Commodore PC35-III Restoration & repair with parts from my childhood in the 80s :) Nice DOS gamer!
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- Опубликовано: 10 окт 2024
- I had to go back to the 80s to fix this Commodore :)
Part 2 here: • Upgrading the Commodor...
Part 3 here: • Upgrading & restoring ...
286-12MHz DOS gamer with AdLib
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Tools I regularly use
DeoxIT D5 Contact Cleaner
Hanstar 861DW Hot Air Rework Station
Pro'sKit SS-331 Desoldering Station
UNI-T UT61E Auto Ranging Multimeter
UNI-T UT890D Manual Ranging Multimeter
PINECIL Soldering Iron
TS-100 Soldering Iron
AMTECH NC-559-ASM Flux
PinePower Charger/PSU
TL866 II Plus Programmer
Tektronix 2246A 100 MHz four-channel analog scope
MaAnt Grinding Pen
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Join me on Twitter: / epictronics1
Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio
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"I guess Commodore underestimated how much fun we would have with their machines" I love this quote!
Gorgeous Commodore PC. Cleanest example Ive seen yet. What an awkward time for Commodore putting all this design work into a PC line at a time when good cheap clones ruled the market. Just underlines how the top brass had no understanding about the computer market they were in. Im still glad they made these PCs though as they are Ultra Cool.
yeah, really nice to have this one in the collection. I'm actually recording part 2 this week.
I love these ibm clone Commodores you have. I'm hoping one day to find one in my area.
Good luck then, I hope you find one
22:44 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂 scare you lol beep coming from fan controller lol
If I see that right you put the probe between Yellow and Black, shorting 12V. This is assuming there is no plastic protection to prevent that, I am not sure. Nice video as usual! :)
Thanks, I double-checked and the black probe was on ground (blue) Btw. I think I know what the fault is now : ) (edit: and there is plastic between yellow and blue)
@@Epictronics1 I look forward to the next part then!
I remember one particular fan controller brick much like this one that was in one of my IBM systems. Was branded "Noisekiller" :).
Do you know if it was factory-installed or aftermarket?
@@Epictronics1 I am pretty certain it was aftermarket. I remember it was labeled "Noisekiller" as if it was a brand name or a product name. Beige colored. Blue letters - that is iirc. It was a 1989 IBM branded 286 12mhz computer.
I might be wrong about aftermarket even. But gut feeling says it was. I was not 10 years old even ,but I remember that mysterious block that we "shouldn't use" because things could get overheated.
Now I'm curious too haha about more information about this. Gonna make an effort to try to dig up some info. Might be needle in haystack (most likley hehe) but I'll give it a try.
@@LifeOnHoth Hang on a minute... A 12MHz 286 IBM? Did you have a Turbo MOBO upgrade?
@@Epictronics1 This is where my memory becomes very fuzzy. The computer cost a small fortune, and it was naturally not someting one was allowed to open up, so I have no visual memory of how it looked. But let's say I'm 99% certain I remember correctly that it was a IBM 286, 12mhz, 4mb ram and 40mb harddrive and a 3.5inch floppy drive. I remember the NoiseKiller brick from watching a service tech work on it once. But as for the motherboard, I have no memories.
I also am no expert on these older systems, other than I was an enthusiastic user of them since I was very young. So you're more likely than me to identify anything out of those specs. :). It was iirc purchased new in 1989.
@@LifeOnHoth Probably a PS/2 system then. Very nice machines :)
287 FPU doesn't have to match the speed of CPU, in can run asynchronous (if board supports that function). Mine 286 system runs at 16 MHz CPU and 10 MHz FPU (which I can set to 5MHz). Both speeds work OK, but it gets hot at 10MHz, which I heard is normal, but I gave it a set of radiators anyway.
Unfortunately, this board doesn't support running the FPU at a lower speed than the CPU, Someone checked in the manual and commented. I haven't had time to check myself yet, but I'm sure I will find the same info
@@Epictronics1 so maybe a jumper on motherboard that divide its speed by 1/2? I don't have a manual fot this board, do my guess is based on experience with other boards of that kind.
@@86smoke I will read the manual for sure. Just need to find the time : )
Woh... Commodore built all their PC machines like a tank. I'd bet it's a good guess in me saying:
"Commodore ruled the PC industry in another dimension."
No need to thank us man, you're the boss at this sorta thing. Thank you [__] for sharing with us.
