November 1999 - TechToolsList - listserv.classicarcade.com

Fluke 9010
by John Robertson 25 Nov '99

25 Nov '99

How many folks are using this gizmo? I find it rather slow in comparison to the Atari CAT BOX. Also the fact that the Pod self test doesn't check the upper address lines is not so great either...how is one to be sure they are running correctly? I like the fact that the Cat Box runs at UUT (Unit Under Test) system speed also. The Checksum test and ram are very fast as a result. Maybe we need to make the Cat Box...someone was looking into that a while ago, but then the Flukes came on the market and I think the project just died. The other, and simpler, test unit was the Polar 9000. this is up on Spies and would, perhaps, be an easier device to cobble together as a kit perhaps...Take a look at it's documentation, nice! So is my unit normal? The learn function takes about 1/2 hour (it seems) to run from 0000 - ffff, and doesn't indicate problems such as RESET stuck low or pulsing. Again the Cat Box can be modified to handle that one, I put in a simple circuit to indicate the status of the UUT's RESET MPU line. Can be handy. On the another Pod issue, I have found that they can become intermittent and it turns out that the long interconnect rows between the two circuit boards are not secured at one end, and vibrate loose, I now install a piece of black foam, about 1/2 in thick to push the bottom board into the top when the shells are screwed together. Lastly I am looking for either the circuit diagram for the CAT BOX 8080 CPU pod or an 8080 pod for the Fluke... and will be making replacement probes for the Fluke in a couple of months or sooner. John :-#)#

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Electrohome GO7 test fixture.
by John Robertson 20 Nov '99

20 Nov '99

Well, I finally got my hands on one of these tools, and opened it up in anticipation of a relatively simple system to make repros of. Argh...there are about sixty TTL chips and op amps in this sucker! Single sided circuit board with a bunch of parallel jumper wires for the top traces. Nasty. No schematic. No labels. Looks kinda cobbled together as they would have been rather low run production. Damn. I am NOT going to try to make any more of these things. Turning in Clay's direction...This thing has three speeds on in, 65ms, 130ms and 260ms (or close might have been us ...the thing is at the shop and it's two days later since I stared at it) and it has full screen, crosshatch and one other pattern, plus you can turn off individual guns. Perhaps someone could make a single chip do this job? Not me. I can get better info on timing etc if someone else wants to tackle the design... John :-#(# John's Jukes Ltd. 2343 Main St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 3C9 Call (604)872-5757 or Fax 872-2010 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games) http://www.flippers.com "Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

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Greetings...
by Clay Cowgill 16 Nov '99

16 Nov '99

Hi everyone. It seems like a pretty good idea to list off what tools everyone has (so we know who to bug with questions! :-) so I'll add my list to the pool... Scopes: Tenma 40MHz analog w/ cursors Tektronix TDS210 (100MHz digital) Tektronix THS720A (100MHz digital, "hand-held") B&K 20MHz old analog thing with built-in component checker (tracker function) Logic Analysis: Tektronix 1240 (1- 9 channel, 2- 18 channel cards) Tektronix 1241 (1- 9 channel, 3- 18 channel cards) (packs- 6502, 6809, Z-80, 68HC11, 68000, 8088, 8086, 8051, Printer, serial, RAM) Arium ML4400 (4- 100 channel cards, all mnemonic disassembler options) Arium ML4400 (1- 100 channel card, 68000/68040 pods) Soldering/Rework: Hakko 936 iron Metcal STSS-02 Iron Metcal STSS-01 Iron OK Industries SMT-1161 Hot Air Pencil OK Industries SA-751 Hot Plate Reflow System OK Industries SA-1441V SMT Tweezer OK Industries Vacuum Pickup tool OK Industries TS9701 Microprocessor controlled paste dispenser Hakko 850 Hot Air Rework System Weller 4624 Desoldering/Soldering station Branson 2510 Ultrasonic Cleaner Debug/Troubleshooting: Fluke 9010A with 6502, 6809, 8088, Z-80, and 80186 pods Applied Microsystems Z-80 ICE Huntron Tracker 4000 HP 5004 Signature Analyzer (and of course a bunch of meters and whatnot...) Hmmmm... I think I should raise my home-owners insurance a bit. :-) I'm pretty fluent with everything but the HP5004, the Z-80 ICE, and the Arium's. Haven't really had much occasion to use those... yet. ;-) A while back I borrowed a Tek 1240/1241 manual and photocopied the entire thing onto single-sided 8.5x11 paper. I then gave those copies to Al Kossow for easy scanning. I'd imagine they'll be up on Spies in the next few months... -Clay

