Coco Model III Repack

Getting ready for closure

2011-02-18T23:44:00.000-05:00

Howdy folks. I think I started this blog about four years ago. Cris (CaptCPU) had asked me to start posting on the CoCoHut blog, and I created this blog to catalog my progress with my repack project.

Fast forward four years, and I have way too many projects to keep track of. I've got my hardware testing, website, repack blog, and many others too numerous to list. Pre-accident Brian could have handled all of this, but, it's all a little hard to handle now. Too easy to get frustrated, disappointed and aggravated; something has to give. Unfortunately, it's gonna have to be the blogging. Since the blogs have been the areas that have suffered, they are gonna go. Both of 'em.

The CoCoHut is Cris' blog; he started it and he can make the decision to close it when he sees fit. He's been AWOL for quite some time - I haven't heard from him in over a year. This blog, however, was and is all mine.

I will not be leaving the CoCo Scene. My latest project has been the creation of an actual forum, which can be found here. Slowly, I'll get the contents of the repack blog transferred over to the 'Mod My CoCo' section of the forum. When that's done, I'll close the repack blog.

This was a tough decision, but, I've got to lighten the load some. It's been a fun ride, and I hope everyone will join us over at the forum.

Later,

Brian

New CoCo related forum

2011-02-11T14:55:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone. Just dropping in to let you guys know I'm still here, still kicking, and still working on the repack. S - L - O - W - L - Y. But, I am still working on it. Several other projects have side-tracked it. I was working with one of Roger Taylor's Serial Paks and getting it to run with an XBee wireless modem. There is a complete write up for that coming out in the next CoCoNutz issue. I've also gotten quite a few web sites to work on, which has taken a chunk of my time.

For the last two weeks, though, the thing that took the majority of my time was the creation of a CoCo related forum. I had quite a few requests for this, and I finally caved in. It's sort of a work in progress, but, it's functional, and hopefully will start seeing some increased traffic. If you want to take a look and maybe join up and post, go here.

CoCo 'Rules of Aquisition'

2010-04-26T12:17:00.000-04:00

No, I haven't become an honorary Ferengi, but, I am going to have start avoiding eBay like the plague. So far this year, I have picked up the following:

1 - CoCo3 w/512k
1 - dual floppy unit with full height drives that need AT LEAST an alignment, with an FD-501 cart
3 - MPI's
1 - Complete FD-501 Disk System w/2 DS/DD drives
1 - CoCo mouse
1 - RS-232 pak
1 - Speech Systems 'The Voice'
1 - WICO j/s adapter
1 - FD-500 cart
1 - FD-501 cart

Now, add that to the following...

3 - 512k CoCo3' (2 have 6309's)
1 - My repack CoCo3 which is 128k (soon to upgrade to 512k), upgraded to a 6309, 2-3.5" floppies, 1-5.25" floppy, Roy's VGA adapter connected to a 15" HP LCD, MPI, and a Radio Shack multimedia sound system is being installed. All jammed into a Model III case.
2 - CoCo2's (one is a 3127B lowercase capable)
1 - grey CoCo1
1 - White CoCo1
1 - MPI I am trying to repair
2 - FD-501 (1 with 2 DS/DD 5.25's, and 1 with 1 5.25 and 1 3.5)
1 - FD-502 with a single DS/DD drive

And...

Atari 800XL
Atari 1040STf
External floppy for ST
ST Monitor
ST Modem

2 - TI-99/4A's, with a bunch of carts and a speech module

TRS-80 Model IV

I need to stop this and get back to the repack... My wife is gonna divorce me if she ever finds out how much classic computer stuff I really have...

MPI Hell -> CoCo Hell

2010-03-20T17:29:00.000-04:00

I have no clue what it is about my MPI's, but, the things never seem to want to work right. Just got one this week and it was not working well. At all. Noticed noise coming from the transformer so I switched it. Didin't help at first . Got out another CoCo3 and it works perfect with this one. Now my frustration level goes up a little higher. I get out the MPI I've been fighting with for a few years. The one I know did not work on several CoCo3's. The one I replaced almost ALL of the IC's on and it still did not work right.

So, now I try the MPI on this other CoCo3. Floppy access is flawless (it even loaded Gold Runner 2000, the other one will not - no PAL upgrade). Plugged in the Speech & Sound Cart - normal boot, normal operation - cool. Next, I plug in the Orchestra 90 - looks like a bunch of Egyptian hieroglyphics on the screen. Okay, so the MPI does NOT like the O-90 - this particular MPI never has. Weird stuff....

Quick post

2010-02-14T19:20:00.000-05:00

Well, I got some REAL disks made today so I could properly exercise my CoCo. Tried TW128, WorddPower 3.3, and VIP Writer (couldn't get it to print). Kinda cool watching that old Okidata 320 Turbo's print head flying back & forth. Noisy as hell, but it still works. Son next, I made a few disks of games. Goldrunner 2000 absolutely ROCKS!!! I spent most of the day playing that. I also played some Z-89. Cool graphics, but, a little sluggish.

Emulation

2010-02-13T12:05:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally got an emulator back up an running. I like VCC since it runs on XP/7 and I can still create REAL floppies with it. Since I finally have real CoCo hardware set up, it was time. An important note about VCC and the fdrawcmd utility - the documentation for VCC states it will not work with any version of fdrawcmd than 1.0.1.9, and that is a fact. 1.0.1.10 will not work with VCC, as I found out this week.

