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Tandy 3800 HD Repair/Restoration

OH no... nothing has gone right IRT the math... not unusual tho... :p
No, I made an offer for TWO... they waited until the last possible minute and refunded me ALMOST half...
THEN sent only one... the only one they could find.

I told them that, since they only sent one, that they should have charged me for only one, that the shipping should have been less for only one, and the sales tax should have been reduced for only one.

I am waiting to see if they adjust the refund properly this time... cuz if they don't they are likely to hear from the state of California as well as me! :D

According to the XLT pdf, the broken pin is NOT CONNECTED, but this device does not want to work properly...
There may be a pinout difference between the N80c297a and the XLT version... unfortunately.
Have not found a pdf for the former yet tho... :(

This 2810 has WP LETTERS on it from some Russign guy/kid! Im waiting for the HD adjustment to 'settle' before doing anything else with it, but since I already have a saved copy of EVERYTHING from it, I can play around and not worry!
:D
 
As far as I'm aware. the XLT was specific for laptops, and was not interchangeable with other members of that x87 series. However, I could very well be wrong since my knowledge in this area is limited.
 
Cant blame a guy for tryin'... :p

Im just upset that the 'pins' were damaged... obviously these folks have NO IDEA how to remove a PLCC...
Oh well... I DID get it cheaper than they originally asked for.. I just wish it WORKED and I could use it!

Some interesting observations... the mainboard had some 'mods' that none of the other units I have.... had. I will have to check serial #s to see if the others are newer...
... the keyboard controller and power management 8052 PLCCs were NOT in sockets... they were soldered down.
... the keyboard feels almost new, but the N,C,E and P keys were losing their letters... 'N' is completely GONE! I may have to do some key substitutions... I have plenty of 'spares'!

In my haste to get 6.22 on it, I forgot to build a 4 system disk...
I THINK I have an original 4.0/4.1 DOS hiding somewhere... at least I have all the DOS directory files in case I/somebody needs them!
Time to dig out that Backpack CDRW I bought for these beasts and see if I can get it to work! :D
 
Interesting; I'd expect a newer serial # to have soldered down chips since I would take that to mean that the system design was absolutely finalized/streamlined at that point.

I do like that so many chips in the older systems were socketed. It makes it sooo much easier to change/fix them.
 
Well, SO FAR, everything Ive found suggests that the 80c287a PLCC and XLT PLCC should have the same pinouts... and that the broken 'pin' is NC so it is of no concern.
The only thing I can conclude is that the other deformed 'pins' must be causing an operational issue.
When it is inserted (VERY CAREFULLY I might add!) it finishes the memory test and hangs there...
... waiting...
... for .... something... to happen...
:p
 
Hmm. That is interesting. I remember reading a thread here about a similar issue with a PLCC x87 co-processor. With some very careful bending, the guy did get it to work. I think the issue turned out to be that some of the pins looked like they were making contact, but they actually weren't
 
Yea probably could try bending the lead outward a little more to get them to make contact if they aren't.
I'm no genus with these chips as I have very rarely seen and never removed/inserted these types of chips... But I think I tried pulling one out of an old board (not anything useful or collectable I might add just a silly board out of something random) once when I was younger to look at one and it was a devil to get out and ended up damaging it and the socket...
 
Conmega said:
Yea probably could try bending the lead outward a little more to get them to make contact if they aren't.
I'm no genus with these chips as I have very rarely seen and never removed/inserted these types of chips... But I think I tried pulling one out of an old board (not anything useful or collectable I might add just a silly board out of something random) once when I was younger to look at one and it was a devil to get out and ended up damaging it and the socket...
Click to expand...

