Someone recently gave me a Gridcase 1530 and when I powered it on there was a slight fizzle and a burnt smell from the removable power supply (it goes where the battery would go). I tracked the problem down to a shorted tantalum inside the power supply. This thing is pretty easy to work on since it is so easy to remove. I replace the tantalum with a brand new low-esr electrolytic of the same specs (closest I had on hand) and it worked! Some times when powering it on the status lights just kind of flicker and it won't turn on. If I switch it off and back on it usually works. Aside from the dead Dallas RTC which is preventing it from booting from the hard drive, it runs fine. After playing with it for an hour or so the other day (booting from a floppy), I shut it down and was working on something else. Then I heard a loud pop and smoke started rolling out of the back of the Gridcase (which was plugged in but was not turned on). I immediately suspected those old Rifa X2 caps (two 0.15uf 250v Rifa X2 caps in this case) that I'd seen inside the power supply. This is the first time I've seen these actually blow up, but I knew it was common.
Anyway, long story short, I got some replacement modern X2 caps from DigiKey (along with ones to replace ones of different values in other systems I own, because I certainly don't want to smell that horrid stink again) and got the system running again. It still does the flickering status lights some times, but it does power on now without exploding.
I've got it partially torn down and I'm going to try to get the board out so I can replace the RTC (why on earth didn't they socket these things???) since i have a bunch of new-old-stock Dallas chips I got cheap online (never used\initialized so they are still fresh).
I have two questions as of right now...
What is likely causing the flickering status LEDs some times when I try to power it on?
And what are some games or applications that would be fun to play with on the red plasma display? I'm more familiar with CGA, EGA and VGA games, so I don't know what would be good to put this thing to use.
Also, I will post pictures later of this adventure.
Anyway, long story short, I got some replacement modern X2 caps from DigiKey (along with ones to replace ones of different values in other systems I own, because I certainly don't want to smell that horrid stink again) and got the system running again. It still does the flickering status lights some times, but it does power on now without exploding.
I've got it partially torn down and I'm going to try to get the board out so I can replace the RTC (why on earth didn't they socket these things???) since i have a bunch of new-old-stock Dallas chips I got cheap online (never used\initialized so they are still fresh).
I have two questions as of right now...
What is likely causing the flickering status LEDs some times when I try to power it on?
And what are some games or applications that would be fun to play with on the red plasma display? I'm more familiar with CGA, EGA and VGA games, so I don't know what would be good to put this thing to use.
Also, I will post pictures later of this adventure.