Hopefully, this week I'll get the sound system installed in the repack unit, and the I can work on the MPI. The repack has already been 6309'd, and I need to order a 512k kit from C9. After all of that is done, I need to wire up all of the CoCo's ports to be accessible from outside the case, AND, make the Atari j/s interface. Once all of this is done, tested and working, I get to clean up all the rough spots and then paint the case. Sounds easy, huh...

Later,

Brian

Some more CoCo love...

2010-01-31T14:07:00.001-05:00

Well, I spent a little quality time with my newly repaired and upgraded CoCo3 yesterday. After reassembling everything, I played Donkey Kong for a while.

Which reminds me, last week when I was playing DK, my daughter and her boyfriend were over. He heard the sound FX coming from my office and came in to watch. I got the expected 'what the hell is that?' remark. I said 'Donkey Kong', what, you've never seen it?' His reply was, 'I've played Donkey Kong on in the SNES, but, it didn't look anything like that.' So I offered him a shot to play it. He never made it to the fourth girder on the first level. He hung his head and exclaimed 'Old skool kicked my ass...'

I told him this wasn't a sappy ass run-and-shoot game you can buy for a PS3 and solve it a few hours. The goal is to see how high of a score you can get, and how many levels up. I then consoled him some before telling him he got his ass handed to him by an 8-bit computer!!!

At any rate, I got out my old Botek serial->parallel converter yesterday, downloaded the manual to my Okidata Microline 320 Turbo dot matrix printer (could not remember how to set the damn thing up to save my life) and played around with TW80 and WordPower3.3. While doing some printing, my 10 year old daughter ran in a asked 'Daddy, what's wrong with the printer?' I said 'What do you mean?' She replied with 'I see it works but something has to be wrong with it to be so LOUD!!!' Kids, they crack me up...

Later,

Brian

Success.....?

2010-01-28T16:54:00.003-05:00

About two weeks ago, I ordered a 512K upgrade kit from Cloud 9. The kit arrived yesterday, got it all soldered up (yes, you have to solder the kit yourself) and plugged in (great product BTW). Was all jittery and excited, as with this one updated, I only have one CoCo3 with 128K - the re-pack.

Well, I turned the machine on and realized I forgot to plug in the VGA adapter - rats!!!. So I plug in the VGA adapter and turn the CoCo3 back on, all excited to see that nuclear green screen... and was greeted with a black and blue checkerboard pattern. WTF??? So I turned the power off. unseated and re-seated the upgrade board and tried again. Same damn thing.

After going over the work with a big ass magnifying glass, I discovered that when I removed the 6809 and installed the socket last week, I cut (really broke) a very small motherboard trace. Underneath the 'H' bar on the CPU socket of all places. No idea how I missed it when I was looking everything over before I soldered in the socket. Well, I got that fixed with a piece of voice coil wire (do you have ANY idea how difficult it can be to solder a piece of wire to a trace when the solder point is under some you REALLY don't want to have to remove..???), but, still had the same problem.

After reseating the memory - again - and a few other checks, I was left with swapping out the 6309, which fixed it.

I doubt anything else was wrong; I ran the included memory test program for about 2000 loops, and played Donkey Kong (great CoCo3 stress tester) for about a half an hour and had no other issues.

Overall, the whole process was maybe an hour, including soldering the upgrade board. This was my first experience with a CoCo3 CPU going bad. Anytime I've had a PC CPU go, the computer failed to do... anything except turn the power LED on. Live and learn...

Holding pattern....

2010-01-25T22:40:00.000-05:00

While I wait for the Cloud9 512k upgrade I ordered, I figured I'd operate on another CoCo3 and do a CPU transplant. What was the point of getting 10 63C09EP's if I didn't intend to install them? The very first one I did on my repack (seems like ages ago) I carefully removed in an effort to save the CPU. For what, I have no idea. That could have turned to disaster as the heat was enough to slightly warp the motherboard, so I doubt the CPU survived anyway.

These latest ones I found myself just clipping the damn things out, cleaning everything up and soldering in the sockets. Repack CPU swap time, somewhere around 4 hours. Clip & solder swap time, about 30 minutes. Yeah, don't think I'll be wasting time like that again.

Above is a pic of the bottom of the motherboard, showing the 'cleaned-out' holes. Of course I got the bright idea to take some pics AFTER I had already started to solder the socket in... oh well....

Above are the two recent sacrifices. Didn't dawn on me until I was writing this that the damn things were upside-down in the picture... sigh....

Well, I don't consider myself a vintage computer repairman by any stretch, but, that didn't stop me from getting out my malfunctioning MPI on Saturday and going thru it again. When I last had it out, Gene and I had been diagnosing a strange problem (yes, those seem to follow me...). With a floppy plugged into it, it might load, or might not load a program. Sockmaster's Donkey Kong is a no-go with an error in line 15. I Can get DIR commands to complete, but, they take longer than they should and the drive sounds like it's going to throw an I/O error. The O-90 cart seems to work by itself, can't get any disk access, tho. The REALLY weird part is, with the FDC in slot for, and the speech and sound cart plugged in - does not matter which slot it's in, and the selector on '4', the CoCo boots to a Ext Color Basic 1.1 screen. Essentially a CoCo 1/2 screen. I have replaced the 74LS245 chip and all of the 74LS367 chips. When this problem started way back in '07, I think Robert Gault suggested to check the power supply. I'll be doing that this coming weekend...

Later,

Brian

It's FIXED!!!!

2010-01-16T12:56:00.001-05:00

Well, anybody who followed this thread on the mailing list has an idea of the problem with this CoCo3. It seemed to have a fear of floppy drives. After all of the troubleshooting (including a couple miscues by yours truly) we thought we had it pegged to the 74LS138 chip, aka IC9. So, I placed an order with Jameco last Friday for a replacement (and the IC's to build an MPI, that's another story), and that order landed yesterday.

