Apple II+ - Don't store that Apple in the garage (Fixed)

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Apple II+ - Don't store that Apple in the garage (Fixed)
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I've had this since 1982-83. It's not booting. Following advice I got a chip puller and started to re-seat the ram. To my surprise I find a spider nest? In addition, I took a close up of one of the RAM chips and you can see the years of neglect.
Not sure if I can revive this but I'm going to try. When booting I hear the beep and I get what you see in the picture on the screen. Any advice would be helpful.

Fixed- All memory was pulled, cleaned (eraser, contact cleaner and light sand paper) and reseated. Still got an error at boot up. After reviewing another post on this site with a similar issue, I decided to pull ROM-D0 again to inspect. This time I noticed one of the metal legs was clipped. I corrected this and now it boots to a prompt- like it should.
Thanks for the tips and tricks.
-brian

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Re: Apple II+ - Don't store that Apple in the garage

Plating on the RAM legs looks pretty bad.
You might be able to clean them up but it would be a very tedious job. Likely easier to buy replacements. (They're plentiful and relatively cheap)
You will need to pull every chip to inspect the leads. Might be a good time to clean the motherboard while you're at it. If you decide to "wash" it, use diluted dish soap (like Dawn) or use Windex and a soft sash brush (round paint brush) to "scrub" areas that need it. Rinse really well. Have an air compressor handy with an air blow nozzle to clear out the water underneath all the chip sockets and run a hair dryer over it on low heat for a few minutes afterward to be sure it's completely dry.

If the computer worked before storing it in the garage, chances are the components are still good, sans the corrosion on the leads.
Clean them if you can, replace them using eBay as a cheap place to buy if needed. You should be able to get that computer back to top shape in no time.

Post a picture of the full motherboard if you can. Let's see how that looks.

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Re: Apple II+ - Don't store that Apple in the garage

I added the pictures of the board (top and bottom) to the original post

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Re: Apple II+ - Don't store that Apple in the garage

Oh definitely fixable. No doubt.

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Re: Apple II+ - Don't store that Apple in the garage

I just spent time cleaning up a bunch of TI TMS4044 SRAM chips for another retrocomputing project. They had tarnish and oxide similar to your photo. Deoxit and an eraser will take care of it, but sometimes the pins are weakened enough that they'll require repair (out of 64 chips, I had three that I needed to resolder.)

So that's one repair suggestion, but given the earlier observation that these are relatively plentiful, it is certainly easier to replace.

Nice photo, BTW.

Also: If it were me, I'd keep these chips. Love the backwards apple logo on 'em.

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Re: Apple II+ - Don't store that Apple in the garage

I agree with Keatah, definitely salvageable. That board is clean enough that I would skip the "wash" I suggested above.
Just brush-clean it with a small sash brush and be sure there are no "spidahhs" living under the chips. =:-O
According to your photos it looks like a memory chip issue. Likely corrosion as you have noted.

Let us know how you make out with it and good luck!

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Re: Apple II+ - Don't store that Apple in the garage

Thanks for the advice. I have been looking on ebay for similar like chips. Mine are mk4116n-3gp which I think is 200ns or 300ns. Would 400ns work or do they have to be exactly the same?

Closest ebay I found is http://www.ebay.com/itm/18PC-APPLE-16K-DRAM-200NS-MK4116N-3IRL-MADE-BY-MOSTEK-/111811389386?hash=item1a087a67ca:g:jkEAAOSwo6lWNQli

Also with an apple can you mix chips? For example the auction is for 18 chips and I need 23. Can I use some that I have? Perhaps leave an entire row in of the old chips.

Thxs

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Re: Apple II+ - Don't store that Apple in the garage

Not sure if I can revive this but I'm going to try. When booting I hear the beep and I get what you see in the picture on the screen. Any advice would be helpful.

You (or someone) probably can revive this. The beep and video on screen is good. I'd suggest using a pink pencil eraser gently on those tarnished IC legs. I've heard people recommend light-grit sandpaper too. Be gentle of course.

Don't store that Apple in the garage
To my surprise I find a spider nest? In addition, I took a close up of one of the RAM chips and you can see the years of neglect.

My own rule of thumb for computer storage is that I shouldn't store them in any environment where I'd be uncomfortable sleeping.

If I have no more spaces like that within my home, then I must have too many things! :bigsmile:

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Re: Apple II+ - Don't store that Apple in the garage

Hello blegate,

examining the pictures there are 2 points to check:
D0 ROM at position F11: It seems that pin 24 is not inside but besides of the socket.
RAM chip at position E3: If the languagecard is not in the system the RAMchip
4116 must be relocated back from the languagecard to the mainboard while performing the tests!

the ending -3 means that the chip has 300 nS accesstime.

speedyG

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Re: Apple II+ - Don't store that Apple in the garage

I second the deoxit recommendation. Put some on a tip and dab it on the pins prior to insertion. A light film is all you need.

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Re: Apple II+ - Don't store that Apple in the garage


Closest ebay I found is http://www.ebay.com/itm/18PC-APPLE-16K-DRAM-200NS-MK4116N-3IRL-MADE-BY-MOSTEK-/111811389386?hash=item1a087a67ca:g:jkEAAOSwo6lWNQli

Those RAM chips will work fine in an Apple ][.
Save a row of the best you have and replace a couple rows with these.
Take note the eBay ones are untested so be aware of that when replacing.
Good luck!

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Re: Apple II+ - Don't store that Apple in the garage


D0 ROM at position F11: It seems that pin 24 is not inside but besides of the socket.
speedyG

Good eye Speedy!

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/18695443/Do_Rom.jpg

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Re: Apple II+ - Don't store that Apple in the garage (Fixed)

Fixed- All memory was pulled, cleaned (eraser, contact cleaner and light sand paper) and reseated. Still got an error at boot up. After reviewing another post on this site with a similar issue, I decided to pull ROM-D0 again to inspect. This time I noticed one of the metal legs was clipped. I corrected this and now it boots to a prompt- like it should.
Thanks for the tips and tricks.
-brian

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