avatar_lynwen

Hello I'm new - restoring old Amstrad CPC464 - Need a new counter!!

Started by lynwen, 17:56, 21 January 13

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lynwen

Hi everyone, I am restoring an old Amstrad CPC 464. Unfortunately my parents gave away ours when I was in my mid teens so my boyfriend bought me one for 99p about seven years ago.


Unfortunately there were issues with loading tapes, it was VERY temperamental. Also, it would not fast forward tapes and the counter wouldn't move at all, it was stuck in the reset position.


Anyway, I have since pulled it apart, cleaned all the keys, keyboard membrane, motherboard and tape deck.


The issue appears to be the actual counter itself. The bands are in place and rotating as they should, however the counter is not rotating at all. After removing it and trying to rotate it myself it is really stiff and will only rotate correctly when done with pliers!


I have temporarily removed the band and wheel for rotating the counter and all is working brilliantly.


I really would like to get it working though but can't find anywhere that sells just the counter. I would have thought it would be available like resistors, capacitors and other electronic components?


Any advice would be much appreciated and thanks for reading!


So excited to have found this forum!


There are also some games that I need to hunt down as my parents also gave those away all those years ago too  :'(


Thanks

steve

Perhaps you could spray some WD40 into the mechanism, leave it for 24 hours to do it's job, then gently try to get the mechanism turning.

lynwen

Damn, I've put the whole lot back together again!  :laugh:  Will give the WD40 a go thanks!


I'm just glad the whole thing hasn't broken from toying with it  :)

Bryce

Using WD40 on a CPC is like fixing an egg with a hammer.  :'(

It needs lubrication, but WD40 isn't a good idea on old plastic. That stuff is pretty agressive. It's meant for steel against steel in engines, not delicate plastic cogs. I'd recommend disassembling the parts and using vaseline or fine oil on the shafts.

Bryce.

lynwen

Thanks Bryce, I'm not sure how to grease the shaft part of the counter though, will give it a go tomorrow.


Dont suppose anyone is willing to sell me a 1st revision cpc 464 in good cosmetic condition? Mine is a Rev 1 and has cosmetic damage, its evident its been messed around with inside too. Would love an untouched original or at least a nice looking one.


Thanks

Gryzor

Wouldn't WD40 cause other problems down the line, too? 

You can even try warming it up; heat up some water and place it for a few minutes, see if it's easier to move...

You can try placing an ad in the relevant section of the forum, though as always eBay is your best bet. Lots of stuff on there, and maybe you can even find something near you for local pick-up - those are usually cheap.

Oh, and welcome :)


Bryce

The problem is, people think that WD40 is just a lubricant. IT'S NOT. It's a penetrating oil and water displacement spray. ie: It's full of chemicals that help disolve rust / prevent corrosion etc on steel. If you can't loosen the nuts on a car wheel, it's great. If a big motor shaft has seized it's good for that too. If you have a tiny, slightly stiff stainless steel pin encased in 30 year old plastic, it's definitely not what you want to be spraying on it. It does contain lubricants too of course, but the other stuff has the potential to destroy your CPC: Half of it is made up of stoddard solvents (White spirits / turpentine), which will probably destroy the plastic (pretty quickly too). Most of the rest of it is made up of liquified petroleum gas and lubricants. The LPG and lubricants probably wouldn't damage the CPC, but I wouldn't want to take the chance.

Gryzors suggestion of putting it in warm water is good, I'd probably add some washing-up liquid too. Then grease it afterwards with vaseline or fine oil.

Bryce.

lynwen

Thank you!


I hope I haven't damaged it by cleaning the mobo and tape deck with Isopropyl alcohol !?

Bryce

Isopropyl alcohol is safe on plastics as long as you rinse it afterwards. It's fine on the PCB too. I use it to clean PCBs sometimes. I'd try to avoid spraying it on the drive-belt or tape-belt though.

Bryce.

lynwen

Hi Bryce, its not a spray but a liquid that I dab a cotton pad to clean PCB and tape deck.


They keyboard membrane I just used a damp cloth.