This morning, after my wife went to work, I clipped the 138 off of the motherboard, cleaned the holes and soldered a socket in the chip's place. After cleaning everything up, I inserted the chip, hooked the mobo back up inside the CoCo3 case, made the necessary connections and powered it on. And it worked!!! The two pics below show the floppy light on drive 1 doing a 'DIR' command and loading Sockmaster's Donkey Kong conversion.

Below is the loading screen (for those living under a rock since 2007) of DK. Note the little beige and grey box with lit green LED - Roy Justice's VGA adapter. If you don't have one, buy one. It does not disappoint!!!

The pic below shows the socketed 6309 and 74LS138 chip.

All in all it was a fun learning experience. Anytime I come away from a situation like this and have learned something, I'm happy. Incidentally, how hot should the heat-sink get for Q1? After about half an hour of Donkey Kong, that thing was hot!! I'm thinking about yanking the PS off of this one and using a 90w ATX unit or some other type, maybe something like theotherBob had posted on his now defunct GeoCities page... just for giggles. My repack is powered by a 200w ATX that runs everything except the LCD (which runs off of it's own PS tapped from the 120vac plug the ATX unit runs from), so I think 90w for the CoCo and maybe an internal 3.5" floppy would be fine.

Later,

MCCM

Ordered parts, and update...

2010-01-06T22:43:00.001-05:00

Well, I ordered the part today to (hopefully) fix my malfunctioning CoCo3. Gene and I think it's been narrowed down to IC9. Find out in a few days. The CoCo3 that has been flakey had a PBJ 512k memory expansion on it. So, I took it off, clipped C65 & C66 on my 128K CoCo3 and commenced to playing Sockmaster's port of Donkey Kong for a few hours. It was pretty fun.

Along with the part I ordered for the CoCo3, I ordered all of the IC's to make Tom Gunnison's MPI clone, as posted on CoCo3.com. The IC's are dirt cheap - <$20 for them and the capacitors. I'm drawing up a board layout in ExpressPCB right now. Think I'm on my third revision. It's gotta be a double sided board, I don;t see any way around that. I think the cost is gonna be around $125 for 3 6 x 8 double sided boards. I'm trying to find ways to move things around and make it smaller. I think it'd be cool as hell to have it small enough, and dimensioned so that it'll fit inside the existing MPI cases. Then you could continue to use your existing case, or buy one to make your own. The biggest problem I see right now is getting the power and ground planes down correctly...

One change I am going to make, is going to be a modification to my CoCo's. I'm going to either replace the card slot with a dual row header and just use and existing IDE cable to connect the MPI since I'm using a dual row header on it, or make a male card edge with the header installed on it. Finding a 40 pin male card edge connector has been a royal bitch!!!

I'll be back working on the re-pack again pretty soon. I gotta borrow my dad's Roto-Zip to do some case mods. I thought the Model III case would give me ample room for component placement. I'm questioning that thought, as with Roy's VGA adapter installed, I still have to fit the electronics of the sound system in, and the MPI.

Troubleshooting a perplexing problem...

2010-01-04T21:34:00.006-05:00

After all of the new developments on the CoCo scene, I decided to set up a CoCo to play around with. My re-pack is in no condition for this yet, so I pulled my 3 CoCo3's out of the closet and picked one of the 512k models. Wouldn't you know it, it has developed an issue. Seems it doesn't like the FD-502 FDC I have that works fine with my other CoCo3's (and 2's and 1's).

The descriptions of the problem can be found in the MaltedMedia mailing list under the following subjects:

Re: [Coco] Weird CoCo3 problem

and

Re: [Coco] Weird CoCo3 problem - AAAARRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!

I have checked the power supply and pretty much ruled it out; all of the waveforms match the CoCo3 Service Manual.

I started checking the signals and comparing waveforms and had a few issues with some. For ALL of the pictures below,

execpt for one and it's noted, I set the volts/div and time/div as specified in the CoCo3 SM.

The pictures below are for the guys helping me diagnose the problem (good luck to us all):

This is the waveform of TP2, ECLK - supposed to be a 5vp-p square wave

Here's TP3 - QCLK - again, supposed to be a 5vp-p square wave, and apparently according to the SM, time shifted a bit - these two signals are identical.

Here's TP4 - /RAS - Supposed to be 5v with negative pulses. To save bandwidth, TP5 - /CAS is the exact same waveform. These two signals, according to the SM, are supposed to be virtually identical to each othe - but, negative going pulses and slightly different in timing.

This last one is one Christopher Hawks told me to look at - P3 of IC9. It's supposed to be 5v with negative pulses. However, it's the EXACT same as TP2 & 3, this picture I was using a different Time/Div setting. Pins 1 & 2 of IC9 are identical to P3. P6 of IC9 is a logic HI at 5vdc, P9 of IC9 is close to 2vdc.

Looking at everything as a whole - there's a better than average possibility I'm wrong - but, with all of the malformed waveforms coming from the GIME I'm wondering if that isn't the problem. I've cleaned and reseated it, but, for E and Q to be so different from the pics, and the same signal being on pins 1,2 & 3 of the 138N chip (IC9) it has me wondering. I'm hoping someone else can point me in a direction to either prove or disprove that. Tho the computer is not displaying any of the tell tale signs of GIME problems (graphics issues, sparklies,. etc...)

Only took a little over a year to get back to it...