I hope you plan on going Ad-Lib, and CDrom, and bigger HDD. That machine look like it has decades yet to go! Good Job!
Thanks, It already has an AdLib :) I haven't decided on CDROM yet. It's kinda in the middle. fast enough for early CDROM games and yet perfect for 1.2Mb floppy games. It's a tough choice. I wish it had a third bay
@@Epictronics1 You need to find a 3.5/5.25 combo drive and then you can put a CD-ROM in 🙂
@@retropcs88 I'd love to have one of those : )
@@Epictronics1 Unfortunately they are quite rare and expensive, wish I could go back to the time when people were throwing these PCs out in bulk
@@retropcs88 yeah, that's what I'm going to dream about tonight. A time travel back to the late 90s : ) I promise to bring back stacks of 8088s, 286s, 386s, and 486s : )
Does that motherboard say it is for a PC40-III? Maybe a swapped MB? edit: Forgot to say great video! Love your work.
No, this is very typical Commodore confusion : ) It is supposed to have that PC40-III mobo
I've heard those plastic clips can be removed with the tube from a clear Bic pen.
If you need square LEDs, I'd be happy to send you some. I have a load of them in assorted colors.
Thanks for the offer. I didn't want to stop the recording and wait for shipping, that's why I went for some very old parts. I also can't imagine a better resting place for my old LED than this Commodore :) It now puts a smile on my face every time I load something from the HDD :)
You mean, a drinking straw? But I can actually see something like that working, even heat shrink tubing... Now there's an I D E A .
I think gotek and cd-rom would be the best opinion for those drive bays :)
You are probably right, but I'm an old-school guy. A 2x CDROM drive is definitely an option but I prefer real diskettes and floppies over gotek
Another great video. Question: what would you do if you needed another XTA hard drive? Are there any replacements out there that you've run into?
Thank you, XTA drives are probably really hard to find in working condition. Still, I'd love to have one :)
Hi Bo, there seems to be some trouble with your email. I sent you an email but I got an error back. I was wondering if you by any chance had the Commodore PC35-III Utility diskette? Apparently, it's needed to run 800x600 16 colors in Windows 2.11. I would assume it's the same utility diskette as for the PC40-III and maybe some other similar Commodores. Cheers!
I own a PC40 without -III so there are those too.
Yeah, the Commodore lineup is rather confusing. But as I understand it, there were three generations of Commodore PCs. Perhaps one day I'll understand how it all makes sense : )
22:44 You shorted +5V to ground and Power supply must not be happy about that. The probe does not go in to the pin but between them thus shorting them.
There is plastic between the pins. I think it's coil noise from that controller. It keeps making that noise overtime the fan is about to spin up
Part 2 here: ruclips.net/video/IsigmKyS3bQ/видео.html
Part 3 here: ruclips.net/video/ToAAdQpmfWc/видео.html
Wow! 5MB RAM and 287? Speaking of maxed-out! (but then again it still has the anemic original hard drive - and it looks like the graphics card "only" has the stock 256k of RAM.)
(although I bought two Compaq SLT-286 with 5 and 6 MB RAM and both have a 287 installed - some people buy expensive cars, others upgrade their computers to insanity. A crash is less expensive with the computer people though.)
The fan speed controller is almost certainly added by the machine's previous owner, not by Commodore.
Compaq SLTs are tits. Send them my way when you're done with them. Don't worry about this Commodore, I have an ET4000 and a 16bit SCSI controller in my stash ;)
@@Epictronics1 800x600 with 16 colors on a 286 is plenty. And if it isn't, the Paradise chip should support 512k, so 800x600 with 256 colors should be possible if you're lucky. And then there's the dip switch setting to boot it to 132x43 text mode which is awesome!
Btw. many IDE hard disks support low level formatting them to different geometries, so you can try to find one close to a size supported by the BIOS, format it to whatever geometry that has and set that in the BIOS.
The 286-SLT's POST takes longer than most machines of that era to boot. You run out your battery before it starts to boot! And then there's Compaq's habit of two beeps means OK where every other PC manufacturer two beeps means you're screwed. And I just remembered that the 286-SLT only takes Conner drives and even then it's picky. If you ever visit a retrocomputing event in Germany that I also visit, tell me, I could live having only one 286-SLT instead of two :-).
