rthurlow@van-bc.UUCP (Rob Thurlow) (01/26/89)
Has anybody had any hardware problems with a Magic Sac? I bought a used Magic Sac I awhile ago, and plugged it in before I realized the power was on on my keyboard. And sure enough, it didn't work when I tried to run it. Well, I had visions of having toasted the Mac ROMs, but new ROMs failed to fix the problem, and furthermore, my ROMs worked in another fellows Magic Sac Plus. Now, I'm a bit lucky here - there are only five components in a Magic Sac I: two Mac ROMs, a capacitor, a 74LS32 and a 74LS541. Well, I believe my ROMs are okay, and I just pulled the LS parts out of there and put in sockets and new chips. BUT IT STILL DOESN'T WORK! Now, I admit that I have not replaced the damned capacitor, but I'm getting pretty PO'ed here. I'm out of ideas here, folks. Has ANYBODY got any ideas on what to look for or what to try? And has anybody ever had Data Pacific look at one of these things out of warranty? I'd appreciate help; right now I have visions of $180 CDN becoming my 1989 stupidity tax. E-mail is best!
rthurlow@van-bc.UUCP (Rob Thurlow) (01/26/89)
Dammit, if it was going to turf my expanded signature, why didn't it give me
the option of fixing it before it sent the article without one? It's not
my day for dealing with machines. Here is my signature:
--
"There was something fishy about the butler. I think he was a
Pisces, probably working for scale." - Nick Danger
Robert Thurlow {uunet,ubc-cs}!van-bc!rthurlow
Vancouver, BC, Canada or rthurlow@van-bc.UUCP
In the heart of Kitsilano or rthurlow@wimsey.bc.caBob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com (01/29/89)
Rob Thurlow writes: >Has anybody had any hardware problems with a Magic Sac? I bought a used >Magic Sac I awhile ago, and plugged it in before I realized the power was >on on my keyboard. And sure enough, it didn't work when I tried to run it. (more deleted..) Just a couple of "diagnostic" questions... You indicated that it's a Magic Sac I.. are you trying to run it using the software that originally came with it..? Or are you using a newer version of the Magic Sac software..? The new software won't work with the old cartridge... (You may still be able to trade the cart in on a Sac+, call Data Pacific and ask.. you'd be a lot happier with the new setup anyway..) You can probably send the cartridge back to Data Pacific to be checked out, but they'll probably charge you for the service. Can you describe what happens (or doesn't happen) when you try to run the Magic Sac..? Lastly, have you tried your friend's Magic Sac in YOUR computer..? It might not be the cartridge that got toasted..! BobR (I know you don't want to hear it, but you'd be a LOT happier with a Spectre!)
rthurlow@van-bc.UUCP (Rob Thurlow) (01/30/89)
Well, my stupidity tax has been deferred until another time. My Magic Sac I works again! I originally reduced it to a doorstop by plugging it into my ST with the power on, and later testing determined that the ROMs were working fine in another Sac, so last week I doggedly desoldered the 74LS32 and the 74LS541 in the cartridge and soldered in new sockets and dropped in new TTL chips. I did replace both, because the first swap didn't seem to help, but when I was done, the thing was still a blue-and-grey stick. Boy, was I not a happy person at that point! So today I got Sozobon 'C' out and dusted off, and wrote a 'C' program to read the cartridge port and dump the info to a file. I had a ROM image from a set of Mac ROMs to compare the thing to, and when I finally had a good look, the ROMs were clearly swapped. Rule: never trust the manual; I followed the Magic Sac Plus docs religiously, and checked the order lots of times, but it was lying to me (maybe they did the Magic Sac I differently). For all the time a quick swap would have saved me, I should have done it a long time ago. I do think I fried something at some point, because I bought it in working condition and didn't mess with the ROMs until it didn't work. Anyway, the thing works again, and I can at last start playing with it. And I've got all the chips socketed now in case of future disaster. In article <14043@cup.portal.com> Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com writes: >You indicated that it's a Magic Sac I.. are you trying to run it