| COMPUTARIUM LCD |
|
| WORKS |
This page is about ongoing works of the Computarium crew. Newest items are on top.
| What? | Who? | Description | State |
| EXORCISER Copy Station |
Massen Francis (Jun 2020) |
This is the definitive form of our Exorciser-Copy-Station.
A single AT286 is used to interact with the Exorciser (serial, 9600 N 8 1)
using TELIX; the copying is done with the same machine using Dave Dunfield's
Imagedisk (or other software). Writing an iimage to a 8" floppy works good,
but sometimes floppies that are read into a file show errors when booting on
the Exorciser. I guess the time of head-scratching is not yet quite over...
if it will anytime!
The TFT Miracle monitor is a rare MDA/CGA/EGA device (still sold for an horrendous price) ; it would be nicer to use a vintage CRT-terminal, but these beasts take too much of the available space. |
flux state... |
| SANYO MBC-555 |
Massen Francis (Jun 2020) |
 Mr. Georges Eicher donated a rare Sanyo MBC-555 computer from 1982. This is a 8088 8 bit machine which was sold below 1000 US$, a world-first sensation. It is not quite "IBM comptaible", as a part of the BIOS is on the floppy disk (there are 2 drives, no HD). We received the machine without any software, and booting with a standard MSDOS or IBM DOS disk is futile. So I looked around to find a master image of the boot disk, and found one in .TD0 format. Using the excellent LIBDSK software suite, much tinkering and head scratching, I finally was able to make a real boot disk (also using CopyIIPC). The Sanyo works like a charm, and is in excellent condition. BTW the 2 floppy drives also are not quite standard! |
Done! |
| 8" drives on PC |
Massen Francis (May 2020) |
I finally was able to have some success reading and
writing 8" disks from a PC (actually formatting, reading into an image,
writing image on the disk). It took quite some time, and I was close to
abandon this. Using the DBit FDADAP adapter and 8" PS (actually a DC/DC
board), I can now connect to a vintage BASF 6104 drive (DSDD, see first
picture; we received this drive as a donation in 2005) and a still older
SHUGART 800-2 (SSSD, ~1977, 2nd picture, salvaged from Jean Mootz's attic).
This would not have been possible without the outstanding suite IMAGEDISK of Dave Dunfield; his software by-passes the OS (here DOS 6.20) and sends commands directly to the floppy disk controller (FDC), so that the whole bunch of parameters can be individually set. A BIG problem is finding an FDC capable of SD (single density). None of the "newer" integrated controller chips can do this. I have a couple (not many) in stock and finally choose after many tests a combi ISA FDC&HDC controller board from Adaptec (ST506 ATA two cable type, not an SCSI board!), whose FDC chip is known and was tested being capable of SD. As a final test I tried to make an image from an MDOS 2.20 Exorciser disk (SSSD) and write it back on another disk...and ho...Exorciser boots fine from this!
One problem is that I do not have many SD 8" floppy disks in the collection, so if you have still some of these dinosaurs lying around, please send me a word (francis.massen@education.lu). This is one of the big joyful moments in retro-computing life, which makes one forget the long hours spent, and also the many adventures which ended unsuccessfully! |
Most important part done, some cosmetic work remaining. |
| MOTOROLA EXORCISER System (1978) |
Massen Francis (May 2020) |
In 2005 we received from the LTAM (Lycée Technique des
Arts et Métiers) a complete Motorola Exorciser
system (6800 based) with MPU, Exorciser II (dual 8" floppy system),
EXORterm150 (terminal) and a printer. I never had the time to correctly look
into this jewel, and started now. The MPU boots into EXBUG 1.2, executes the
MAID command etc... The EXORterm150 has problems, possibly with a half-dead
keyboard encoder. Many keys are not working, but data sent is shown on the
screen. I replaced it for the moment by a vintage laptop running TELIX, and
communication with E-7-1 1200 runs fine. I really must built a 8" copying station asap; I have most material to do, just lacking time, as always... |
Ongoing work.... By an uncredible luck I found one 8" diskette in drive :1 (the second drive), and it was bootable after probably more than 35 years containing MDOS 2.2. After some tinkering, I was able to make backups and generate new MDOS disks (DOSGEN command). MDOS is not MSDOS, but a different beast (Motorola DOS). Thank you "Jacob Schneider" (= name on the label), the anonymous benefactor who forgot this diskette and saved the world! |
| Small calculators, software registration |
Massen Francis (Apr-May 2020) |
I am busy upgrading the virtual museum part 3e (pocket
calculators and misc.) and part 3d (mostly PDA's). In doing this, I repaired
quite a couple of calculators that where flagged as "not working".
Most of the times the problem were bad and corroded contacts, or the need to
make an alternative power supply. I often now attach a cable with an USB
power connector, if voltages are around 4.8 - 5 VDC. Than many photos are
made again, often with a supplementary peeking into the open calculator.
This is heavy work, which needs considerable time. On another line I nearly finished the database with all vintage software in our collection (on 5.25", 3.5" disks and on CD/DVD's). We also have a lot of MO (magneto-optical) disks, which a time ago were hyped as the "eternal" backup medium.. well, that seems to have been over-optimistic! The registration of these disks will be done asap. |
Ongoing work |
| COMPAQ AP500 workstation |
Massen Francis (Mar 2020) |
 We received quite a lot of vintage Compaq workstations, and all need some tinkering. Most gruesome was the AP500, a sturdy and very heavy workstation from 1999. It's BIOS battery was flat, and horribile est dictu, the guys at Compaq had soldered the coin-cell straight onto the motherboard (metallic contacts were cold-welded to the cell and than soldered to the mainboard). I cut the lower fixation and soldered two wires going to an AA battery-case to the pads. How could such an expensive machine have a such terrible design-fault? (or was this planned obsolescence?). I installed W2k+SP4 on the SCSI disk, and the beast runs very smoothly. |
Done. |
| MADAS_AV repaired |
Massen Francis (Jan 2020) |
 In 2019 Mr. Vic Kolb donated a vintage MADAS 20AV electromechanical calculator (serial 35527, this type was built from 1930 to 1940) which was used in the 1930's by the engineers of the Arbed steelworks in Dudelange, Luxembourg. The machine did not work at all. Thorough cleaning and tinkering has brought it now into a 3/4 working condition: addition, subtraction and automatic division are ok, but I was unable to get the automatic multiplication to work correctly. So we will leave it as is (at least for the moment being). You might look here for an outstanding web-site on the Swiss MADAS calculators.. |
Done. |
| Small Videotex player for Minitel |
Massen Francis (Jan 2020) |
I built a second stand-alone (external) player trying to cram everything in a much smaller case (14cm*8cm) as the first one. This model uses a Raspberry Pi Zero (see upper border), a small open-frame 220VAC/5VDC power supply (right side) and a USB/serial converter (TTL levels) with the Prolific chip. The prototyping board holds both this chip and the 1-transistor level adapter. The white Y-connector is a kludge because I could not find a small enough non-DIN power socket. |
Done. |
| MAGIS Club Minitel with broken case |
Massen Francis (Dec 2019) |
I auctioned at eBAY a rather rare MAGIS Club Minitel, probably built in 2002 (agreement date is 2000). This was one of the last models, with a very stylish case and a hinged keyboard. The vendor alas made a very poor inside packaging, so that the plastic case and many items inside the Minitel were broken (more than 35 different pieces! see upper picture.); the keyboard with the front plate was ripped off. By extraordinary luck, the electronics remained in working condition. It took some hours to repair the case and many fixations inside, as for instance the magnetic compensation ring on the collar of the CRT tube. The "repaired" beautiful Magis Club works fine and remains quite sexy. |
Done |
| Minitel 1 from 1985 gets inside Videotex player |
Massen Francis (Nov 2019) |
Instead adding an outside box, I tried to cram everything
inside this older Minitel1 case (which has more inside room than the Telic
models). I used a Raspberry Pi Zero, an open-frame 220VAC/5VDC power supply
and the usual stuff. Switching the Minitel on starts the slideshow in a
loop. |
Done. |
| TRS-80 Model 1 repair |
Massen Francis (Nov 2019) |
Joel Francois donated his father's first computer, but alas, the
screen showed only garbage.
