Unexpected Model 3 shipment outcome

[Tibs]

So, I dont like shipping these things, but I got one that was on the other side of the country for a price that I didnt care if it was shattered I just wanted a few parts out of it. It was uuuugggllllly bad shape, nasty disgusting computer.

Got the box today and it was so small I couldn't image a Model 3 was inside it. It was wrapped with one layer of large bubble wrap and hard pressed against the box. Here's the thing, it made it in perfect condition, except it was stilly ugly nasty. No posts broke, no damage to keyboard.

Me theory is it was because it didnt have any way to move around inside the box at all.

This was one of the first 300 Model IIIs, I took it apart, washed it, cleaned it up, put it all back together and it works great, except for an odd video sync issue. Its a Rev F motherboard, and I guess I'll trace things around and see if something is bad in the video chain.

Here is a picture of the box before I opened and it a picture when the lid opened up on the box. Crazy this thing made it, and it shipped for 6 days.

 

[pski]

It's a crap shoot. This time no one decided to drop it on a corner or toss it off a truck.

 

[Tibs]

Isnt that the truth...

I'd rather ship these with the CRT removed and in a separate box since thats the hardest thing to protect from breaking off inside. You can pack the rest of it where it would make it through a drop, but not the CRT.

I've never seen so many ground wires either, they grounded the floppies on the inside, outside, the metal around the floppies all had ground wires. It was funny because after a while they just grounded the shield on most of them. There were three different ground wires to each floppy drive.

 

[lafos]

They were either fighting ground-loop issues or making sure that RFI emissions were low enough to meet the regulations.

 

[kb2syd]

They were either fighting ground-loop issues or making sure that RFI emissions were low enough to meet the regulations.

One of the main reasons for the III being so "grounded" is that the original TRS80 was an RF nightmare. FCC really got on Tandy's back about the hash it was emitting.

 

[glitch]

One of the main reasons for the III being so "grounded" is that the original TRS80 was an RF nightmare. FCC really got on Tandy's back about the hash it was emitting.

Indeed, a local engineer recently shared that, while working on his thesis on a TRS-80 in college, he had to do so at night since it interfered with most of his apartment complex's TVs!

 

[Tibs]

Apparently they backed off on it somewhat in later builds I've never see so many ground loops, but it could be a motherboard issue. I haven't put the two keyboard ground wires back in because I was trying to fix the horizontal hold and having that video board sideways is always fun. I noticed after getting the video dialed in, the screen blooms for every keystroke. Really strange. I'll see if it does it after the ground wires are in, and also test with a rev G board just for fun.

Yeah, when I turned my Model III on, the TV in the house couldn't watch channel 3, but it was the serial cable to the modem that did most of the interference. Old person in a chair complaining they couldn't watch jeopardy made you find ways around it.