C128 Repair Part 2

I really thought this video was going to be easy. It should have been an easy disassembly, clean, install a mod, rebuild, enjoy.
Boy was I wrong.

The sticker, or tape, or whatever it was on the front of the case was tough! I hit it with soap, citrus cleaner, a green scrubbie, a plastic putty knife, and finally some isopropyl alcohol. Even with the alcohol, it took a lot of scrubbing to get it clean.

I decided not to go with retrobrite on this one. The case was pretty much the right color, and I’m not picking the keyboard apart just yet to do all the keys, though they could use it.

When I did Part 1, the return key on the keyboard, on the main part at least, just wouldn’t work no matter what I did. Turns out there was a broken trace on the keyboard. I soldered in a jumper and repainted the carbon contacts with some remote control repair paint. How that one trace was broken is beyond me. If it was corrosion I would have expected it to take out a bunch of traces at once. And this was in the middle of several traces. If it was deliberately cut, there would have been more damage, I think. It was a very weird bit of damage.

Finally I installed the ClearVideo 128 C. I went with the C version so I would retain the composite output on the standard A/V cable in case that’s how it gets set up at NEON RetroFest next time. I’m still planning to use the S-Video output for myself, and the RetroTink looks better with the S-Video as well. I just have to remember to put it in S-Video mode, otherwise I’ll get a black and white image. Granted, it’s a very clear, very crisp image, but monochrome none the less.

I still need to get a set of CRT Tuning Tools, so I can adjust the capacitors on the ClearVideo board without creating more interference, all I have right now are precision screwdrivers and they cause the screen to get a bit messy while adjusting the board, so that’s no good.

I still have a lot I want to do as far as quality of life upgrades to this machine. First and soonest to happen will be a ROM upgrade, selecting between either JiffyDOS or GEOS Fastboot. But I’m going to wait until I have a working RGB2HDMI adaptor ready for the 80 column output. Assuming the Raspberry Pi Zero ever gets back to a reasonable price. I’ll even take $20, but not $70 for “The $5 computer:” Also, I want to get a WiFi Modem set up on it, and eventually a combo Pi1541 and Epyx Fastloader.