15 Nov
2004
15 Nov
'04
4:53 a.m.
On Mon, 2004-11-15 at 13:11 -0500, Paul Koning wrote:
I am for testing them in
some cases, like the PDP-7. I was without much
experience at the time, and with a machine of which 6 are known to
exist, I would MUCH rather err on the side of caution and spend a few
hours testing/reforming caps than watch the fireworks of computer
history.
>>>> "Joe" == Joe R <rigdonj(a)cfl.rr.com> writes:
Joe> Testing power supplies before powering up a system is just plain
Joe> paranoid! (And I'm trying to be polite here!) There are a
Joe> thousand parts in modern computers that can cause just as much
Joe> damage!!!!!!!!
I disagree -- at least in the case of linear regulator supplies, which
is what you'll normally find in a classic computer. If the supply has a "crowbar overvoltage
protection" circuit in it,
that's a different matter.
This PSU is rugged and has "Voltage OK"
lights on all the voltage lines.
It is according to a man who is knowing, incredibly sturdy and used with
defense systems all over the country.
But testing a linear supply is trivial.
So why not do it?
TRIVIAL? All the leads running into the PSU are *BOLTED* on two
large
bars labelled -5V and +5V. I had no tools at the time. The PSU itself is
inside the rack and there it will stay until I get it out, which I'm not
going to, because the thing is held in place by numerous screws and is
shit-heavy. If I got the screws loose, it would probably crash down on
the CPU.
If you let the magic smoke out of the computer, it's too late...
In this case,
no magic smoke as expected.
But access to a complete array of spares if nessecary. Oh, and the CPU
is built in TTL logic, so no hard-to-get spares. (Not that magic smoke
is *desirable*!)
I stand by my desicion to test the PDP-7, and not to test the Nord-10/S.
--
Tore S Bekkedal <toresbe(a)ifi.uio.no>