Grid 1520

From: Brian Mahoney <mapleleafman_at_gmail.com>
Date: Sun Dec 12 11:39:13 2004

Thanks Dave! I figured it out with your help. The PS won't work when
in the battery slot, but it will when it's a brick hooked up with the
second power cord, the one with the barrel connectors on each end.
However there is a bad connection inside the PS and this only works
with pressure on one side, even then it is sporadic so I have to test
continuity in the cord or take the ps apart and look for something
there.
Anyway, it boots, thank goodness, not to a prompt but until it finds a
hard drive error which means I have to configure it. F1 doesn't seem
to work so maybe the cmos is blank and it can't see the keyboard,
which isn't set out like a normal board.
It has the basic 640K plus about 1400K ram . The 100 meg drive is
unusual and I'm dying to see what's on it. The thing that astounds me
is that this laptop is probably nearly 16 years old and it is far
cleaner inside than anything I use day to day. It must have been in a
lab or never taken out of its case. The keyboard is shiny new and the
drive area is spotless, still with the colored stickers in place.
Pristine, really.
Thanks again and I will post an update once I get the PS problem worked out.
Writing to the roms seemed very interesting, I am curious as to how
much info they would be able to hold. Did they have the capacity of a
floppy? There is a modem inside which would be able to take care of
data tranfer as well as the ports on the back. Tandy used roms in some
of their models, didn't they? I mean to store applications. Acorn too,
I think.

All the best,
BM


On Sat, 11 Dec 2004 23:21:20 -0500, Dave Mabry <dmabry_at_mich.com> wrote:
> That series of computers had a battery that fit into the same space as
> your power supply. Your power supply was made to substitute for the
> battery, same contacts inside as the battery pack, but more convenient
> for those who preferred to use AC power. You could, if you wanted, use
> the power supply you have externally using a cable from it to the power
> connector on the back. As I recall, it was a typical barel-type
> connector and a straight through cable. In that configuration it would
> charge the battery if you had that plugged in.
>
> 100 MB hard drive does sound large for that vintage, but it was probably
> a standard 3.5" IDE drive inside and could be swapped with a larger one
> than the factory supplied.
>
> Not sure what you mean by "transformer outlet". Look on the side where
> the hard drive is, right, near the back. Is there a 25 pin D-connector,
> female? If so, that is for a floppy drive to connect up externally.
>
> I doubt that the PS could fry by being plugged into AC without being in
> the computer. But I can't say that I've ever tested that. You should
> be able to power it up with a simple DC power supply connected to that
> barel connector on the back. Isn't it labelled with voltage and current
> requirements?
>
>
>
> Brian Mahoney wrote:
>
> > Maybe that's what's up with mine, since I am pretty sure it's lost the
> > CMOS settings. I took the cover off today, astonishingly clean and new
> > inside, but couldn't find the battery. The HD is 100 megs, which is
> > pretty unusual from what I've seen.
> > Couple more questions: There is the PS which takes a regular power
> > cable and pops out with the push of a button. There is another outlet,
> > much like a transformer outlet, which came with a cord. Was this for
> > the external floppy?
> > As far as the PS is concerned, I'm wondering if it got fried somehow
> > with being plugged into the outlet but not in the laptop. Strange
> > setup, really. You could hold the PS in your hand, plug it into the
> > wall and then into the laptop. Can't believe that in the field it
> > would be that easy to fry it, though.
> > All in all it's a damn fine laptop, and this one looks as if it has
> > never been used. It is spotless! Thanks for the info, crew. If anyone
> > can add anything, feel free.
> >
>
>
Received on Sun Dec 12 2004 - 11:39:13 GMT