Can this sad broken C64 be saved?

This Commodore 64 main board had so many things wrong with it, it was a fun challenge to get it working again. Previous owner(s) had caused damage to the board by removing chips, which adds an extra layer of difficulty to troubleshooting. It all starts with the dead test cartridge doing nothing.
In this video, I show my techniques for troubleshooting and fixing all of the problems.
--- Video Links
Special thanks to IZ8DWF who has given me great advice on repairs:
/ @iz8dwf
C64 main board schematics:
www.zimmers.net...
Diode Symbols:
www.rapidtable...
--- Tools
Deoxit D5:
amzn.to/2VvOKy1
store.caig.com/...
Jonard Tools EX-2 Chip Extractor:
amzn.to/2VazxDS
www.jonard.com...
Wiha Chip Lifter:
amzn.to/3a9ftWw
www.wihatools....
O-Ring Pick Set: (I use these to lift chips off boards)
amzn.to/3a9x54J
Elenco Electronics LP-560 Logic Probe:
amzn.to/2VrT5lW
Hakko FR301 Desoldering Iron:
amzn.to/2ye6xC0
Rigol DS1054Z Four Channel Oscilloscope:
www.rigolna.co...
Head Worn Magnifying Goggles / Dual Lens Flip-In Head Magnifier:
amzn.to/3adRbuy
TL866II Plus Chip Tester and EPROM programmer: (The MiniPro)
amzn.to/2wG4tlP
www.aliexpress...
TS100 Soldering Iron:
amzn.to/2K36dJ5
www.ebay.com/i...
EEVBlog 121GW Multimeter:
www.eevblog.co...
DSLogic Basic Logic Analyzer:
amzn.to/2RDSDQw
www.ebay.com/i...
Magnetic Screw Holder:
amzn.to/3b8LOhG
www.harborfrei...
Universal ZIP sockets: (clones, used on my ZIF-64 test machine)
www.ebay.com/i...
RetroTink 2X Upconverter: (to hook up something like a C64 to HDMI)
www.retrotink.com/
Plato (Clone) Side Cutters: (order five)
www.ebay.com/i...
Heat Sinks:
www.aliexpress...
Little squeezy bottles: (available elsewhere too)
amzn.to/3b8LOOI
--- Links
My GitHub repository:
github.com/mis...
Commodore Computer Club (of Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington)
www.commodorec...
Tivoo Pixel Art Display seen in my videos:
www.amazon.com...
--- C64 Stuff
JaffyDOS:
blog.worldofjan...
C64 Test Harness I use:
• Building a Commodore 6...
C64 Homebrew cartridge PCB: (used for the DeadTest / Diag Cart I use)
www.ebay.com/i...
EasyFlash 3 Multi-Cart:
store.go4retro....
--- Instructional videos
My video on damage-free chip removal:
• How to remove chips wi...
--- Music
Intro music by:
Nathan Divino
@itsnathandivino
Outro Music:
Abyss by | e s c p | escp-music.ban...
Music promoted by www.free-stock...
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
creativecommon...
--- Image Credits
None

[@brianv2871]

Well, it's nice to see that C64 finally fixed. I had given up, and after watching that video, i'm sure i'd have never gotten it fixed on my own, so thanks! I have a Zener diode to fix that cassette port from a (would you believe) worse parts board. Also another SID chip (I might have put the flaky one i had in there because I didn't want to risk a good one in that board). Just need to track down a PLA chip (or PLAnkton).

[@LeftoverBeefcake]

Go for the PLAnkton! I have one in my original C64 from '83 and one in my SX-64 and they work wonderfully, and run very cool. I would never again want to use an original-type PLA chip when they are basically time bombs.

[@DrTofu83]

Agreed. A PLAnkton runs colder, doesn't die on you and has the potential to outlast the C64 board :)

[@brianv2871]

Adrian has something he's testing that might be a cheap alternative to pla's or Plankton's so I'm waiting to see how that goes.

[@DrTofu83]

@@brianv2871 I'll be waiting for the magic Bell Icon too. I'm really interested of anything able to replace a PLA

[@alteregos8949]

@Jayson Cowan at this stage of the game we are well past the early on point that’s for sure. 37 years and still locating working ones is getting harder and harder these days.

[@gregghernandez2714]

This is one of those videos where about half way into it I wonder to myself: "Why on Earth am I watching this, I have never owned or will ever repair a Commodore 64 computer." Then it dawns on me, just like when I watched a guy construct a scarf joint on a large wooden beam....there is something very satisfying about watching true masters work at something, and continue to work on it until it is done. Okay now on to watch some glass blowing expert. LOL.

[@PeterJaquesMusic]

same, though i did used to own a c64 (even into college!). i would never repair one, but it was just super engaging to watch the mystery unfold

[@thomaswilson9780]

I actually could have written this comment!!

[@psour33]

I strongly agree :)

[@kaczan3]

I'd recommend to you channels about renovating old metal tools and knives.

