chevymad Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 Looking through goodwill, found a modified 400 for sale with a Bkey keyboard I think. Some kinda switch and port on the back. Thought I'd point it out if anyone's looking. https://www.shopgoodwill.com/Item/107784047 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwilove Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 Probably - exactly the sort of machine I am after - is anyone willing to purchase it for me? And I'll pay all the expenses etc to have it sent out to me... Knowing everything is working well with it. That's the problem I usually have - no one wants to ship it this far out - other side of the world. I can't afford courier service which usually ends up costing as much as the computer itself - but am OK with a slower delivery service - after all - shipping does make it out this far, whether by ship or air freight. I'm happy with waiting a few months for it. I'm after an 800 too - but that can wait for another year. Harvey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 (edited) A few things to note here. 1. The B-Key is worth good money on it's own. 2. The machine has been modified to accept standard XL/XE power supplies (added DIN connector, and been given its own power switch). 3. The chosen, specific XL/XE power supply unit laying next to the machine appears to be an "Ingot" (often the kiss of death for a perfectly good, working machine). Edited November 8, 2020 by MrFish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrbrevin Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 you'd be best off mending the original PSU and re-appropriate the DIN into an A/V out 400/800 power boards are very robust, im quite surprised to see a DC conversion... ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApolloBoy Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 6 hours ago, xrbrevin said: you'd be best off mending the original PSU and re-appropriate the DIN into an A/V out 400/800 power boards are very robust, im quite surprised to see a DC conversion... ? I wonder if maybe whoever modded this also owned an XL or XE and wanted to be able to share the same PSU between the two? Seems odd though since the 400 and 800 use 9V AC to generate three different voltage rails, which are all required for the system to function. Perhaps the previous owner did a 5V RAM conversion similar to the ColecoVision and some other modwork? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xrbrevin Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 8 hours ago, ApolloBoy said: Perhaps the previous owner did a 5V RAM conversion hmmm, this could imply there has been a RAM upgrade ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 Yeah, with the machine being modded in other ways, there's a good chance there's more RAM inside too; since that's one of the things a 400 begs for... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drpeter Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 ....or that it's not a power conversion at all and the bundled PSU is a red herring. Possibly a video conversion with a switch to isolate the RF circuits?. Can't see the point of installing a separate switch for an alternate power source. Who would want to be able to use either of two different PSUs? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 (edited) 46 minutes ago, drpeter said: ....or that it's not a power conversion at all and the bundled PSU is a red herring. Possibly a video conversion with a switch to isolate the RF circuits?. Can't see the point of installing a separate switch for an alternate power source. Who would want to be able to use either of two different PSUs? It's not an obvious mod to me either; and yeah, I thought about the possibility that the power supply just happens to be included. In fact, the first thing that came to mind was video output, until i saw the power supply there. I was gonna count pins on the DIN, but it's a bit hard to see in that shot. Edited November 9, 2020 by MrFish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drpeter Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 (edited) With a bit of enhance & zoom, it's probably a 5-pin DIN, so not likely to fit the bundled power supply, although I guess that doesn't absolutely clinch it one way or the other.... Edited November 9, 2020 by drpeter 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 I think you may be right. In which case, disregard item #2 in my list above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues76 Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 48 minutes ago, MrFish said: I think you may be right. In which case, disregard item #2 in my list above. so,what kind of power supply is that using ? the default that comes with the 400? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 2 minutes ago, Blues76 said: so,what kind of power supply is that using ? the default that comes with the 400? I suppose so -- if drpeter is correct in his assessment; but apparently it's not included in the auction (which is part of the reason I made my initial assumption). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwilbar Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 If that din port on the back is for video, lets hope that power supply hasn't been plugged into that port to test the 400 !!! I doubt 5V driven into the video circuit outputs would be a good thing ..... I'd vote that this came from a collector with multiple systems, that probably all went to Goodwill.... and someone mixed up the power supplies.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillC Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 11 hours ago, drpeter said: With a bit of enhance & zoom, it's probably a 5-pin DIN, so not likely to fit the bundled power supply, although I guess that doesn't absolutely clinch it one way or the other.... I doubt the 400 would be modified to use only a +5VDC power supply, the color adjustment pot and stock 4116 RAM chips use +12VDC and the 4116 RAM chips and power LED also use -5VDC. It's more likely that the added 5-pin DIN is a monitor port, with the switch to disconnect the color signal from composite for better chroma/luma(s-video) signal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevymad Posted November 11, 2020 Author Share Posted November 11, 2020 So anyone here when the auction? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues76 Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 32 minutes ago, chevymad said: So anyone here when the auction? I did. I meant to bid a bit less but I made a mistake. Anyways, I’m paying it tomorrow. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevymad Posted November 11, 2020 Author Share Posted November 11, 2020 Well congratulations anyway! Let us know what mods you find in it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClausB Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Ask the shipper to wrap that power brick well and secure it separate from the well wrapped 400 in the box. In these forums are horror stories of the brick bouncing in the box and shattering the computer case during shipping. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues76 Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 6 hours ago, chevymad said: Well congratulations anyway! Let us know what mods you find in it. thank you for posting the link in the first place !! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues76 Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Good/bad news. When I place the bid, I made a mistake of the amount. I emailed them. However, I never received a response. I went to pay for the item and it is not available for payment. I received an email right after I did that saying that I was given a 1-time exception. This is coming from Good Will. Anyways, it seems that it may be placed again for bidding. If I can't buy it, I will probably not go for it again as I will do something else with the Money. Bad news for me (maybe) but good news for someone else that may want this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZuluGula Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 Is 400 really worth that much right now, or it's a forum effect? It seems like we will be outpriced from the hobby very soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues76 Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 11 minutes ago, ZuluGula said: Is 400 really worth that much right now, or it's a forum effect? It seems like we will be outpriced from the hobby very soon. I think is the possible mods and the keyboard I like it and if goodwill let me pay, I will get it but if I have to bid again, I think Im being wanting an apple iigs and other things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+orpheuswaking Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 35 minutes ago, ZuluGula said: Is 400 really worth that much right now, or it's a forum effect? It seems like we will be outpriced from the hobby very soon. 400s have become a lot more popular for some reason in the last 5 years. This having a full keyboard and probably a video mod and memory upgrade makes $212 about right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornchip Posted November 11, 2020 Share Posted November 11, 2020 10 hours ago, ClausB said: Ask the shipper to wrap that power brick well and secure it separate from the well wrapped 400 in the box. In these forums are horror stories of the brick bouncing in the box and shattering the computer case during shipping. I find it amazing you said this. You couldn't have called this better. I bought a 400 off Ebay just the other day for 90 dollars. It really only had two things I wanted in a 400. One was a 48k memory upgrade and a B key keyboard (missing a key). Well.....sadly this wasn't such a great buy. It arrived with a smashed case corner. Seems a layer of bubble wrap just doesn't provide much protection. Still, it does power on despite the also broken cartridge door. I just haven't had any luck with Ebay this year. Is it just 2020? Could there be a clean case for this 400 out there and would it be worth it? Didn't want to pile too much into this 400. Maybe I'll see if this seller can credit me back a few bucks and maybe I'll just hang on to it till I find a case. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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