I've been given a MicroBee

[rcrook9190]

Hi,

A friend of mine gave me this MB a few months back and I have finally gained enough motivation to start a resto. 

I know very little about the MicroBees and have a few noob questions. 

1. The cable I got with it has a din one end a couple of phono jacks, an RCA and a in-line 2.1/2.5 mm barrel socket. I think I know what each do but I am bit hazy on what power I should feed into it.  8V, 9V, 12V?
2. Will  a GOTEK plug straight in to the IDC connector on the back? Or do you need some sort of adapter/controller for it? Also is there any ROM mods or changes to get it working?
3. If I am not mistaken it appears to have 32K on it? Is that enough and if not, where can I find details on expanding it? 
4. The only doc I can find on the MicroBees appears to be a manual from a Mag? is that all there is? 
5. How well do the cases take to retr0brighting? This one is terribly yellowed. 










Thanks for any help given. 

Regards,
Randall.

[ChickenMan]

Hi Randall and welcome to the forum

Well done, what you been gifted is a standard 128K Microbee. The DIN plug lead has monochrome Composite Video (RCA), 2 x 2.5mm Cassett for In & Out and a Power input plug. Power of 9v or 10v for best operation and up to 12v, but the voltage regulators can get VERY hot at 12v and can blow the Tantalum capacitors near the voltage regulators.

Yes you can plug a Gotek directly into your Microbee and you just need to copy what ever disk images you want that you can download from our file Repository (you need to request access to it via https://microbeetechnology.com.au/forum/thread-15.html All the Docs you need for you 'bee are there also.

Retrobrighting works well on the Microbee cases and keytops.

There is a good chance some or all the keyswitches dont work or have probs, unfortunately a common problem of all old Microbees. If needed just ask in the forum for help and the various solutions to fix can be discussed.

[rcrook9190]

Hi Chickenman,

Thanks for your reply and info. I powered it up this arvo and giving her 9V it's pulling 1.2 amps and I do get a cursor on the screen but nothing else at this time. I have a spare gotek sitting in my parts collection so at least I shouldn't need to pull the cassette player out of storage just yet.

I poked around with my scope and it appears to be running something but as I am only getting a cursor, I'm not sure what. The keyboard does not seem to be producing anything on the screen but I don't think that is the keyboards fault at this time.

I will do some more fault finding and see where it leads to. If anyone can suggest a first place to start considering I am getting just a cursor, it would be appreciated.

Regards

Randall.

[ChickenMan]

Arr thats normal for when there is no floppy/gotek attached which its trying to boot. Try RESET M (holding Reset down for a few sec and if keys working it should take you to the inbuilt Monitor. There you can test the keys.

[Mr Lurch]

Randall, I’m right here 😂

[MbeeTech]

Hi Randall.
Welcome to the forum.

I've only just set up your repository account this morning. You should have an email with the details.
Sorry about the delay - I've been away for a few days.

In regards to retrobriting - if you do the key caps, I suggest just doing the light coloured ones. I've attempted the dark keys a number of times before
to remove the yellow from the legend, but the dark charcoal color fades quite easily and I've ended up with light grey caps in that case, which look worse
than untreated yellow legend caps.

[rcrook9190]

Well you were right. It works and seems to work well. The Gotek works though I am having issues with the encoder. May need to flash a later version of flash floppy. It's got 3.30 on it and i know its up to 4.something now.

9 key switches don't work, even after washing in Isopropyl alcohol  and judicious use of contact cleaner. Will checkout the posts pointed out to see where to go to. I am waiting on a water heater and new working UV lamp to retr0bright the case and keys. Also need to replace the power connector on the DIN cable as there is 4 volt drop between the connector and the regulators.

BTW a 5 inch Sony triniton PVM may be good for your consoles, but 80 col CPM on it is NOT very good if you have shit eyes like mine.







Randall.

[MbeeTech]

Hi Randall.

If you want to repair the few faulty keys, take a look at the guide I wrote :

http://www.microbeetechnology.com.au/dow...itches.pdf

If you want to replace all the keys, we have a keyboard replacement kit that have different switches in them that are much better.
They are compatible with the key caps.
More details here : https://microbeetechnology.com.au/keyboa...ntkits.htm

[CheshireNoir]

Repairing the keys on a Microbee is almost a rite of passage :-D

Now you're one of us!

John (Who has repaired a lot of Microbee keys over the last few years)

[someone]

Someone has a nice PACE SX-100 Sodr-X-Tractor that's perfect for removing all the keys (and every other job!)
It completely removes all of the solder without damage to the PCB.
Technique and good tools are the secret to efficiently desolder without damage.

Why just remove one crappy key switch when you can remove them all!.

The cheapy less reliable but good option is to use a Pro'sKit SS-331H/Altronics/Multicomp Pro clone. They're everywhere, cheap but more messy to clean.

Don't let gravity hinder your desoldering efforts, just mount the PCB vertically and desolder horizontally.

Welcome aboard!