2009-10-09T16:23:00.005-04:00

Well... I started back doing some work on this 'long term' project today. I'm still looking for something to use as a male 'card edge' adapter so I can mount the MPI unit on top of the case. I'll need two since there will be a shielded cable running from the CoCo3 to the MPI, and one running from the floppy controller to slot 4. Will be asking a few people if doing that way will cause any problems. The cable from the CoCo3 to the MPI will need to be 2-3feet long in order to be able to take the thing apart.

Anyway, I finally got the Model III keyboards 'reset' button wired to the CoCo's. I'm also, thanks to a recent acquisition, planning a little surprise any one who wants to play games or listen to vintage CoCo music... You should be able to tell by the attached pics (sorry, they're from my iPhone), however, they don't tell the whole story.... :)

Actually got a little work done..

2008-09-03T11:21:00.000-04:00

On the repack this past weekend. Small stuff, but, progress is progress. I'll post pictures later, but, here's a short run down;

1. I removed the toggle switch I was using with the rocker switch from the original Model III

2. Added a 'power on' LED by the reset button.

Like I said, small items, but, still progress...

Later,
mccm

Still kickin'

2008-07-25T15:56:00.002-04:00

Okay faithful readers (all 2 of you). I'll be back shortly with some more progress on the repack. Slowly beginning to get caught up with life...

Ummmm, I guess not...

2008-02-05T08:41:00.000-05:00

Well, I guess November 1st was not realistic. With having to set up the Christmas lights and finishing the controllers and SSRs, I just had no time for much of anything else.

Speaking of the Christmas lights, here are two videos from them (please excuse the piss poor quality of the vide, the camcorder died and I had to use a digital camera):

I have been trying to keep up with eVilBay auctions over at the CoCoHut when I can. However, since I no longer have an internet connection at home, this has been sporatic at best...

As I said in an earlier post, I had a 24 X 31 (wanted a 36' garage but the wife objeted) metal garage put up back in October. I am currently planning and working on adding a loft too it for storage so I can actually reclaim some floorspace. After emptying 3 storage units, there's not a lot of room left... Anyway, a small section of this will be set aside for CoCo and computer work in general. The rest will support my other numerous hobbies (woodworking, auto restoration, electronics, etc...). Hopefully I'll get back to the repack in the coming weeks, time will tell.

Yep.... still here

2007-10-12T15:29:00.001-04:00

Hey folks, I'm still here and still alive. We finally closed on our house last Wednesday (October 3rd) so that is done. I am in the process of getting a 24X36 garage built, 16 X 24 will be workshop space for me. I look to be getting back to CoCo stuff sometime around November 1st.

Stay tuned...

A few updates...

2007-08-21T07:57:00.001-04:00

Cris 'CaptCPU' Egger has got the CoCoHut Message Board operational again. Everyone who was a member will will need to re-register.

I've finally ordered the parts to my Christmas Light Sequencers. Hidden in amongst the IC's, LED's and such for that projects are the parts I need to (hopefully) fix my MPI. I will be removing and replacing several of the MPI's IC's. Of course the replacements will be socketed for easier future replacement. So in a few days I may have some happier news to report...

Brian

Still here, just busy

2007-08-14T15:14:00.001-04:00

Greetings repack followers (all 3 of you)!!!! Been almost a month and a half so I figured it's time for a quick update. I'm ashamed to say, I've done almost ZERO CoCoing during the last six weeks. Work, family and life keeps getting in the way, pretty much in that order:

Work: moved our main office during July - working overtime when you're salaried (is that a word?) sucks...
Family: Yes, I'm married, yes I've got kids, yes, all demand a portion of my time...
Life: Still working on closing on the house (3 months AFTER moving in), a friend of ours estranged wife and her boyfriend are apparently being held for murder of his (my friends') two year old baby girl (obit here, article here and here. Words cannot accurately express how I feel about this. Good friends of ours are hurting right now. Ira, Callie's dad is a good man. Eli, Becky, Kaili and the rest of their family have to be going thru hell right now. My prayers are with them. I don't know what I can say about the mother. She worked for my wife when we had a pizza store in southern Ohio a few years back. To think she may be capable of something like this just sends chills up and down my spine. Unbelievable.

Not a very CoCoish post, but, oh well...

Hopefully, I'll be closing on my house by the end of the month and then maybe get Evil Lab Florida built and functioning so I can do some serious CoCo evilness during the fall and holiday season. Oh, that and my Christmas light display. If you like synchronized light displays such as this, then you give Do It Yourself Christmas a visit. All of the resources are there to help you build your own controller (and yes, Cris, you can do this...) and set up a display of your own!!!

MPI Troubleshooting

2007-06-29T06:52:00.000-04:00

These pics are being posted to help Gene help me diagnose my MPI problem...

This is the output of U2 pin 6. Approximately 1.4v pulses.

This pic is the input on U2p14. The rest of the input pins look similar.

U2 pin 4 (DB2) - ~ .2 - 3.5v
U2 pin 8 (DB5) - ~ .2 - 3.5v
U2 pin 9 (DB6) - ~ .2 - 3.5v
U2 pin 5 (DB7) - ~ .2 - 3.5v

U2 pin 2 (DB1), U2 pin 3 (DB0) and U2 pin 7 (DB4) - ~3.5vdc with no waveform to speak of

Sinistaar

2007-06-14T15:24:00.001-04:00

Holy crap what a fun game!!! It's a good thing I didn't find this out before I started the repack... I'd never have gotten anything done. Since I've been hawking on it for a few days, the Tandy SS/C is not required for this game's speech. Nor would it be wanted as it is not capable of putting the required inflections into the voice (at least not that I've heard). The 'I hunger!!!' sounds almost arcade quality and is equal to anything I've heard my TI do. Awesome game!!!