[@martynlewis5901]

I work on domestic gas equipment (boilers, fires & cookers etc) in the uk. I’ve always been fascinated/interested in computing and owned a ZX Spectrum (amongst others) back in the day. I would love to get into this sort of thing but wouldn’t know where to start. I frequently use a multimeter for working on boilers but this is a whole different skill set.

[@Seafox0011]

This is better than watching a TV drama - so many unforeseen twists and turns as the narrative unfolds. Puzzle logic is indeed fascinating.

[@olafwagner]

"total novice" is being way too hard on yourself - this is some 'level 7 - chip ninja' stuff you are pulling off. very impressive and well done for your tenacity in getting it done.

[@SpaceButler010]

Anyone who can repair that thing is not a total novice. This was a ton of work that needed know-how, investigation and skill.

[@StrapMerf]

experience trumps training anyday.. a few minor things would have helped with formal training, and knowledge of failure modes, but they would have saved a few minutes at most.. training makes gaining experience slightly less painful.

[@Mike3DPro]

Novice?! you have scopes laying around AND a bald head! That pretty much makes you god mode by itself 😎

[@metesev]

Someone having an oscilloscope and using it to test the chips ain't a novice :) Novice is someone like me only using the solder iron or doing some point-to-point tests :)

[@jdryyz]

Have to agree. You're definitely above the Novice stage. More like Advanced.

[@keithwalter1241]

I have two solid years of electronics training and over 30 years of experience, and know very little about the C-64 inter workings, I own two, and used to program them in Commodore basic. You did an awesome job of troubleshooting the board, and had real tenacity in diagnosing each and every problem. You have better patience than I do. Very well done repair and video. I learned a lot about the C-64 watching your video. Thanks!!

[@daibach5378]

wow this takes me back, back in the late 80's i used to fix these for a living, a repair company in Monmouth UK called Mills, cant remember having a cool diagnostic cartridge, but i can remember on blank screen faults removing all the top row roms and chips along side of it and using the game Jupiter Lander cartridge game, this game didnt need any of the top row installed and if it worked you knew the fault lay in the chips you had taken out, also piggy backing ram chips, sometimes you could find a duff ram chip by putting a new chip on top of the old one, (just squeezed on top), All this and you didnt need good eyes to work, now I am replacing tiny SMD stuff which i need a mag lamp, Nice work again mate, took me back 30 years with that video

[@radiofreak0]

Wow, I've just sat here for 40minutes not knowing what the hell was going on,but utterly transfixed😃

[@RichardCatto]

yeah, me too. I just wanted to see if he could get it working again. pretty amazing to watch actually.

[@normanbates19]

Hahahaha me too! I love watching electronics repair videos, but have absolutely no bloody idea what it going on

[@MrAndroidData]

same here

[@VamosConLaPeli]

Guys, there are good electronics tutorials on the web, you might want to check out www.electronics-tutorials.ws/ or simply throw into duckduckgo.com the words "electronics tutorials". And you might also want to get familiar with the Arduino IDE (implies also learning C++), which allows to program many different microcontroller boards of different architectures (AVR [e.g. ProMini or ProMicro], ARM [e.g. STM32F103C8T6], or some wi-fi connected ones like NodeMCU ESP8266...). You might also decide to put that together with what you learnt in the electronics tutorials and design some extra hardware to use with your microcontroller board, you'll have to test it on protoboards and then maybe use KiCAD to make a PCB (you might buy a budget oscilloscope like Hantek DSO5102P and a KKmoon dual channel signal generator, both great value for the money... or maybe something more expensive). I've come to watch this one because I have been a C64er for quite some years, also doing some assembly coding on it :D and of course I remember some great whole-summer-night videogame sessions with my brother, we are now living in different continents.

[@themetalmicky]

me too, im bamboozled

[@laurencevanhelsuwe3052]

It's fantastic to see how much love these old machines still get almost 40 years later. I just found my original C64 again after "losing" it for decades.. :-)

[@countryside8122]

I remember back in those days My friend and I used to copy atari games on our own home made boards with copied chips. Also we found that you could copy ANY floppy disk with a 1541 by adding a couple jumpers on the board. Then we could copy the copyrighted floppies at the time. Was always fun to play with these machines and the 128 as well.

[@kriswillems5661]

I am an electronics engineer and I think your troubleshooting was just fine. I liked that you used the scope. I am not sure I would have done as well as you. You're very experienced in debugging c64 hardware.

[@Sypaka]

KZbin; "Yo, you like electronic diagnostics and repairs?" Me: "Well, kinda." KZbin: "Then just look at this, yo!" Was not disappointed.

[@15743_Hertz]

Personally, I don't see all that many flubs with your repair. It takes a while to develop good practices for troubleshooting and different people use slightly different methods. You're doing just fine.

[@TheBananaPlug]

Agreed, no sure fire 'one best way', all repair guys I have known approach problems from different angles/perspectives.

[@azzajohnson2123]

We all learn from adrians learnings and that’s why we all find this so interesting to watch. We have all been there when troubleshooting.

[@Spazilton1]

From someone who has worked in Electronics repair for 20+ years in the private sector and the US Navy, your methods are just fine.

