DDI-1 not working on a CPC464

[Zoe Robinson]

Hi guys.

I'm sad to say that it seems the DDI-1 interface on my CPC 464 has been damaged either during a house move or when it was in storage after the move. The light comes on when I plug in the drive and power up the system but that's as far as anything goes.

The 464 doesn't recognise the |DISK or |TAPE RSX commands and the drive does not activate at all when I try to use it. I can't see any obvious damage (see pics below) on the drive itself or the connector that goes into the back of the CPC but for many years it had to be propped up a little with a pen under the expansion block in order to connect to the CPC through my DkTronics 64k memory expansion, so I suppose this was inevitable in a way.

The drive doesn't do anything and the RSX commands are not recongised even if I don't have the memory expansion plugged in and the DDI-1 is connected directly to the CPC.

I'm not a hardware person, I haven't the first clue what to do to fix this. Any ideas would be appreciated.

[CraigsBar]

Send it to @Bryce

[chinnyhill10]

You given the edge connector a good clean using Isopropyl Alcohol and a swab?

[Bryce]

Yup, if it's not recognising the RSX commands then it's probably just dirt on the edge connector as Chinnyhill says.

Bryce.

[Zoe Robinson]

You given the edge connector a good clean using Isopropyl Alcohol and a swab?

I gave it a clean but maybe I missed something. I'll give it another try.


Thanks, guys.

[gerald]

Is the drive unit powered : green led on ?
The interface is powered from the drive.

[chinnyhill10]

I've found with kit that uses edge connectors a good clean and repeated plugging, unplugging you can usually get things working. 30 years of oxide and dirt!

[Zoe Robinson]

Well I cleaned the connectors (good grief, the stuff that came off those things!) and plugged the CPC in to test it out.


CLUNK


That's the sound of the monitor dying, I suppose? 

[Bryce]

Well I cleaned the connectors (good grief, the stuff that came off those things!) and plugged the CPC in to test it out.


CLUNK


That's the sound of the monitor dying, I suppose? 

Or it's telling you it's time to change the belt or clean the heads?

Bryce.

[Zoe Robinson]

Or it's telling you it's time to change the belt or clean the heads?

No, the clunk definitely came from the monitor.


That repair will have to wait, though.

[Bryce]

Ah, I thought you meant the drive made a clunk. A clunk from the monitor can be quite normal, doesn't have to mean anything bad.

Bryce.

[Zoe Robinson]

Ah, I thought you meant the drive made a clunk. A clunk from the monitor can be quite normal, doesn't have to mean anything bad.

Yeah, the monitor has clunked in the past but unfortunately what has happened this time is that the usual "clunk" noise I've heard for years when I press the power button was louder this time. In addition, there was no high-pitched whine from the monitor that you more feel than hear, and no power was fed to the CPC.


I'm going to have to open the monitor up to find out what's gone wrong. I'm hopeful that it's a simple fix because it was working perfectly last time I used it.

[Bryce]

Ooo, no power to CPC and no whine probably means that the input transformer has left the party.

Bryce.

[AMSDOS]

I'm going to have to open the monitor up to find out what's gone wrong. I'm hopeful that it's a simple fix because it was working perfectly last time I used it.

Not a good idea opening it up and playing with 240v (especially if you're not a hardware person).   


Leave it to a TV repair person if you can, hand them a Service Manual.

[Bryce]

Not a good idea opening it up and playing with 240v (especially if you're not a hardware person).   


Leave it to a TV repair person if you can, hand them a Service Manual.

240V is peanuts. It's the 20KV coming out of the HT Transformer that Zoe should be worried about.

Bryce.

[AMSDOS]

True it's not the Volts that kills you, what is it? The amps or the watts? I cannot remember.

[Bryce]

That old phrase - "It's not the volts that kills you, it's the amps" is complete rubbish as it's a combination of both and it also depends heavily on whether it's AC or DC (they kill you using different methods).

Bryce.

[AMSDOS]

That old phrase - "It's not the volts that kills you, it's the amps" is complete rubbish as it's a combination of both and it also depends heavily on whether it's AC or DC (they kill you using different methods).

Bryce.

Well I knew both were required to make it fatal.

[CraigsBar]

So long as AC/DC does not kill you, well not a normal volumes anyway.

[Bryce]

So long as AC/DC does not kill you, well not a normal volumes anyway.

Or Phil Rudd hasn't tried to have you knocked off!?

Bryce.

[Audronic]

True it's not the Volts that kills you, what is it? The amps or the watts? I cannot remember.

It does not matter Your Dead ??


Ray

[Zoe Robinson]

Ooo, no power to CPC and no whine probably means that the input transformer has left the party.

Yeah, I was thinking something like that.

Not a good idea opening it up and playing with 240v (especially if you're not a hardware person).   

Leave it to a TV repair person if you can, hand them a Service Manual.

Nah, I'm going to hand it to my wife and give her puppy dog eyes until she fixes it. She's the hardware person in the family, she'll know what to do.

[AMSDOS]

It does not matter Your Dead ??


Ray

[AMSDOS]

Nah, I'm going to hand it to my wife and give her puppy dog eyes until she fixes it. She's the hardware person in the family, she'll know what to do.