Question RE:Computer Repairs

[C-Rex2000]

Hi,

 

Does anyone know of a really good book for novice repair of 8bit or 16bit Atari computers?

 

I am looking for something with a lot of detailed pictures and techniques to test and repair old Ataris.

 

I would also like to know if there are any web or dvd videos that might specialize in this.

 

I have an 800xl that just died and an ST floppy that I would like to get working again. I also purchased a 130XE on eBay and do not know if it is operational or not.

 

I would love to be able to buy cheap broken Ataris and re-condition them.

 

Anyway Thank You for your INPUT,

C-Rex

[npturton]

are you any good with electronics and reading circuit diagrams?

[C-Rex2000]

npturton,

 

I am a total and complete newbie as far as electronics go, no training whatsoever....LOL..

I would go and take a course or two, but I am not sure if it would be applicable to the older technology...

I was kind of hoping for the Idiots guide in plain english with lots of pictures and step by step troubleshooting hints...

THANX,

C-Rex

[AtariGeezer]

A Basic Electronics course is a must and might be available at your local high school in a night class

 

Buy one of the 300-in-1 electronics kits and learn from that too

[Rybags]

Field Service manuals were done by Atari for most computer and peripheral models. Many are scanned and can be had as PDF file.

 

There's Sams Computer Facts books, similar deal to the FSMs.

 

But both assume intermediate+ knowledge of electronics. Fixing an Atari can be done with minimal knowledge in some cases. There's too many individual problems you might encounter to make something like a Dummy's Guide possible.

Many problems that do occur are common ones and there's procedures to take to diagnose and fix.

 

Any problem you have you could just post here describing symptoms. Probably #1 thing to avoid breaking your gear is to ensure your power supply isn't one of the known bad types (covered in numerous threads here).

[C-Rex2000]

Geezer and Rybags,

 

Thanks for the information.

 

I found an interesting website www.electronicstheory.com that looks promising.

 

I don't know about high schools, but there is one junior college I could go to the only problem is that it is about 40 miles one way. I am not sure I could pay for the gas at $4.00 a gallon when I get about 15 mpg. And I really don't see taking public transportation through three cities and numerous transfers, it would probably be a 3 hour ordeal each way...

 

I think that ITT would make me retake a lot of math and a Physics course before they would let me take any actual electronics courses and that is just too much money. I have some financial aid eligibility left, but not enough to get the courses I need.

 

Just as a side note, I saw that MIT was offering a free electronics course online, but it required knowledge of advanced physics and calculus. I was like, REALLY... for an introductory course? I guess that's why it's MIT...

 

Well, where there is a will there is a way I guess. I will go through all the material I can at that website and go from there.

 

I still wonder though if there are some good Atari books out there? I was thinking like the Abacus title ST Internals? I don't know what level that is geared towards though...

 

Anyone else with some information or ideas is welcome!

 

C-Rex

[+bob1200xl]

Some courses are geared toward learning how to design electronic products. This may be helpful, but it isn't strictly necessary. You don't need to know how to calculate the required value of a filter capacitor, for example, what you need to know is what its failure modes look like. I have a BSEE - nobody in my class could fix anything from what they learned. Probably still can't...

 

So, stay away from EE books and courses. You can d/l spec sheets for all kinds of ICs and such, as well as application notes for them. This is a pretty good source of information since it is aimed at EEs who don't know much practical electronics.

 

Cypress has SRAM, Atmel has GALs, WDC has CPUs. DigiKey and Jameco have a lot of stuff online - try them.

 

Our local Junior College has online courses. Courses geared toward technicians would be helpful. You certainly don't need calculus, but they may want you to have it.

 

In practice, you aren't going to get out a scope and track down a failure, nomally. You just swap parts. You don't need to know how they work so much...

 

 

Bob

[C-Rex2000]

Bob,

 

Very useful information.

 

THANK YOU,

C-Rex

[atari8warez]

Hi,

 

Does anyone know of a really good book for novice repair of 8bit or 16bit Atari computers?

 

 

Before even starting with the Atari books and schematics I would suggest you get some basic electronics knowledge, I have a few books that I've purchased many moons ago (circa early 1980's) and I am sure you can get your hands on some vintage electronics books like these for a few dollars each. They are written for the novice hobbyists and they start from the very basics such as what is a resistor, what is a capacitor etc....

 

[npturton]

Try

 

http://www.electronicstheory.com/

 

http://www.learnerstv.com/Free-Engineering-Video-lectures-ltv052-Page1.htm

 

http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/

 

Look for electronics projects on the web, you can learn a lot from them, tweeking the circuits and seeing what happens

 

Good luck