Fix It Yourself

by Robert Bernardo

As a lad growing up in the 1960's, I was exposed to computers via the television medium. Going to the
movies was out of the question, and so I sat close to the flickering TV screen, absorbing the way in
which humans and computers interacted. One of my earliest recollections was watching the movie,
Kronos. It was a movie produced in the early 1950's on a B-movie budget, but it was filled with
wondrous sights for a kid like me-- a skyscraper-sized robot rampaging through the countryside; the
heroes in pursuit of it through use of a helicopter; lots of showy, electrical effects; and the use of a
building-sized computer. The computer displayed its readings via gauges on a wall and sent information
to the humans by a paper (tickertape) printout. The scientist heroes would affectionately dub the
behemoth computer some female name (Matilda, Jessie, Joanie?), speak to it in soothing tones, and
receive vital information from it. When the computer became cantankerous, a few, gentle words and
some twisting of the knobs would straighten it out.

1967 and my parents had their first color television. I plopped myself in front of the set and watched the
very first episode of Star Trek. I didn't understand why the alien planet sky was red; I fiddled with the
TV's color controls, but I never did get the sky to be blue. However, I did understand when Mr. Spock
used the computers on board the starship Enterprise every week. The computers gave answers to
things which the crew members could not easily determine. To my innocent, 12-year old mind, the
Enterprise computers had to be real; they were full of multi-colored blinking lights and buttons, they had
visual readouts, they even spoke. When they broke down, Mr. Spock or Scotty would have to crawl
underneath the consoles and open up access panels in order to repair computer boards. After a bit of
thinking from Mr. Spock or a few choice words from Scotty, and after a bit of fiddling with the boards,
the Enterprise computers would straighten themselves out in order to aide Captain Kirk and company
in defeating the week's alien menace.

1983 and I bought my first Commodore computer. No, it was not the size of an office building nor did
it have multi-colored blinking lights and buttons. No, it would not give me information on how to
destroy giant robots nor tell me how to solve matters of galactic import. But here was something
tangible... something I could touch and affect, and it would affect me in the way it responded. And if the
Commodore didn't want to act properly, all I had to do was to work with the connecting cables or
correct an errant tape/disk, or at most, replace the power supply.

My first major problem happened in 1986 with my C-128 computer and 1571 disk drive. I was using
the new spreadsheet, Vizastar 128, to do grades, and a few nights before the grades were due, the
1571 refused to read the grades disk. In fact, it refused to load or save to any disk. In a panic, I
mail-ordered for a new C-128D and sent the 1571 to the nearest Commodore service center at the
time. Massive failure! The entire disk mechanism had to be replaced.

Since that time, I've slowly but surely become more self-reliant in repairs. It certainly helps to have a
handy reference sheet, like the Commodore Diagnostician. I still solder, making big blobs of cold solder
joints. However, if it's something that can be plugged in, like socketed integrated circuits, then there's
no problem. Pop out the old IC, and plug in the new one. Speaking of IC's, it's good to have a few
around or a source from which to buy the IC's. I have one or two C-64's that I use for parts. Most
frequently, the 6581/8520 SID chips or the 6526 CIA chips fail in my machines. With no new
production of the SID chips, prices are rising on remaining stock. Creative Micro Designs has them,
Jameco Electronics in Los Angeles area may have them, and most Commodore clubs have a "technical
expert" who usually has some used ones on hand.

Finding a source for parts can be like a scavenger hunt; you'll never know where or what you'll find. A
few weeks ago at school I received an Mendelson Electronic Co., Inc., (MECI) parts catalog. What
was in it? Among the various close-out items were new Commodore-compatible joysticks and
Commodore-adaptable printer buffers. Enthused at my find, I picked up the latest Nuts & Volts
magazine from Barnes & Noble Bookstore. Nuts & Volts is a magazine for the electronic hobbyist who
likes to build projects. The magazine also contains many advertisements for all kinds of electronic
doodads from various electronic parts companies. Within its pages I was able to find more joysticks,
Commodore-specific chips, and even Commodore SFD-1001 disk drive cases and mechanisms (but
no controller boards). HSC Electronics in Sacramento is a veritable goldmine: bins of resistors, IC's,
transistors, power supplies, and Commodore-specific or Commodore-adaptable parts, and much more
(though these tend to be old PC boards, monitors, and even complete systems).

With these sources out there and with some research, you too can fix your Commodore. Even if you
can't lift a finger to replace a part, you can give your friendly service tech an idea of where to go to get
a part. Then you can feel one with the old sci-fi heroes of the movies and TV. You can feel that you're
fixing your computer.

From The Interface, newsletter of Fresno Commodore User Group, via the Commodore Information
Center, http://home.att.net/~rmestel/commodore.html