Stockly.com Forums  

Go Back   Stockly.com Forums > Altair 680 > Altair 680

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 06-18-2008, 11:16 AM
bugman bugman is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 30
Default Up and Running

Well, got it running last night. Have not completed the back panel yet, or tried the terminal interface. But the main board and control board are in and I put power to the mainboard. Seems to be operating OK. Am able to observe memory locations and deposit new data. Will try a simple program tonight.

I do have one concern though that may or may not be normal. When I initially power up the mainboard, all the leds come on for a bit. Then they begin to correctly reflect the memory location and data. But the panel does not become stable for about 10-30 seconds. So to re-cap, upon power up, all leds light up for about 5-10 seconds. Then the leds operate correctly, with a few (seemingly random) flashes of all leds on. Then it becomes rock stable after 10-30seconds. I notice that the effect is more dramatic if the computer has been sitting off for a while vs. turning it off and on.

I'm no expert, but it feels to me that this is either, normal cpu cylcing, or voltages becoming stable/capacitors charging. It does not feel like an intermittent connection because it doesn't last more that 30 seconds max.

Any thoughts?

Last edited by bugman; 06-18-2008 at 12:34 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 06-18-2008, 12:38 PM
Geoff Harrison Geoff Harrison is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 104
Default

Does that happen when the halt/run switch is in the halt mode?

With mine, if I power up with the switch set to halt, the lights are instantly stable.

Geoff.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 06-18-2008, 12:39 PM
bugman bugman is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 30
Default

Yes, it happens when started in the halt mode. Do you expereince any delay at all when powering up?
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 06-18-2008, 12:44 PM
Geoff Harrison Geoff Harrison is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 104
Default

No, no delay at all. I'm not using the switching power supplies, but I doubt there would be any difference. When I power up there's no discernible delay before the the lights show whatever the switches are set to.

Geoff.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 06-18-2008, 01:38 PM
bugman bugman is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 30
Default

Any ideas where I should start to look for a problem? Some of the ICs were difficult to insert, and some of the leads had oxidation on them. I was thinking of starting by re-seating some of them.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 06-18-2008, 02:47 PM
Geoff Harrison Geoff Harrison is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 104
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by bugman View Post
I was thinking of starting by re-seating some of them.
That's where I would start. Also, make sure your power supplies are not taking a while to stabilize, but that's a long shot. It might be instructive to pull the CPU chip and power it up. If the front panel is immediately stable then something is not halting the CPU on start up. If it isn't stable when the CPU isn't there then perhaps the front panel itself is flaky. You should be able to examine and modify memory from the front panel even without the CPU.

Edit: Well, maybe not. I checked that the front panel worked without the CPU before posting that and it worked fine, then I checked it again after and it doesn't work, so take that statement with a grain of salt. I'll try it again and let you know what I find.

Geoff.

Last edited by Geoff Harrison; 06-18-2008 at 02:52 PM.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 10:09 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.