jacobus #1 Posted May 16, 2010 I recently picked up a 1040STE at a garage sale. The unit was filthy (does anyone ever clean their darn computer? ... I come on, there was dirt everywhere but a little bit of Windex made it look new in minutes!), and during cleaning and re-assembly I managed to snap the top case (the thin part at the top left of the keyboard) and while replacing the screws managed to shatter 2 of the posts. Is this brittleness common with STEs? I've never seen it with my other Atari systems (and I have a lot) so I can't assume it's just age. I was considering selling this one, but now I'm not sure it would survive shipping. Does anyone have any experience with an ST in this condition? thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjlazer #2 Posted May 17, 2010 (edited) Sounds like your case was more brittle than normal. I have only once cracked a case and it was also the top left corner, and I have refurbished a couple dozen ST's to date with no other issues. You do have to be careful though as it is 25 year old plastic... B&C Computervisions sells new cases, and that is what I did with my one mishap, which was in bad shape otherwise too so no biggie. Edited May 17, 2010 by tjlazer Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keaton Blue #3 Posted May 17, 2010 The same thing happened with my C64, shattered when I dropped it. If it was a clean break it can be glued back together fairly easily. Also de-yellowing the case would also make it more brittle. There are some plastic protectants but I'm not sure how well they would work. Your best bet would probably be to find a new case. (also if you really are selling, I'll take it!) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jacobus #4 Posted May 17, 2010 thanks for the replies! Sounds like your case was more brittle than normal. I have only once cracked a case and it was also the top left corner, and I have refurbished a couple dozen ST's to date with no other issues. You do have to be careful though as it is 25 year old plastic... B&C Computervisions sells new cases, and that is what I did with my one mishap, which was in bad shape otherwise too so no biggie. The case is in very good condition - the plastic is still on the badge label. It was not left in the sun, so I'm assuming it was just a bad batch of plastic. The same thing happened with my C64, shattered when I dropped it. If it was a clean break it can be glued back together fairly easily. Also de-yellowing the case would also make it more brittle. There are some plastic protectants but I'm not sure how well they would work. Your best bet would probably be to find a new case. (also if you really are selling, I'll take it!) I was able to glue the case and reassemble and glue the pegs. The case is not coloured at all so I didn't do the de-yellowing process. I am interested in selling it - what is the going rate? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+rdemming #5 Posted May 17, 2010 (edited) Recently I also acquired a 2nd hand 1040STE and its plastic was also more brittle than normal. When I tried to drill a hole at the back of the casing to add a drive A/B swap switch, the plastic was split in two at the place where I started drilling. I never had that before when drilling in computer case plastic. But I think this one was stored in a shed or so. Near the midi ports, the radio shielding and the midi connectors them self started to get rusty. Robert Edited May 17, 2010 by rdemming Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thgill #6 Posted May 17, 2010 When I tried to drill a hole at the back of the casing to add a drive A/B swap switch... Have any more details (or a link) on this mod? I am assuming this lets an external floppy become the A drive and makes it bootable? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+rdemming #7 Posted May 17, 2010 When I tried to drill a hole at the back of the casing to add a drive A/B swap switch... Have any more details (or a link) on this mod? I am assuming this lets an external floppy become the A drive and makes it bootable? Yes, using the switch you can make the external one drive A and then boot from the external drive. Handy if you have the HxC floppy emulator connected externally and want to boot from it. I just made a quick description of the modification on my website. Unfortunately no photo's of the modification but maybe I will make some later. Robert Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keaton Blue #8 Posted May 17, 2010 There isn't much of a going rate. I've seen them anywhere from $100 + shipping to $30 shipped. I wouldn't be able to pay a lot. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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