I'll be getting back to the repack content when I get my garage put up. I am having a 24' x 41' metal building put up, with 16' x 24' set aside for my workshop. Just waiting for a few things to fall into place... (at least I get some CoCoing done :-) )

Later,

Brian

Coco chat

2007-06-12T17:09:00.001-04:00

There's been a ton of talk about coco_tower's decision to go to a registered users only system for the chat on coco3.com. It is Roger's site and it is his choice. I am of the opinion that this is the reason for the drop off in chat participation. It has been mentioned a few times in posts in the forums, but, too my knowledge the issue has gone largely unanswered. Since that seems to be the case, I am currently testing an IRC channel on Dal.Net for use as a chat area for us CoCoNutz. Ironically, it's room name is #coconutzchat, and it is located on dalnet. If anyone needs help signing into the chatroom, give me a yell.

Later,

Brian

Speech paks... ugh...

2007-06-12T14:30:00.001-04:00

I got all excited yesterday. My Speech & Sound pak arrived, well packed, from the eBay seller. Got it home last night powered up the PC, the re-pack and the 512k CoCo3 and MPI. On the PC I was running Keil's emulator and MESS, making some floppies to test out the SS/C. This combined with the repack and 'The Beast' as I call the 512k machine with all accessories on, looked cool as hell. (Think The Matrix in 8-bit). I probably don't have to mention how disappointed I was in the SS/C. Briza tried to warn me. He even talked me into doing an article on the CoCo3 vs. TI-99/4A computers and their speech capability. In this area I'm sad to say the CoCo3 got it's ass handed too it by the TI. That's all I'll say for now as the article is still being written.

So, if anybody out there in the CoCo 'verse has one of the better speech cartridges (Super Voice, Real Talker or whatever), and would be willing to be a contributer to an article for Mary's CoCoNutz e-zine, please contact me. I'm pretty much wrapped up with the TI vs. SS/C comparison, so I need some info on the other devices. I am not asking to be sent the device (unless you are willing to part with it, of course). Just asking for someone willing to do a review of one of the alternatives vs. the Tandy/RS SS/C that I can add to my article.

Later,

Brian

A few new goodies

2007-06-08T11:42:00.000-04:00

Well, the auction goods came in. The CCR-83 looks pretty good and seems to work. I have not taken the CoCo3 home yet, but, it is a little more marked up that the picture shows. Which is okay as I have plans for this one. Let's just say there is another repack project brewing. :-)

I will say I'm a little torqued off about the packaging. The box was an appropriate size, but, the packing material used was shredded paper. Wouldn't have been so bad if the contents had been wrapped and sealed. I gotta take the CoCo3 apart and clean the paper out before I can even turn the damn thing on. Guess the seller figured he'd cut cost since it cost $12.45 to ship an auction I only paid $8.25. Not my fault he screwed up on the postage. If he'd have told me, I'd have PayPal'd the difference.

I also picked up this auction: Tandy Speech and Sound Pak. Briza (somehow) talked me into doing a review article for Mary, and a comparison of it and my Ti99-4/A and it's speech module. Guess I'm gonna have to bone up on the hardware in both systems again (it's amazing what the brain looses over time). Hopefully Mary will not read this for a while and I have some time to come up to speed.

One month later...

2007-05-31T10:38:00.001-04:00

Well, it's been a month since my last update. Busy is an understatement. In that time, one of my office's moved (the other moves in June), I've moved into my house, my oldest has graduated from high school and is now infinitely smarter than the rest of the world. I have in-laws staying with me (as I alluded to on my post on the Collector) and I must say I'm ready for a vacation. Again. Last week we took a trip to Kennedy Space Center. Neat place to visit with your family. Leave the in-laws behind.

I love my mother in law, great lady. I'd love to run her camera over with an M1-A1, shoot it with the nose gun of an A-10 and then nuke it a few times for good measure. We couldn't walk past a street sign without her wanting a group photo. Anytime I talk to her husband I feel like I'm talking to the Rain Man because he repeats himself 5 times. Tries to be a decent guy, but, he has absolutely NO self confidence. Kinda sad really...

What's this all got to do with the CoCoIII Repack? Not a damn thing. I just need a place to vent and since it's my blog...

Guess I can throw a CoCo3 related statement in here. I won an eBay auction for a CoCo3, CCR-82, deluxe joystick and Tetris. $2.26 plus shipping.

The repack is alive and well. It's sitting on a stand at the new house next to my PC. Just waiting for the final closing on my house then I'm either going to build a garage or a big ass shed and Evil Lab South East will be functional again. With all of the projects I've got going, the sooner the better. I need to finish my Christmas light sequencers so in September I can start hanging the lights and testing them.

Catch y'all later...

Brian

House update - 4/30/07

2007-04-30T21:04:00.001-04:00

Well, two weeks ago my house was actually moved to it's lot. In that time since, quite a bit has been accomplished. Figured I'd post a few pics of the progress:

Here's the first section being brought in.

And the second half...

Here they are trying to position them together...

I'll post more later...

Brian

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2007-04-25T07:51:00.000-04:00

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, Motorola didn't make the 6309, Hitachi did. I'll change it tonight... :p...

Brian

Update 4/30/07 ... Okay, so, it was a few days later, so sue me :-)

Anyway, I'd like some feedback on the banner. I tried to give the CoCo more of a bad-ass attitude and I kinda like it (which is really all that counts ;-) ) What does everyone else think???

Sporadic updates...