[@ahndeux]

I saw one huge flub. He should have replaced that last botched wire job at 14:22. He fixed all the other wires and left one raggedy yellow wire. I was cringing when he left it on.

[@JIM6167]

Adrian you say that you have no training in electronic repairs and you are a novice, but to me you are an expert! I am very impressed with your skills and all the amazing repairs that you have done! I am a big fan of your channel!

[@bswfcw]

I grew up fixing video games for arcades as a business in the early 80's. All professional arcade machines were designed and built like this. I developed the exact same skills you used to fix this on my own so you are spot on with your troubleshooting and diagnostics approach !

[@Huzzahgamers_inc]

Good rule to stick to, If you see a bad socket... Just replace it. Clean up all your solder leads and make sure to double check all traces. * to remove bad sockets, if you can reach the leads, snip them all and then remove the plastic and then remove each snipped piece of snipped legs and clean and resolder the pads. ***But! I want to make certain to say, Great Job! It was a real treat to watch you work on that board and your logic about troubleshooting the issues was very well thought out. Good work and keep it up!

[@Maxxarcade]

Gotta love working on a board that someone has messed with and pulled up traces. Having a good desoldering iron with the proper tip is essential to prevent trace damage. For most of my vintage boards, I use the Hakko A1002 nozzle with the 0.8mm diameter. And it's also important to maintain the pump and seals so you get enough vacuum.

[@shawbros]

The best scenarios are when you know who caused the problem(s), and after fixing the problems, you can explain them all to the person, so they realize their incompetence.

[@peterromano1911]

Wow, what a walk down memory lane !!! I started my electronics career in the early to mid 1990s and my first gig was working for a Commodore Dealer. Since I was good at soldering, the owner made me his #1 troubleshooting tech for C64 and Commodore Amiga computers. It has been so long since I have toyed with any of these computers but your video brought back a lot of memories and your techniques for troubleshooting were great !!! Yes, A diagnostic schematic is a Tech's best friend ALWAYS !!! I would love to watch more videos like this !!! Thank you for the memories ! Pete...

[@Ben-eu4il]

I did not realize that "Total Novice" equaled Jedi Master electrical/digital Tech!!! Amazing sir! I have worked in computer software & hardware for 30 years. I found this very relaxing & appreciated your troubleshooting skills! Awesome job in your electrical trouble shooting!! Big LIKE & new Subscriber!

[@Kerveros1904]

Says total novice while the background behind him is full of electronics material, revealing a work of decades. Excellent video by all means, i was very happy to watch it. Definitely this is a material for a seminar in electronics.

[@Kerveros1904]

@@adriansdigitalbasement you are very good with what you are doing and most important is that you are persistent, you do not give up easily. Too bad that all these bad c64s cannot be fixed by their owners because this is an expensive task as it could take several days even for an experienced electrotechnician.

[@CraigAB69]

It is interesting to see that the test harness, whilst very useful, can only go so far. Then you are back to reading the schematics. Thank you for reminding me of the important lesson of looking at the board first for 1) Broken traces 2) Bad/broken/dry solder joints. It is just so easy to jump in and start de-soldering components.

[@stefanocrespi5424]

@@adriansdigitalbasement but it wouldn't have given us a full 41 minutes long good entertaining!

[@hesed012]

Hi Adrian, I am a former owner of C64. I used it to create my college papers while I was attending the University of Guam in the 80s. It ran fine until the monitor was broken and I did not have your channel back then to learn how to fix it, so I threw it away all together. Watching your video took me back to thirty-eight years ago. Thanks.

[@biztyke]

Hi Adrian. I really want to thank you for putting up the videos you do. I consider myself rather knowledgeable in electronics, I own a soldering station and desoldering station and heat gun. And I know my way around a circuit board somewhat well. All that said, what you are showing in your videos is a step above and it really does inform me what I need to be looking more for in troubleshooting circuit boards in general. I've heard on a few videos that people downplay your knowledge. Some would say your approach is not appropriate, but having watched several clips of what you've done, I must say that I'm impressed and you really helped me to understand more about what the circuits and chips are doing beyond the basics. So thank you for that and keep putting out your videos.

[@siskodata]

41 minutes just fly when you are watching something fun. Besides that why not make a tutorial for testing different components using different tools (multi meter. oscilloscope, probe etc...) I prefer it coming from a non technical person as my self then from an electronics engineer. Thanks and happy holidays.

[@leandrotami]

I didn't realize that the video was that long!

[@5Breaker]

*instant realisation* Wait what? That was 41 Minutes?

[@jjock3239]

I enjoyed watching you struggle your way through the repair, simply because someone had butchered the motherboard. I particularly liked your logical approach, and your perseverance. It all paid off..

[@bloeckmoep]

Hmm, I only have a tip for you, when dealing with bad sockets and chips, cut the legs of that bad socket or chip, then use a desoldering iron vacuum pump. Lets you get rid of each individual leg of the socket or chip without putting much stress on the pad and trace. Just a tip, not a must.