Replacing the Ram chips did not help, as the
replacement of the few other chips on sockets. I was lucky to stumble on an
excellent article from Marc Brumlik, a former repair technician for TANDY:
"How to diagnose and repair a TRS-80 Model 1" (link).
In this article the exact misbehavior of the computer was described
(pressing the key B shows J), and the cause is a faulty video Ram
(2102 chip, static, 1kbit). These video chips are soldered in, so it took
some work to remove the chip, solder in a socket and put in a 2102 chip from
a defunct 8K memory board of one of our SWTPC computers. Click for very
short video of repaired computer. |
Done. |
| Videotex player for Minitel |
Massen Francis (Nov 2019) |
Building a standalone player to show original vintage
Minitel pages on a real Minitel. I used the excellent background and
Python programs by Zigazou,
as well as his on-line creator of Minitel pages (miedit). The player
software is an extremely cut-down version of Zigazou's program, with a few
simple modifications. The device is located in one box (a recup) with a
Raspberry Pi; no changes are made to the Minitel: the box has a power and
DIN sockets for the Minitel, and it auto-starts when connecting to the
220VAC power outlet. I will try to use a lite version of Raspbian, and to test if a RPI Zero will also do the job. Look
here
for a first video of the running player...
|
Basics done. |
|
1. MODICON MICRO PLC
2. Minitel as a terminal for the Raspberry Pi |
Massen Francis (Nov 2019) |
1. The rack with the Modicon Micro (612 CPU, outputs all
relay driven) has been modified for better access to the GND and 24V power
rails. The "running lights" program has been modified to allow action
exclusively using the hardware switches, as well to define the bit pattern
and to load, run and stop the program. Program is in RAM, and demo does not
need any computer. Ongoing work with the A350 PLC (with the help of Felix Hansen). 2. I finally found the time to make this happen, following an excellent text by jcquentin (see doc). Works like a charm! Pictures show the interface for the USB serial (TTL) connection and the login screen of Raspbian Buster.
|
Done.
Done. |
| Lighting: old fluorescent tubes replaced by LED's |
Massen Francis (Oct 2019) |
 The Computarium was always very "resource-conscious": our main lighting were design lamps from the 1960's originally used in one of the LCD cantines and removed in 2009 for being sent to the scrap yard. Luckily I was able to salvage them for our Computarium rooms, where they are in action since 2009. The fluorescent tubes (FT) lamps were very inefficient, and the coils became burning hot. So we decided to replace the FT tubes by LED tubes, and our lycée takes over the cost. Replacement is simple in theory, but not in practice: many of the plastic tube sockets are broken by age and heat, and can not be replaced as these models do not exist anymore. So when needed the light tubes are fitted with screw joints and the broken sockets removed. |
Going on. |
| Repairing a TIM Unitas II (slider model) |
Klein Jean-Paul Massen Francis (Sep 2019) |
 I auctioned a vintage Tim Unitas II calculator (the model with sliders, serial 05753) to complement our collection of Unitas II machines (we have the older wooden case model and the newer keyboard model). The machine was sold as defective, and it was in a bad state. Somebody has dropped it, so the upper carriage was bent and did not slide through, the right indicator on the upper carriage blocked and the crank is broken away. Some prudent work with a hammer and a Dremel grating disk restored the machine to full function. We were not able to fix a new crank, as the remaining hardened steel stub is (for the moment) impossible to remove. The machine can be operated with a screw-driver; not aesthetic but it works. It is a great machine to show the stepped drum and the engaging wheel, as the front cover is very easy to remove . |
Done, except crank. |
| Installing a AEG MODICON PLC system |
Massen Francis (June 2019) |
Mr. Felix Hansen donated a rack containing a A350 Modicon
PLC (=Programmable Logic Controller = industrial computer) and two separate
A120 micro models, with DOS based software (Modsoft_AKF) on a Compaq
Presario and a lot of documentation. I transferred the software to a vintage
Maxdata laptop, changed the rack to contain the laptop and one A120 Modicon
Micro (with the 612CPU), seen above the laptop. The A120 runs fine, the AKF
software is similar to the Simatic S5 one (both follow the IEC 61131
standard). |
Work in progress. |
| Awakening an old software on a vintage Apple II |
Mathgen Georges Massen Francis (March 2019) |
 Georges Mathgen wrote in the 1982-85 a complicated program of thermal calculations, running on the Apple II. Today we managed to revive this software on his own Apple II after 34 years. The software uses both 5.25" drives (disk 1 and 2) and many of the Beagle Bros routines for graphics. Two other pictures here and here. |
Done |
| Reinstalling and making a Magnetic Storage wall |
Massen Francis, Claude du Fays, Jean-Claude Krack |
As the roof repairs (new Vela windows installed) is
finished for the moment, we started to put the Computarium on rails again.
