Posted By
Chicken
on 2010-06-28
09:51:12
 |  Re: Power supply
Yes, 9V/1.85A should be fine.
LOAD ERRORS and not finding programs at all sounds more like a datasette problem, i.e. a misaligned head.
Games with turbo tapes are especially picky. Also, some old tapes have dropouts and just can't be loaded correctly any more. Unfortunately, this happens but it's not the rule. Many tapes (if stored carefully) work fine after more than 20 years.
Have you saved a test file that loads fine all the time? If this works (i.e. saved and loaded with the same misalignment) you should try to adjust the read/write head.
There's a small hole in the datasette's housing and you need a tiny screwdriver to align the head. Personally, I think it's much easier to take off the housing completely (it's easy, you can't break anything), thus having better access to the small screw.
Mark the current position of the screw with a permanent marker or something like that and then turn in it 90° clockwise. Try to load a game (or two, or three). If it can't find the file (the tape counter should be somewhere around 009-016), turn the screw another 90°.
If you turned the screw more than 720° and you still can't load, turn it back to the starting position and do the same counter clockwise. You can do smaller (45°) steps, too.
I have used this trial and error procedure many times and it worked fine for me. Usually, you'll find some position that loads most tapes.
Some ppl prefer to align the head by "ear". This can be done with a small program that plays back what's on the tape. You still need to adjust the head. If the sound is "clear" the position is fine.
I think, this was discussed here before and I'll try to find that thread!
|
