Look what I found

[Russkie]

Hello everybody,

I just registered the other week, I've been helping my old dad clean out his shed, and I found our old CPC6128, with its monitor and DMP2000 printer, as well as a bunch of magazines. I haven't found any disks yet, but I think they should be around.

I didn't have any idea dad still had it, I last saw it in 1990 when I left home. I got re-interested in the cpc back in the mid 90's, played with some emulators I think, I remember a few names that I see active here, I exchanged a few emails with (I don't remember him being a Dr back then) TFM, but then life got in the way, and I forgot all about it.

I was going to post some pics, since I am quite excited to find them, but I think you all know what a 6128 looks like.

I also have :
The original CPC6128 user instructions.
2 x DMP 2000 user instructions (I don't know why there are 2)
8 x Amstrad Action issues.
5 x Computing with the Amstrad issues.
1 issue of Amstrad Professional Computing.
Polyword manual.
1 issue of Amstrad Computer User.
18 x The Amstrad User issues.

Now, some questions.

1. I haven't been brave enough to plug the cpc in and turn it on yet, there could be all sorts of bugs and spiders and stuff inside it, waiting to short something out. What suggestions would anybody have to clean it out, to give it the best chance of working? (I'm not actually sure if it will work at all after all this time, but I want to maximise my chances).

2. Are people still interested in scanned magazine issues? I haven't looked into exact issues, or what sort of condition they are in (I think I remember my younger brother cutting pictures out from the mags). I anybody is interested, I can scan them when I have time.

3. That CPC TREX sounds fascinating, how many people have one? How comaptible is nearly 100% compatible? I see that the C1 board is discontinued, and they recommend the Altera DE1 as the replacement, has anyone tried this board? If my CPC is gone forever, now that I'm all interested again, I might have a crack at this for a project.

I have a wife, 1 yr old son, full time job, and plenty of chores to do around the house, so time is scarce for me, but I have an understanding, tolerant wife, so I hope I can participate in helping keep this scene alive. G'day to anybody in Perth, Western Australia.

[MacDeath]

do you have feets under water


Welcome aboard from the other side of the world...

[redbox]

Hello everybody,

Hello and welcome!

1. I haven't been brave enough to plug the cpc in and turn it on yet, there could be all sorts of bugs and spiders and stuff inside it, waiting to short something out. What suggestions would anybody have to clean it out, to give it the best chance of working? (I'm not actually sure if it will work at all after all this time, but I want to maximise my chances).

There was a recent thread about cleaning up a 6128, so this might be of some help.

If it doesn't power up, it appears that usually the power switch is the culprit (and when I asked about this again recently, arnoldemu wrote a more comprehensive guide too).

  2. Are people still interested in scanned magazine issues? I haven't looked into exact issues, or what sort of condition they are in (I think I remember my younger brother cutting pictures out from the mags). I anybody is interested, I can scan them when I have time.

Amstrad Action has been scanned in from the start and so has Amstrad Computer User.  But you might well have something that's been missed, so could be worth checking.

    3. That CPC TREX sounds fascinating, how many people have one? How comaptible is nearly 100% compatible? I see that the C1 board is discontinued, and they recommend the Altera DE1 as the replacement, has anyone tried this board? If my CPC is gone forever, now that I'm all interested again, I might have a crack at this for a project.

Don't know about this... anyone else?

    I have a wife, 1 yr old son, full time job, and plenty of chores to do around the house, so time is scarce for me, but I have an understanding, tolerant wife, so I hope I can participate in helping keep this scene alive.

Make sure you keep her then 'cos the CPC has a habit of taking up much more time than you realise! 

[Gryzor]

Hello Russkie!

Every time a fellow CPC enthusiast describes his findings I feel their enthusiasm and thrill in my guts... it just feels awesome discovering something from  a past era of your life... =) In that regard, photos are most always welcome - you can't have too many CPC pics (plus, sometimes we discover interesting things)!

