FAILED REPAIR! I didn't fix this Atari 130XE from

** This video is kindly supported by www.PCBWay.com - My choice for for high quality PCB manufacturing, 3D printing and more! I thank them, and Elaine Hu for their wonderful support! **
Hello Wonderful Fixers!
So this is the first (maybe last??) video looking at an Atari 130XE that was gifted to me by fellow retro youtuber Ctrl-Alt-Rees MANY moons ago. He did say that it was a bit fubar.
Whilst packing up, I decided it might be a good video to have a look inside and see it it was a quick fix. It was not, but we do get to play with a nice bit of thermal imaging kit and mention Top Gun!
If you are interested in getting a TopDon Thermal camera add on for your own troubleshooting and repairs, you can find discounts here:
UK
TC001 (Android): www.amazon.co....
TC002 (IOS - Lightning port): www.amazon.co....
TC002C (IOS - Type-C): www.amazon.co....
US:
TC001 (Android): www.amazon.com...
TC002 (IOS - Lightning port): www.amazon.com...
TC002C (IOS - Type-C): www.amazon.com...
I've not really "given up" on this machine of course, but lack of time and parts might mean it's beyond my reach to get it working right now. I do anticipate a further video down the line where we check the functions with the oscilloscope and see what IS working and what ISN'T!
Thanks for your amazing support everyone! if you would like to help me produce more content then:
You can become a patron at / markfixesstuff
You buy me a Coffee at ko-fi.com/mark...
I'm grateful to you all for watching my video.
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🎶🎵🎶 Licenced Music Used in this Episode! 🎶🎵🎶
🎼www.epidemicso...
#retrocomputing #atari #retrogaming

[@coolts]

Good to see you back.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Thanks mate!!!

[@PaulinesPastimes]

While watching this I was pleased to be re-acquainted with the magic of your videos. When you are right into the subject, they are so absorbing. Also, admirable restraint on your part for resisting the urge to peel off the film on the case badge. I don't think I could have done it. 😊👍

[@UpLateGeek]

I wouldn't call it a fail, I'd call it progress. Even if replacing faulty parts didn't change much, they still needed to be replaced, and it will help narrowing down the problem. So keep up the good work and you'll have this Atari fixed in no time! 👍

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Yes, my thinking as well. I can't use the oscilloscope to check IC functions with the faulty RAM installed and dragging the 5v rail down.

[@Colin_Ames]

Great video, as always. Looking forward to part two.

[@adilsongoliveira]

Mark is back, back again Mark is back, tell a friend Mark is back, Mark is back, Mark is back, Mark is back...

[@TimmyJoe633]

Encore! Encore! We want more! we want more! 😂

[@kins749]

Great vid as ever, looking forward to part 2, certainly seems like someone shoved 12v up its jacksie

[@willrobinson7599]

Another great video as usual mark. Keep them coming. Roll on part 2

[@SophieFeet]

I snorted coffee through my nose when you found "a couple more hairy balls". Good work :D

[@johnadriandalton]

Mark in fine form! Bravo! :)

[@waynenewark5363]

I still have my complete boxed Atari 130xe. It's just a pity it doesn't work at the moment. It was definitely working when I put it in the attic 20 years ago.

[@AiOBofh77]

Charming that the lens-cut-out of the camera matches the XE's function keys in shape :D

[@grandupper2588]

I love watching this, great vid bud :)

[@LanceHall]

There is no fail only delayed success

[@djm9937]

looking forward to seeing a further repair on this :)

[@waltciii3]

Looking forward to the next installment.

[@SMlFFY85]

That sticky out Lightning connector gives me anxiety, it looks like it'll snap off if you as much as look at it funny.

[@TheDarkHour684]

Was thinking the same thing!

[@mwk1]

AMAZING STUFF 😎 Since I had a similar problem when my first Atari 65XE from 1988 died all of the sudden, I'd say that ANTIC is dead (bunch of ram chips + antic).

[@gregcoons7308]

Nice work there

[@8antipode9]

Good to see! I have an Atari 1040STF, thankfully not as far gone as yours but I've never seen or touched an Atari ST before so I feel like I'm in a similar boat (floppy drive is not working). Sockets may be cheap but as long as they're not single wipe, they're fine. Thanks for the video!

[@ctrlaltrees]

Almost certainly the floppy drive itself, they're quite prone to failure. Worth checking out the belt and/or the caps depending on the specific model.

[@ephemerallyfe]

Enjoying each of your videos! Thanks, Mark!

[@kerryhawk3200]

Good to see you back!

[@andygozzo72]

nice, i'd love one of those desoldering stations, i have several boxes of 'scrap' boards i'd like to get the chips off of, a few are full of 4164s and some other types, i've already manually took a few off and were ok..

[@andygozzo72]

those sockets are ok, they're very common and never had any issues with them, if you're thinking of using turned pin types, they can cause issues especially if putting in previously soldered chips, the extra thickness stretches/deforms/breaks the contacts and they wont contact well again...

[@troopergoodwin6530]

man that was a good video

[@ctrlaltrees]

So nice to finally have your capable hands all over my crusty old hardware 😅 I picked up a couple of these years ago so when you said how gutted you were to have lost yours in the fire it was the least I could do. 🙂 Edit: Oh, and I should add that I'm not the one who blew it up, in fact I don't think I ever even plugged this one in...