[@clairsmyers3571]

Adrain, I have been in electronics repair most of my adult life. I see nothing wrong with your techniques! What works for you is what you want. I have repaired many C 64s with just a logic probe and I really like the equipment you have there. Very impressive.

[@pmgodfrey]

KZbin: Do you want to watch this? Me: ...maybe? Very thorough diagnostic and repair. And now I forgot what I came to KZbin for, but feel compelled to go get some C64's and fix them! Nice work!

[@wynandmentz9532]

You give yourself way to little credit and I have repaired similar Atari Products in the 80's myself. Nothing wrong with your troubleshooting skills and you are NO novice. Well Done- that was great to see it all come alive. Best for the future.

[@snwdwg1]

novice, are joking your the type of guy whose method gets written into tech journals. very good work

[@graynoble4795]

HOLY CRAP MAN! I loved (LOVE) my old Commodore 64 that has been dead for over 25 years. The sound doesn't work and the 1541 drive doesn't read, but I do get the blue ready screen. I have never seen any tutorial like this and I was fired up after seeing you do this! Your skills are off the hook and you make this look SO easy! I know its not and would never attempt this type of repair at my level (or lack thereof) but this was absolutely fascinating to watch! Thank you!!!

[@earthlydescent]

You may go around things differently, but you're my favorite KZbin channel. Folks like you, LGR and the 8 Bit Guy are the best. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you.

[@FrankConforti]

Adrian, thank you for taking us on this journey. Your diagnosis methods are just fine. As I’m sure you know, there is seldom a mapped out troubleshooting guide that will cover all potential faults especially when stacked up like this board. One of the most expensive aspects for NASA and Military projects is the need to reduce fault isolation as much as possible even if there’s only a once in a million chances the fault condition will occur. Working on commercial products is all learning the obvious weaknesses, and a strong sense of intuition. I see nothing wrong with your methods. Teaching them to others especially while showing all the ugliness builds that intuition. Thanks again!

[@Steve_R]

Thank you Adrian for bringing another C64 back to life. Thanks also for taking the time to make these videos for everyone to enjoy. Merry Christmas to you and may 2020 see more repair and other videos from you. Steve.

[@deltekkie7646]

Good video. I run an R&D lab where we build electromechanical test equipment. I mentor Electrical Interns often and also have technicians who work for me. One thing I train my people to do when they are troubleshooting a problematic circuit board is to use a known good board, save the scope image of the different signals for the data lines you need to troubleshoot to a library on your PC. This way when you are troubleshooting the bad board you need only to pull the images up for the pins to see what the data lines SHOULD look like to know if what you suspect is bad is correct. This has saved me a lot of time over the years.

[@PeteSauerbier]

I really like your style in progressing with the diagnostics and I'm glad there's still good care for those hardware gems!

[@jimviau327]

If it is true that you have no experience in electronic and you can demonstrate this level of intuition and intelligence you definitely have a gift. I have seen electronic engineers not able to come close to that level of expertise.

[@joeyr9876]

My gosh you were determined to get that fixed. I think my patience would have given out quite awhile in to the project and I would have declared it a parts machine. Good job!

[@garydunken7934]

41mins of pure joy of fault diagnosis.

[@Aruneh]

I have never cared for Commodores, growing up at the tail end of that era, but this video was very interesting! Good job getting it working right.

[@johnpossum556]

You've got the best skills to do effective troubleshooting. Sheer tenacity and mental focus. Also, like a Dr you do no harm. The fact that you diagnosed & repaired it down to the component level of even components you don't know proves that. And this comes from some one who was trained in one of the best electronic colleges in the country. Most troubleshooting comes down to two methods. Divide & conquer. Or signal tracing. The largest percentage of repairs are mostly PSUs and what you did was much more complex.

[@abar1120]

This video was amazing! Your tenacity during the troubleshooting process was very impressive. If you are at all interested in attempting to repair a faulty Atari 1040 STf please let me know. I've had the machine for about 1 year and can't get video to display. Big fan of your videos!

[@brianv2871]

Have you picked up the Diagnostic cartridge? I think BEST sells one, which is where i got mine. I ended up having to just pick up another 1040STF and do chip swapping.. once you figure out the chip, you can just resell the 2nd computer on ebay. With my 520ST that couldn't display video, I ended up replacing the C025914-38A chip. You're using the original monitor, I assume?

[@abar1120]

@@brianv2871 Thank you for the advice. I don't have the diag cart. I always figured the issue would be the Shifter chip or the glue chip. I actually have a working Atari 520 STf but have always been weary to swap the chips as they don't look identical to what I see on the 1040STf and didn't want to risk damaging components from my working system to test the 1040. I don't have the original monitor but do own monochrome and color VGA cables that works with an Acer monitor capable of the 15khz refresh rate. This of course has been tested on the on the 520. Thanks for the advice!

