A mouse for our 520 STFM
After searching for a long time, we finally found a compatible mouse for our ATARI 520STFM on the web. We bought it for 25BGN, which is quite cheap. To our amazement it works. Lets take it apart to look inside and clean it.
After searching for a long time, we finally found a compatible mouse for our ATARI 520STFM on the web. We bought it for 25BGN, which is quite cheap. To our amazement it works. Lets take it apart to look inside and clean it.
One of the many tasks in the museum is to have the appropriate era-correct monitor for our Pravetz 82. We managed to acquire one or two throughout the years, but they had missing transformers and CRT yokes that were stolen from scrapers for their expensive copper. Well, a recent donation to the museum was another…
During soviet times many computer clones were created, most of them were manufactured in Bulgaria and then exported to the USSR. But many other computers were made inside the USSR, mainly ZX Spectrum clones. In our example, the computer is manufactured from the beginning of the end of the USSR to until 1995. “Компаньо́н 2”…
When restoring early-2000s hardware, the original Xbox often comes with a hidden danger – the clock capacitor. This small component was originally designed to keep the system clock running when the console was unplugged. While the idea made sense back in 2001, it turned into one of the most notorious weak points of the system….
Last month we finally acquired a “Transporter-1” conveyor belt for our ROBKO-01. For our luck it was brand new in the bag with the instruction manual. At first it looked like it took a beat at the side and part of the metal chassis was bent. We decided to take it apart and do a…
CAUTION! Improper tuning of the disk speed may cause your floppy to stop reading disks. Be sure that you have a spare working floppy so you can boot Locksmith from it. Thing you will need: 1. Locksmith boot disk 2. Working floppy drive so you can boot from it 3. Blank 5.25 inch floppy disk or an old one that you don’t care for. 4. Flathead screwdriver for turning the motor speed trimer 5. Oil or lithium grease 6. 99% alcohol 7. Q-tips If you…
Recently a friend of the museum sent us his breadbin Commodore 64 that he acquired online with complains that there is garbage on the screen and there is no cursor. As much as we like restoring vintage computers and dealing with newer problems that enrich our knowledge base, we have never actually repaired a breadbin…