Epic! 8-bitguy uses 1 weird trick to detroy rare prototypes!

[Pee Cola]

There's a guy who just found a TRS-80 Model 100 with an interesting underslung bubble memory unit. I remember hearing about those in the day but they're not common. Comments were immediately "Oh so cool this thing you have send it to Adrian Black right now". Like guy has solid systematic troubleshooting skills but I can practically script the video now. "So this thing in the can from Intel, uh, maybe that's the bubble memory? Maybe you can let me know in comments."

To be fair, Adrian is self-taught and has only been doing hardware stuff since the mid '10s. In context, his troubleshooting skills are quite impressive, and it helps that many of his videos are a complete walkthrough. He's also pretty easy to watch.

Maybe the funnest thing in the RMC videos is seeing the little snippets of how annoyed the former followers are with "Holly" being front and center so often and the related name change of the channel. At least the ones that mods haven't zapped.

I've gone off RMC a fair bit. I'm not sure what it is, but Neil seems almost too nice. I liked his early stuff though.

Also Usagi did a little podcasty thing where they discussed the interesting topic of the rolling nature of 'vintage computing'. He said he cuts off his collecting at about 1984 because he finds that an interesting era but also so that he doesn't see anything in his 'vintage collection' that he remembers too well so he doesn't feel ancient. Which is... amusing, but hey why not.

Sounds like Usagi has a similar definition to Sean from the Advent of Computing podcast. Sean considers his wheelhouse as being "pre-Mac" era computing. BTW Advent of Computing is a brilliant podcast if you want to go full sperg on stuff such as early programming languages, obscure CPUs, obsolete memory technologies etc.

 

[Mikoyan]

To be fair, Adrian is self-taught and has only been doing hardware stuff since the mid '10s. In context, his troubleshooting skills are quite impressive, and it helps that many of his videos are a complete walkthrough. He's also pretty easy to watch.

I don't disagree. It's more about my annoyance to 'you must send this to my favorite youtuber!' like let's keep more people getting cool stuff.

I've gone off RMC a fair bit. I'm not sure what it is, but Neil seems almost too nice. I liked his early stuff though.

I don't watch much. Neil.... I get the feeling I know exactly what he is. My smarm detectors tell me he's trying to charm his way into a tiny little empire. Offputting in just the way you describe. I do feel there's some value in his work because he does get some pretty good interviews with the UK 8-bit luminaries but the restoration videos are sigh inducing even without Holly.

Sounds like Usagi has a similar definition to Sean from the Advent of Computing podcast. Sean considers his wheelhouse as being "pre-Mac" era computing. BTW Advent of Computing is a brilliant podcast if you want to go full sperg on stuff such as early programming languages, obscure CPUs, obsolete memory technologies etc.

I think I ran across this recently looking at some IBM stuff, and now I'll check it out.

 

[Waff]

He lost me when he hoarded an entire TRS-80 with visible DRAM probs without ever fixing it because his limpwrist ass can't do anything but wood veneer, jerk off to goth girls, Dook 3D, hoard object and lie, who the fuck would even pay him to do any of that

With money like that you'd think he'd send it off to adrian black.

 

[Waff]

View attachment 6151436
I have no clue why this is a trend with retro tech channels right now.

View attachment 6151437

I saw this theory on /g/ a while back but I think it reigns true. "trends" in the retro tech space are nothing more than marketing gimmicks big channels use to sell off their collection of shit they hoarded up. If you don't believe me next time you see a trend in the next retro current thing go to ebay and search that item with completed listings checked. You'll see exactly what I mean.

Netbooks in general are nice though. Hell right now I am writing this on my linux partition on my old 32 bit toshiba nb205

 

[ZMOT]

Maybe the funnest thing in the RMC videos is seeing the little snippets of how annoyed the former followers are with "Holly" being front and center so often and the related name change of the channel. At least the ones that mods haven't zapped.

at least the M still stands for man (unless I missed something), which feel more superficial to placate retards that see "man" and their first instinct is to cry about exclusion.
I take that over completely renaming to "purge problematic content" and other shit.

in the end it's all retarded, but most (real) tech nerds are not political activists, so the energy to fight a mob of woketards often isn't there.

 

[Fcret]

With money like that you'd think he'd send it off to adrian black.