There will be some changes in the exhibit, one being removing too much
clutter and creating a wall which holds the different magnetic storage
technologies as hard-disks, floppies and tapes. Here a picture of the
ongoing work:
|
ongoing. |
| BRAILLE Printing Station |
Massen Francis (Apr 2018) |
Finished mounting the Braille Printing Station,
which allows to demonstrate Braille printing on a Index Braille Everest
Printer (model V2) from the early 2000's (this model was manufactured from
1995 to 2003). The sound-proof cabinet has been mounted on
wheels and risen up, so that a vintage Maxdata laptop running Win2k and Word2000 can be
comfortably used to write and print a text. This is a printout of a well known two-liner much in use for checking telecommunications (hint: it speaks of a fox and a dog!). Look if you can decode the characters limited by the blue lines (one character is represented by a dot structure in a 3x2 matrix (3 lines, two columns). |
Done. |
| DEC PDP8/i emulator |
Massen Francis (March 2018) |
 I finished building the PiDP8i kit that I ordered in 2016 during the Vintage Computer Festival in Berlin from Oscar Vermeulen and didn't find time to assemble. The kit represents the original console of the DEC PDP 8/I in miniature (300mm x 150mm) with all its switches and lamps. Inside works a Raspberry Pi ZeroW with Raspbian Jessie Lite and the SIMH emulator modified by Oscar Vermeulen and Warren Young (see here and here) emulating OS/8. The kit will be driven by the original ASR-33 TTY, which creates some problems as this old machine is CAPITALS-ONLY and 100 baud. Everything works fine with an old RS232 laptop and Teraterm, the last test with the real TTY will be done asap. |
Done (for the kit) Work going on for the full system. |
| ASR-33 TTY sold by Teleprint(Germany) |
Baumann Claude Heirendt Colette Massen Francis (March 2018) |
 The TTY (serial 325032) is like new, having only 84 hours on the counter. Notice that this model (code is UK804DRE) has a call unit that is quite different from the mess usually seen in US models, and has a sturdy big transformer. Everything runs ok, but the tape reader which worked two or 3 times, remains unresponsive. The search for the malfunction is going on... ...and our member Claude Baumann found the problem: no malfunction, but simply a very sensitive tape out switch which tripped when the tape was fed in from above (and not from below). Preparation work to drive the TTY through a Raspberry Pi Zero, leaving all GPIO pins available for a yet to be assembled PiDP8i kit, is successful, and preliminary tests show the PI0 can serially connect via a Prolific USB-serial cable at the low 110 baud speed. |
Going on... |
| Serial communication between Z88 notebook and other computers. |
Massen Francis (Jan 2018) |
The Z88 has a DB9 non-standard RS232 connector;
communication was a bit fiddly to work in two directions. A five-wire cable
with some bridges on one end does the work. Sending a BASIC program into the
Z88 is best done by using a CLI command in its Basic, which takes the data
stream entering through the serial connector as if it was typed on the
keyboard. Picture of the Z88 here. |
Done. |
| MACINTOSH SuperDrive floppy |
Massen Francis (Dec 2017) |
 I salvaged a Superdrive floppy from a dead MAC IIsx to replace a non-functional floppy drive in a MAC LC. The drive was dirty beyond imagination. Tedious cleaning, removing tussle, dust and hair and a tiny drop of oil cured the beast, which is now again capable to Read/Write/Format 400/800/1440 kB diskettes (using System 7.1) |
Done. |
| Washing and cleaning our Snoopies |
Heirendt Colette (Dec 2017) |
 Colette is busy cleaning the last batches of Jean Mootz's Snoopies, so that they may be displayed in a second cabinet. The picture shows the state before and after tumble-washing a beagle: quite a difference! |
Work going on |
| MERCEDES-EUKLID Model 21 |
Massen Francis (Nov 2017) |
The Mercedes-Euklid M21 (see April 2017) refused to correctly make the automatic division, after I had removed the carriage for inspection. Help finally came from Prof. Christel Hamann (see his excellent web site here) and M. Rainer Bruns, who sent me the copies from technical pages which showed that I had constantly reassembled the carriage without respecting mandatory steps (unknown to me). | Done. |
| MERCEDES-EUKLID Model 30 |
Massen Francis (Nov 2017) |
 Repaired a Mercedes-Euklid M30 electro-mechanical calculator auctioned at eBAY, which constantly ran into a blocked state. The main cause was dirt gathered around the keys which did not always engage properly, so that a misaligned toothed wheel blocked the proportional levers. I had to dismount all key-columns, which is relatively easy.The M30 has no automatic division. |
Done. |
| RS232 file transfer between Husky Hunter16 and PC |
Massen Francis (Nov 2017) |
As usual the RS232 transfer was a bit tricky to set up,
as the usual settings of the COM port through the inbuilt utility was
ignored by the HCOM software, which insisted on a 38400 bit/s default speed.
The serial cable is extremely simple: 3 wires are all what's needed! |
Done. |
| Repairing a Continental S9 printing calculator. |
Massen Francis (Oct 2017) |
 A vintage (probably ~1937) printing calculator from the famous Wanderer Werke (Chemnitz-Schönau in Saxony, Germany) was donated by C. Baumann. The looks of the machine are very good, but several number rods were stuck and did not move. Repair was easy, the most difficult part being two very tenacious screws resisting to loosen. |
Done. |
| Repairing an IBM 29/59 card puncher/verifier from 1964 |
Massen Francis (Sep 2017) |
 In 2010 we received an old IBM 29 card puncher; a quick test at that moment showed that the machine was not working. After seeing a similar system running at the Computer History Museum in Mountainview (California) I decided to try a "repair". After two days, the first result is that the feeding/transporting mechanism works again (see very short video). There is a serious problem with the keyboard, so I am not sure that a complete restoration will be feasible. |
Work going on |
| An vintage electrotherapy device. |
Massen Francis (Jul 2017) |
I found another portable electrotherapy device in the
legacy of Jean Mootz; he had repaired it, but then cut off the power-wires
so that the device was not working. I "repaired" it by adding a new battery
holder and replacing Jean's rather ugly screws by more stylish ones. After
some cleaning the device works beautifully, and the electrical shocks it
delivers can be quite invigorating! The instrument will be used as a
"vintage-atmosphere" enhancement for the Computarium. |
Done. |
| A SNOOPIE's cabinet |
Heirendt Colette Massen Francis (Jun 2017) |
 We installed on the 3rd floor a new cabinet with a subset of Jean Mootz's collection of Snoopies, which the Computarium has inherited as a steward.They have been cleaned and groomed with uttermost care and seem quite happy to be again out of the box. |
Done. |
| SIEMENS SIMATIC S5 rolling presentation stand |
Massen Francis (Jun 2017) |
 I transformed an existing rolling presentation stand to show the complete Simatic S5 system, together with the PG675 computer, the handheld programmer and the S5-100U PLC. A board with several switches and buttons is available for some quick demonstrations. The raw wooden boards were beautified with black felt and black foil. |
Done. |
| Mercedes Euklid M21 (~1938) |
Massen Francis (Apr 2017) |