[@PG-gs5vb]

Oh, yeah, the renowned ten-thirty XE! :P

[@MarkFixesStuff]

@@PG-gs5vb shhhhhhhh I couldn’t stop saying it

[@andygozzo72]

wonder what you'd say if you opened up an amiga 1200 full of dried mud(yes really!!), like i did some years back 😲😁 i did clean it up and get it working and eventually sold it off as working but 'may' need further work, as i hadnt recapped it (they looked ok at the time)

[@Antireality]

So this thing produces garish, bright looking pictures at 256x192 resolution? You sure they didn't just send you a Spectrum?

[@borayurt66]

Leaded solder fumes poisoning you is an urban myth. Lead do not evaporate in any significant amount at soldering temperatures (boiling temp. of lead is 1750°C), all the fumes you see are coming from the flux you use and the flux core inside the solder wire, and this is the same for any kind of solder wire, be it leaded or not. You can get a degree of lead poisoning by solder if you eat it, or if you make a habit of rubbing it with your fingers and then clean the grey oxide on your fingers by licking them. Leaded solder is gradually being phased out ONLY because most electronics go into landfills after they are picked clean of their parts containing precious metals and lead is not one of those, so almost all the lead on those goes into landfills, where they slowly get decomposed by the naturally occurring acids in the soil, contaminating both the soil and underground waters.

[@OtreblaMaslab]

Thank you for the valuable reassurance on this!

[@blahblahblahblah2933]

You definitely want the fume extractor for the flux fumes though (just not the lead).

[@borayurt66]

@@blahblahblahblah2933 I never said anything about the fume extractor. I don't know how bad breathing flux fumes is, but surely not breathing them must be better. But, I say again, there are no lead fumes involved. It is funny how many people are actually scared to use leaded solder because of this false information.

[@andygozzo72]

@@borayurt66 flux fumes can be very bad, i have some 'low residue flux', that make you cough a fair bit if you get the slightest direct waft of it when soldering,, but yes, you're not gonna get lead poisoning from the fumes...! many suppliers wont supply leaded solder to 'hobbyists' only 'professionals' and manufacturers, but its the mass manufactured items that are more likely to end up in landfill, not some enthusiasts one off project!!

[@borayurt66]

@@andygozzo72 Good old rosin core solder is pretty safe compared to high tech chemicals, but I agree, it is better not to breathe flux fumes too. Leaded solder not being sold to hobbyists is the result of this ridiculous myth created by misinformation, unfortunately we are living in the times of polluted information and people believe in anything they see or hear on the internet.

[@Simon-ui6db]

7:14 calls its 1030xe. First time I saw one of these I thought they had just cut down a 1040st. 🤣

[@MarkFixesStuff]

I kept saying that and I think it's for the same reason.

[@catriona_drummond]

Man, this looks like it has been through a manscaped advert.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

Oh god. Now you’ve said that I’m going to get sponsorship offers from them again…

[@130jukeboxhero]

Gotta ask but what is that pry tool called your using on the ram. I want one but can't figure out what the heck its called. Also any chance theres a link to that ram tester.

[@fueledbyregret]

Always up for having a cheeky one slipped in.

[@envoycdx]

Curious if the diagnostic rom now works after the ram change

[@MarkFixesStuff]

@@envoycdx unfortunately not

[@envoycdx]

@@MarkFixesStuff Shame :(

[@jmboyd78]

What fume extractor do you use?

[@MarkFixesStuff]

One of these. Mine is branded Hakko but they’re all rebadged as Weller etc. amzn.to/3Y7uR2m

[@jmboyd78]

​@@MarkFixesStuffthanks! Great video.

[@Retroguyuk75]

Na not an epic fail.. that machine defo had a major problem before... I don't like the saying "Back in the day" either lol. Another fine video Mark. How's the downsizing going? got another place lined up?.. hope it all balances out for you, I'm sure it will :)

[@Ran-tan-tan]

Not an epic fail, just the first step on the road to either that or a great success!

[@RonHelton]

👍👍👍👍👍👍🕹🕹🕹🕹🕹🕹

[@frankowalker4662]

Never a good sign when so much RAM has failed. A bit of prodding, poking and probing should help.

[@VincentGroenewold]

Woot!

[@dempseydiscus]

did you say 'hairy balls' ?? :-)))

[@jonathanwhiteside6092]

Stop calling it a 1030XE :) BTW if you have a Star Raiders cart they can be used for diagnostics, it may boot even with bad RAM.

[@MarkFixesStuff]

I tried. The harder I tried the more I said it. I did try Star Raiders (amazing game) but no luck. I’ll try and get a working ten thirty 😅 j/k so I can compare the activity on the ICs

[@jonathanwhiteside6092]

@@MarkFixesStuff I know what you mean, once you start saying stuff like that, you just can't stop 😁 Have you tried to start the self test by booting up whilst holding the option key down? There is also another diag cart called Sys-check and it can be used to boot from an OS and RAM on the card. Also, the CPU has an extra pin at 35 called halt, which IIRC is active low so worth checking that.

[@allanalmeidapa]

I can do lambada...

[@RetroClaire]

I recently had a failed Freddie 🙁