Unlike most of the space, LGR doesn't program even a little. Most of the other channels would be interested in getting it working if only to get 10PRINT running for B-roll or something. LGR always struck me as a bit of poser when it comes to this older home computer shit because even normie users back in the 8-bit and early 16-bit home computing days would have to program a little bit just to make shit work.

I don't watch much. Neil.... I get the feeling I know exactly what he is. My smarm detectors tell me he's trying to charm his way into a tiny little empire. Offputting in just the way you describe. I do feel there's some value in his work because he does get some pretty good interviews with the UK 8-bit luminaries but the restoration videos are sigh inducing even without Holly.

The Virgin "Sweater And Smarm" RMC vs the Chad "Fuck It Just Use Stock Footage" RetroBytes

A microcosm of the British class system if I've ever seen one

 

[Enig]

Now at a genuine impasse with the IIe, I replaced not only the entire PSU but all of the system ROMs and even the 65C02 and it still just boots to a black screen and no beep. At this point it can be four things, the filter caps need replacement (lowest price but highest doubt since the power light near them comes on bright), the HAL is broken (affordable according to ReAM and it does generate heat while powered on), either the MMU or IOU burnt out (literally cheaper to buy a whole IIe than either one since no one's bothered to reverse engineer them yet), or there are unforeseen shorts/microcracks in solder joints or traces (just throw the fucking thing into the river and deal with the IIGS's cursed analog RGB at that point jesus christ). Hell, if I want to I can just buy a IIGS power cable and move the new PSU into it and recoup on costs while I figure out what the fuck is going on with this thing because it was working fine and then sat on a desk for a month and magically died.

 

[残念。]

Now at a genuine impasse with the IIe, I replaced not only the entire PSU but all of the system ROMs and even the 65C02 and it still just boots to a black screen and no beep. At this point it can be four things, the filter caps need replacement (lowest price but highest doubt since the power light near them comes on bright), the HAL is broken (affordable according to ReAM and it does generate heat while powered on), either the MMU or IOU burnt out (literally cheaper to buy a whole IIe than either one since no one's bothered to reverse engineer them yet), or there are unforeseen shorts/microcracks in solder joints or traces (just throw the fucking thing into the river and deal with the IIGS's cursed analog RGB at that point jesus christ). Hell, if I want to I can just buy a IIGS power cable and move the new PSU into it and recoup on costs while I figure out what the fuck is going on with this thing because it was working fine and then sat on a desk for a month and magically died.

Sounds like you need a dmm and a logic probe

 

[Waff]

Unlike most of the space, LGR doesn't program even a little. Most of the other channels would be interested in getting it working if only to get 10PRINT running for B-roll or something. LGR always struck me as a bit of poser when it comes to this older home computer shit because even normie users back in the 8-bit and early 16-bit home computing days would have to program a little bit just to make shit work.

Listen I don't program either but its good to at least be able to know your way around a device to attempt to repair it. Especially with retro devices where traces being repaired isnt like an open heart surgery you really got no excuses. However I will say LGR does have a good set of knowledge about midi-based devices...I still find that shit complicated today.

 

[Susanna]

Unlike most of the space, LGR doesn't program even a little. Most of the other channels would be interested in getting it working if only to get 10PRINT running for B-roll or something. LGR always struck me as a bit of poser when it comes to this older home computer shit because even normie users back in the 8-bit and early 16-bit home computing days would have to program a little bit just to make shit work.

Even CWC of all people knows BASIC. It’s really weird to be into 80s computer stuff and not have even a little bit of it, BASIC/VB was part of common high school curriculum until the last decade or so.

 

[Enig]

The Apple IIe is working again, the fix? Buying an entire populated motherboard for $70 from Apple Rescue because the MMU in mine fried and in over 40 years not a single fucking person has completely cloned it or the IOU chip. The shitass Apple II Plus has more 100% replacement parts than the IIe, what in the fuck.

 

[Pee Cola]

The Apple IIe is working again, the fix? Buying an entire populated motherboard for $70 from Apple Rescue because the MMU in mine fried and in over 40 years not a single fucking person has completely cloned it or the IOU chip.

Here's an interesting thread I found on a forum about the process behind cloning a custom IC, and gives some clues as to why this has been such a challenge, as well as a home made IOU clone using a PLD.

That said, I'm a little surprised there aren't any drop-in replacements for the MMU or IOU yet, given that clones for custom chips in machines such as the C64 and ZX Spectrum have been around for years.

