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New member with a CTM 644 Monitor question (faulty/scrap?)

Started by CPCdartsmA, 19:16, 26 July 14

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CPCdartsmA

Hello all,

Great to find a forum dedicated to the machine I wasted spent so much of my youth playing!

So, I went round to my parents' house and dug out my much-loved CPC 6128, CTM 644 & MP-3 + a load of games, a mouse etc (see pic).  Man, I loved that thing.  Thing is, my folks stored it in their shed (though not the games, thankfully). :-X

Got it home, fired it up and got a blue screen with red text, rather than the yellow I was expecting.  Hmm OK, stuck a game in and got the "Drive:A disc missing Retry, Ignore or Cancel" error message when I tried to load a disc.  I replaced the belt and serviced the drive.  Got everything cleaned up inside the CPC, switched it on and same again, blue screen, red text.  Everything then collapsed on itself, kind of like it was being sucked into a vortex at the bottom of the screen.  There was a fizzing noise and shuddering picture followed by the smell of burning electrics and then nothing on screen at all.

The monitor is powering up the CPC and discs are loading (missed that Robocop music!), the MP-3 is working too.

Is this salvagable?  Where do I start?  I've ordered myself a TV/Scart kit, but I'd like to be able to use the monitor if possible and not too much work.  Instincts say "dead" though.

Also, the red text thing, is that probably something to do with the monitor failing, rather than the computer itself?  I guess I'll find out when the cables turn up, but thought someone here might have experienced this before.

Cheers all!


ralferoo

The red text is just an indication that the green wire to the monitor is dead. Could have been a bent pin in the lead, could be a loose solder joint on the socket in the CPC, could even have been the monitor itself. Good news is that it will be easy to repair.

Sounds like your monitor is very dead. Don't even consider using it as a power adapter for the CPC until you find out what's wrong with it! It sounds like a cap exploded, and that means that the innards could well be covered in nasty electrolyte. It might be fixable, but monitors have high voltages in them, so don't take the risk. If you don't trust yourself to fix it, take it to someone who does!

Your easiest option is just to get a SCART lead and PSU set from ebay. You've only mentioned the SCART lead... but seriously, get a PSU for it too! And you can get them all in a bundle.

The drive probably just needs a new belt. You're fortunate in that you know its history and that it used to work and it hasn't been butchered by someone else in the meantime like a lot of second hand things are...

CPCdartsmA

Thanks for the reply.


I bought the scart and PSU kit off the bay  8)  Must admit, I've worried the monitor is about to explode each time I've switched it on!


I fixed the drive prior to the monitor meltdown.


Oh, not my pic (found searching this forum), but this looks very similar to what I experienced:







Bryce

Hi CPCdartsma,
              Welcome to the forum. One of the flyback capacitors has failed. Don't switch it on again or it may cause further damage. Depending on your knowledge of electronics, it's quite easy to repair. If you've no electronics knowledge, then don't even open it. Maybe you know of a local TV repair shop still in existance? If so, they should be able to fix this.

Bryce.

CPCdartsmA

Hey Bryce,Thanks for the reply and the welcome.

I can solder and dismantle/rebuild electronics relatively competently, but I'm really not that knowledgeable about circuits et al, TBH.  I would be happy to take it apart and have a look to see if there's any obvious damage if helpful.  You seem pretty certain it's a flyback capacitor though and I gather you're pretty in-the-know about such stuff.  Am I REALLY likely to get a fatal shock if I open this thing up?


I'll try to find out if there is a local(ish) TV repair centre near here.  Anyone know anywhere in the Cambridge area?

Cheers.

chinnyhill10

If you don't understand why opening it up and working on it is a bad idea, then you shouldn't be going near it.
--
ChinnyVision - Reviews Of Classic Games Using Original Hardware
chinnyhill10 - YouTube

Bryce

Quote from: CPCdartsmA on 19:00, 27 July 14
Am I REALLY likely to get a fatal shock if I open this thing up?

Yes and it's one of those fatal parts that needs to be replaced.

Bryce.

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