2007-04-10T20:40:00.001-04:00

I'll be posting sporadic updates in the coming weeks. I just re-acquired the title of 'Home Owner' for the first time since my bankruptcy in 2002. As such, I will be spending the majority of my time checking on the construction company's progress, packing and actually moving. Sadly, I will not have a place to set up my CoCo stuff immediately. However, I will be building a 12' X 40' shed for my workshop, climate controlled of course (gotta be CoCo friendly), for all of my computer stuff and tools.

I will continue my ruminations on CaptCPU's CoCoCollector and the CoCo Hut Bulletin Board, as well as frequenting the CoCo3.com chat room and forums when possible.

Later,

(B)

Sock Master does the impossible (again)!!!

2007-03-31T21:04:00.001-04:00

Will this guy EVER cease to amaze the CoCoCommunity??

John 'Sock Master' Kowalski has ported Donkey Kong to the CoCo3. Actually, ported may not be the correct phrase. What he has done is create an emulator that runs on the CoCo3, and actually runs the arcade game. And it runs at full speed. You do need a 512k CoCo3, and using the RGB for video gives the best picture, hands down. But, oh what a game!!! Been playing it all day long on the TV (the repack is only 128k right now).

This is truly the best damn port to hit the CoCo evah!!!!

For more info, see Sock Master's site, coco3.com or visit Cris's blog.

Damn good stuff going on in the world of CoCo!!!

Quick update (don't become a Darwin candidate like me!!!)

2007-03-20T15:12:00.001-04:00

Well, last night was just... interesting. I guess this really starts yesterday afternoon at lunch. Since the first of the year, I've been on a diet of sorts, trying to get my body back to something that resembles human form. To that end, I've lost 21lbs. since January 4th. Well, yesterday at lunch, I had a 4" Garlic Roastbeef Melt and a cup of chili at Beef O'Brady's sports pub, say around 12:30ish. I left work around 5:45 to go home. Sometime in the neighborhood of 6:30, I make myself a turkey sandwich, which my youngest daughter promptly charms away from me. Had I know her sisters had not fed her yet, I would have made one for her anyway. At any rate, I fail to make myself anything else and go get changed, getting ready for the inevitable "daddy, can we play ball?" I knew I would get.

Somewhere around 7:00, it happened, and we go outside to pass softball (this is my 7 year olds first year). Then my 16 year old comes out and decides to join the fray. So, we alternate with my 16 y.o. throwing wild pop flies to me running me all over the front yard. This goes on until 8:10ish when it is too dark to see the fluorescent yellow ball. So, I go in and start working on the repack (bet you were wondering what all this had to do with the blog, eh?).

I was feeling tired and drained (figured the blood sugar was a little low), but, decided to mount the LCD to the Model III case. Drilled the holes for the nylon binding posts I'm using, no problem. Hot-glued them in place, no problem. Time to trim them down so the LCD will fit flush to the side if the case. This is where the problem occurs. There are times in life the saying "the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing" becomes VERY appropriate. This is one of those times.

My oldest daughter had just come into Evil Lab East (Cris has Evil Lab Central, I suppose) to tell me she was back with some lasagna. I was feeling rather funky at this point, not having eaten anything in 8 hours or so and having just ran around our yard for an hour, but, I figured I'd just trim those pesky binding posts, then go eat. Well, the right hand was holding the exacto knife, left hand was holding the case, and my mind was thinking "I'd better signal the left hand to move bef.. #@!$^$#%$ * Yeah... I cut the everliving crap out of my left thumb.

So, in the spirit hygiene, I go to rinse my thumb out, and call my daughter because I feel a lot funkier than I had been. Ears start ringing, taking deep breathes... aaand that wave passes. My oldest is getting the first aid kit, I am trying to tell my middle to get into the Easter candy so I can get some sugar in my system before I pass out... too late... ringing in the ears is back, BP drops, and I become a vacuum cleaner speed bump (alright a BIG speed bump).

A minute or so later (that's how long they tell me I was out), I begin opening my eyes. I am looking at a yellow Reese's peanut butter egg wrapper just under my nose on the floor next to where my carcass had fallen. My oldest is rubbing my head and talking to me and my middle child is messing with my cut thumb. The oldest opens the egg and I slowly begin to chew on it as the middle (who almost became a UFO at this point) was applying ANTISEPTIC GEL directly to the wound, UNDER the cut skin flap. To say this sobered me up quickly would be as big an understatement as saying Hilliary lies occasionally...

The important lesson here is this: before beginning work on you prized repack, EAT SOME DAMN FOOD!!! And to make matters worse, I DO posses a hot knife, which had I used it, none of this would have happened...

Hope to have some better updates later in the week....

MAJOR update w/pics!!!!

2007-03-18T13:30:00.000-04:00

I finally got Omidisk working this weekend. What better way to celebrate than making a few disks of demos and watching them to see how they look on a monitor that is 20 years younger than the CoCo III itself.

I have also taken the time to make a cable and install 2-3.5" Floppies and 1-5 1/4" floppy so making backups will be much easier. Now I've got to get up the testicular fortitude to make an MPI extender cable and mount the MPI and the continue awaiting the arrival of Cloud-9's SuperBoard (which is when the fun begins :D )

This first grouping of pics is from the Spectral Associates/Tandy demo from Curtis Boyle's website.

If your not familiar with the guy who made the demo which provided these next two pics, you've been living a VERY sheltered life. Sock Master is nothing short of a genius. The rumor mill is rife with tales of his upcoming proggy which is set to debut at this years CoCoFest. Nick and Mary are 'in the know' and I hear Briza will as well in the coming days...