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New to the list
by Peter Fyfe 16 Nov '99

16 Nov '99

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Re: Tools (and my stuff- long)
by ayeckley 15 Nov '99

15 Nov '99

-----Original Message----- From: James Marous <JMarous(a)midmark.com> >I am truly glad that Alex showed up on the scene, he has alleviated me as >Frogmans primary fix-it-guy :-) ROTFL! Alex http://home.neo.lrun.com/ayeckle/ ayeckley(a)neo.lrun.com (Play) yecklea(a)diebold.com (Work)

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RE: Tools (and my stuff- long)
by James Marous 15 Nov '99

15 Nov '99

I am truly glad that Alex showed up on the scene, he has alleviated me as Frogmans primary fix-it-guy :-) Just joined, thought I would throw a few things out.... Some things I have that I find indispensable.... Tek/Sony 308 Data analyzer, does parallel timing & state, serial state & timing and signature, very compact, no bigger than a small o-scope. Wico XY Pattern Generator: Makes fixing monitors on the bench so much easier. Atari Auto Ram/Rom Tester: Love it for the older B&W 6800 games. Tenma Semiconductor tester: works in circuit, saves a ton of time by not having to unsolder components to test them. Fluke 9010 with the z80, 6502 and 6809 pods, just got the probe a couple weeks ago, a real breeze on vectors w/o the vid ram to get in the way.... EMUP-A programmer, does just about every prom (except 2708s) and most prog. logic, also tests logic ICs and RAMs, it's nice to just pull out a 2114 out of a Pac board and do a go/no-go test. "One Shot" desoldering iron, much better than those Ripoff Shack squeeze bulb things.... James -----Original Message----- From: ayeckley [mailto:ayeckley@neo.rr.com] Sent: Monday, November 15, 1999 1:19 PM To: TechToolsList(a)flippers.com Subject: Re: Tools (and my stuff- long) Hi Mike, welcome! (Isn't that how they do it at AA meetings?) >what is next? A desoldering Iron? an ICE? Well, if you are like me (and it looks like you might be - sorry) here is what will be happening to you soon. Looking in the crystal ball, I see: 1)You *will* be purchasing a desoldering station (not just a better iron). 2)You *will* be purchasing three Fluke 9010s, in separate transactions. 3) You *will* acquire a Pat 9000. 4) You *will* convert your spare bedroom to a repair shop (you probably already did that one, eh?) because the garage is too cold in winter. 5) You *will* acquire two HP logic analyzers in separate transactions. 6) In addition to your Data I/O 29B, you will also acquire a 29A. 7) You *will* begin getting "preferred customer" discounts from Jameco, Newark and others. 8) You will buy dead test equipment, and use your other test equipment to fix them (giving you a nice sense of "closure"). 9) You *will* become --very-- popular with collectors in your area. 10) They *will* call you at all hours of the day and night. 11) You *will* gain a reputation as being "an awsome dude", even though you don't consider yourself a dude. 12) Your repair backlog *will* grow beyond 4 weeks even though you don't advertise on RGVAC. 13) People at your day job *will* assume you are an electrical engineer even if you aren't. 14) People 100 miles away *will* cold-call you asking if you can fix their Space Invaders. 15) They *will* assume that this is your day job. 16) They *will not* understand when you explain it isn't your day job. 17) They will not understand why you won't fix their pinball also. 18) You will quote what you think is an outrageous price, and they will eagerly accept it. This results in you having steak for dinner and buying something on eBay. 19) You *will* not have time to fix your own games. 20) You will use vacation days to fix games for other people. 21) You will begin to think seriously about doing this stuff full time... All of this is pre-ordained. Don't fight it. *********************************************************** For anyone that's interested, here's my tool portfolio. None of this stuff was bought new. These are just the working ones. Anybody want a dead HP Spectrum Analyzer or Gould Logic Analyzer (free)? Tek 7633 scope (100MHz) HP 1610A logic analyzer HP1615A logic analyzer Data I/O 29B Data I/O 29A Eprom eraser Pat 9000 (a mixed blessing) Pace MBT201 Solder/Desolder station (well worth it) Fluke 8020A DMM Fluke 9010A Microsystem Troubleshooter (two more soon) Alex http://home.neo.lrun.com/ayeckle/ ayeckley(a)neo.lrun.com (Play) yecklea(a)diebold.com (Work)

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Re: Tools (and my stuff- long)
by ayeckley 15 Nov '99