 I repaired a vintage Mercedes Euklid M21 electro-mechanical calculator, auctioned at eBAY. The electrical cable was completely rotten inside the machine, and had to be replaced by removing the shut-off board. After a few trials, the machine blocked, probably due to a missing screw on the motor block. Removing the carriage and some fiddling cured this. Inside the machine looks like new, without any traces of rust. The main surprise was a live little spider crawling out of the machine where it had built a tiny comfortable nest. |
Done (probably). |
| RetroGameMachines |
Massen Francis (Mar 2017) |
 I finished today the creation of 8 RetroGameMachines, based on HP T610 thin clients running Win7e (Windows 7 starter embedded) with 4GB Ram and a 16 GB SSD Sata disk.. All these second hand computers were bought at eBAY. Eight emulators allow to play a selection of vintage games, using joypad and/or keyboard and mouse. The computers are very robust (no moving parts) and tamper proof, frozen by a write filter. Cloning is easy with a USB stick. Besides the gaming user there is a user "LOGO" to learn Logo (I installed the excellent FMS logo). The machines will first be used at the next LCD Science Déeg (10 May 2017). |
Done |
| SIEMENS Simatic S5 |
LEGEL Andreas Heirendt Colette Massen Francis (Feb 2017) |
Our contributor Guy Schintgen arranged a meeting with Mr. Andreas Legel (director of EFG-TA), who has installed many Simatic S5 systems in various big industries. Mr. Legel gave us a very good introduction using our PG675 and S5-100U system, so that many known unknowns have been morphed into simple knowns. Many thanks to Mr. Legel for having found the time to remember and share rare vintage knowledge! | Done. |
| SIEMENS PG675 |
Heirendt Colette Massen Francis (Jan 2017) |
We are working on an vintage Siemens SPS S5 system
donated by the LTPEM. The PG675 computer
(8088, 5.25" floppy SSDD drives) runs its original software under
CP/M86-1.2. Communication between the PG675 and the AG (S5_100U) is now ok (03-Feb-2017). |
Going on. |
| Archiving Jean Mootz's software legacy |
Massen Francis (January 2017) |
Start of archiving and registering the huge amount of 5.25" and 3.5"disks of Jean Mootz (+2013), which contain many rare software items (like an original of Multiplan 1.0) | Going on. |
| Making real 5.25" floppies from Osborne 1 CP/M applications in SSSD (single side single density)format |
Massen Francis (Sep 2016) |
The marvelous Osborne 1a we received had two CP/M 2.2
system disks (5.25" in SSDD) which were easily copied on a vintage XT using
COPYIIPC. No applications as Supercalc, Wordstar, dBase II were joined. I
worked quite some time but was unable to write the common Imagedisk format;
switching to Teledisk and its images in the .TD0 format solved the problem
reliably. See small video (YouTube, 7:26). |
Done. |
|
Repair of an EVEREST Multarapid_S printing calculator. Look here for a picture of the assembled calculator. |
Heirendt Colette Massen Francis (Sep 2016)
|
 We auctioned a rare Everest Multarapid-S calculator (from Officine Serio, Italy, 1958). This is an electromechanical three function calculator using a phone dial to enter the multiplicator and sort of a handle bar for the usual sub-total, total and negative actions. It was in a bad state, very dirty, with neither multiplication nor zero-keys working. Some metal work with a Dremel was needed. |
Done. There remains an unsolved problem with the multiplicant, which must be entered with trailing 000 to give a proper print-out. A special bar probably defining the grouping of decimals is missing; this would have been activated by the right level marked with dots (see picture of assembled calculator). Also missing is the key-cap to loosen the paper-friction. |
| Repair of two Schubert DRV pin-wheel calculators |
Heirendt Colette Massen Francis (Aug 2016) |
 |
Done; one machine does not clear the first right entry due to a tiny broken metallic piece. This is not repairable. |
|
Repair of a MONROE Monromatic CSA10 electromechanical calculator (1950's). See YouTube video. |
Massen Francis (Aug 2016) |
 I auctioned a Monroe CSA10 fully automatical 4 function calculator on eBAY; the vendor specified that the machine was broken (motor spins idle). After quite some hours of work and a bit of luck the machine is back to 100% working condition. This is a very nice, compact calculator, in mint condition (no rust, no scratches); it came with an original German Monroe instruction manual. |
Done |
|
Repair of a MADAS 12e electromechanical calculator (~1940 to 1943) |
Massen Francis (Jul 2016)
|
 I repaired an old Madas 12e, which was donated by Guy Bollendorf in 2006 in an absolute blocked state. A first tentative repair 10 years ago did not succeed, but experience helping, I was able to bring back to working conditions this nice machine today. Several elements were severely blocked by (invisible) hardened grease or oil, and a weakly spring had to be replaced by a twin pair to give the necessary pull to bring back the main black action key. |
Done |
| Repair of a Sinclair QL and a Commodore 64G |
Massen Francis (Jun 2016) |
A Sinclair QL had a non-working keyboard, due to the
usual problem with vintage membrane keyboards: brittle plastic and broken
conducting lines. The membrane was replaced by a new one bought in the UK.
The QL works good, and can even read the microdrives. The C64G had a missing keycap + spring: the spring pushes the key up, so it is important as otherwise every slight tremor activates the key. A key from a dismembered C64 was used as a replacement (the color is brown instead beige, but the C64G works fine). |
Done |
| Repair of BBC Master power supply |
Massen Francis (May 2016) |
Yesterday (11 May 2016) two BBC Master computers used
during a LOGO workshop started blowing acrid smoke...most probably due to a
power-supply going bad. Inspection today (12 may) confirmed: a filter
capacitor has exploded:  As I had not a correct rated (100nF) foil capacitor at hand, I used a 330nF replacement...and it works! I will try to go back to a correct X2 type, and probably replace the 100nF and 10nF caps on all our Masters (time permitting). Sprow's webpage was a great help. |
Done. |
| Restoration of a vintage IBM 5150. |
Massen Francis (Feb 2016) |
 This is a rare original IBM 5150, the first "real" IBM computer after the IBM Junior. Has a DIN connector for an audio cassette player used as storage. Runs now PCDOS 1.1. |
Done; ATI GS+ graphics card not yet running (missing documentation on Dip switch settings). |
| Naked HP25 display |
Massen Francis (Feb 2016) |
 A non working HP25 has been disassembled and the different elements put into a frame, so that the 5 IC's can clearly be seen. |
Done. |
| GENAILLE-LUCAS rulers ("bones") |
Massen Francis (Feb 2016) |
 I finally build two sets of Genaille-Lucas rulers in a form that is similar to the Napier-Bones. I found wooden prismatic rods in a market, and adapted the template using Photoshop. Kudos to our member Claude Baumann who found an error in one of the division templates (ruler 7, look at 6) from the GERMEA group of the University of Pau. The beautiful boxes were bought from Amazon. |
Done. Some minor cosmetic changes will be made if time permits. |
|
MOVIT 913B line tracking robot. See two videos on YouTube: the first shows the robot following a very large and simple track, In the second video the track detection has been optimized and the robot must follow a somewhat nasty track. |
