Pye 169 revisited.

Remember the Pye 169 back here?

 
Well... it's been acting up. Rather than the usual write-up, here's a bit of video entertainment, also ideal as a cure for insomnia...

 

Enjoy ... ! 

Commodore 1541 Floppy Disc Drive repair.

I bought a Commodore 1541 floppy drive on eBay... not just any 1541 ... oh no... a broken one.

Apparently it was also used as a prop in a film.. http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/pages/50703/Bandersnatch/

Anyway, it doesn't work. No power.

Cursory checks to the input fuse show that's intact, so caution is thrown to the wind and mains applied... the over current trip on the bench pulls straight out (it's rated at 10A)

Checking the input fuse shows it to still be intact ..?

Ah well, in bits with it... 

Removing the main PCB allows access to the transformer etc .. 

... but what's that goop on the bottom of the PCB? 

It's waxy ... 

The mains power input couldn't be simpler. IEC Socket, fuse, switch, transformer... 

... the red seal on top of the socket looks  to have "burst" ... is that the source of our waxy goop, and excessive current draw?

Removal of the lower part of the case, and lifting the chassis out, shows more goop, right by the socket. 

The rivets securing the socket are drilled out, and it's removed.

Looks like the internal filter failed and got excessively hot at some stage, and melted the insulation. It measures a short circuit between live and neutral! A new filtered socket is obtained...

.. and duly fixed into position with some M3 fasteners. Finding a shorter socket is essential, there's just not enough room for one with tags. 

And powering up gives us the familiar sequence of LEDs, and a spinning disc. 😊

Now what's needed is a C64 or VIC20 to test it ... hmmmm ...