Mastodawn

This TRS-80 Model I was an import from Canada. It was a hopeless case, having been stripped of its ROMs and left for dead. Its journey back to the land of the living took well over a month, and I replaced a total of 28 ICs in just the main unit itself. I'll be writing about this fella's revival, and my modifications, in the future, as well. #TRS80 #retrocomputing

I've collected a few things since my posting dried up here: I bought this Osborne 1 at #VCFSW in Dallas, and spent almost a month getting it running again. I'll be doing writeups on its repair when I get time. #retrocomputing

I came back from #VCFMW with a few things beyond a case of COVID: A Kaypro 2X, and a MicroMaster 8000 8085 CPU trainer. #retrocomputing

VCFMW was a blast! Definitely my favorite VCF so far -- I met lots of cool folks, saw lots of cool hardware, and caught lots of cool COVID! Worth it, though. This was my exhibit: A packet radio link between an Altair and an Osborne 1. #retrocomputing

Although a promising improvement over its previous behavior, this is not optimal. As an aside, the Osborne 1 is very floppy and saggy without its exoskeleton. #RetroComputing

Get your HOT TANTS here! Hot and juicy, cooked to order!
...
After replacing this shorted tantalum capacitor and confirming that the power rails were once again healthy, it was time for another smoke test.

Finding the fault the old fashioned way... BURN IT