Cleaning isn't hard to do. Just unscrew the back, watch the keyboard ribbon, then give it a good dust. There are more drastic solutions out there in the forum, but this should be enough in most cases.

Your CPC will most likely work - Amstrad does have a reputation for the most reliable machines. But, also, your drive will 100% *not* work because it will need a new belt (try searching here for 'belt replacement') beause it dries out after a few years of inactivity. This means that, unfortunately, you won't be able to run your programs when you find them... Of course replacement is not hard, but you'll have to order a belt (ebay is your friend, expect to part with GBP3-5. Members of the forum may also help).

I think that by now all english-language mags have been scanned... am I wrong, guys? If you're interested I can send you a DVD with the scans (just for the cost of the DVD/postage, or a pint of beer when I visit Perth sometime next century).

Unfortunately I can give no insight to the TREX, but I'm sure others will.

All in all, welcome here, mate! I do hope you'll stick around - lots of wonderful stuff going on at the moment in the scene!

Cheers
Gryzor

PS Congrats on choosing the right missus
PS2 Hey, you say you registered just the other week, but there's a post from you from December 2006?

[cpc4eva]

hey russkie fellow aussie here from melb......


once you get involved in this site and start discovering things and cpc world on the net just be careful cause you'll get hooked and the wife might not be so understanding

[Russkie]

Thanks for the replies, things will get done bit by bit, I do suspect   that the disk drive won't work, but I also suspect that any disks I   might find probably won't work either.

Gryzor : Registered was probably not the right word. I didn't recall   ever registering, but when I tried to register this time the username   was already gone, and I thought that maybe this was one of a gazillion   sites I have registered on but forgotten about. Bumbling around with   passwords and stuff finally got me reconnected. I just read that   original post so many years ago, must have been a bored night of   nostalgia, anyway, this time round, I can hopefully contribute.

Is the list of magazines on the wiki all the mags on that DVD you mentioned?
 
  cpc4eva : I hope you guys don't flood too, your whole side of the   country looks pretty dodgy at the moment. We just catch fire over this   side.

If my wife does get on my case, Ill just get her another kitten, or perhaps another baby human.

[arnoldemu]

Welcome to the forum.

I understand your situation. I too have an understanding wife and child.

[cpc4eva]

we caught fire last year or thereabouts and look what happened    now its floods....


The DMP2000 would that have to be the worst printrer ever made or does the Commodore range of DPS-1101 daisy wheel printer which typically cost more than the computer and floppy disk drive together. or the commodore MPS-1000 dot matrix printer or Commodore 1526 have been worse

[Johnny Olsen]

I think that by now all english-language mags have been scanned... am I wrong, guys?

Hmm i had never seen scan of the "The Amstrad User" The Aussie mag, only the covers here.

http://cpcwiki.eu/index.php/The_Amstrad_User

[steve]

This is the Nascom imp printer, which must qualify as one of the worst printers, I never had one as it was not that cheap, and apparently could not print properly aligned text.

http://www.80bus.co.uk/pages/nascom/imp.htm

It is a slow site but it will load after a few seconds.

[Russkie]

I just cleaned out the CPC, plugged everything, turned it on, and nothing. Nothing at all, no lights/noise/smoke/heat.

Now I need to check if it is the monitor or the CPC itself, or both that is the problem. Since the CPC seems to get its power from the monitor, if I simply plug a separate 5vdc power supply into the CPC, would that be sufficient for it to start up? If I can just get the power light to come on I might be able to assume it is the monitor that is the problem.

There seems to be a 5VDC going in to the CPC from the monitor, and a 12VDC going from the CPC to the monitor. Any suggestions on a plan to test these? I have limited electronics skills, I would rate myself intermediate level.

I was careful when I cleaned the CPC, I am certain that I didn't damage anything, and the insides looked in suprisingly good condition, but there was one chip that looked like it had some glue or something on it. It really looked like gluey type substance, not a damaged chip. Was this a standard practice?