15 Nov '99

Hi Mike, welcome! (Isn't that how they do it at AA meetings?) >what is next? A desoldering Iron? an ICE? Well, if you are like me (and it looks like you might be - sorry) here is what will be happening to you soon. Looking in the crystal ball, I see: 1)You *will* be purchasing a desoldering station (not just a better iron). 2)You *will* be purchasing three Fluke 9010s, in separate transactions. 3) You *will* acquire a Pat 9000. 4) You *will* convert your spare bedroom to a repair shop (you probably already did that one, eh?) because the garage is too cold in winter. 5) You *will* acquire two HP logic analyzers in separate transactions. 6) In addition to your Data I/O 29B, you will also acquire a 29A. 7) You *will* begin getting "preferred customer" discounts from Jameco, Newark and others. 8) You will buy dead test equipment, and use your other test equipment to fix them (giving you a nice sense of "closure"). 9) You *will* become --very-- popular with collectors in your area. 10) They *will* call you at all hours of the day and night. 11) You *will* gain a reputation as being "an awsome dude", even though you don't consider yourself a dude. 12) Your repair backlog *will* grow beyond 4 weeks even though you don't advertise on RGVAC. 13) People at your day job *will* assume you are an electrical engineer even if you aren't. 14) People 100 miles away *will* cold-call you asking if you can fix their Space Invaders. 15) They *will* assume that this is your day job. 16) They *will not* understand when you explain it isn't your day job. 17) They will not understand why you won't fix their pinball also. 18) You will quote what you think is an outrageous price, and they will eagerly accept it. This results in you having steak for dinner and buying something on eBay. 19) You *will* not have time to fix your own games. 20) You will use vacation days to fix games for other people. 21) You will begin to think seriously about doing this stuff full time... All of this is pre-ordained. Don't fight it. *********************************************************** For anyone that's interested, here's my tool portfolio. None of this stuff was bought new. These are just the working ones. Anybody want a dead HP Spectrum Analyzer or Gould Logic Analyzer (free)? Tek 7633 scope (100MHz) HP 1610A logic analyzer HP1615A logic analyzer Data I/O 29B Data I/O 29A Eprom eraser Pat 9000 (a mixed blessing) Pace MBT201 Solder/Desolder station (well worth it) Fluke 8020A DMM Fluke 9010A Microsystem Troubleshooter (two more soon) Alex http://home.neo.lrun.com/ayeckle/ ayeckley(a)neo.lrun.com (Play) yecklea(a)diebold.com (Work)

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Tools
by mike_ranger＠dofasco.ca 15 Nov '99

15 Nov '99

Hi my name is Mike and I have a tool collecting problem. My wife: "When will it end" It all started when I got into collecting arcade machines. First it was "A better Soldering Iron". Then the "Matching stand". From there I graduated to a logic probe, a Radio shack scope probe, and it only got worse. When my Data I/O 29B arrived, I know I had a problem. I started collecting, fixing and selling pacman boards just to support my 2 tool a year habbit. Then came the Tek 2213A scope, then the eprom eraser, what is next? A desoldering Iron? an ICE? help me Please! Mike Okay, That my introduction! and my "TTPS" list (Technical tools preservation society")

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Technical tools mail-list running...
by John Robertson 15 Nov '99

15 Nov '99

Easier to set up the second time...here try this out folks: (one question...what is a "digest" as mentioned herein?) ---------------------------><--------------------------------- To subscribe to the mailinglist, simply send a message with the word "subscribe" in the Subject: field to the -request address of that list. To: TechToolsList-request(a)flippers.com Subject: subscribe To subscribe the digest, simply send a message with the word "subscribe" in the Subject: field to the following address. To: TechToolsList-d-request(a)flippers.com Subject: subscribe To send email to the mailinglist, write to the following address: To: TechToolsList(a)flippers.com To unsubscribe from the mailinglist, simply send a message with the word "unsubscribe" in the Subject: field to the -request address of that list. To: TechToolsList-request(a)flippers.com Subject: unsubscribe To unsubscribe from the digest, write a email like this. To: TechToolsList-d-request(a)flippers.com Subject: unsubscribe

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RE: Technical tools mail-list
by Keith, Brendan 15 Nov '99

15 Nov '99

One vote in favour. Brendan Keith brendan.keith(a)wilcom.com > ---------- > From: John Robertson[SMTP:jrr@flippers.com] > > I am thinking of hosting a technical tools tech mail list, for older items > > such as the Fluke 9010a and pods, HP 5005a, Data I/O etc, and was > wondering > if anyone is interested in same? >

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