Massen Francis (Jan 2016) |
 Claude du Fays donated a vintage MOVIT line tracking robot he received in assembled state a long time ago from a computer dealer in Belgium. The MOVIT 913B was sold as a kit, probably in 1984. It is a non-programmable device whose only function is to follow a black line. This item was in a very bad state: both batteries (2 AA cells for the motors, a 9V battery for the electronics) were totally corroded, had expanded to crack their holder, and the corrosion hat eaten away many contacts. One of the little motors was blocked. |
Done. |
|
IBM 5160 (IBM XT) with 256 kB Ram, 1985. See other other pictures here and here (the machine has two graphics cards: a CGA and a MDA/parallel combo). |
Massen Francis (Jan 2016) |
 In late 2014 our contributor Pol Hoelzmer brought in an IBM 5160 (the original IBM XT), that I was unable to make running: the screen remained dark! Changing the power supply and removing all boards did not cure the problem. I resumed this work today and rapidly found the cause: one of the two floppy drives had an electrical short and brought down the power supply. I did not find the fault on the floppy drive, but replaced the culprit by another original IBM model (from Jean Mootz's attic). Everything now works ok, the computer is in a very good state. |
Done. |
|
GENAILLE-LUCAS rulers See short album. |
Massen Francis (Jan 2016) |
 For our next upcoming workshops I built sets of Genaille-Lucas rulers. There are different rulers for multiplication and division. The picture shows the multiplication of 916*7 = 6412. |
Done. |
| BINARY LOGIC/Arithmetic Module |
Massen Francis (Jan 2016) |
 A binary logic and arithmetic teaching aid built by the late Jean MOOTZ in 1973. Contains only two IC's: a SN74181 and a SN7404. |
OK! |
|
Heathkit EC-1 educational analog computer (1960) See album and video ( YouTube, 11 Jan 2016) |
Tholl Raoul Massen Francis (Dec 2015) |
 Only one channel (of 9) was working ok. Many wires broken at the points of solder. All valves ok (surprise!). Some balance potentiometers a bit "scratchy". Linearity of ramp integrators is good (check done with a vintage Heathkit IR-5207 XY plotter). |
All channels ok. Still to do: 1. Replace old electrolytic capacitors 2. Make plug modules with R and C. January 2016: Capacitors replaced, a first set of modules made. |
|
Corona Portable . See album. |
Massen Francis (Dec 2015) |
 Printing calculator from the1930's. Was in a very bad state, non working |
Minimal restoration. Works good. |
|
Milton-Bradley BIGTRAK More see here. |
Massen Francis (Dec 2015) |
 I bought this vintage 1980 programmable truck from ebay UK some time ago: it did not work correctly. Main problem was misaligned rotation sensor, broken battery-holder plate and shaky battery contacts. This truck has a TI TMS1000 4-bit microcontroller with about 160 available bits of Ram on its board. |
Works good! |
| Raspberry Pi2 |
Massen Francis (Sep 2015) |
 with 3.5" Tontec TFT touchscreen and Rii mini-keyboard (wireless keyboard with touch-panel). The pink case is a Cellularline power box (4400mAh, max. 2 A). Screen shows graphical desktop of Rasbian-Wheezy. |
Works good with Rasbian-Wheezy, but Retropie Dispmanx based Emulationstation refuses to display on the Tontec TFT. |
|
1. Rasperry Pi Retropie 3.0 2. Monroe CSA-8 3. Win286 |
Massen Francis (Aug 2015) |
1. I configured a Retropie v.3.0 Rasperry Pi to see how
it could work as an emulation station during a possible workshop. The big
problem remains the controller (I use a Microntek USB controller) and the
many different handlings of the controller by the emulators and the
games. For the moment, I am still not 100% happy with this. (Solved, ok now
17Sep2015). 2. I auctioned (very cheaply) a Monroe CSA-8 fully
automatic electromechanically calculator from the 1950's. It is in a bad
shape, and after having spent many hours (and removing the carriage), I am
still unable to get the multiplication and the division working properly. |
 |
|
BELL PUNCH PLUS Sterling See album. |
Massen Francis (Aug 2015) |
Restoration of a rather unique Bell Punch Plus "Sterling
& Farthing" adder. Many missing rubber dampers, one missing spring, and a
lot of dirt. |
Ok. |
|
EDMUND Analog Computer See album. |
Massen Francis (Jul 2015) |
An Edmund Scientific analog computer bought at eBay USA
came in a non working state This primitive device has only 3 potentiometers,
a push button switch and a galvanometer. The cardboard case badly needed a
wooden frame to give some stability. One of the 50 Ohm wire potentiometers
had broken contacts, and one of the contacts of galvanometer broke away. The
plastic hands on the dials also were broken off. |
Repaired: made wooden frame inside of box, repaired push button switch, galvanometer contact and right potentiometer. This should be replaced, as the soldering caused of windings some loss at the start and the end. Plastic hands glued to dial knobs. |
| COMDYNA GP-6 analog computer |
Massen Francis (Dec 2014) |
Finished with repair. Modifications: new display (multimeter
with voltage divider), added
internal 220/117 VAC transformer and separate power supply for the
multimeter (must have different ground), repaired banana and power sockets.
|
Tests in "POT" mode are ok, all OP's seem ok, but
remaining problems in "OPERATE" mode. 26Dec2014: The GP-6 now solves the system of 3 non-linear differential equations of the Lorenz attractor. Practically all resources of the GP6 are used. The scope shows the YZ cut through the 3D figure.
15Dec2014: |
|
Tests on the AMF665D analog computer. See video. |
Massen Francis (Oct 2014) |
Testing this nice analog computer. I made a quick
programming for a damped oscillation (i.e. a differential equation of the
type k3*y"+k2*y'+k1*y = 0). Click on the pictures to see the calculation
scheme, the patch cables defining the scheme and the result on a Fluke
digital oscilloscope.
|
The AFM665/D has been fitted with a small 220/110 step-down transformer (located below the grey plate at the lower right corner) to allow plugging into a 230 VAC power outlet. |
|
1. A repaired FACIT ESA0 was mounted in the nude into a
plexiglas enclosure; when executing operations on this machine, the sight of
the inner workings is quite amazing. 2. The educational analog computer AMF665D has been repaired |
Massen Francis (Sep and Oct 2104) |
  ...and fitted with a European power cord. Most blocks worked fine, but one 741 opamp was dead and has been replaced. This computer has 3 modules for addition/substraction and 2 modules for integration. The pictures show the switch board and the electronic boards. |
Facit ESA0 done. AWF665D needs three missing knobs (done), and eventually an additional step down 220/110 VAC transformer to make an external transformer unnecessary (done, 22 Oct 2014). |
|
Update of virtual museum See album of Hamann Manus R |
Massen Francis Heirendt Colette (Aug 2014) |
Busy month with ongoing update of virtual museum (new items, and many new photos and albums). Also some repairs, one being that of a Hamann Manus R which had 5 broken wheels. | ongoing work. |
| A FACIT ESA0 electromechanical calculator (~1952) is back to working. |
Massen Francis (July 2014) |
We have 2 ESA0's, and one of them was "repaired" in March
2012. Actually, this was short lived, and a later trial showed both machines
completely blocked. After spending quite a lot of time, one of these
beautiful calculators (which counts 2200 parts!) is running smoothly again.
