benjamin@ISI.EDU (David Benjamin) (12/02/89)
[This got a bit long; skip if you're not interested in repairs...] My C64 died in transit. Having previously used an authorized repair facility for a 1541 disk drive, I would prefer some alternative. Hopefully, I could fix it myself. I want to tap into net.wisdom about the likelihood of correctly diagnosing my current problem (and commodore hardware problems in general) on my own without the aid of an oscilliscope or logic analyser. In RUN magazine I saw ads for parts (including the PLA) and also an ad for a diagnostic aid. This last ad did not say what kind of test equipment I would need if I bought their $7 product. As another ad said I could mail the motherboard for repair for $35 + $5 shipping, I could loose $$ by mis-diagnosing myself. If I paid the $7 for the diagnostician and $12 for a part and then had to try again, I would have been better off with a $40 repair job. Unfortunately, my problem is worse than a faulty i/o chip where you get enough working to be able to diagnose via software/behavior. About four seconds after power-up, I get an all lt. blue screen with no text. For the sake of others who or may experience hardware problems, has anyone had success with home diagnosis? What reference materials and test equipment are needed? Does the reference give an easy-to-follow troubleshooting chart? What percentage of common problems can be accurately diagnosed with just a VOM? By the way, my work is in the area of AI and diagnosis of electrical circuits so I have a lot of interest in seeing what clever ways exist to shorten the time and cost (such as mistakenly replacing working parts) of a diagnosis. If you send to me directly, I will summarize to the net (given enough interest). Thanks in advance for any war stories and suggestions you send me! David Internet: benjamin@isi.edu Usenet (I hope): uunet!benjamin%isi.edu