Moving sale -- Commodore Pet and Epson Geneva PX-8

[beamdriver]

Greetings all. I'm moving again and I've decided I don't want to lug all my junk around behind me like some CPM-powered Jacob Marley.

Here's what I have:

Epson Geneva PX-8. Working status unknown. It comes on when I plug it in and asks for a password, then it shuts off. I have the computer, A/C adapter, Operations Manual, two, slim, spiral-bound books titled "introducing the Epson PX-8" and some printed sales literature.

Commodore PET 4032. Makes noise when I turn it on, but there's nothing on the screen. I also have 2 2031 disk drives and 2 C2N cassette drives of unknown working status. I hate to sell this stuff, because the first machine I did any serious programming on was a 4032, but I just don't have the space for it.

I hate to throw this stuff in the dumpster if someone out there wants it. If you want it, offer me what you think it's worth, at least enough to make it worth my while to box it up and send it to you, plus shipping and it's yours.

my e-mail is beamdriver@gmail.com

Thanks!

 

[billdeg]

About the Epson Geneva...do you have it plugged in to AC and it still shuts off? If so it may be the internal battery, that's a problem with these systems and age. I was just dealing with practically the same thing for someone else.
BD

 

[beamdriver]

Yes, it's plugged into the AC and then it shuts off. I've left it to charge overnight, so we'll see what happens.

Plus there's the password issue.

About the Epson Geneva...do you have it plugged in to AC and it still shuts off? If so it may be the internal battery, that's a problem with these systems and age. I was just dealing with practically the same thing for someone else.
BD

 

[Terry Yager]

Yes, it's plugged into the AC and then it shuts off. I've left it to charge overnight, so we'll see what happens.

Plus there's the password issue.

About the Epson Geneva...do you have it plugged in to AC and it still shuts off? If so it may be the internal battery, that's a problem with these systems and age. I was just dealing with practically the same thing for someone else.
BD

There's more to it than that because the two issues are mutually exclusive. The Geneva doesn't have any exotic systems for protecting the password, it is simply written to NVRAM, in this case, the internal RAMdisk. The contents of the NVRAM are maintained by the internal battery, so if it's dead, so is the password. To remove the password, all that is necessary is to reset the machine (PX-8 Operations (manual), pg. 29). There are three different ways to reset a PX-8, but for password removal, I believe that a full-system reset must be done. If you open the ROM door on the back, you'll see a little blue pushbutton switch covered by a red protector, located to the left of the ROM sockets, and marked "Initial Reset" so it's pretty hard to miss. Pushing that button with the power on should remove the password, if not, let me know and I'll go thru the other reset procedures for you.

As for the other problem, if the main battery is dead, it might behave that way. Try charging for at least 8 hours, but before you begin charging, check the small switch inside the battery compartment. It has to be in the "on" position

Also, are there any peripherals (wedge) attached to the Epson? if so, disconnect the 40-pin ribbon cable connector between the wedge and the main unit, as a short etc in the wedge could be the cause, and it's best to isolate the two units.

BTW, the manuals etc. (including the Service Manual) can be found here:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~fjkraan/comp/px8/

--T

 

[beamdriver]

Well, I left it plugged in overnight, then I did a complete system reset. It seems to function now.