[@brianv2871]

so my two boards, the chips were slightly different as well, but googling i determined the parts were just newer revisions (something like 30 vs 30a). But yeah, i guess do what your comfortable with, but the 520stf and 1040stf were essentially the same machine but with more ram. in fact, my 520stfm had empty slots that could be filled to make it a 1040. I never bothered with that since i used to have a ram module that stopped working and might just get or make another one at some point. I only asked about the monitor because I've not had luck using the special cables (like composite, or the scart cables) on non modulated ataris, but i assume if your setup works on a non modulated Atari then you're good there. Anyway, don't think Adrian could really help on this, because even if he could diagnose the issue, he'd need parts to swap in, and he doesn't really have spare parts for them like he does commodore. If i recall, he just has the STE, which has different chips.

[@markwanklyn4195]

@@abar1120 no video output is not necessarily a video fault - my STe had no video output and it turned out it was the reset circuit that was at fault -bad output on the 555 timer chip was causing the reset line not to be toggled correctly on power up

[@PCBoardRepair]

@@brianv2871 chip swapping is just guessing

[@rivlezz]

I'm 37 and grew up with a C64C. You make me want to buy another C64. Great video man, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@leokimvideo]

Thank you for saving my childhood. Imagine if these were ROHS, then there would be no way of getting these to be alive again. I stopped putting my failures in videos because I feel KZbin saw them as demonetization issues. Mind you they never tell you why your video is demonetized. Funny how some people don't say the 'L' in soldered. Maybe I'm saying it wrong.

[@SockyNoob]

We Americans tend to drop the l in soldering.

[@danield.7359]

Very complex array of problems. Incredible how you didn't give up and went step by step fixing it. Taught me a lesson.

[@forevercomputing]

If someone says, "it's fine" TEST it anyway.

[@Baerchenization]

My mother said the radio of their stereo system stopped working. So I Ebay-ed them a replacement. When I finally went over to my parents' place this Xmas, it turned out the radio was perfectly fine and instead it was the amplifier that had stopped working :) So yeah, never listen to other peoples' diagnosis ! Her comment: she calls the entire stereo system " the radio". Cheers, mum :)

[@MickeyMousePark]

@@Baerchenization I worked in the computer hardware repair industry in the 1980's the first lesson they taught us was: Listen very carefully to what the customer thinks the problem is and what they think will fix it..after the customer leaves ignore everything they just told you... On side note our troubleshooting skills in hardware repair was make sure you have good power to the board then start at the CPU checking all input and output signals and work from there..we were lucky our schematics had OScope images of all pins of all logic chips on the board... 10 years later i worked at Microsoft internal IT (software) and first thing they taught us was: Listen very carefully to what the customer (these were MS employees) thinks the problem is and what they think will fix it..after the customer leaves ignore everything they just told you...

[@someguystudios23]

My dad is an electrician and he always says, "if someone says the circuit is off, test the circuit. ALWAYS TEST THE CIRCUIT."

[@codprocamp4690]

Especially when she doesn't bring condoms

[@Ricky_B4]

I don't repair boards any more but I felt quite nostalgic watching you work. took me back to the 80's when I was about 30 yo I designed logic circuits for lighting controls, we did wire wrap because most everything was a one off. Thanks for helping me feel young for about 40 minutes. You do good work and your troubleshooting logic is impressive!

[@Knaeckebrotsaege]

calls himself a complete novice, already has much better test equipment than what I'm dealing with... damn

[@jeromeygreen4788]

I feel this in my soul

[@stifledvoice]

I got a free multimeter from Harbor Freight and barely enough smarts to follow a diagram to wire an arduino to a breadboard, so this guy is lightyears ahead

[@darkrider318]

Two of the best "jobs" I enjoy C64 programming and electronics reworking. Both I had the privilege of doing in my life. Kudos to you for the outstanding rework. Your methods were spot on. I can't say enough doing a complete scan of boards on initial rework applications. But your methods had shown the imperativeness of doing this in the middle of the project. Pat yourself on the back for doing a great job in finding the problems with trace work. Your diagnostics is sound! I had to look up some info on the Zener diode application as using a diode for flow control and protection was my initial thought, but after some research, you were spot on again to its use. Most would give up on such a project, you had the tenacity to see it to fruition. Again, your rework prowess is exponential. Your explanation of tasks and sound theories are very well stated, and that's something that few people can accomplish, even for engineers, trust me when I say working with a few of them and seeing eyes roll as they believe you should know everything as they should in the field of work. Great Job!

[@Rumteldat]

I can't believe I watched the entire video. I found it fascinating and really informative. Great job!

[@bullettube9863]

Nice work! I remember I used to use a rubber ball suction tool to remove solder and it took hours to make sure I had completely cleaned a connection. Another trick I used was a steel wire that I wound around my soldering pen to make a very tiny tip to clean out socket holes. My son and I used to play games on his Commodore 64 and had a lot of fun together. The main problem I used to encounter was flimsy connections that I had to resolder. My son now works in IT but still remembers the fun he had in simpler times.

[@Mattscreative]

jesus just saw it was 41 mins long but felt like 10 mins wow nice work

[@GregMcCarthyUK]

Great video. Poor C64 was abused by other people that don't know to do proper repairs. Its great to see you bring it back to life.