 

[Enig]

Here's an interesting thread I found on a forum about the process behind cloning a custom IC, and gives some clues as to why this has been such a challenge

That thread fills me with pain to read inbetween using obsolete PLAs to implement things and the bizarre use of a 1998 camera, and yet sadly both it and the FPGA project thread have not had any updates in seven months now.

 

[Waff]

Maybe its just me but has anyone realized retro-tubers like michael mjd and action retro seem to repeat specific words and use a stronger tone when saying them? a good example is every time they say e-waste or classicube. Maybe I am just schizoing out but are they trying to hit specific SEO terms or something? Its especially odd when you add this to the fact subjects on their channels all seem to talk about the same thing as one another too, e.g. Netbooks or PowerPC windows NT.

 

[Ahriman]

Maybe its just me but has anyone realized retro-tubers like michael mjd and action retro seem to repeat specific words and use a stronger tone when saying them? a good example is every time they say e-waste or classicube. Maybe I am just schizoing out but are they trying to hit specific SEO terms or something?

Yup, they probably are. Just like they have certain "insta-demonetization" words like rape or gun or kill.

Enough is enough.

 

[HootersMcBoobies]

Yup, they probably are. Just like they have certain "insta-demonetization" words like rape or gun or kill.

I hate this new "YouTube" vocabulary. People who have been banned already don't use retarded words like "unaliving" when posting on Rumble/Odysee/their own fucking website.

Enough is enough.

It would be way more entertaining if Murray were the lunatic with anger manager problems from that 90s movie Falling Down. But he's not a chad, psycho or anything exciting by a long shot. Just some nerd who lost out to the YouTube economy and now restores video game cabinets and occasionally enlists the help of pet trannies.

 

[Rock hard as a Flintstone]

I'm in the middle of playing Varta cleanup crew (won't dox myself too hard by saying what its on). I've done a few soaks with white vinegar and tissue paper, then given the board a rinse down/scrub with a conductive brush and blasted it with isopropyl alcohol before letting it dry. The corrosion has gone under the solder mask in a few spots but miraculously, there are very few broken traces that I can see (I haven't tested continuity anywhere yet).

This is my first time cleaning up a battery leak this bad so does anyone have tips for newbies? Next step based on youtube is to remove the affected ICs/sockets, then scour the area with a fiberglass pen/polishing bit on the Dremel before tinning it and testing for continuity.

 

[Pee Cola]

This is my first time cleaning up a battery leak this bad so does anyone have tips for newbies? Next step based on youtube is to remove the affected ICs/sockets, then scour the area with a fiberglass pen/polishing bit on the Dremel before tinning it and testing for continuity.

You may need to install bodge wires if you can't restore the traces by tinning alone. Depending on the board, the distance you need to cover etc, you can either use actual wires or you can use something like a paperclip bent into shape to restore the traces.

Watch out for pads under components, too. Many of those rot out as a result of corrosion.

Don't forget to apply some sort of protection to the traces once repairs are done. Preferably PCB trace paint that cures under UV light, though you can use clear nail polish if you can't get your hands on proper PCB paint.

Final piece of advice (though you may be way ahead of me already): replace the battery with a CR2032 holder and 3V CR2032 button cell. These don't leak like the old Varta-style batteries do. Just be sure to put a diode on the voltage input side, to stop any attempted charging of the battery. There are literally hundreds of videos, web pages, forum posts etc describing how to do this (though if you have even a little electronic repair experience, this process should be self-explanatory).

 

[Migraine Box]

Final piece of advice (though you may be way ahead of me already): replace the battery with a CR2032 holder and 3V CR2032 button cell. These don't leak like the old Varta-style batteries do. Just be sure to put a diode on the voltage input side, to stop any attempted charging of the battery. There are literally hundreds of videos, web pages, forum posts etc describing how to do this (though if you have even a little electronic repair experience, this process should be self-explanatory).

Depends on what the Varta was used for. In my experience, a CR2032 doesn't have enough juice to replace the Vartas on 286 and 386 motherboards. Best bet on them is if there's a header for an external battery and use a 4xAA holder instead. I recently went through hell repairing a 386 and having to re-enter the hdd info by hand into the bios every. single. time. the system. restarted has left a permanent scorch mark on my sanity

 

[TheRaptorJesus]

As someone who doesn't keep up with shit; does this fag post on other channels now? I used to watch 8-bit keys but thats abandoned and his main channel may have a video every 2-3 months.