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Adam Computer Restore - Help?


coleco1981

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Hola,

 

During my vacation I picked up and carried back on the plane an Adam Computer! It was found in a hoarders house in Florida and not very well taken care of - rust was falling out of the vent holes!

 

I'm going to try to restore this thing but I need some advice. I took apart the unit and the rust was essentially from the RF shielding which was crumbling, it looks like decades of moisture made this thing into a rust bucket.

 

Once I took the RF shielding off the boards themselves it actually looks OK so it MIGHT actual work. So I have questions for anyone who is familiar with the inner-workings of an Adam - please excuse the newbishness of these questions - I've never owned an Adam before but I'm a big colecovision fan and I want to play some super games!

 

1. It appears to have some composite outputs on this but I'm not clear on what type of cable I will need. Does it take the same type of cable as my AV out on a Ti99/4A or Commodore 128? Since I am going to run this thing without RF shielding I'm assuming I will need to use the composite video output?

 

2. I have the printer which includes the PSU and the cable that connects it to the main unit. The printer I have turns on and it appears to be outputting the correct voltages. Is there something else I should be checking?

 

3. I have the keyboard but I don't have the cable that goes between the keyboard and the unit. It appears to be a telephone type connection. Will a phone line work? What type of cable is it? Anyone have a pinout?

 

4. Since the boards were covered in rust, I don't know if I trust myself to power this thing untill I know for sure every piece of little metal has been cleaned out. I know boards can be hosed down but I'm hoping for a more gentle method that won't leave any residue. Suggestions?

 

5. It looks like 1 tape unit might work, but the other has crumbling rubber near where the tape head is. Is it possible to rebuild these? where would I get the parts to restore something like that?

 

6. One of the reset switches won't move because its completely rusted. anyway know what type of switch it is so I can replace it with a newer one? Why does the unit have 2 reset switches? 1 for tapes the other for carts?

 

7. I'm going to check for shorts on the board before I give it power. Is there a specific area that I should check to see if its shorted before I blow this thing? Its either going to be a huge win or a big disappointment. I've been wanting to stag out of these units for awhile but ebay prices + shipping has made getting a known working out out of reach. lugging this bad boy back I hope will pay off!

 

Thanks for any advice for help you guys and provide!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I can answer #3 & #6 for you...this is the type of cable that goes between the keyboard/disk drives and console.

 

http://www.showmecables.com/product/RJ12-6-Conductor-6P6C-Flat-Silver-Satin-Crossed-Telephone-Line-Cord-7-FT.aspx

 

If you buy some, make sure they are the "reversed" or "crossed"...don't get the straight ones, they will not work.

 

#6 - The left switch is the computer reset...the right is the cartridge reset.

 

Hola,

 

During my vacation I picked up and carried back on the plane an Adam Computer! It was found in a hoarders house in Florida and not very well taken care of - rust was falling out of the vent holes!

 

I'm going to try to restore this thing but I need some advice. I took apart the unit and the rust was essentially from the RF shielding which was crumbling, it looks like decades of moisture made this thing into a rust bucket.

 

Once I took the RF shielding off the boards themselves it actually looks OK so it MIGHT actual work. So I have questions for anyone who is familiar with the inner-workings of an Adam - please excuse the newbishness of these questions - I've never owned an Adam before but I'm a big colecovision fan and I want to play some super games!

 

1. It appears to have some composite outputs on this but I'm not clear on what type of cable I will need. Does it take the same type of cable as my AV out on a Ti99/4A or Commodore 128? Since I am going to run this thing without RF shielding I'm assuming I will need to use the composite video output?

 

2. I have the printer which includes the PSU and the cable that connects it to the main unit. The printer I have turns on and it appears to be outputting the correct voltages. Is there something else I should be checking?

 

3. I have the keyboard but I don't have the cable that goes between the keyboard and the unit. It appears to be a telephone type connection. Will a phone line work? What type of cable is it? Anyone have a pinout?

 

4. Since the boards were covered in rust, I don't know if I trust myself to power this thing untill I know for sure every piece of little metal has been cleaned out. I know boards can be hosed down but I'm hoping for a more gentle method that won't leave any residue. Suggestions?

 

5. It looks like 1 tape unit might work, but the other has crumbling rubber near where the tape head is. Is it possible to rebuild these? where would I get the parts to restore something like that?