(btw. my PC40-III has 52MB HDD, 3Com Etherlink II, 2MB RAM upgrade and the same Paradise video card as I said I screwed it - long story: the monitor and the computer were on different circuits and young me found that you could make impressive sparks when plugging and unplugging the monitor cable. The video card didn't like that)
@@senilyDeluxe Perhaps I will! Let me know when it's time for the best retro computing event ever in Germany, and I'll swap that Compaq for Conner drives haha.
@@Epictronics1 The Classic Computing is usually one of the bigger ones which I also usually attend (I used to be easy to spot, but my CRT Tetris skills were the reason there was a limit of CRTs per table introduced the last year - now I need 2½ tables instead of 1 - but I'm still easy to spot because there's usually just two or three people using period correct TVs - and I bring a ton of them.)
(speaking of CRT Tetris: this is me at Retrolution - usually I can't attend as that one is almost always when I'm on holiday)
ruclips.net/video/QCqIU2OT1Kc/видео.html
@@senilyDeluxe cool, when is the event in 2023?
Co Processor will run at 1/2 the main cpu speed in a 286. so that system could run at 12MHz with a 6MHz 287
I didn't know that, thanks!
Apparently it can be tricky. A scope will tell you the real truth, but given the 2:1 CPU to x87 speed rating, it sounds like the coproc is being run at CLK/2.
I had thought 2/3 CLK was normal, but I guess it varies.
@@nickwallette6201 Great, I'll just check and we will know for sure
@Mr Guru Ok, I don't know if I have software that uses the 287 to play around with it. Was there ever a 286 game that used a mathco?
@Mr Guru Ok, thanks, I'll see if I can find a 287-12
Nice dude
Thanks : )
what track was used durring the re-assembly at the end?
Don't remember the track name but it's made by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio
if i were you i would throwed out that control fan and replace fan with be quite that way it stop beeping at you
because control senses over amps from fan so it doesnt kick on fan it set off alarms over amp too much amp (fan need more amp to turn over if not enough sent back feedback errors) i hope this help you out
More on this in part 2 :)
@Epictronics1 awesome lol (cant stop laughing at you got jumpscare lol)
@@kittyztigerz :)
The disk drive might just be an Amiga drive and the pcb is what makes it talk with dos.
could be. Although, I couldn't make the board work with a regular 1.2 FDD. I'll have to do some more tests. Maybe, I did something wrong
I think the PCB is just converting the connector from a pin header to a card edge
@@retropcs88 I have to check what it actually does but there's something fishy going on here for sure. My standard 1.2MB drive wouldn't work with a standard cable
@@Epictronics1 Try checing if the jumpers on your drive are set correctly. 5.25 drives used jumpers since the old cables didn't have a twist in them
@@retropcs88 I think I got them right, but I'll double check
Why would the 287 not work? Just wondering. 👍
It's only specified to run at 6MHz max while the system runs at 12 when at full speed. Some motherboards will run the 287 at lower speeds with optional jumper settings. This system, however only has the option of lowering the entire board to 6 or 8MHz.
@@Epictronics1 ah, okay, thanks for the clarification 👍🙂
Just use that faulty Dallas to make the mod to use another battery.
Great, I may try that out in a future project too
I was looking at the PCB and the sticker says "PC40-III". What's the difference?
Yeah, Commodore used some very confusing badging on these machines. I listed the differences in part 1: 00:49 in this vid here: ruclips.net/video/TpAY2PTS5oU/видео.html
The yellow led still had a leg, it was usable.
Yes, it will get a set of tiny crutches next Christmas and I'll put it back into service. Until then, I will enjoy an LED put into use from my childhood : )
@@Epictronics1 haha okay 👍🙂
@@daw7563 ;)
@@Epictronics1 a tiny wheelchair might work too.
@@daw7563 haha, One thing is for sure, I won't toss it and I'll do something fun with it
Just based on the 8-bit guys Commodore history video on there PC's where he kind of said they were unremarkable. I got the impression that they started by taking the PC compatability sidecar for the Amega and just removed the Amega from it but since port standards weren't set by trade committee there PC line retained the Amega connectors on early models . Like the Tandy 1000 line managed to keep the TRS 80 coco serial / Joystick ports to retain customers.
I don't see why someone would refer to these Commodores as "Unremarkable" They may not be the best money could buy, but my impression so far is that they are well-built, solid, and fast
Amiga.