It will probably be put into a transparent enclosure to be able to securely
watch the rotating wheels and clanking levers. See videos:
part 1,
part2,
part 3.
|
Mostly done; transparent enclosure will be made later. |
| Repairing an unbootable IBM 5155 |
Massen Francis (Mar 2014) |
A luggable IBM 5155 from 1985 did not boot from floppy drive A. Repair was easy: some thinking and a very small amount of oil. See album. | Done. |
| Repairing several Canon BJ300 bubble jet printers |
Massen Francis (Mar 2014) |
The preparation work for our next Logo workshop in April
is now finished. We will use vintage BBC Master computers (1984) holding
Logotron Logo and the Printmaster Eproms. The Printmaster contains a
screen-dump function that is mandatory to make a paper copy of the Logo
screen. Vintage bubble jet printers from 1991
(donated by the LTHAH) will be used, as these dot-matrix printers are
reasonable fast. Making them work was quite a job, as the ink channels and
print heads were thouroughly blocked. |
Done. |
|
Repairing a vintage Valiant Turtle from 1982. See two small YouTube videos here and here and album. |
Massen Francis Schintgen Guy (Jan 2014) |
The son of our late member Jean-Claude Asselborn donated
some BBC material to the Computarium; among these items was a Valiant
mechanical, remote controlled Turtle. It is probably one of the first models
from 1982. The 10 individual AA NiCad batteries were dead, there was no
software and no manual. We had some electrical problems with very bad
contacts, but finally brought the turtle back to life with new NiMH
batteries, some tinkering, an old diskimage of the Valiant Mover software
found on the internet and a working BBC. mod.B. |
Turtle is back to life! |
| Repaired a Texas Instrument Silent700 terminal |
Massen Francis (Dec 2013) |
We received a TI Silent terminal (~1971) as a donation
from C. Ritzerow; this machine was an electronic successor to the mechanical
ASR33 and has an inbuilt thermal printer and an acoustic 300 baud modem. The
mechanism for moving the print head was broken, and I spent quite a lot of
time trying to fix it. As the female power connector was unusual, I
installed a standard EU cable
|
Printer works now, but the acoustical modem seems to be dead. |
|
Repairing a NISA PK5 calculator Video |
Massen Francis (Aug 2013) |
I auctioned (for a good price!) a NISA PK5 4 function electromechanical calculator. As usual, the automatic division did not work, so I opened the machine (which needs removing the carriage) and after some fiddling, the automatic division works most of the time. Look this video on YouTube which shows the funny movements of the carriage when 88888 is divided by 3333. | in the works |
| Repaired vintage Pong game and Albums |
Massen Francis (July 2013) |
 G. Laures donated a German UNIVERSUM Color Multi-Spiel 4106, which is a PONG from 1977 sold by Versandhaus QUELLE. There was no power supply, a flaky ON/OFF switch and a bad power connector. The game made many noises on powering up and did enter rarely a working mode. Disassembling the "keyboard", blocking the ON/OFF switch in the ON position, making a new power input with reverse polarity protection and driving the game with a much lower voltage than 9V cured the problems. Work on the albums continues: this is a time-swallowing job, as the machines must be cleaned, tested and photographed. On the next upgrade of the virtual museum links on the pictures will lead to the album (where available). Look here. |
Mostly done. |
| Cleaning and repairing a Brunsviga RK13 |
Massen Francis (June 2013) |
The last workshop showed that we need several more
Brunsviga RK13, which have become sort of a standard for our mechanical
calculation workshops. I bought one on eBAY (these machines do become really expensive!), but it came in a very dirty state, and an only partially working carriage displacement lever. Nevertheless, all major operations are ok. |
Cleaning nearly finished, left displacement of carriage tricky with the right lever, but ok with the front button. |
| Cleaned and tested Compaq Concerto computer found in the attic of Jean Mootz. |
Massen Francis (April 2013) |
 This is one of the first "tablet-like" computers from 1993. The whole computer (main-board, HD, 3.5" floppy) is contained in the touch-sensitive screen, which reacts to a wireless pen. System was "MS Windows for Pen Computers 1.0". On this machine DOS 6.2 is installed, and the stylus is missing. One hinge is broken off; LCD screen is very dim (screen shows a Mandelbrot picture being drawn by a GWBASIC program... very slowly!) |
Nearly finished. |
| Albums of new donation. |
Massen Francis (April 2013) |
Started making albums of the most interesting computers from the huge donation by Gérard Laures (April 2013). See here! | Ongoing work. The albums will be referenced from the slides in the virtual museum. |
|
Restoration of a vintage MBLE tuner + amplifier from 1964. See the album and video. |
Massen Francis (Mar 2013) |
 I found this very retro design ensemble in Jean Mootz's attic. He assembled this valve driven pair (sold as a kit by famous Belgium company MBLE) in 1964. Restoration was mainly cleaning and changing voltage from 130 to 220 VAC. Will be installed as a retro decorum in the Computarium. |
Finished. |
|
Restoration of a vintage Radiostat violet wand. See the album! |
Massen Francis (Feb 2013) |
 I found this device in a cabinet of the physics lab. Cabling was in very bad shape. The wand is not quite so nice as the Norisan, but it is functional again... and it is an item that the famous Powerhouse Museum in Sidney, Australia, also has in its collection! |
Finished. |
|
Restoration of a vintage Norisan violet wand. See the album! ( also YouTube video) |
Massen Francis (Feb 2013) |
 From time to time switching from calculator or computer repair can be a welcome distraction. I found in Jean Mootz's attic an old 1931 German electrotherapy device (a "violet wand") that was not working. Repair and cleaning were not too difficult. J. Mootz probably had it running on 110 V in 2001, but meanwhile two wires were broken and it was well hidden among the rubble |
Finished. |
|
Siemens & Halske railway Morse telegraph. See album. Also look at this marvellous collection of old telegraphs from Fons Vandenberghe.. |
Massen Francis (Jan 2013) |
 Restauration of a vintage Siemens & Halske telegraph, which was used at a railway station. Thorough cleaning, some slight changes in wiring to operate device with one single battery, searching and finding a paper tape as replacement of the original. |
Almost finished. |
| Virtual Museum web pages |
Massen Francis Heirendt Colette Massen Florence(Dec 2012) |
Change of conversion software to produce html pages that look ok on all browsers and tablets. Update to include new items. |
In progress. See here. |
|
MERCEDES Addelektra |
Massen
Francis Baumann Claude Krack Jean-Claude Klein Jean-Paul (October 2012)
|
Three of us were unable to assemble the electrical motor
correctly but Claude found the trick. The reassembled motor ran for a very
short time, but than blocked as the bearings seem very used. A second
problem is the flaky insulation, which makes using this engine during a
demonstration an impossible risky adventure. |
New motor installed, runs ok.. |
|
MERCEDES Addelektra This
booking machine from 1930 (serial number 4708) was in a bad shape, extremely
dirty, and the electrical motor removed and disassembled. The beautiful
photographs at eBAY surely were made a long time ago, when the machine
was still in better condition. |
Massen
Francis (October 2012) |
Machine as auctioned on eBAY:
Machine after heavy cleaning, oiling an minor repair (original motor replaced by a temporary one):, upper part switched back:
|
Getting the machine to operate at least as an electrical
typewriter was heavy work. Jean-Paul Klein and myself are unable to reassemble the original single-phase AC motor (does the cage-type rotor belong to the same motor?). It will probably be replaced by a new one, as most electrical wires in the stator are in a bad state. The two counters are not yet working (they are clipped to the front at the columns where numbers are typed, and add these numbers). The lower numerical keyboard is working again, albeit somewhat roughly. |
|
Heathkit chart recorder EUW-20A
from 1967 See short album and YouTube video See also here at the website of EarlyComputers I continued the
14/15th June with chart recorders, audio generator, frequency scale/counter
and digital multimeter. |
Massen
Francis (June 2012) |
Machine was extremely dirty after spending > 40 years
under the roof. Mercury reference cell was broken loose and empty. Replaced
by alcaline cell. From time to time it is a great fun to return to working condition items that are not computers or calculators. I spent two days cleaning and repairing a vintage Heathkit chart recorder EUW-20A from 1967, found in the attic of Jean Mootz. This marvelously designed analog Y-T recorder has full scale inputs from 10mV to 250mV. Three vacuum tubes (one 6BQ5 and two 12AX7) make the amplifier. |
Ok, works fine. |
|
Repaired two Quickshot SVI-2000 robotic arms (1985)
donated by Jean Mootz Labview program to control the Robotarm from a PC in works by Claude Baumann. See You Tube video here (from another web-site) |
Baumann Claude Massen Francis (March - May 2012) |
One had been modified by J. Mootz to enable powering
by external (+3)-0-(-3) VDC. Some movements were blocked. Dismounted base
and main arm; resoldered/lenghtened some wires. Relatively easy to dismount,
tricky to reassemble this el-cheapio robotic arm, which is driven by 2
joy-sticks. Second arm modified for external power-supply and repair. Electronic board to drive through parallel port PC interface tested with several programs..
