Replacing a case...

[Opry99er]

My #1 machine has taken quite a beating over the years... Moving state to state, kid playing on it... Tons of playing and programming....

 

The once-beautiful silver case is now battered, scratched, and has a dent in it.

 

I am about to do the F18A installation and was thinking this may be a good time to swap cases.

 

I have a new TI, only used a few times, but it doesnt have my number-pad mod, and doesnt have the loud springy keyboard...

 

Is it terribly tough to swap the shell? Never cracked open my TI before, so... Dont know exactly the internal layout and how difficult it is to de-case the board.

 

Can the silver shell be removed and replaced without full disconnect of the keyboard from the TI motherboard?

[Shift838]

decasing the board is easy. just a few screws hold the boards in there.

[Omega-TI]

Opening up the TI is EASY. All it takes is a Phillips screwdriver to remove everything, the case, power supply, mother board and keyboard. Actually the hardest thing is lining up the switch on the power supply when you re-assemble it. Really, it's a piece of cake.

 

To get an idea of what you'll see << CLICK HERE >>

[Opry99er]

Thanks guys... What I meant to say is that I've never cracked it open as far as taking the case all the way off...

 

I took the halves apart once when I first got the TI because I wanted to see how the number pad mod was done.

 

I have seen the inside, but never tried to fully remove the shell from the board.

 

Appreciate the advice fellas. Think I may go ahead and do the swaperoo.

[Omega-TI]

Photos of the new shiny exterior in the sticky thread when you are done please.

[Dexter]

Can the silver shell be removed and replaced without full disconnect of the keyboard from the TI motherboard?

 

I think it can.

This is probably the best description to disassemble the console:

http://mainbyte.com/ti99/console/console_dis.html

You can go as far as the middle of the page, (till after removing the 4 + 3 screws), and take out all three PCB’s without disconnecting them from each other.

 

Reverse the process with the mint case, and you’re done.

Hope this helps.