27 Jun
2012
27 Jun
'12
11:55 p.m.
-----Original Message-----
From: Tony Duell
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2012 4:13 PM
> Then I would suggest that, instead of just venting
your frustration that
> troubleshooting and repairing computers sometimes requires knowledge,
> experience and tools and isn't always easy to do via email without access
> to
> the machine, you accurately describe your symptoms in detail and ask for
> specific advice on a list like this where folks know what they're talking
> about; the Vintage Computer Forum is another good place, among others.
That wasn't very helpful Mike ! I have several machines to fix which may or
may not have the same problem and my point was how to get started and which
tools to get. Instead I get "you?re a noob and lazy, go look at this
reference and figure it out yourself". I have several C64 which may have
many different problems. I could just pick out one and tell you the symptom
(no video, power supply good, video cable good monitor good). Now what ?
There are many possible failures, but one likely one: the PLA chip. Now how
do I figure out if it is the PLA chip (then how do I remove and which tools
do I use etc.) ? Logic probe ? Multi-meter ? Oscilloscope ? I don't know how
to use any of them. I never asked for "specific" advice, only general
advice. Which tools to get etc.
There are two possible approaches to giving help with
such repairs, which
could be compared to the 'give an man a fish' .vs. 'teach a man to fish'.
Tony, I understand and agree.
rather 'teach a man to fish'. Rather than
telling them to check this and
then change that IC, I'd ecplain to them how the thing should work, how to
check things, and so on. In the end they will learn enough to be able to
trace faults themselves, and the knowledge of fault diagnosis --
soemthign that seems to be rarely taught -- is preserved. None of us are
goign to eb around for ever, so it is a Good Thing to pass on our skills
in this way.
I think a little of both show me how to fix it then have me figure out the
next one. A little helping, a little trying on my own. All the while
explaining that is going on and adding knowledge. After all you have to
start somewhere.
Jeff B