pa1575@sdcc15.ucsd.edu (pa1575) (02/03/89)
Does anyone know a better solution to a flaky MMU/GLUE soket besides the "three inch solution" in BYTE a few years ago. My ST has been debilitated twice in three months to extent that had to open it up and push the chips hard to reseat them. Ug . Now I am getting the flaky 0 files message that we have all come to know and love. I do have a chip clip that came with the machine but .... Any answer would be appreciated. Atari? Users? C. Squibby Breyman squibby@sddo.ucsd.edu I like my ST for small applications. I am not going to suggest that it even be considered for serious processing applications(computer music synthesis) "Mom, I want to be a registered nurse"--- 'Dueling Banjos' by Nurse with Wound
hcj@lzaz.ATT.COM (HC Johnson) (02/03/89)
In article <1029@sdcc15.ucsd.edu>, pa1575@sdcc15.ucsd.edu (pa1575) writes: > Does anyone know a better solution to a flaky MMU/GLUE soket besides > the "three inch solution" in BYTE a few years ago. My ST has been > debilitated twice in three months to extent that had to open it up > and push the chips hard to reseat them. Ug . Now I am getting the > flaky 0 files message that we have all come to know and love. I do > have a chip clip that came with the machine but .... I've two experiences with this kind of problem, on the Atari 800 and ST. The underlying problem is that chips in sockets make imperfect connections. Most chips, including all with tinned (silver colored) pins are meant to be soldered, and will oxidize in a socket. The easiest fix is to : 1. remove the chip. 2. clean its pins (or bumps for a MMU) with care. NO sandpaper, but rubbing with a cloth is useful. 3. reinsert the chip. The sliding of the contacts across each other is the important part. The ST has 2 chips that are square, like the MMU. The contact pressure on the chip is quite low, so it is also possible that there is such a poor contact that it doesn't clean up when the chip is pressed back in. There is no pat solution to this. Howard C. Johnson ATT Bell Labs ...lzaz!hcj
fjmora@CS.WM.EDU (Fredric Mora) (02/24/89)
In message dated 3 Feb 89 07:28:44 GMT, C. Squibby Breyman, who seemed to be pissed off by hardware problems, writes: > I like my ST for small applications. I am not going to > suggest that it even be considered for serious processing > applications(computer music synthesis) As I did not see the smile sign, I assume Mr. Breyman is doing some bashing here. I'll not put here the figures of the North-American MIDI market, but the ST holds about 35% of this market, more than any competitor. Now, if you want some references, here are some people who use our not-for-serious-user-computer just for that: Fleetwood Mac (despite the name:-) ), Pointer Sisters, Tangerine Dream, Jean-Michel Jarre (of Houston mega-show fame). I personally saw an ST be used in the street by musicians performing at a festival, and the 1040's were NOT tenderly handled (and that's a mild understatement). In 3 months of daily rough handling, no problem showdd. And the ST's were already a year old. So don't blame the whole line for a small percentage of bad sockets. About quality control, I witnessed a spontaneous combustion of an IBM PC-AT (IBM, folks! Not a cheap clone!) motherboard which fried under our horrified gaze. It was 2 or 3 year old. Moral: even brand computers can have faulty chips or mechanical parts. About components quality: a few years ago, I was working at a chip factory making 68000's under Motorola license. One day, a commercial guy came to our technical support office, fuming: he had a discussion with an Atari representative about a batch of 68000 CPUs and he was furious because the price asked by Atari ($6 apiece or so) was about the production price! He made us understand was he thought about those toy makers who want to buy so cheap and therefore sacrifice quality. Then, a few days later, the same commercial guy had a meeting with an executive from Apple. Serious company, high-end hardware, this would be a grrreat contract.... The guy came back, almost crying. Apple wanted the 68000's at $5.50 apiece. "Any similarity with real company would be a far-fetched coincidence." Come on, Squibby, flame the ST for what it deserves flaming (mostly week support from Atari), but recognize its good technical standing. Regards, Frederic Mora GEnie: The College of William and Mary F.MORA Dept. of Computer Science INTERNET: Williamsburg, VA. 23185 fjmora@cs.wm.edu USA ************************************************************************** * * * "Was uns nicht toetet, macht uns staerker." * * Friedrich Nietzsche * * What does not kill us makes us stronger * * * ************************************************************************** - Come, come, little line eater, I won't harm you (evil grin)... - Come, come, little line eater, I won't harm you (evil grin)... - Come, come, little line eater, I won't harm you (evil grin)...