 Previous Messages |
Posted By
JamesC
on 2016-12-19
14:46:08
|  Re: My C16 +4 has died
@MarkTheMorose: 
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Posted By
MarkTheMorose
on 2016-12-17
09:26:20
| Re: My C16 +4 has died
Thanks to JamesC for the technical details, and to Sidney for the pointer to Mutant Caterpillar: saved for future reference.
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Posted By
kebabinho
on 2016-12-13
08:31:29
| Re: My C16 +4 has died
machine has arrived back and is working perfectly.
Cant fault them, there was an email dialogue all the way through
It cost my £6 tracked delivery on 2nd class. I think I could have made it cheaper, but the box I used was quite big.
they sell 3 chips directly
1551 Disk Drive PLA251641-03
C/16 +4 PLA251641-02
MOS 6529B
the rest are by repair only I think
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Posted By
MMS
on 2016-12-09
13:30:27
 | Re: My C16 +4 has died
Thank you! saved for future consideration... I have 3
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Posted By
MMS
on 2016-12-09
04:01:18
| Re: My C16 +4 has died
a lot of smart changes... EPROM will produce less heat, too.
I have some dead Plussies. Do they have some websites with prices? though the postage would be the most painful part, I think.
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Posted By
Mad
on 2016-12-06
09:35:29
| Re: My C16 +4 has died
Wow!!! Great News!!!
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Posted By
kebabinho
on 2016-12-06
07:19:30
| Re: My C16 +4 has died
Its alive!!
apparently the 317054-1 chip that houses some of the +4 software had failed. They have burnt it to an EPROM and now its all working.
They are also going to add heat sinks to the CPU, TED and PLA and change the electrolytic capacitors
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Posted By
kebabinho
on 2016-12-02
11:42:52
| Re: My C16 +4 has died
I have sent the machine to Mutant caterpillar.
They have tested the TED, CPU and PLA and all are working.
Waiting on the thorugh diagnosis at the moment
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Posted By
RobertB
on 2016-11-30
22:04:23
| Re: My C16 +4 has died
Sidney wrote:
> ...I decided to send my C16 off to Wales to be fixed by the wonderful people at Mutant
> Caterpillar.
How do I get in contact with the people at Mutant Caterpillar? Where in Wales are they?
Going to the U.K. next September,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm
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Posted By
Jakec
on 2016-11-29
08:33:13
| Re: My C16 +4 has died
TED chip died or power supply. Buy another machine donor.
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Posted By
Sidney
on 2016-11-27
11:52:47
| Re: My C16 +4 has died
I had a similar issue with my beloved C16 and like you I prefer the real thing to PC emulation, my C16 was getting power but was displaying flashing coloured squares or random colour screens, in fact anything apart from the desired Commodore screen, so having received confirmations online that supported my theory that it was indeed very unwell- I first felt awful-then I set about finding someone to repair it. Having had a broken Spectrum brought back from the dead by them I decided to send my C16 off to Wales to be fixed by the wonderful people at Mutant Caterpillar. For a very reasonable sum they repaired it, heat sinked it, gave it a good internal clean and general health check and returned it to me and it is totally fine. I am not paid to advertise them nor am I an employee, I am just a very satisfied customer who can't recommend them highly enough for the excellent job they have done on two of my favourite systems. They also do 64k memory upgrades for the C16!
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Posted By
JamesC
on 2016-11-06
10:27:53
| Re: My C16 +4 has died
Unfortunately, there are several possible points of failure for the symptoms you describe. 
1. If you are using a modern television or monitor, try attaching the Plus/4 to an older television (pre-digital era). Or if you use a converter between the Plus/4 and your television/monitor, feed another video source to it (such as a DVD player) to verify that the converter itself is not contributing to the problem.
2. The Plus/4 power supply could be delivering low voltage. The power indicator can light up, yet there not be enough power for the processor or video controller to initialize. If you have a multimeter, check for 5V DC between the bottom two pins of the power connector. You need a solid, unwavering 1 to 1.5 amps here. (The upper two pins deliver 9V AC, but for the symptoms you describe we can ignore this.)
3. If you have a multimeter, go through Troubleshooting 1 and 2 of this link: Plus/4 Service Manual and supplements
4. On startup, the processor must initialize itself, then initialize the video controller, and finally initialize BASIC. If these chips do not "see" their 5V, then the system will appear "dead". Inspect the motherboard for blown capacitors, burnt resistors, and cracked solder points.
4b. The processor (U2, marked 7501 or 8501) and video controller (U1 inside the metal cage, marked 7360 or 8360) are unique to the Plus/4 series (including the 16 and 116), so finding replacements of these chips could be difficult or expensive. It might be cheaper to replace the computer, and save your current one for repair parts.
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Posted By
kebabinho
on 2016-11-06
07:01:59
| Re: My C16 +4 has died
I have just purchased a lot of tape games and would prefer to play on original hardware if possible
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Posted By
Lavina
on 2016-11-06
06:28:20
 | Re: My C16 +4 has died
How about playing the oldies on PC with emularor?
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Posted By
kebabinho
on 2016-11-05
17:09:10
| Re: My C16 +4 has died
Thanks for the quick response.
I'm in the UK and assume it is a pal / UK model. I bought it from retro gaming world and it was working. It's a plus 4 and the power light does come on.
When it started to go wrong initially, on power on I got the blue border but no text. Now I just get a black screen.
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Posted By
JamesC
on 2016-11-05
09:46:32
| Re: My C16 +4 has died
Is it a Plus/4 or a 16? And what part of the world are you located (Europe, North America, etc)?
Does the red Power light come on? On a 16 this is above the F-keys, on a Plus/4 it's below the C= and Shift keys. (Also verify that you have power to the wall outlet or power strip.)
My first thought is to check the fuse, since you have no power to the Datasette. This is located on the motherboard, close to where the power supply connects.
Second thought is the power supply itself. If you have a Commodore 16, you might be able to use a power supply from another electronic device for diagnostic purposes -- as long as the alternate power supply delivers 9V DC at 1A, and the pin fits the connector in the 16, it will work. But if you have a Plus/4, the power supply's plug to the computer is unique.
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Posted By
kebabinho
on 2016-11-05
08:27:22
| My C16 +4 has died
I bought a C16 +4 from the internet around 4 months ago and was enjoying getting back into classic games such as Kikstart and Fire Ant. My son was also starting to get into playing Space Sweep.
Now when I turn on the c16, I get a black screen. There doesn't appear to be any power going to the tape deck either.
Can anybody help?
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