New definition of working

dcdrac · 17:03, 01 April 13

Since taking the plunge and obtaining some old CPC equipment I have come across a whole new definition of "working" on ebay
1. Working but drives do not work
2. Working but Monitor does not work
3. Working but use for spare parts...
Caveat emptor.....buyer beware

TotO · 17:11, 01 April 13

4. Working but 20 years ago

Gryzor · 17:18, 01 April 13

5.Working, if you manage it to.

Devilmarkus · 17:43, 01 April 13

6. Last time I started it, it worked fine. Untested

Devilmarkus · 17:44, 01 April 13

7. Monitor and CPC not tested because no software. Should work fine.

freemac · 17:58, 01 April 13

8. Working correctly, except middle range of keyboard (9, 0, I, O, K, L, ",") and right range (F3, F6, F9, up, down, right)

Using left arrow and COPY key you should launch games and use joystick

db6128 · 18:27, 01 April 13

Quote from: Devilmarkus on 17:43, 01 April 136. Last time I started it, it worked fine. Untested

This. This is the perhaps most annoying thing.

I have run into this so much over the last few months with keyboards (musical). Especially ones with floppy disks. Apparently people can't find a floppy disk anywhere. Most people don't even seem to bother to do what should be the bare minimum of trying to access the disk, seeing whether or not it lights up, and listening for whether or not anything spins. I'm sure this sentiment intersects very well with the experiences of users here trying to buy CPCs.

People might object 'Oh, but why should someone go to all the work of finding a compatible disk just so that blah-blah blah.' Well, if you're selling something for which you expect someone else to pay a few hundred pounds, you should be willing to spend something like £5 verifying its condition. Floppy disks are not that rare, and you evidently have a computer, so it's not as though you even need to buy an official disk; just get a blank one and drag a compatible file onto it for testing. But oh, wait! That's right! You have no idea how to use it, somehow, despite having owned it for 10+ years. Well, that's not an excuse either, as all you have to do is tell people whether or not the device can find any disk (i.e. whether the belt works).

Having said all that, my main keyboard now has a USB emulator instead of a floppy disk, coupled with some other extremely nifty modifications... but, because I was hugely stupid when attempting an unnecessary 'repair' on it, now I need either to find a bunch of new parts and attempt to graft on a new version of the broken part, or summon a few hundred pounds again to buy a 'spares and repair' of the same model.

dcdrac · 20:06, 01 April 13

I have to get to grips with these floppy emulators

MartinW · 21:17, 01 April 13

In fairness "Last time I started it, it worked fine. Untested" - does say untested, so, bid accordingly, as untested and then you should be fine. I don't see much wrong with that.

Devilmarkus · 21:20, 01 April 13

So, is it too much work to test a thing before you sell it?
Plug a cable, switch it on... Should work in most cases...

Bryce · 08:49, 02 April 13

Last week I spotted a new one: Working... He included a screenshot showing jumbled coloured blocks - a well known and relatively serious hardware failure.

Bryce.

ralferoo · 08:58, 02 April 13

What I've seen commonly when looking at Spectrums is "unable to test because RF lead is missing". I always read that as "I know it doesn't work, so I'm not including the RF lead so I can pretend I didn't know".

Gryzor · 10:27, 02 April 13

Quote from: Bryce on 08:49, 02 April 13
Last week I spotted a new one: Working... He included a screenshot showing jumbled coloured blocks - a well known and relatively serious hardware failure.

Bryce.

Working[nb]Just not as it was intended to[/nb]

Bryce · 10:40, 02 April 13

Quote from: ralferoo on 08:58, 02 April 13
What I've seen commonly when looking at Spectrums is "unable to test because RF lead is missing". I always read that as "I know it doesn't work, so I'm not including the RF lead so I can pretend I didn't know".

Yes, I've also seen "Not tested due to lack of PSU", but stupidly had a PSU in the picture or sells the PSU in a different auction. I've even seen "Not tested due to lack of RF cable - Package includes Computer, PSU, TV lead..."

And a "working Atari 800XL" where the screenshot was a failed self-test, but I think that guy really didn't have a clue about what he was selling.

Bryce.

00WReX · 07:17, 03 April 13

Quote from: Bryce
Yes, I've also seen "Not tested due to lack of PSU", but stupidly had a PSU in the picture
Bryce.

Hahaha, yes I've seen CPC's for sale with both the computer & monitor in the picture but the description
says unable to test computer as do not have power supply...

Cheers,
Shane

Gryzor · 18:56, 03 April 13

Maybe they mean they lack electricity in their house; they're posting the auctions from their mobile, or from an internet cafe.

Devilmarkus · 18:58, 03 April 13

I always put my hamster into his treadmill when I take "Tested" photos for ebay...

AMSDOS · 09:44, 18 April 13

Off-topic but:

9. Two people stand over work site making sure site is safe while 3rd person digs.

Not sure if a sparkie or person in the electronics field has this issue?

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New definition of working