The rest of the parts which were plastic like the keys and case I washed with warm water and fairy liquid (my favourite solution to cleaning, good thing I didnt use this to clean the mobo). Cleaned each key individually, glad I had taken a photo of the keyboard before taking it apart  :laugh:


Thanks

Bryce

I actually meant splash and not spray.

Your cleaning methods all sound safe enough. Hopefully a good clean will get the counter working again too.

Bryce.

Gryzor

You're doing quite a thorough job! So, any success with the counter?

@Bryce: all that talk about WD40, does that mean you've got its formula? Because last time I checked it was still a big industry secret :)


Bryce

The exact formula is a big secret, but the general ingredients are on the Wikipedia page.

Bryce.

Gryzor


buzby

now i know why mad head is mashed all that wd40 sniffing lol


Badstarr

Apparently WD40 was the 40th attempt at concocting a solvent with all the customary applications we associate with WD40. We could start cooking up an open source version but we might hit the right ratios at the 29th batch so we would have to call it WD29 or if we were really unfortunate WD40,000,000. I'm pretty sure though that they can't have trade marked to infinity so we should be ok.

I have seen WD40 dissolve rubber gaskets within an hour so I would definitely say it could cause all kinds of trouble inside a CPC. I know one thing for sure, it's responsible for about 90% of the grazed knuckles I have suffered when attempting to undo seized nuts and bolts on my cars!
Proud owner of 464 GTM64 6128 GTM65, GX4128 and a 464/6128 Plus Hybrid a 20 year long ambition realised! :-)

Gryzor

I think WD stands for Water Displacement (since that's was the original use - to repel water from the surface of the Atlas missiles). 

As for the trade mark, I'm sorry to disappoint you; precisely in order to prevent from their application from ending, they never filed for a patent. They thought, 'well, if anyone finds out how to do it, let them". Safer that way :D


Bryce

They probably registered the trademark. That has nothing to do with whether they patented it or not.

I dry my Atlas rockets with a lint-free cloth :)

Bryce.

Gryzor

No it doesn't, but I was too bored to make the distinction so I started with the TM and moved over to the patent issue, which is what I think Badstarr originally meant :)

You pedantic know-all...

Bryce


Gryzor

Masochist: "-Please hurt me!"
Sadist: "-No."

Forum mod: "you're all off-topic".

Munchausen

lynwen - I have a 464 that works but half of the tape drive is actually missing and the case itself is very badly damaged.


However, the tape counter is present and you can have it if you want it and don't get yours fixed - though I don't know if it works. PM me and I'll post it to you.

00WReX

Hi lynwen & Munchausen...depending on what happens with your tape counters, I would be very interested in grabbing one from either of you, in particular I am after the reset button. So it does not matter if the tape counter works or not.

I recently purchased a CPC472 from Spain, but when it arrived the tape counter reset button was broken.

Please keep me informed of what happens then maybe I can work something out if you are OK whith it.

Cheers,
Shane
The CPC in Australia...
Awa - CPCWiki

Munchausen

Hey 00Wrex, if lynwen doesn't want the counter or if she doesn't actually need the reset button then I would be happy to send you the button. Though I may need to get postage costs back, depending on if they are significant or not to Spain (I presume to Spain anyhow?), if that is ok. Other than that you can have it - it is yours - there is no need for any payment except postage, I mean.


Though please note that I am away from home (and my CPCs/CPC parts) for the next 2 weeks at least, so will not be able to post it before then - and then when I am home I will have to take time to go to the post office, so will have to fit this in to my schedule. So I mean that I cannot guarantee delivery by a certain time, I can only say that I will be able to post it in the next few weeks.

00WReX

Hi Munchausen, thanks for the reply & offer.

That sounds great.  As you mention, yes we should let lynwen reply and see what they would like to do first.

The idea of getting the part from a damaged CPC is ideal though as I would not take this part from a pefectly fine machine.

I am actually loacted in Australia (I purchased the 472 from Spain). And yes of course I will cover any costs.

Thanks again.

Cheers,
Shane
The CPC in Australia...
Awa - CPCWiki

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