| Posted By
sleep.dream@yahoo...
on 2019-11-08
11:12:16
|  rediscoverd +4
So just came across our old +4 in the loft. I'm now 35 and have not seen this computer in over 20 years. I want to see if I can get it working.
yes I am a girl and no I don't plan to just plug it all in and turn it on.
I have experience in electronics and also microsoldering.
Just looking for some photo refrences of the board and diagrams and stuff.
I will be opening it up and usuing electronic component cleaner.
I feel like ive just found the perfect project to test my skills 
Any helpful pointers will be much appreciated
|
|
Posted By
MMS
on 2019-11-08
12:33:49
 | Re: rediscoverd +4
Welcome here!
One of the best collected information and diagrams is Zimmers by Bo Zimmerman.
Plus4world has a lot of information too on the Hardware section, and want to highlight SVS Ultimate Map that provides one of the best collection of details on SW/HW
Bo's page is full of very interesting articles, projects and also a lot of interesting and rare pictures.
I really like the huge GEOS pack he provides.
The schematics you are looking for is at:
http://www.zimmers.net/anonftp/pub/cbm/schematics/computers/plus4/index.html
(there are a lot of Hungarian origin drawings too)
A lot of C64 project can be used with Plus/4 too, especially the IEC and User Port related ones (the later one is more similar than we though, especially in serial mode)
Also worth to check out Solder's (a legendary German HW developer) page, when some of Hanner and Csory's stuff is also available. Huge memory expansions, EPROM or SRAMs with schematics. Most of them requires internal modification, only for the brave hearted!
http://solder-synergy.de/plus4/hardware/index.html
On the forum you can find a lot of useful recent project regarding new PLA, new ROMs and in case the 8501 died, some solutions (based on 6502 or 6510). These are very useful to reduce the heat inside the Plus/4, extend it's lifetime, and able to repair dead ones.
If you have IEC floppy drive (or SD device) I highly suggest to use JiffyDOS, and it is available for Plus/4 too.
It results a huge increase in loading speed (8-10x),an 1541 becomes faster than an 1551.
The SD based devices usually support it natively, and fortunately some clever guys created a sw based implementation of JiffyDOS, you can load into memory and use the external device with higher speed.
|
|
Posted By
sleep.dream@yahoo...
on 2019-11-13
12:49:33
| Re: rediscoverd +4
Just finished cleaning the years of crud out the board and the cassette. Just realised I don't have the video cable so I will hunt one down.
Thank you so much for replying.
I will be making good use out of your help.
So many games to play when I finaly get there
|
|
Posted By
MMS
on 2019-11-13
15:03:26
| Re: rediscoverd +4
Well, I bought my cable from UK.
If you like to solder, and do it well, you can make your own.
This is about the 8pin version. Plus/4 only have 8 pin video out connectors.
https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/questions/2095/commodore-64-to-modern-tv
A useful info, that the 5 pin (more common) DIN connector ill also work, and will physically fit into the 8 pin "horseshoe" 8pin DIN.
https://www.c64-wiki.com/wiki/A/V_Jack
If you are not interested in the SVideo output (you do not have such an input on TV, or no Scart), then the Composite and audio you will get in the same way with a 5 DIN cable, and this DIN connector is much cheaper and much more easily available than the 8pin horseshoe version (very old TVs and Stereos used this 5pin DIN connector too).
My personal experience with my Plus/4, that the SVideo quality is not that great, and the composite quality of my plus/4 is better than my C64C's composite out.
So composite output is just fine, with less color bleeding than C64.
In details step-by-step description (pretty good)
https://ilesj.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/c64-av-cable-theory-and-practice/
(just for fun: my parents had this color TV when I was a kid, and made my very first pictures on this.
It had a same 5pin din connector on the front bottom area, so was very easy to connect to my C16.
http://users.atw.hu/patina/tv/ori556/viking.htm )
|
|
| |
Copyright © Plus/4 World Team, 2001-2024 |