So, while these folks will be full of wisdom, the rest of us get to suffer and wait unit the 'Fest (those of us who cannot go, even longer... :P )

Quick pic & update

2007-03-16T23:37:00.000-04:00

Just a quick pic of my repack running Nitros9. Was able to make a 720k disk using Omniflop and it worked!!!

Now I've just got to learn what to do with it???

Later.

Playing and testing

2007-03-11T12:38:00.000-04:00

Here's my latest test - FlightsimII running. The Monitor is just sitting on Model III case right now. I intend to use a switch similar to the original Model III and get rid of the toggle that is shown dangling out from under the LCD. I will be soldering a power cable to the AC input of the ATX for the LCD (it's power supply is internal).

As you can see, there is an issue with centering on this monitor. I believe this is due to the fact that this monitor prefers 1024x768 and it's only being driven at 640x480. Whenever I try to adjust the settings, a message pops up saying 'OSD Locked Out.' This message is from the LCD itself and not Roy's adapter. I am working with Roy to resolve this issue and I'm sure we'll be able to.

I am now using the Model IV keyboard. After many painstaking hours of working out the key matrix difference between the CoCo3 and the Model IV, I started to cut traces, soldered jumper wires, got out the chicken bones and Holy Water and drew a couple pentagrams for good measure, only to find it still didn't work real well. After much looking at traces and jumpers, I began to look at the header for the keyboard cable. It seems that in the real world, the 20 pin connector I used for the keyboard cable has the odd and even rows reversed. After flipping all 10 pairs of ribbon wires, Frankenstein's monster lives (well, at least Brian's does...)

That's all for now....

Brian

UPDATE!!!! Fixed the offset issue!!!

Here's an up close view of FSII.

As the Linux folks say RTFM!!! (In my defense, I didn't have the manual. I had to look it up on HP's website.... :) )

Quick update...

2007-03-10T23:11:00.001-05:00

Re-wired a spare Model IV keyboard to work with the CoCo3. Even hooked up the FD-501 controller to test the system out. Works well so far. Only real issue is the big 'Enter' button doesn't want to work. Too dang tired to fix it and take and post pics right now. Maybe tomorrow. G'night, all.

Brian

Had to straighten out my k/b extender cable...

2007-02-28T20:35:00.000-05:00

Was giving me fits. I made it in poor lighting and didn't realize not all of the strands of two wires were not tinned right and it gave me no end of 'wrong key' syndrome. Got it fixed tonight...

Here's a pic of a two-liner running on my repacked CoCo3 , with Roy's VGA adapter driving a 15" HP LCD. For a full review, see CaptCPU's review...

Later...

Okay Gang, it's time, it's time for some more Repack Pix!!!

2007-02-27T22:05:00.000-05:00

In the pic above, You can see Roy Justice's VGA adapterattached to the side of the drive tower, the ATX PS in the middle, the Model IV keyboard under the CoCoIII keyboard and the half-assed keyboard extenedr cable I made from an old floppy cable, a cut up ISA slot connector on one end (you'll see the other end in a bit).

Here's the current mounting for the CoCoIII motherboard. The two 'hooks' at the bottom are TRS-80 Model III clips dipped in Plasticoate. Currently, there is only one screw holding the ass'y up. There will be others when things become more permanent. In this view you can see the other end of the keyboard cable. this end is soldered to a 8-bit sound card card edge that I removed from an ancient SoundBlaster (R.I.P.) :)

Here's a pic of the screen generated by Mr. Justice's converter.

And a little better... Roy, if you have any idea how to center the picture, (as Ross Perot said) I'm all ears...

Another (small) milestone reached...

2007-02-17T23:36:00.001-05:00

I de-soldered the 68B09EP CPU from the repack mobo, installed the socket, then the 63C09EP!!! YAY ME!!!!

Seriously, I thought I torched the mobo in the process. I was trying out my Chinese rip-off version of the Hakko 852 rework station.

I actually tested it by removing caps, resistor IC's from an older PII mobo and an old ISA sound card. works really well. I just didn't take into account a 21 year old circuit board. Just below and to the right of the CPU, the board warped a little bit. I'd call it more of a bubble, however, the raised part is not flexible.

The 6809 came out relatively unscathed, just one mildly bent pin. Cleaning up the CPU solder pads proved to be the most difficult, and where I warped the board. I first tried to use the hot air to blow the solder from the holes (yeah, realized how stupid of an idea that was...). Then I tried to use some solder wick, which was pretty useless for this endeavor. What should have been the obvious solution, the dreaded solder sucker, came next. Hey, it worked, 'nuff said. Then it was back to the Hakko rip-off to solder the socket in. I can only say I love how fast this thing heats up, and how easy it is to solder small items with it.

Here are some pics:

Off to the left you can see just a wee bit of the ATX power supply.

Not not completely obvious to the untrained eye, thar she blows!!! That is a socketed 63C09EP working very little at this point...

Here's a pic of the ATX and the former resident of the CoCo3 mobo:

And here's a quick screen shot of it 'running.' I was too tired to dig out the MPI and hard drive stuf to really give it a go. I have 9 6309's left, so I'm sure I'll do this transplant again...

