18 May
2009
18 May
'09
7:12 a.m.
The problem with the onboard regulation is that many
of those original
regulators, though they might be working, are actually no longer any
good. Not sure if it's just age, or it's a lifetime of certain ones
running too near max, but in all the ones I've replaced, I've cut the
amperage draw of the board way down, sometimes in half.
If they're going to be replaced *anyway*, then makes sense just to
remove them and their associated, equally suspect tantalums/aecs
altogether. In my IMSAI, I feed each board power from a dedicated,
pluggable line running to it... ground is still done through the
connector.
The problem is compatibility. Imagine that each S-100 board you would
connect on your system has to be modified. And every board that will be
sold, lended or given away, will ALSO have to be modified.
Why not just change the regulator for a newer one? They are so cheap
nowadays :o)