Mail and donations - May 2024 - Lots of strange stuff and a very sad Commodore VIC-20

[@jasmijndekkers]

Hi Tommy, The can with the red stuff is for polishing metals. We used for polish watches and gear. Nice goodies again. Greetings from Steven from the Netherlands.

[@Arcticretro]

Thanks for the info :)

[@digitalarchaeologist5102]

Have not come across those cable joiners before, they're neat!

[@JimsRetroStuff]

Tommy, every time you cut toward yourself I wince a little. 🤣

[@Arcticretro]

It has gone well for this long. I'll probably cut my self some day :)

[@InfiniteLoop]

at least he's not as bad as Paul Restorer, drilling into toy cars while holds them, lol

[@gramar6261]

when he saw someone cutting towards himself a fellow worker would say "Cut your chum not your thumb"

[@RBRetroBunker]

I got products from Aoyue rework station works great but i have ordered a new pump after manny years work :) Nice video Tommy :)

[@Arcticretro]

Cool, thanks

[@yucelbilik]

Nice video, thanks ❤

[@Arcticretro]

Thank you too!

[@JoeBlogs720]

Not that exciting ? are you joking, we love looking at this stuff !

[@Arcticretro]

Ok, good. Thanks :)

[@horusfalcon]

Oopsie on the fume extractor, but all's well that ends well. That hub is really compact! Performance testing is definitely in order. That screw-threaded mandrel is for use with felt bobs. The red stuff is _jeweler's rouge!_ Use that with the felt bobs for polishing work. I'm left wondering just what sort of fuse holder that was (maybe the threaded-cap type?) You'll figure the VIC-20 out eventually. Good stuff, man.

[@Arcticretro]

Thanks. Working on the VIC20 now

[@bigbadhodad3894]

We are on a 240 volt system, it is just split into to 120 volt circuits for safety, Alex on Technology connections has a good video explaining it.

[@Arcticretro]

Yes, I saw that :)

[@digitalarchaeologist5102]

Kinda needed I guess. US plugs and sockets are terrible.

[@tenminutetokyo2643]

I barely scored a Z80 from mouser before they ran out!

[@Arcticretro]

Nice!

[@phreapersoonlijk]

28:05 probably polishing compound.

[@Arcticretro]

Thanks!

[@networkg]

Ok, we will go metric if you drop PAL and your funny wall plugs.

[@Arcticretro]

PAL is clearly better. And our funny wall plugs are safer than the US where you can easily get shocked :-)

[@networkg]

@@Arcticretro our 220v plugs are safe. Grounded 110v (and add a Ground fault interrupter) are safe enough. Now let's both get safe plugs and go down to 110v and we will all be safer.

[@digitalarchaeologist5102]

@@networkg US plugs and sockets are just terrible and most of the ones I've seen are not 220V and many don't even seem to be grounded. Hard to beat type G

[@rofbungle8572]

I suspect that power supply is not giving enough power for the Vic20. The Vic20 needs about 3A (at circa 10v that's round 30 watts - the VIc20 label states it needs 25 watts). Sometimes this is expressed as 30 Volt Amps. Your replacement power supply is putting out 3.6 volt amps, so a little over 10% of what is required.

[@Arcticretro]

Yes, I actually realized that afterwards. The PSU is too small. Still the machine is faulty. I tried with a suitable PSU

[@rofbungle8572]

@@Arcticretro I look forward to a repair video - it wouldn't be any fun if it just worked!

[@congestiontv]

As do I, thanks again for a very entertaining video. It is always like Christmas unwrapping when Ali/Bay parcels arrive. I'm sure you'll make this VIC20 working.

[@larryk731]

120 v, 60hz is normal - 220v 50 hz is just weird. We actually do use 220v for items like electric stoves, electric clothes driers, at home car charging stations, some power tools and air conditioning and other uses. As for metric, why should we use such a logical system outside of science and medicine? 5280 ft to a mile, much easier than 1000m to a km. lol Interesting videos

[@Arcticretro]

Most of the world uses 220V. I can see why you only want 110V when I see the poor safety on your sockets and appliances ;-) Yes, why use a easy to understand metric system when you can bring your calculator to convert units :)

[@larryk731]

@@Arcticretro I know - the whole message (except for the very end) was poking fun at the way the US power socket operates and how illogical the imperial system is. Electroboom (spelling?) from Canada did a video on how dangerous the US socket is and how the UK is best, with the European standard in the middle. I think Technology connections also did that

[@talideon]

​@@larryk731 The really funny thing about US plugs is that they're very close to being much better. If the prongs were tilted to form an angle like Australian ones, they'd be so much more robust!

[@larryk731]

@talideon Possibly, the true issue is that it's entirely too easy to accidentally touch the live prong when using a worn out plug or outlet. I can think of zero safety features similar to UK, Australia/new zealand, or European plug designs.

[@digitalarchaeologist5102]

@@talideon They would and the AU/NZ standard is actually based off the US standard, however AU plugs are still terribly flimsy, it's so easy to bend the pins still, but still much better than the US

[@tenminutetokyo2643]

Atari just bought Intellivision!

[@borayurt66]

Hi Tommy. Are you also a licensed amateur radio operator? If not, you should get a license to operate that radio because it is also a transmitter. Have fun.

[@Arcticretro]

No. I will not transmit anything. I know it's probably not legal.

[@borayurt66]

@@Arcticretro I know that you do not intent to transmit, and I believe you 100%. But, unfortunately the EU regulations, regardless of your intent, require you to have a radio amateur license to legally own that radio. Now that you made it public that you bought it, maybe you should contact your local amateur radio club to learn about how to obtain a license. I believe you need to apply to Nkom and take an exam. Amateur radio is a great hobby, and it also involves a lot of DIY electronic projects. You may like it. 😁

[@ralfr.5974]

First,😉

[@Arcticretro]

Congratulations on you achievement :)