|
Repair done, programming in the works. |
|
1. Repaired/tested a lot of XT motherboards (8088 type)
and big old 5.25" floppy drives.
2. Finally brought to working state a FACIT ESA-0 fully automatic electromechanical calculator (from the fifties, see here) |
Massen
Francis (March 2012) |
1. Boards will be used in a future workshop, so this is
work done in advance. 2. This was quite a bit of fiddling: the whole machine was blocked rock-solid. Many hours and much oil!
|
in progress Mostly done |
|
There has been so much going on, that I do not find the
time any more to update this correctly. So here a short resumé
|
Massen Francis (22 Jan 2012) |
- made RGB -Peritel connection of an ORIC Atmos
microcomputer (one difficult to find trick) - checked, cleaned and restored Commodore 1541 floppy drive and several C64 computers - checked Olivetti Envision 400 system - cleaned, repaired (partially) "Supertotalizer" Comptometer - assembled many new boards for storing equipment - ongoing repair of 3rd ASR33 (tricky) and much more.... |
done |
| GOUPIl Golf SX had exhausted battery in DALLAS 1287 RTC chip |
We received a very nice French semi-portable Goupil Golf
SX (1989) from the Lycée Charlemagne in Thionville. Alas, it has a soldered
Dallas RTC chip with an inside exhausted BIOS battery. The location of the
chip made the repair instructions found here
and here
impossible to follow, so a new third variation of the theme had to be done.
It is tricky work. See album.
|
Repair done, Goupil works flawlessly again. | |
| Finished restoration of second ASR-33 (115VAC model) |
Massen Francis (18May2011) |
 Jean Mootz donated a second ASR-33, a model with quite some differences from the previous one (as someone said: "2 ASR-33's are never the same"). As the first ASR-33 developed some nasty mechanical problems (intermittent blockings) I decided to use this one with the OSI500. I first built a new +5/-9 VDC power-supply for the OSI500, using an old ATX PS and a switching PS from Conrad Electronic. I made a hybrid of these 2, which was not without some pain. The OSI is mounted at the right side o the hollow TTY stand, which contains a step-down transformer, a separate PS for the tape-reader, the kludged OSI PS and a dual 230VAC outlet. The stand has to be closed for obvious electrical security reasons (the connectors of the 230/115 transformer and the tape-reader PS are blank and accessible!). The ensemble works fine, with the exception of the tape-reader (reads but characters are gobbled). There is also a second non-lethal flaw: the calling drum (which should be activated only if the "Hereis" key is pressed or "WRU" (who are you?) code is received, is always engaged. I had to immobilize its switches to avoid garbage from two set of switches working at the same time. From time to time the TTY goes into an "absent" mode, with the magnet on the receiver side refusing to work (or a mechanical clutch blocking its function...). Both problems will have to wait before being corrected. Look here for a short album. |
TTY with attached OSI500 throughly cleaned and mounted an
rollers, ready to be shown in action. Tape-reader, calling drum and "absent" problems not yet solved. No source for 8.5" perforated paper roll (or fan-fold) for sprockets found here in Luxembourg (if you have some old US paper, please tell me!). Will use A4 fan-fold paper with right side cut off; holes on left side suffice for correct guiding (with some helping hand). Work on the first TTY will resume asap. |
| Built RS32 - current loop converter |
Massen Francis (15May2011) |
 As the OSI500 is the only device having a current loop serial output, I wanted to built a general RS232 -20mA CL converter. This enables to drive the TTY by a laptop. I found a good and affordable kit for an active CL interface here. There was some head scratching regarding active and passive CL, Tx and Rx and polarity (yes!). Click on the above figure for the layout with the proper connections to the DB9 socket of the PC RS232 port and the terminal strip of the TTY. I was happy to find an old copy of the marvelous MICROLINK communications software (Win95), which is capable of 110 baud and 7 databits, whose existence seems to be forgotten by many more recent programs. |
Finished. |
| Brought OSI500 + ASR-33 TTY to work | Massen Francis |
 Making the OSI500 to teletype assembly working was a bit tricky. The OSI has no crystal controlled oscillator (only a cheap 555 based circuit), so getting the 110 baud right asked for some fiddling (change of potentiometer, new toggle switches...).The serial line to the TTY is of the 20mA type, and the 1977 vintage OSI is laid out for this (he also has a regular RS232 output). Look here for an album and a video.(m4v, 25MB) |
Basic repair and cleaning done. OSI will be mounted with a new power supply (+5V, -9V) into the original stand of the TTY. |
| Installed Home PC corner | Heirendt
Colette Massen Francis |
 We installed a cosy home PC corner, laying out some carpet and exposing a working TRS80 system (1977-1983), a Philips vintage Pong game (1977) displayed on a vintage black/white Sony TV, and a working BBC Master2 system (1986) |
Mostly done |
| Privately bought a Millionaire calculator | Massen Francis | A very beautiful working calculator (serial 4201, probably around 1920), bought from Antikma. | Needs some cleaning. |
| Repaired
a totally blocked Brunsviga 13RK Repaired a 2nd Brunsviga 13RK whose reset to zero was not working Repaired a Odhner Original who had one blocked button to move the carriage |
Massen Francis | Mostly a work of patience, cleaning, oiling an slight bending | All 3 machines ok now.Brunsviga 13RK will be displayed "naked" to show the inner workings |
| Work on the ASR33 teletype | Massen Francis | Trying to make the teletype interact with the OSI computer | Baud rate (stability?) problem still unsolved. |
| Major transformation of the TC | Massen F. and Heirendt C. | The bureau/workshop part was displaced into a new, separate refurbished room. Visitors are such spared the view of creative chaos inevitable in a workshop! | Finished |
| Work on the IMSAI 8080 | Mootz
Jean Massen Francis (28Oct10) |
We have the computer running (lights blink, stop/go/single step seems to work) | Terminal attached (computer using Hyperterm) gives no answer. Did not found time to study the doc. |
| Repaired Triumphator CRN2 | Massen
Francis (20Oct10) |
 Three faults made the machine not working: two missing nuts and one partially blocked slider of the clear-all mechanism. |