[redbox]

There seems to be a 5VDC going in to the CPC from the monitor, and a 12VDC going from the CPC to the monitor. Any suggestions on a plan to test these? I have limited electronics skills, I would rate myself intermediate level.

Afaik, the 5v on a classic CPC is enough to power it up.  The 12v is used for the disc drive, so you'd be able to see if it's just working with the 5v at least.

[MacDeath]

The power switch may be broken... this is a bit that often fail due to it's massive use (no reset button...)

[Russkie]

I just tested the cpc with a 5V DC power brick, and the power light comes on. Hopefully that means all is well with the cpc part, and the problem is with the monitor.

I don't know that I am brave enough to open up the monitor though, after reading all sorts of dangers and horror stories all over the internet. I'll download the service manuals and info from the main site and see if I think I'll kill myself or not, otherwise I'll get a professional to have a look at it.

I was surprised when I opened up the cpc to clean it, how simple the circuit board is. I expected something much more complicated. I guess that is why it is so reliable.

I still have to go back to my dads and keep looking to see what disks I might find.

[redbox]

I just tested the cpc with a 5V DC power brick, and the power light comes on. Hopefully that means all is well with the cpc part, and the problem is with the monitor.

Can you not power up the CPC with the 5V and then plug in the monitor with the RGB lead to see if you can get a picture?

[Russkie]

I get absolutely nothing from the monitor, it seems completely dead, no lights, none of those faint old crt noises. When I first tested I had the cpc getting it's power through the plug on the monitor, and it was dead too.

I've looked at the schematic for the monitor, and the power supply section seems fairly simple, and it seems like a power problem. Perhaps it is even just the fuse, although things are rarely that simple in my life.

[Gryzor]

A number of things may have blow off or have leaked over the years... do try opening it, its not such a big deal. Of course CRTs do have a very high load stored for a while, but I've worked with arcade CRT monitors without any particular knowledge in electronics and I'm still here, typing. I had read somewhere that you must leave it offline for a few hours to offload any persistent loads, maybe someone can verify this?

[Russkie]

Yeah, I'll have a go at fixing the monitor myself. The service manual   look pretty helpful, and there are plenty of resources on the net.
 
  I have started scanning issues of The Amstrad User, since it does only   appear to be cover pages as pointed out by Johnny Olsen. I've asked   Gryzor for the DVD with the magazines on it, if it turns out they are on   there I can stop, in the meantime I'll keep plodding away, 1 page at a   time.
 
  Has anyone had any good experiences with OCR software? It would be cool to   OCR the magazines, if it will be accurate enough. Surely it is pretty   accurate after all these years. Otherwise, jpg it is.

[Bryce]

The capacitors in a CRT can hold their charge for months in some devices, so (Gryzor) waiting a few hours doesn't make them any less lethal. I recommend discharging the large capacitors with a 220V bulb and some isolated leads.

Bryce.

[cpc4eva]

how was your aussie day russkie ??


any luck with your cpc ?

[Russkie]

Hey cpc4eva, mu australia day was a little bit crap, I had to work at 6pm that evening until 2am. How was yours?

As for the cpc, it seems as though it is working, the monitor is the problem. I'm confident enough discharging large caps, but I'm not at all familiar with this flyback stuff and aquadag business, so I'm possibly a little overly cautious as I go. There appear to be a couple of dodgy looking caps, I'll start with them. I don't know though if it was working before my dad packed it away or not. I have a couple of small tasks to do first, have to keep the wife happy before she'll let me disappear into the shed for a few days.

If it comes to the worst, there are other options for displays, but I'll try my best to keep this original monitor.

I assume many people these days are using emulators, how many people are still using real cpcs?

[redbox]

I assume many people these days are using emulators, how many people are still using real cpcs?

All the cool kids have a real CPC.  Can't beat that monitor hum 

[Ghost]

I think every person who do somethink on CPC use real hardware.

[norecess]

... use real hardware for final testing, yep. Otherwise ...

[arnoldemu]

... use real hardware for final testing, yep. Otherwise ...

same as I do.

use the hardware for final testing.