Nicely done dude and sweet system :) Admittedly I did skip quickly through some of the video so apologies if I mention something you already did. For the rust work, any vinegar will 100% remove the rust, heavy products aren't required. The question with that is how long are you willing to wait. The acid in the vinegar will work given the time, products like Evaporust isn't required but will do the job faster. The patches that used to have rust will rust again, the water in air is enough to start the process again so you'll need to finish them in some way to stop that reaction happening. You can get a paint called 'galvanising paint', you can get it in a spray which is perfect for finishing metal parts like the bay slot covers, RF shields, that kind of thing. That small patch on the inside of the side panel, the area will be likely be stained from the rust, you could likely get that pretty close to original using some Hydrogen Peroxide, but not the usual you would see used in 'RetroBrite'. The small bottles you can get from a Pharmacy are more suited, they are only about a 6% solution. Leave the side panel face down on put a little puddle of the peroxide over the patch. It won't stay active for too long, so every now and then, wipe off the puddle and apply again. It's so gradual you will barely notice it doing anything, just keep at it, eventually it will get there without damage. For the paint work on the outside you may have to get a little creative. That store you got the Evaporust at looks like the very place to be. See if they have a paint mixing machine, just the type that makes paint for household use. Take the side panel to the store with you, the paint mixing stations have a scanner that will match the paint colour. For the base tin of paint (that's the tin the paint pigments are mixed into), you want a kitchen or bathroom one. They are harder wearing than a standard wall emulsion and are also water proof. Test the paint on an unseen part of the case to see how well it matches. Those paints are usually water based (the waterproofing and hardening of the kitchen/bathroom paint comes when the paint cures) so you can lighten/darken with any other bog standard water based paint, just find the smallest, cheapest tins of black and white you can find, they are just for adjusting the shade (the same store will have it). Use a ridiculously small paint brush for any scratches that are in lines and a small piece of sponge for patches. If you hit the jackpot and the colour match is perfect, the areas where you used a sponge will disappear almost completely and the parts that were individual scratches you can use a sponge application to smooth out a scratch at the end. Don't try to rush it, apply the paint in thin layers and build it up. It's the kind of thing that up close and personal you will still see the fault but from a couple of feet away, it will disappear. Have a good look at the side panel finish, they are usually a silk finish, I would start with a paint base that's silk. A quick one, the floppy facias are off colour, that's just the usual bromine/UV reaction. It's more subtle on a grey plastic than a cream/white but its still there. The 6% H2O2 will sort that out too, I doubt a retro brite would be needed to get them back to original state. The last thing is the video signal and I'm only mentioning this in case it's something you haven't encountered yet. There are mainly two signalling types to consider when working with 15kHz, one is analog and one is digital. I've never had an FM Towns in my collection so I really don't know what it uses. So if you end up with a 15kHz screen and you don't get a picture, have a look for a switch somewhere on the back, the ones I've seen are usually labelled 'TTL' for the digital mode. I was very surprised that your PC monitor actually displayed the image, don't ever get rid of that Monitor! lol Have a look see if your monitor gives you any info on the signal it is detecting, or you know, google for FM Towns info :D All in all, enjoyed your video and I have subbed. I look forward to seeing your future projects.
Glad the algorithm tossed you my way. Always nice seeing a new retro channel especially from a Canadian (where components don't grow on trees and ebay auctions are even more absurd). Subbed! As to the posts in the connector's screw holes, that failure can occur on cheap connectors when the rubber/plastic detaches from the screws because the glue goes bad or fails. Not necessarily what happened there, but a possibility.
My advice - clean it yes but leave the scuffs and paint marks. There is no way to make these things perfect so I leave them as is personally. You did a better job soldering than I do. I would probably spraypaint the rusted metal parts with some rust converting spraypaint.
Good work on reviving one of these computers! I designed a power supply and posted it on the forums if your PSU were to die. What game posted the illegal CD message?
What software did you use burn the game? I've tried about a dozen CD-Rs, four different brands, and none work using ImgBurn at x1 speed (actually 24x, the slowest the disc is reported to ImgBurn as being able to burn at). ImgBurn says the burn is successful on multiple games, but none work. Legit retail discs seem to work, though.
Thank you for commenting! Then burning FM Towns CDs I almost always use ImgBurn, and have had good success with it. The CD-R in the video was Verbatim branded, but I've also used TDK and RiData discs, and have had little issue. One problem I've come across with burning FM Towns CDs is the integrity of the image. Some of the rips I've found on the internet seem to just be bad some of the time. I've had most success sourcing images from the ReDump and NeoKobe FM Towns collections, both on archive.org. This is a last resort, but it may be possible that the CD-ROM laser on your machine may have weakened, which is a common problem. If your machine is a grey tower, it shouldn't be too difficult to find a replacement. The lasers on those were made by Panasonic and were used in several home CD music players from this time. I hope this helped!
Nicely done dude and sweet system :) Admittedly I did skip quickly through some of the video so apologies if I mention something you already did.
