There's a device called the OneBus from Chipitos.be (I think it's a build it yourself project) that converts between IEEE-488 and IEC Serial and Plus/4 'paddle'. It will only run at the speed of the slowest bus (ie it'll be as slow as an unaccelerated 1541). Or you'd need an IEE-488 cartridge for the C64. There are a few of those floating about, plus there's schematics on Zimmers. But it's not going to be as simple as "a cable".

Oi! Who are you calling old!!!

mmmmm...

Got there eventually :)

The buzz would drive me potty after a few minutes! Much better without.

I've never used a plug-in solder sucker, but I gather they work in much the same way as a moo gun. It's just that instead of an electric suction pump they rely on a mechanical piston and spring, like a regular solder sucker. So just arm the solder sucker, apply the hot end to the joint, then the solder heat up and then press the button. Repeat until the chip is done. If the chip doesn't come straight out, apply gentle pressure with a small flat blade screwdriver. You may need to apply hot air to help (at, say 350C). be careful not to overheat the PCB or you may delaminate it. It might help to place the board in a vice if using the hot air gun, otherwise you'll need 3 hands! Always best to practice first on a scrap board if you have one.

If you're not going for an OG like-for-like colour scheme, I think lime green is a brilliant option. Only thing I'd add is a glowing option with a radiation sticker..... Mwahahaha etc!

@@TimsRetroCorner -- Brilliant!

I'm glad mine didn't have any gum, lol

I had a pack of screws, but it was one short. So I guess their QC needs a little work!

I can't think of anything else that switch could be for. But it's a pretty overkill switch for it! (and I'd personally have put it in the ashtray cover plate, unless that had already been knocked out...) I'm gonna keep the floppy drive there (or at least "a" floppy drive that's maybe less gunked up). Need to research if BBC drives need a mod (like Amiga drives do). There's a whopping big hole in the side so I might as well fill it! The drive power lead was soldered directly to the motherboard spade terminals! The USB C power supply I have fitted at the moment doesn't have aux power out, so there's that. Previous owner fitted a floppy passthrough connector on the back, so adding a second drive (or gotek) is an option.

Thanks for that.

@@TimsRetroCorner you're welcome.

It's a lump of the purest green, as Lord Percy Percy would say!

Is that rusty or crusty? or probably both!

Thanks for watching.

It wasn't particularly cheap. I paid something like AU$140, which equates to around £75, plus shipping from Australia. But there are plenty of cases out there that cost way more...

Thanks for watching. Happy new year.

@TimsRetroCorner Thanks for your informative videos👍🏻

It's not a universally popular choice, but I like it. Happy new year!

Thanks for watching and subscribing :) Plenty more videos coming!

It kinda in "I need to get the software working" limbo at the moment (it's actually on the desk beside me). There's another project that I haven't even mentioned on the channel that's in the same state, ie hardware complete but awaiting software. I'm going to concentrate more on software stuff this year, so it should all get done.

HNY Steve. Ya'd think..... lol

Thanks, I'm very pleased with it :) HNY to you too

It definitely does. HNY to you too.

ROFL

Thanks :)

Thanks. HNY to you. Looking forward to a less crap one...

Same to you!

You need more green in your life..... lol HNY

Cheers mate, same to you.

Thanks. HNY back at ya.

Merry 2025!

Cheers chap!

It's very effective, lol

Hi Paul, even now there are bits of black grot still coming out! But being new to the Beeb, I have this feeling of teetering on the edge of a deep rabbit hole...

I'm becoming a bit of a fan of little USB PSUs - they're pretty versatile, and with Power Delivery, can supply up to 20 volts! The downside - at least with this one - is no square plug passthrough. So any peripherals that need to plug into that for power will be out of luck. Of course, I still plan to fix the original PSU.

You need the keyboard attached for it to boot, as you found out.

I guess the original owner had a use case that involved 3.5" disks. Or maybe he just really wanted an Amiga 500, lol. Plus an object lesson on why we need to ask "why are there no photos showing the right side of the case?" when buying from ebay. Still, I shall have fun investigating the range of add on boards, and whether they'll fit with that frankenfloppy in place.....

Thanks for that. There's clearly a lot of commands in BBC BASIC that I haven't discovered...

*help I think you type although I could be wrong but looking at both work. I always used *help but lee is correct also with *roms i think the *help gives you other info as well

@@Retro4u I definitely need help, lol

It prints a blank line.

new experiences.... it keeps us (and these old machines) alive! :)

Noted. Thanks.

Sounds like a stray audio clip from somewhere else landed on top of it. Sorry about that.

Excellent, that's good news. Hope you get a lot of fun out of the Plus/4. :)

Yeah, had to file them down a little bit for level.

@@TimsRetroCorner Thanks for getting back to me. I'll give that a shot when my plungers arrive.

First problem sounds like the power switch. If you're careful you can open it slightly and get some contact cleaner inside it (if you take it fully apart, be careful not to lose the tiny spring pin like I did!). You can get replacements but they're hard to find (and the one I found was too short) Most likely failures for a black screen is the CPU and TED, in that order. You can put those chips in your C16 one at a time and see if it stops working, doing that won't damage it. (out of 5 machines I had 4 dead CPUs and 1 dead TED). Ted chips are easy to get hold of, but CPUs are expensive. There are alternatives though, and I've tried some of them on the channel.

@@TimsRetroCorner Hiya Tim and thank you so much for your reply to my comment to you. I sorted out the Plus 4's power switch by spraying contact cleaner inside it and rocking the switch on & off, off & on over 20 times and that seems to have done the trick as now the computer powers off properly. I tested both the CPU and then the TED chip from the Plus 4 board on my working C16, here's the results of testing them one at a time. Plus 4 CPU on my C16 board= Black screen Plus 4 TED on my C16 board= No Signal on my screen. So both chips i reckon are dead. I have purchased a replacement TED chip from that well known auction website (listed as tested and working) but just can't find a replacement CPU chip at all :( :( :( I know there are modern day replacement CPU's (C64 one's) so i reckon it's going to have to be one of them that i'll purchase to put put in this Plus 4 board. Love your videos btw, keep them coming please sir :) :) :)