 

6. One of the reset switches won't move because its completely rusted. anyway know what type of switch it is so I can replace it with a newer one? Why does the unit have 2 reset switches? 1 for tapes the other for carts?

 

7. I'm going to check for shorts on the board before I give it power. Is there a specific area that I should check to see if its shorted before I blow this thing? Its either going to be a huge win or a big disappointment. I've been wanting to stag out of these units for awhile but ebay prices + shipping has made getting a known working out out of reach. lugging this bad boy back I hope will pay off!

 

Thanks for any advice for help you guys and provide!

Edited by jblenkle
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1. It appears to have some composite outputs on this but I'm not clear on what type of cable I will need. Does it take the same type of cable as my AV out on a Ti99/4A or Commodore 128? Since I am going to run this thing without RF shielding I'm assuming I will need to use the composite video output?

There are two Composite Video output jacks on the back of the ADAM as well as the RF Output jack.

 

The one marked AUXILLARY is a 7-pin connection that carries both composite video and audio, BUT actually only 5-pins are used as you can see since your ADAM is disassembled. You should be able to use the TI99 5-pin monitor cable, but if not, pickup a C64 compatible 5-pin cable (sometimes listed for use with the Commodore 1702 monitor) and make sure not to buy a Chroma/Luma cable.

 

The one marked MONITOR only carries composite video and you can use any composite video cable (ie: like the ones used for DVD players).

 

 

2. I have the printer which includes the PSU and the cable that connects it to the main unit. The printer I have turns on and it appears to be outputting the correct voltages. Is there something else I should be checking?

As long as the voltages are good, you should be good to go. As long as communication is good between the Printer and the Memory Console, the printer head will move to the left side of the travel bar, come in contact with a sensor that detects the printer head's position, cycle the printer wheel and then move a small distance to the right when turned on.

 

3. I have the keyboard but I don't have the cable that goes between the keyboard and the unit. It appears to be a telephone type connection. Will a phone line work? What type of cable is it? Anyone have a pinout?

Answered above by Joe... it's an RJ12, 6 Conductor, Reverse Cable. It looks like a standard phone cable, but the wires are twisted/reversed between ends unlike a phone cable.

 

4. Since the boards were covered in rust, I don't know if I trust myself to power this thing untill I know for sure every piece of little metal has been cleaned out. I know boards can be hosed down but I'm hoping for a more gentle method that won't leave any residue. Suggestions?

Remove the boards completely from the Memory Console case and clean thoroughly with 90% Isoprophyl Alcohol (not the cheaper watered down 70 something percent stuff). Also good to use for cleaning is Deoxit. Remember to inspect and clean the M.C. case thoroughly as well so as not to miss any small pieces of rust, etc.

 

5. It looks like 1 tape unit might work, but the other has crumbling rubber near where the tape head is. Is it possible to rebuild these? where would I get the parts to restore something like that?

DO NOT use the bad drive until you hopefully can fix it, otherwise it will ruin the Data Pack (tape). The crumbling rubber is the timing wheel and some Hot Wheels cars have tires that are a perfect replacement or you can buy them from Bob Slopsema at http://ann.hollowdreams.com. I posted a thread with pics and a video quite a number of years ago with all the info you need and I think it was called ADAM Maintenance, so use the forum search feature to track down that thread.

 

6. One of the reset switches won't move because its completely rusted. anyway know what type of switch it is so I can replace it with a newer one? Why does the unit have 2 reset switches? 1 for tapes the other for carts?

No idea on what type of switch it is, but hopefully someone like rey_1178 can chime in with details if he knows, otherwise you will have to do some googling to find a replacement or maybe check at Radio Shack. Joe answered the rest.

 

7. I'm going to check for shorts on the board before I give it power. Is there a specific area that I should check to see if its shorted before I blow this thing? Its either going to be a huge win or a big disappointment. I've been wanting to stag out of these units for awhile but ebay prices + shipping has made getting a known working out out of reach. lugging this bad boy back I hope will pay off!

Not qualified to answer this one... anyone have some suggestions to pass along.

 

 

Anyway, welcome to the forum and hope everything works out with your ADAM. Lords knows you deserve for it to be in working condition after lugging it back on an airplane... holy shit!!!! You must have gotten some odd looks! :-o

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