Yeah, if you ever want to remove a PLCC, you need to use one of these:

$(KGrHqQOKjIE28TMlj)tBN29dzy6Wg~~_12.JPG

PLCC Extractor
 
Altho I am definitely OUT of the 'acquisition' business (for awhile at least :rolleyes: ),
I do need to get one of those...
and a couple of 1gigger HDs for the 2810s,
and...
and...
and...
:p
 
Alright so that belt for the floppy drive is taking a while to arrive...
Issues with my PayPal at the moment have to do with linking a bank account to it... PayPal is getting on my nerves at this point...
I've been busy yet not at the same times with other things... Everything's a bit confusing right now but anyway...
Hopefully I will get this Tandy working and PayPal issues worked out... (Sorry Paralel for the issues!)
 
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Well, I tried the MSX FS-A1F drive belt and it didn't work, the belt was slightly too large. Oh well, no big loss, it was just for my spare drive anyway.

Maybe I installed it wrong? You just loop it around the brass looking spindle on the bottom of the drive motor, against the second brass looking spindle, and then around the larger spindle that actually spins the drive, right? It's just slightly too big, maybe 2mm or so.

I don't think there is a way to shrink the belt any to make it tighter.
 
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Really???
I ordered that belt about a month ago and its taking forever to get here... If it doesn't work I will be upset...
But leeb said they worked...
 
Conmega said:
Really???
I ordered that belt about a month ago and its taking forever to get here... If it doesn't work I will be upset...
But leeb said they worked...
Click to expand...

It's possible my belt was just crap. Other people have also said they worked. I'm not sure what is up with the one I have. I'll throw it in the box and you can check it against the one you get and see if they are the same or if they are different.
 
Paralel said:
Well, I tried the MSX FS-A1F drive belt and it didn't work, the belt was slightly too large. Oh well, no big loss, it was just for my spare drive anyway.

Maybe I installed it wrong? You just loop it around the brass looking spindle on the bottom of the drive motor, against the second brass looking spindle, and then around the larger spindle that actually spins the drive, right? It's just slightly too big, maybe 2mm or so.

I don't think there is a way to shrink the belt any to make it tighter.
Click to expand...


Conmega said:
Really???
I ordered that belt about a month ago and its taking forever to get here... If it doesn't work I will be upset...
But leeb said they worked...
Click to expand...

By TOO LARGE, do you mean too WIDE or too LONG?
That is not the same number I gave Conmega but might be related... they ARE a bit WIDER, but fit tightly and work GREAT... all 5 that I have are working happily with the belts I BOUGHT...

AS I SAID BEFORE, MAKE SURE you use a light machine oil on the underside of the capstan... it will likely be very stiff to turn, and will benefit from the 3-in-1 type oil... needs only a little and can be wiped off once it spins easier!

I do not have the original message with the part number in it, so I cannot confirm that they are the same... but will once I get home from work.

If your order hasn't been shipped yet I would pitch a royal fit about it...
But that's me. :rolleyes:
:D
 
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leeb said:
By TOO LARGE, do you mean too WIDE or too LONG?
That is not the same number I gave Conmega but might be related... they ARE a bit WIDER, but fit tightly and work GREAT... all 5 that I have are working happily with the belts I BOUGHT...

AS I SAID BEFORE, MAKE SURE you use a light machine oil on the underside of the capstan... it will likely be very stiff to turn, and will benefit from the 3-in-1 type oil... needs only a little and can be wiped off once it spins easier!

I do not have the original message with the part number in it, so I cannot confirm that they are the same... but will once I get home from work.

If your order hasn't been shipped yet I would pitch a royal fit about it...
But that's me. :rolleyes:
:D
Click to expand...

Too long. I probably just got the wrong one.
 
Paralel said:
Too long. I probably just got the wrong one.
Click to expand...

Yep... Im sure it is different.

Guess its time to start trying to '2nd source' these belts again!
Once I get home I will post up the number of the belts I bought (some time back, I must add...)
I bought 5 of them, and have recently used the last one... tho I kept the baggie it came in.

IIRC, I have a least 3 or 4 other drives that will need belts too! :D

EDIT:
Part number was DFWV75c0009... Belt, rubber, 3mm
 
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