In good working condition now. |
| Installed LED
lighting in exhibition shelves |
Baumann Claude Massen Francis (19Oct10 to 21Oct10) |
We mounted LED-strips to give a better impression of the machines exposed in the blue shelves. A problem was to avoid being blinded by the visible upper row strip. Solved by mounting it into a cable-channel. | Finished. LED's switched on by wireless operated outlets. |
| HP2100A
now exposed as first visible item |
Baumann Claude Massen Francis (19Oct10) |
 The HP2100A was the first (mini-)computer ever used in a Luxembourg school (1973, introduced by Prof. Jos Lahr). So it stands out as one of the most precious items of the collection. |
We
built sort of a semi-boot, so that the display enhances the structure of
the computer. Before entering the Thesaurus Computarii, this is the first item to see. |
| Put SBC Mazel II back to working |
Massen Francis (16Oct10) |
 |
We received this board from contributor N. Malget. It had no power supply, and the pin-outs of the connector were not marked. An email exchange with Silicium was only partially helpful, so a more rigorous investigation led to the solution. Contributor F. Thillen donated an self-built power supply with the needed +5V, -5V and +12V voltages. Board is again in mint condition. |
| Exorset30 system now booting |
Massen Francis (15Oct10) |
 |
This
marvellous system donated by N. Malget refused to boot into XDOS and
BASICM. There clearly is a problem with the first 5.25" floppy disk.
Making the 2nd disk the boot disk solved the problem. Repairing or reclaibratiing the other disk remains to be done. |
| Put HP 7585B A0 plotter to work. | Baumann Claude Massen Francis (06Jul10) |
 The big A0 plotter donated by C. Bechoux did its demo flawlessly, but we were unable to drive it from a computer |
Problem solved with new RS2132 cable and many fiddling on the different setup parameters. The plotter works from Windows XP Pro through Roland HPGL drivers or (what is our default) through the Winline HPGL drivers for Windows. |
| Installed
shelves and show cases in the TC. Some more painting and wood work. Started final cleaning before moving objects in. |
Baumann Claude Massen Francis |
The main room is now almost ready. Installation will start in two weeks. Most objects will be installed after the summer vacations (in September-October 2010) | |
| Repaired MADAS 16LS calculator | Massen Francis (12Feb10) |
I bought a MADAS electromechanical 16LS calculator on eBAY. It was in a very good shape, but, as common for eBay goods, didn't work. The machine was blocked, one key-columns showed one unit to much (pressing key 1 displayed 2). I dismounted the casing and carriage and with a bit of luck, inspection and WD40 put the whole thing back to correct working. I was unable to complete a division, but this too was solved with the help of Computarium team member C. Heirendt. | Working again 100% |
| Lighting in room #2 of the TC | Massen Francis Baumann Claude (03Feb10) |
We installed the full mounty of all nice lamps of the LCDNB restaurant that I managed to salvage. There was a nasty problem with excessive current (a 132W rated lamp uses ca. 400W) that has been solved through rewiring. | Done |
| Works at the TC progresses as planned. | Massen Francis Krack J-Cl Jean Mootz |
Room#1 is finished, as well as
major repairs in room#2. Approx. 500 working-hours invested up to now. Look at an album here! |
Painting and electrical wiring will be done next. |
| Heavy work at the Thesaurus Computarii (TC), the storage rooms in the attic of the LCD | Massen Francis Krack J-Cl Baumann Cl. (19Sep09) |
Provisional gathering of all material in first part of the attic. Wood work, painting, LAN, furniture, lightning. | First room (administration, repair shop, large vitrine...) almost finished |
| Repaired an Olivetti Summa15 printing calculator (donor: anonymous) which was in a very bad shape. | Massen Francis (Feb 09) |
Will be used as an open machine to see working innards | Working again 100% |
| Tested 2 Russian electronic pocket calculators from the Elektronika series. | Massen Francis | No batteries anymore but... | In good shape. |
| Repair in progress on machines donated from N. Friob. | Mootz Jean Massen Francis (Dec 08) |
Many of these machines are not
working. Started with electronic booking machine from Olympia; printing works intermittently, cause as yet unknown. Diehl, Marchant, Facit thoroughly blocked... |
Repair in progress |
| Repaired a Hamann Elma |
Massen Francis (Dec.08) |
Old Hamann Elma bought from eBay (link to picture, not actual machine!). Was in bad shape. Electrical motor had one missing carbon contact, bearings were blocked. | |
| Restaured Olivetti Divisumma 15 |
Massen Francis (Nov.08) |
Machine was very dirty, but mostly functional after some fiddling. Cleaned, checked. | Working again 100% |
| TIM UNITAS bought | The AALCD (=Amicale des Anciens du LCD) financed two major acquisitions: a very old TIM UNITAS calculator and a newer Brunsviga D13R dual rotary calculator used in geodesic work. | Both machines working 100% | |
| We made a major successful bid on eBay for about 20 old calculators, all from a single collection. All are in a very "dusty and rusty" state, none is working as is. | Mootz Jean Massen Francis |
Olivetti Divisumma 24 repaired and
working at 98% Olivetti Divisumma 26GT working 100% Rheinmetall printing adder (beautiful old black steel) repaired and working. Facit electromec. calculators (2) partially working Old Olympia calculator with Nixie tubes: no success, but Nixies are lighting up. Also repaired a non working MONROE LA7160 from another bid. |
Ongoing work |
|
The Cirque des Sciences left us
with a legacy of broken-down machines, which did not survive the children's sometimes brute force |
Mootz Jean Massen Francis |
Several big 4 function calculators
are blocked, as well as a couple of rotary machines. |
Big Friden electromec. and several rotary calculators repaired |
| Building an RS232 interface to connect an old Siemens telex to a PC | Baumann Claude Massen Francis |
Baumann Claude (with minor help from FM) designs a microcontroller (PIC) driven interface; the very complicated programming is made in Labview. The method used is VERY unorthodox! | Telex to PC ok PC to Telex still problems |
| Some pictures of the repairshop |
Massen Francis Mootz Jean (2008) |
Many repairs going on. Last success: Cellatron R44SM | Still much to do! |
last revision 03 Feb 2020