using the >software that originally came with it..? Or are you using a newer version of >the Magic Sac software..? The new software won't work with the old >cartridge... I'll keep that in mind; I got an update from another fellow purporting to be the latest and greatest, and itturns out to be the same version 6.1 that I'm running with. But given what's in there (lots of empty space), I don't see what could really get in the way. >(I know you don't want to hear it, but you'd be a LOT happier with a Spectre!) Well, I think I'll be able to have some fun with this. I'm a lot happier than I was a few days ago! Thanks for the note. -- "There was something fishy about the butler. I think he was a Pisces, probably working for scale." - Nick Danger Robert Thurlow {uunet,ubc-cs}!van-bc!rthurlow Vancouver, BC, Canada or rthurlow@van-bc.UUCP In the heart of Kitsilano or rthurlow@wimsey.bc.ca
dlm@druhi.ATT.COM (Dan Moore) (01/31/89)
in article <2179@van-bc.UUCP>, rthurlow@van-bc.UUCP (Rob Thurlow) says: > here. I'm out of ideas here, folks. Has ANYBODY got any ideas on what to > look for or what to try? And has anybody ever had Data Pacific look at one > of these things out of warranty? I'd appreciate help; right now I have > visions of $180 CDN becoming my 1989 stupidity tax. When I was at Data Pacific there was a flat $25 fee to repair, replace or upgrade a Magic Sac cartridge. As far as I know that is still their policy. Dan Moore AT&T Bell Labs Denver dlm@druhi.ATT.COM dlm@druwy.ATT.COM
dlm@druhi.ATT.COM (Dan Moore) (02/01/89)
in article <14043@cup.portal.com>, Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com says: > You indicated that it's a Magic Sac I.. are you trying to run it using the > software that originally came with it..? Or are you using a newer version of > the Magic Sac software..? The new software won't work with the old > cartridge... (You may still be able to trade the cart in on a Sac+, call > Data Pacific and ask.. you'd be a lot happier with the new setup anyway..) All versions of the Magic Sac software, including version 6.1 (the latest, and the last) will work with both Magic Sac I and Magic Sac Plus cartridges. The only real difference between a I and a Plus is the clock, if you don't need a clock it isn't worth the bother to upgrade the cartridge. Dan Moore AT&T Bell Labs Denver dlm@druhi.ATT.COM dlm@druwy.ATT.COM
schuster@dasys1.UUCP (Michael Schuster) (02/02/89)
In article <2179@van-bc.UUCP> rthurlow@van-bc.UUCP (Rob Thurlow) writes: >Has anybody had any hardware problems with a Magic Sac? I bought a used >Magic Sac I awhile ago, and plugged it in before I realized the power was >on on my keyboard. And sure enough, it didn't work when I tried to run it. The later Magic Sac software will only work on the Magic Sac Plus. The hardware difference is a clock circuit which was Dave's form of hardware copy protection. Since the Magic Sac support software took a quantum leap in compatibility after that point, your Magic Sac I is not very useful. I have a Plus that has sat unused for a very long time ... if it comes to that, I could be persuaded to part with mine, as well as my Translator One. -- l\ /l' _ Mike Schuster ...!dasys1!schuster l \/ lll/(_ Big Electric Cat schuster@dasys1.UUCP l lll\(_ New York, NY USA DELPHI,GEnie:MSCHUSTER CIS:70346,1745
landay@cory.Berkeley.EDU (James A. Landay) (02/03/89)
In article <8534@dasys1.UUCP> schuster@dasys1.UUCP (Michael Schuster) writes: >The later Magic Sac software will only work on the Magic Sac Plus. The >hardware difference is a clock circuit which was Dave's form of hardware >copy protection. Since the Magic Sac support software took a quantum leap in >compatibility after that point, your Magic Sac I is not very useful. > >I have a Plus that has sat unused for a very long time ... if it comes to >that, I could be persuaded to part with mine, as well as my Translator One. > >-- >l\ /l' _ Mike Schuster ...!dasys1!schuster >l \/ lll/(_ Big Electric Cat schuster@dasys1.UUCP >l lll\(_ New York, NY USA DELPHI,GEnie:MSCHUSTER CIS:70346,1745 I have had a Magic Sac I for a very long time and I have the latest software (as of October) from Data Pacific and it works fine. The only difference between the two is the clock. James A. Landay ARPA: landay@cory.berkeley.edu ..!ucbvax!cory!landay