The Sinclair QL Forum

After taking with a few people, there seems to be some built-up demand for some items that require electronics to be built, which is a strong area for me since I have an SMD rework station and so on in my workshop at home.

So, straw poll time...

I have talked with Tony Firshman and Rich Mellor and others, and it may be possible to make a small batch of some of these items:

Minerva (mk1 or mk2)
A SuperHermes or Hermes Lite
A version of the above with USBWiz included on SER3
An improved internal QL PSU
etc.

There is talk of unassembled Q60s, which I would be perfectly happy to assemble if the parts came into my possession and the FPGAs were already programmed.

I currently have in progress: 40LF220 battery adaptor replacements which allow you to use a CR2032 button cell in a secure fashion on your GC or SGC (and lots of other retro computers and equipment)...

TF Services' MPlane - I will be assembling the last unmade batch of these in a month or two and they will sell for approximately £50 / €60 including shipping from the US. Possibly a little less, depending on which components I need to buy.

I have been asked if I can do a redesign of the MPlane for ATX power supplies and cases... Is there any interest in that? Or in an ATX to AT controller?

Anything else?

Dave wrote:Minerva (mk1 or mk2)

I think, this is a "must have" for every QL (excepting the historical one with kludge ROM).

A SuperHermes or Hermes Lite
A version of the above with USBWiz included on SER3

Does the Hermes Lite have a SER3?

I will need a SuperHermes due to its PC keyboard interafce for Aurora, but for a normal QL with its built-in keyboard the Hermes Lite will be enough (if it can handle the USBwiz).

The USBWiz on SER3 sounds much better than on I2C.

An improved internal QL PSU

What exactly is improved on this PSU?

There is talk of unassembled Q60s, which I would be perfectly happy to assemble if the parts came into my possession and the FPGAs were already programmed.

Yes, the Q60 is a dream QL machine.
But it is unsure, if it will be produced again.

I have been asked if I can do a redesign of the MPlane for ATX power supplies and cases... Is there any interest in that? Or in an ATX to AT controller?

Personally, I dont feel that I need it.

Hi,

sounds great! I would be intersted in some of the items if my QL + Gold Card would work. Interesting for me is the Hermes, Minerva and the USBwiz.
Is somebody in Germany still doing QL repairs?

ps. If there would be a Q60 which would fit in the original case my QL world would be perfect

cheers,
T

Does the QL work on its own? If not, maybe we can help from afar...

If the QL works on its own, but not when you plug in the Gold Card, check to see if any of the pins in the expansion connector are bent, or touching each other (can also stop the QL on its own from working), or even broken off!

If that looks OK, then it may just be a case of removing the 68008 from the QL motherboard - it is a socketed chip, so can be gently prised out of the socket, using a flat bladed screwdriver (work at each end alternatively to lift the chip without break the legs).

A few options to look at there.

Hi,

Thanks for the info. The QL does not work without Goldcard. I think I have a problem with the Quimi Mouse Interface as it caused trubles in the past (needed repair after installation). I also used a TV Scart cable which a friend of mine had built for me. I'm not firm in hardware repairs ....

My interst is to repair it and to add Hermes, Minerva, the USBwiz and a connector to a LCD monitor in order to hav an updated working machine.

Best,
T

So can you describe what happens when you power up the QL?

Have you looked to see if any of the pins in the expansion connector (left hand side of the machine) are bent or touching each other?)

I have other QIMI interfaces here if you need a replacement.
You can easily negate the QIMI by unplugging it (you need to plug back in the ROM chip and 8302 chip which sit on the top of the QIMI board).

The pins of the expansion connector are OK. I'll try to put out the Quimi. Behaviour right now is, that I got no picture at all.

OK no picture at all (black screen) - presumably you get the power on light - does the F1 key fire up the microdrive?

If so then it is probably just the video controller chip - either the 8301 or MC1377P (probably the latter)

OK, thank you for the info, please give me some time to test this. Work is killing me actually. Will come back to you.
Best
T

Hi,

This morning I had the time to pull out my QL from its box and to connect it to my TV. I used my RGB -> SCART cable. Connecting to power I got the power light on, pressing F1 or F2 showed no reaction, and, there is no screen output. The Qimi is still mounted inside as I would like to hear your comments befor opening the QL.

Best,
T