Puckdropper
Wow, looks good. I bet you can't get the same quality conne
Sat Sep 03, 2022 3:30am

connector any more.

I see what you mean about needing a bit more solder. Those jumper wires can be tricky, they seem to have a mind of their own.

I wonder if the keyboard is suffering from the same corrosion that affected the socket? Maybe it was the way in? Hopefully you can take it apart without tons of little springs or other such troublemakers popping free.


  • New POKEY socket installed - Erik_, Thu Aug 25 2022 10:21am
    Getting the old one out was a bit of a chore but not unexpected being that it's been happily in that spot for 40 years. Thankfully awhile ago I picked up some copper solder braid and a spring loaded solder "sucker" thing. The solder sucker was a big help. I also fluxed the hell out of the pins to make... more
    • Wow, looks good. I bet you can't get the same quality conne- Puckdropper, Sat Sep 03 2022 3:30am
      • I added some more solder as well as reflowed another spot - Erik_, Wed Sep 07 2022 9:31am
        that a guy on the AtariAge forum suggested. It didn't change anything but at least the chip socket is soldered in there better. Yeah, I think it was a combination of the two sockets. The POKEY socket was making a bad connection from corrosion and then the keyboard socket is making a bad connection... more
        • 60 kOhm seems too high. - Puckdropper, Thu Sep 08 2022 6:03am
          Usually pullup resistors are 5-10k, but I'd think your keyboard should read either infinite ohms or 0 ohms with respect to ground.
          • Yeah, it probably is. I don't really trust my ohm setting - Erik_, Sun Sep 11 2022 12:25am
            on my meter. It's sort of an "on/off" type of thing. (Need to replace it). Final solder job with some reflowed and flux cleaned off. There's two pins on the left side that look like they could use a tiny bit more solder but I think it might be okay. Cartridge slot switch bypass jumper soldered... more
            • Is it just my angle or is there a bridge on the right-hand s - Puckdropper, Mon Sep 12 2022 11:36pm
              side above the jumper resistor? A trick with dirty switches is to move them back and forth a bunch of times, like 100 or more, until the contacts clean themselves off. If it's one of the more open types, you may be able to squirt some CRC 2-26 (from Home Depot) in there to help clean the contacts.... more
              • I think it might be a piece of paper towel - Erik_, Tue Sep 13 2022 1:53pm
                from me wiping the rubbing alcohol off. Yeah, I've flipped it a bunch and cleaned it with CRC QD Electronic Cleaner. It's much better than it was. Probably just needs some more "back and forth". I think it is that keyboard connector. I just took a few minutes and removed the 4 screws that hold... more
                • Is it just a ribbon cable? - Puckdropper, Thu Sep 15 2022 4:30am
                  I never got the tools to properly work with one, but they're pretty straight forward. You can probably put a new end on by smashing it into a new connector, but who knows how good of termination you'd get. If it's like an IDE cable, it's just headers and sockets.
                  • Sort of... - Erik_, Sat Sep 17 2022 12:44am
                    Here's a pic I found online It's more like through hole IC pins on a "ribbon" like cable. I could solder another connector that plugs into the board onto these pins but might be easier to replace the socket on the board first.
                    • I see. It does sound easier to work on the board first - Puckdropper, Thu Sep 22 2022 5:10am
                      Hopefully that's where the problem is. I think I saw something like that on a "make it a 286" chip upgrade. You pulled the 8088 out of the motherboard and plugged it into the board. You could then switch via a toggle switch between your 8088 and 80286. Of course the cable is missing on mine!
                      • Does it plug into the ISA slot? - Erik_, Thu Sep 29 2022 12:00pm
                        I saw a 386 upgrade card like that once.
                        • Yes it does. It probably does it mainly for power - Puckdropper, Fri Sep 30 2022 2:23am
                          and security. Imagine having to double stick tape that thing somewhere! I wonder how much it made use of the ISA bus, especially with a direct connection. (I've seen things go from "none at all" to "oh yeah, we'd never ignore that!" so without looking at the card I'd just be guessing.)
"Forces act when not restrained" - Puckdropper