For the rust work, any vinegar will 100% remove the rust, heavy products aren't required. The question with that is how long are you willing to wait. The acid in the vinegar will work given the time, products like Evaporust isn't required but will do the job faster. The patches that used to have rust will rust again, the water in air is enough to start the process again so you'll need to finish them in some way to stop that reaction happening. You can get a paint called 'galvanising paint', you can get it in a spray which is perfect for finishing metal parts like the bay slot covers, RF shields, that kind of thing. That small patch on the inside of the side panel, the area will be likely be stained from the rust, you could likely get that pretty close to original using some Hydrogen Peroxide, but not the usual you would see used in 'RetroBrite'. The small bottles you can get from a Pharmacy are more suited, they are only about a 6% solution. Leave the side panel face down on put a little puddle of the peroxide over the patch. It won't stay active for too long, so every now and then, wipe off the puddle and apply again. It's so gradual you will barely notice it doing anything, just keep at it, eventually it will get there without damage.
For the paint work on the outside you may have to get a little creative. That store you got the Evaporust at looks like the very place to be. See if they have a paint mixing machine, just the type that makes paint for household use. Take the side panel to the store with you, the paint mixing stations have a scanner that will match the paint colour. For the base tin of paint (that's the tin the paint pigments are mixed into), you want a kitchen or bathroom one. They are harder wearing than a standard wall emulsion and are also water proof. Test the paint on an unseen part of the case to see how well it matches. Those paints are usually water based (the waterproofing and hardening of the kitchen/bathroom paint comes when the paint cures) so you can lighten/darken with any other bog standard water based paint, just find the smallest, cheapest tins of black and white you can find, they are just for adjusting the shade (the same store will have it). Use a ridiculously small paint brush for any scratches that are in lines and a small piece of sponge for patches. If you hit the jackpot and the colour match is perfect, the areas where you used a sponge will disappear almost completely and the parts that were individual scratches you can use a sponge application to smooth out a scratch at the end. Don't try to rush it, apply the paint in thin layers and build it up. It's the kind of thing that up close and personal you will still see the fault but from a couple of feet away, it will disappear. Have a good look at the side panel finish, they are usually a silk finish, I would start with a paint base that's silk.
A quick one, the floppy facias are off colour, that's just the usual bromine/UV reaction. It's more subtle on a grey plastic than a cream/white but its still there. The 6% H2O2 will sort that out too, I doubt a retro brite would be needed to get them back to original state.
The last thing is the video signal and I'm only mentioning this in case it's something you haven't encountered yet. There are mainly two signalling types to consider when working with 15kHz, one is analog and one is digital. I've never had an FM Towns in my collection so I really don't know what it uses. So if you end up with a 15kHz screen and you don't get a picture, have a look for a switch somewhere on the back, the ones I've seen are usually labelled 'TTL' for the digital mode. I was very surprised that your PC monitor actually displayed the image, don't ever get rid of that Monitor! lol Have a look see if your monitor gives you any info on the signal it is detecting, or you know, google for FM Towns info :D
All in all, enjoyed your video and I have subbed. I look forward to seeing your future projects.
I am glad that I also found this video through the youtube algorithm. Enjoyed it! And am now subscribed immediately. Keep it up
Glad the algorithm tossed you my way. Always nice seeing a new retro channel especially from a Canadian (where components don't grow on trees and ebay auctions are even more absurd). Subbed! As to the posts in the connector's screw holes, that failure can occur on cheap connectors when the rubber/plastic detaches from the screws because the glue goes bad or fails. Not necessarily what happened there, but a possibility.
This video is awesome. I am super happy to see young people like me being interest in old tech.
My advice - clean it yes but leave the scuffs and paint marks. There is no way to make these things perfect so I leave them as is personally. You did a better job soldering than I do. I would probably spraypaint the rusted metal parts with some rust converting spraypaint.
Ooh, it looks like yours has a socketed 386!
It does!! I'm considering upgrading to a pin-compatible 486!
Man I want one to make an sleeper PC, im still looking one with a complete death motherboard so I can do the swap
Yeah, I was about to say please don't do that to a fully working one. lol
@@thepirategamerboy12 yeah hahahaha
Good work on reviving one of these computers! I designed a power supply and posted it on the forums if your PSU were to die.
What game posted the illegal CD message?
That would actually need a tri-sync monitor.
What software did you use burn the game? I've tried about a dozen CD-Rs, four different brands, and none work using ImgBurn at x1 speed (actually 24x, the slowest the disc is reported to ImgBurn as being able to burn at). ImgBurn says the burn is successful on multiple games, but none work. Legit retail discs seem to work, though.
Thank you for commenting! Then burning FM Towns CDs I almost always use ImgBurn, and have had good success with it. The CD-R in the video was Verbatim branded, but I've also used TDK and RiData discs, and have had little issue. One problem I've come across with burning FM Towns CDs is the integrity of the image. Some of the rips I've found on the internet seem to just be bad some of the time. I've had most success sourcing images from the ReDump and NeoKobe FM Towns collections, both on archive.org. This is a last resort, but it may be possible that the CD-ROM laser on your machine may have weakened, which is a common problem. If your machine is a grey tower, it shouldn't be too difficult to find a replacement. The lasers on those were made by Panasonic and were used in several home CD music players from this time. I hope this helped!
Technically, if you ever got some kind of hard drive solution, you could also test how badly Windows 95 runs on it.