[@PeowPeowPeowLasers]

"piece of crap socket" - **looks nervously at the sockets I've installed in my PET**

[@raven4k998]

heres a pat on the back it'll be fine my brother it'll be fine don't worry

[@hullinstruments]

AUGAT brand sockets my man!!! They are the best! Usually $5-$15 each but if you watch eBay you can get some deals. I just bought a lot of 20 beautiful gold plated brand new in the package AUGAT sockets for $7 shipped! There a special type, and I could flip those bad boys for $15 each but I’ll hold onto them! I love collecting vintage IC and transistor sockets. There are some really beautiful examples out there that bring crazy money.

[@sivalley]

Can't blame yourself if you don't know better!

[@jeromeygreen4788]

Can't be that bad in the grand scheme of things, I fix cars and motorcycles as a hobby and the amount of dirt cheap, questionable components that I've used on them with no issues is amazing. If you can convince it to work where it's supposed to the majority of the time it just works, no matter how jankey it is.

[@Calphool222]

Some people say double leaf sockets, but I say machined pin is the way to go. I've used thousands of them, and *never* had a problem with machined pin sockets. Double leaf sockets aren't *terrible*, but I've had a few get crusty and fail. Single leaf sockets are the devil and should never have even been imagined.

[@jonatannoda1492]

you just did a great Job on that C64 Board , I've never saw a Tech doing such a repair like the one you did, congratulations.

[@360hikes8]

My Dad bought his C64 when I was about 4 years old. I'm 40 now. He still has it and it still works. It's never needed serviced or repaired.

[@adamw.8579]

These was good times when "programmed wearing" was unknown term. Proper engineering and equipment was made for years (sometimes for decades).

[@treadmillrepair754]

I bought a damage Commodore 64 7 years ago and I fixied with my son, now he is a computer engineer. tgis video bring back memories. Best Regards.

[@pilotkid2011]

This was easily the best video you have ever made 10/10

[@dantootill]

This is the best C64 repair video I've ever seen. While so many just seem to document a PLA swap, here I think you hit (and remedied) the majority of issues I've found with C64 motherboards in one go.

[@area73blog]

This was like watching a very gripping 41 minute mystery show. Great work!

[@markrhine5809]

Mr. Black, I am so impressed by the way you troubleshoot these computers, you are very talented, My very first computer was 520 ST then a friend of mine gave me 3 c64's and I have been enjoying these computers even to this day, your channel I enjoy and learn from...Have a great day.....

[@andyknowles666]

I was out of ideas before you were 5 minutes in.

[@borayurt66]

There is a saying which I strongly support in electronics, both for design and repair work: "If it works, it ain't stupid." Nice work!

[@SteveJones172pilot]

"This socket is a piece of crap!" - Yeah.. as soon as you pulled that chip, I said the same thing in my head.. I hate those sockets too!

[@throttlebottle5906]

they cause more issues than they fix, I've had to remove many from all sorts of equipment a bad one is 8 pin op-amps in amplifier early stages, had them go intermittent and drive output stages to near full DC rail voltage and cook speaker coils!

[@SteveJones172pilot]

@@throttlebottle5906 Interesting! I hadn't considered a scenario where a failure like that could cascade to another failure but that's a good thing to remember! I generally run into them on old vintage arcade machines (PacMan and Williams pinball machine boards, specifically..) where it may cause something not to work, but I've never seen it break something else!!!

[@mikeh4775]

I own a Donkey Kong arcade machine and have had issues with IC sockets as well

[@SteveGoodenough]

Just watched 42 mins and was totally engrossed, I would never call you a novice! Looks over at my dead 64, wish I had someone like you round the corner :D

[@anotheruser9876]

"Look How They Massacred My Boy" Good job on reviving it.

[@00Skyfox]

That pictorial fault guide page is very handy. I had a fault that I got published on there, the broken trace fault at the bottom of the page. Nice work on fixing this machine! It is so satisfying to finally get to the bottom of a problem and get the beautiful blue screen of life on a C64.

[@bonuscreature]

Enjoyed this immensely. I would attribute your aversion to novice status to the Dunning-Kruger effect. Bookmarked The Pictorial C64 Fault Guide. Hopefully it will help with my C64 character ROM issue.

[@leandrotami]

Don't you mean the imposter syndrome? This is a case of a person who clearly knows what it's doing but is saying otherwise. Still... as any expert on any field keeps learning new stuff, they become more and more aware of all those things that they ignore. Therefore you have Socrates there saying 'I only know that I know nothing'.

[@bonuscreature]

Leandro Tami Dunning-Kruger effect is about both novices overestimating their ability AND more knowledgeable people underestimating theirs.

[@SynthedMind]

Hi there ! You did a marvellous job repairing this board. Your methodology of fault finding and fixing is very good. I also wanted to say that it’s always a good idea to use good quality chip sockets. I’ve encountered also many issues with bad sockets at work. Nice and crisp video too, very informative !

[@Jerkwad152]

Your videos are always an education.