Small project to kill some time

2007-02-12T21:27:00.000-05:00

While waiting for a few items for the re-pack, I was watching the auction on eBay for the Wico Atari joystick adapter. I remember that the other Bob has the schematic for one on his website. Since I do not have the etch tank or other equipment for etching my own boards, I took a different approach; stripboard. Here's a pic of my layout:

Quick parts list:

74HC4066 - $0.31 ea Jameco #74HC4066
10Kohm resistor - $0.69 Jameco #108126
47kohm resister - $06.9 Jameco #108206
Stripboard - Large $1.95 http://www.futurlec.com/ProtoBoards.shtml
6 pin circular DIN plug, inline, $1.26 Digikey - CP-1060-ND
Wire suitable for use as jumpers

I've included most items except the DB-9 connectors. A 14 pin IC socket for each 4066 would be advisable but not necessary. This construction would make two complete adapters.

Roy's VGA adapter

2007-02-11T10:03:00.000-05:00

Zowie!!! This thing looks great!! Can't wait to see what it'll do. For those not in the know, Roy made me a custom VGA adapter for the Model III repack. No case, no PS and a couple leads for running +5vdc (thanks for the correction, Roy!!!) from the ATX power supply. Working out how to mount it inside the case. Thinking PC type plastic motherboard spacers with hot melt glue... Now, if CaptCPU can send me the Model III keyboard article he promised in October... :) Once I get it mounted, I'll post some pics...

Later (B)

No, I'm not dead...

2006-10-10T20:14:00.000-04:00

... but I haven't done much with the repack lately either. Money and time are a minor issue right now. The biggest issue is the fact that since early September I've been battling varied illnesses of one type or the other and just haven't felt like doing much.

I'll get back started on it as soon as I get to feeling better...

Later (B)

Update with some Pics

2006-09-13T13:59:00.000-04:00

Here's a pic of the CoCo3 mobo. This mod was far less nerve-racking than the MPI was. One jumper, remove a transistor and attach the proper voltages where they need to go. Bingo!!!!

This one I fretted over for a fews days prior to doing, as it is my ONLY MPI. It worked out well that Cloud9 had already completed the PAL upgrade before I even got the thing. Knowing how sensitive these are, I put it off as long as I could. Removing the IC (9) I think, was the hardest part. The instructions I followed didn't say anything about removing Q1, but, after looking at the schematics I did it anyway since with the base and emitter disconnected from the circuit it was pretty useless...

(I'll post more later on since I do not have the docs in front of me right now...)

9/4/06 - Another quick update:

2006-09-04T11:18:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of pics and updates lately. Been fighting an abscesed tooth and a stomach virus. The good news is, I was also able to get my MPI to run from DC from the ATX power supply without frying it (yea me!!!).

On a side note, it looks as if I'm getting a Model IV, in a Model III silver case, that has power supply problems. The original owner says the monitor PS is bad. I didn't know until I go to doing a little research, but, the monitor in those is a 12vdc monitor. I've never owned a Model III/IV before and am looking forward to trying to get it to run from an ATX power supply also and actually working with one. I figure a 200-250w Mini-ATX should do the trick.

I've got to prioritize here, so the CoCoIII repack comes first, then I'll get to work on the Model IV.

As soon as I remember to bring the digital camera home from work, I'll get som pics of the mods to the CoCoIII mobo and MPI to show the mods I made to get them to run from the ATX, as well as a pic of it playing Tetris... Now, I've got to order Roy's VGA adapter to get everthing running...

8/20/06 - Quick update

2006-08-20T22:11:00.000-04:00

Got my cc3 repack board running from an ATX power supply today. Pics to come later...

Some close-ups...

2006-08-12T22:45:00.000-04:00

Well, I changed my mind on the location of the LCD electronics. I just mounted them back on the LCD where they were, made some minor adjustments and it all looks a little cleaner.

The next two shots are a little misleading as the LCD is almost perfectly level.

My own eBay Auction

2006-08-12T14:38:00.000-04:00

This blows me away. I comment to CaptCPU several times on how high Coco2's have been selling. Now, my own auction for the original Model III floppy drives

Model III Floppies

went for $43.00 ea. A little shocked...

Repack Pics

2006-08-10T22:31:00.000-04:00

This pic is part of the aluminum frame that the boards will mount to. It will most likely be coated in liquid urethane when done. The Mobo will be mounted on it's side, not necessarily as shown, to allow plenty of room for the Cloud9 add-ons.

The 15" LCD power supply and controller wil be mounted to the inside left of the case. The power supply, being AC, will piggyback off of the PC power supply AC socket.

This is by no means even close to what I want. Just was looking for an idea of what she would look like.

Again, just getting a feel for her looks...

Here's how I modified the back of the LCD. Since my hot xacto knife is dead, I used a regular xacto, a MAP gas torch, sandpaper and a good bit of elbow grease. Now I just gotta decide whether to leave it black or paint it white when I paint the rest of the case...

2006-08-10T14:44:00.000-04:00

Well, here's me... I have never posted a pic of myself on the internet before for fear of being the star attraction of a 'priceless' chain mail.

BTW, Capt. Cris, sorry I stole your colors, but, the grey really was ugly.

And if anyone protests me having links to thier sites, I will take them down...

First post!!!

2006-08-10T14:31:00.000-04:00

Well, this is it!! Cris over at The Coco Collector talked me into it, so here I am. This is officially my unofficial site I will use to track the progress of my Coco 3 re-pack project. I'm terribly new at blogging so forgive me if I suck at it.

Here is a pic of the Model III shortly after discecting it. Next to the case you can see the part of the CRT that actually broke off. In the Navy, we referred to it as the electron gun. Don't know what they call it now....

Here's all the innard from it. Yep, all circuit boards. Sold on eBay to a guy in Austria. The keyboard went to Belgium and I'm still waiting to find out where the floppy drives will go.

When I get home later, I'll post some progress picks of the rack I'm making to mount the cc3 mobo, the MPI and all of the LCD parts...