read this you haven't heard a loud pop, then I'd use a multi-meter to confirm if the system has +5V when running and the card is installed. Alternatively put your hard drive back in - if the drive does not spin up then there is no power.

If there is no output on the power supply, check C17 on the card for a short circuit (it'll show 0 ohms). If there is a short circuit, replace the failing capacitor.
(In that situation, I'd probably cheat and just snap C17 with my fingers and throw the card back in to see what happens - because I'm that kinda guy).
 
One thing to check, make sure the card is really going in all the way, is straight, and the pins are lined up in the socket.

But if it works fine with the VGA card, then I'd say the herc card is probably dead. The only way to be sure would be to try the card in another system.

That QC OK sticker looks like it is burned. I'm guessing this card was already out of magic smoke.
 
SomeGuy said:
One thing to check, make sure the card is really going in all the way, is straight, and the pins are lined up in the socket.

But if it works fine with the VGA card, then I'd say the herc card is probably dead. The only way to be sure would be to try the card in another system.

That QC OK sticker looks like it is burned. I'm guessing this card was already out of magic smoke.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's what I'm thinking. The system boots fine withe everything attached and the VGA card (I only have one card in there at a time)

What about the 5151, does it show signs of life without a Herc or MDA card attached to it? Before I spend more money on a Herc card I want to make sure the monitor works.
 
tempest said:
What about the 5151, does it show signs of life without a Herc or MDA card attached to it?
Click to expand...

The high voltage doesn't come on unless it receives a video signal, so without the video cable connected to anything, you won't see anything on the CRT screen. With power applied, you may see the heater glowing in the neck of the tube, but that's it.
 
tempest said:
What about the 5151, does it show signs of life without a Herc or MDA card attached to it? Before I spend more money on a Herc card I want to make sure the monitor works.
Click to expand...
Nope, needs a sync signal to activate from memory.

With the MDA card installed - does your hard drive still spin up?
 
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