[@Jerkwad152]

Yes, I think so. :3

[@davidinark]

Not sure how I ended up here, but I have a c64 board that needs fixin’ and this video helps me see the kind of troubleshooting someone might do to narrow down and repair the issues. Great vid!

[@jb31842]

@23:42 "So to recap..." Me: "Oh, you're going to replace all the capacitors next???"

[@raygud]

a lot of leaking capacitors there...

[@fyreantz2555]

Yours is an excellent systematic approach to repair and trouble shooting. Well done, sir.

[@Turnbull50]

I ended up watching for the whole length waiting with baited breath each time you switched the power on.

[@stevesstuff1450]

Ohh man... what a great repair job! Fantastic! Another C64 has risen from the grave! Brilliant! And thanks for showing that clip of the recent Donky Kong remake; I had no idea it existed... just downloaded it and have it playing now on my new "TheC64" 'maxi'/full-size machine.... that music remake from Donkey Kong Country is astoundingly good..... amazing use of the SID chip, and this new machine plays it back brilliantly too - it's great emulation ! Great video, and great repair job... Hope you've had a good Christmas... and thanks for this video :-)

[@stevesstuff1450]

@@adriansdigitalbasement : Yes, it is, and it's a brilliant 'retro' game...the new 'TheC64' is a great repro version, and works pretty much identically to the original... I got mine a few days ago and love it! It's like having the original 64 back after all these years...apart from the lack of the original ports on the back - which is understandable with what they were trying to recreate..... ;-) The new 'TheC64' has full access to virtual tape, cartridge, and disc based programmes, all via the USB ports, and so is a brilliant device for those of us like me, who want to relive old memories of the original, and want to carry on using the system in a modern way; I wonder if adaptors will ever be made to convert the old ports to the USB standard? Could be cool!! Galencia is a wonderful new game and runs perfectly on the 'TheC64', and as with the Donkey Kong Country - that theme tune is just amazing!!

[@srensrensen5354]

I might just be a geek :-D But even though I have spent ages online, watching all kinds of videos, this video is one of the most interesting and satisfying videos, I have seen

[@parishna4882]

That was my impression also. It was good to see an actual diagnostic video test, rather than someone who just knows and thinks the viewer knows so they omit anything that actually helps us newbs understand these things. Nice vid Adrian!

[@samsta10000]

"It's fixed!!" "Oh wait no it's not." "There that's it working!"" "Hahaha nope." "Alright, finally, it's working!" "Hahahaha think again!" That's some incredible dedication to fixing things you have. Great job!

[@FalconFour]

TS100 tip: if you've got the XT60 to DC barrel cable that's commonly offered with the TS100, that cord is a piece of junk. The wires in the cable are awesome, but the strain relief is bad - it makes the wires fray and break with moderate use. Check for continuity in the DC barrel while manipulating the strain relief. You might need to strip the molding off it and resolder, hot-snot the thing back together. Maybe.

[@0xbenedikt]

Hmm, I also had my TS100 power jack go bad, but it was the wallwart Sainsmart one. I've since replaced it with a JBC Compact iron, but I would still like to fix the old TS100. Perhaps I might try bending the lever in the barrel jack a bit inwards.

[@darkmanalmighty9683]

That was a very thorough look into diagnosing the computer. Your thought process on tackling something that seems daunting to the novice actually became easy to follow. Thank you!

[@nicepush2574]

The 113 thumbs down were the previous owners of that CPU board 😂😂😂

[@Shawnsteroz]

Well done Adrian. Being an electronics novice too, I find your methods look totally legit :). The Schematics are totally important, I was installing the Triple Bypass board to the Mega Genesis recently and needed it to find the connections, as there are no real instructions. Funnily I replaced the a damaged SMD chip today on the Triple Bypass board and the trace came off, I used a filament of copper wire from the chip leg to the video output and it frigging works. So happy too with that, and your success with that sorry C64.

[@Alexis_du_60]

Oh dear, this poor Commodore sure has seen better days, it's always satisfying to see a machine fire up and just work after you spend countless hours tackling its problems. ------------------------------------------------ Aye, while it's not as impressive, I too, got my hands dirty and started tackling a project: my friend's Amstrad CPC 6128, it won't read any disk, and the floppy drive makes weird noises... And it has a intermittent fault where the keyboard intermittently stops responding. For now, I've dismantled the drive and found out that the belt is gone (it has melted away, and trust me, cleaning melted rubber is a pain, thankfully I had rubbing alcohol on hand, it more or less worked fine), for now I haven't put it back and will need to order a new belt. After that I'll move onto the keyboard issue...

[@ct6502c]

Yikes! It sounds like you definitely have a lot of work ahead of you! It's great though that people are fixing vintage computers and bringing them back to life. In a way, it definitely is helping to preserve a part of history.

[@Alexis_du_60]

@@ct6502c yeha in a way, it feels like restoring preserving a ancient artifact from the past, so it doesn't fade into the abyss of the forgotten things. That aside, this Amstrad is quite a simple machine, it's just yet another Zilog Z80-based computer, nothing too far-fetched, they were built to be cheap (from what I heard about them), but surprisingly the one I'm restoring has held up pretty well (save for the drive belt melting and the keyboard ribbon connector being flaky), though on the outside it's near mint, save for a few blemishes, but hey, it adds a bit of character to the machine, right?

