VirtualTed
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2011
- Messages
- 9
Well, my hopes were high as I opened the Ebay box today on my "as-is" Model 4P. I had a Model I, then a Model III, and I had always wanted to get a 4P but the parents never went for it. Outside of some yellowing of the case, it was in good cosmetic shape and had the 64k upgrade. Finally decided to get it myself 30 years later.
Unfortunately, plugging it in gets me no video. I'm hoping someone can help me out on some troubleshooting, but my fear is that it's just never going to work again. Here is what I see...
* Reportedly worked 25 years ago, was boxed and never turned on again. (hmm..)
* Warranty Sticker still in tact when I opened it up.
* Inside of case and internal components are remarkably dust-free. A couple tiny spiders/cobwebs on outside edge of screen make me believe it truly hasn't been messed with.
* Adjusting internal pots or brightness/contrast on front result in no change in video - monitor is dead-black. No lines, no flicker, no square box visible on screen.
* Disk Drives light up one at a time as if it's looking for a disk to boot (I don't have any to try.)
* Neck of CRT lights up when powered on.
* Both fuses I found (PSU & on Video board) are good.
* Attempted to unplug and replug all power connectors on back of CRT tube, and leading to power/video boards. No luck there either.
Boy was I excited. I had the 5.25" disks on order, all the website material memorized for transferring from PC back to TRS80 floppies, and was ready to go. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be.
Any ideas? I saw someone mention reseating chips might help, but I'm not getting any video at all, which seemed to be a prerequisite for that suggestion.
ANY help is appreciated. I've read every thread related to video problems and I'm not seeing anything of help for this particular case, although I'm sure I'm not the first.
Thanks!
-T
Unfortunately, plugging it in gets me no video. I'm hoping someone can help me out on some troubleshooting, but my fear is that it's just never going to work again. Here is what I see...
* Reportedly worked 25 years ago, was boxed and never turned on again. (hmm..)
* Warranty Sticker still in tact when I opened it up.
* Inside of case and internal components are remarkably dust-free. A couple tiny spiders/cobwebs on outside edge of screen make me believe it truly hasn't been messed with.
* Adjusting internal pots or brightness/contrast on front result in no change in video - monitor is dead-black. No lines, no flicker, no square box visible on screen.
* Disk Drives light up one at a time as if it's looking for a disk to boot (I don't have any to try.)
* Neck of CRT lights up when powered on.
* Both fuses I found (PSU & on Video board) are good.
* Attempted to unplug and replug all power connectors on back of CRT tube, and leading to power/video boards. No luck there either.
Boy was I excited. I had the 5.25" disks on order, all the website material memorized for transferring from PC back to TRS80 floppies, and was ready to go. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be.
Any ideas? I saw someone mention reseating chips might help, but I'm not getting any video at all, which seemed to be a prerequisite for that suggestion.
ANY help is appreciated. I've read every thread related to video problems and I'm not seeing anything of help for this particular case, although I'm sure I'm not the first.
Thanks!
-T
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