[@UltromanTheTacoman]

I don't know anything about hardware repair and I only ever played a C64 once in my life, not really connecting with it, since I had my Sega MD 2 already...and yet, I can't stop watching. I guess I just love watching people who know their craft do what's magic to me :) And also, I admire people who resort to fixing things instead of just buying new things. It's not like I'm a "no waste" person, but there's a happy middle-ground where you at least TRY to fix, e.g., the ripped pocket on your jacket, instead of throwing it out.

[@ronniepirtlejr2606]

I enjoyed watching you diagnose this computer. I am also a novice at Electronics. I would say you are about a year ahead of me or so. I have learned quite a bit by watching you. I've noticed that the schematics are starting to look a lot easier to me. (they make a lot more sense). I would imagine as with any new language, it all seems overwhelming at first, but after a while things just start falling into place! :-)

[@SpiralPegasus]

I loved how in-depth you went for all the little details, and the throughout process of trying everything out. Excellent!

[@happyday2678]

Adrian was trying to be humble but the effect of that humorous "total novice" depiction likely sounds too detached from the stunt so much so that 98% of his audience would be left feeling they don't even qualify for the title of "novice" anymore.

[@Ben31337l]

I think that amateur might be a better description for us common folk.

[@asphixmx]

I am a C64 fan. I know nothing about electronics, but I saw all your 41 mins video and found it very interesting. Thanks!.

[@kataseiko]

I think someone had that character ROM issue when they invented the Ancient script for Stargate.

[@maxrkmrose]

Adrian, excellent video and thanks for posting this. Back in mid-80s, I used to fix C64s. We had the Commodore diagnostic kit however your friend's kit does a much better job and has more features (if I remember correctly). The biggest issue we had back then was ESD at the joystick ports - people would spark the port(s) when turning on their machines / typical winter-time issue. Take care and thanks, again.

[@davej3781]

I was an Atari guy back in the day... why am I watching 41 minutes of a guy repairing a C64? at 1am?

[@adamw.8579]

Me too, my first serious overhaul was expanding RAM in my Atari XE to 256kB for Sparta DOS RAM-Disk. Works lika a charm for few years until PC come on my desk.

[@davej3781]

I don't recall doing any hacking on my 800, but I did hack and ultimately killed my 520ST. First I separated the keyboard from the rest of the computer, because I hated having all the cables stretched across my desk to where I wanted to have the keyboard. Initially I just had the keyboard in the empty case connected by a small cable to the mainboard at the back of the desk under the monitor stand; I planned to cut the case down to a more proper keyboard size, and then put the mainboard back into what was left... Never got to it though before I killed it doing a memory upgrade with some bad solder from radio shack. Then I got a Mega ST2...

[@VTX00128]

Ah this take me back to my 386/486 chipset days

[@SidebandSamurai]

What a great video. Its good to see people taking an active part in making sure these computers still survive and work. Merry Christmas!

[@tron3entertainment]

34:57 "Bring in the Logic Probe!" - Sark / TRON

[@richardking1561]

Hello Sir, I wanted to say thank you and great video! You are definitely NOT a novice in my eyes. What I saw you do in the video referencing schematics, going specificlly to the tracers on the board and the chipsets on a 38 year old computer, that is definitely not novice. Great job and I learned that it can defintely take a while to troubleshoot these things, especially someone who may not have all the equipment that you used.

[@GuardianWorld]

26:05, when your Commodore 64 stats speaking Minecraft Enchantment table language.

[@DarrenHughes-Hybrid]

Almost 1/2 million views and 1,385 comments, so you prob won't see this comment, but I appreciate that you give us basically the raw experience of troubleshooting this board. I think it gives a more realistic view of how the experience is, rather than an overly produced video would, especially a video where all the problems are edited out. I have only one critique. I think it would be better, if you can try to keep hands and arms from blocking the view, even if it means reaching for the power switch with the other hand. Thank you for these videos.

[@zordmaker]

Fixed. Now give the customer the bill for around $2k of time... and BTW, no warranty... thank goodness I'm not in to heritage electronics repairs... anymore...

[@SeanKStephens]

I very much enjoyed watching your troubleshooting process. Things are complicated when there are compound problems and a lot of people would quit in frustration rather than break it down into ever smaller problems to fix. Great work!

[@moominpapa1980]

"I'm an electronics novice"- made me spit out my wine 😅🤣

[@tindrli]

same here

[@edoardobarolo4680]

I find this kind of repairing videos so relaxing ! I had my dad repair my C64 too and we fixed by changing the CPU

[@IcicleFurry]

I don't know but there is just something funny about something working but corrupted :D

[@niagaramike528]

That was awesome. You did great work. I like that you didn't just get it working, you cleaned it up and fixed it right. Very Nice! I'm really regretting tossing my C64 a few decades ago.