Restoring the TI 99/4A, ep. 6
Where we are: funny L600
I captured more traces showing voltage before L600 (i.e. at the net labeled “8” from the power supply in Sams Computer Facts) (yellow) and after it (i.e. at the CPU’s Vcc pin) (purple), also recording the min and max voltage.
We are seeing:
- very large voltage variations downstream of L600 when it’s not shunted
- interstingly, slightly different readings on the two probes even when shunted with a wire
Replacing the CPU & a provisional conclusion
The hypothesis at this stage is a marginal CPU that draws a little too much current, so I’m trying to replace it with another one from eBay.
… and this time it works (and no longer shows large variations on Vcc) even with L600 not shunted
So I’m considering the machine repaired, and hoping that there isn’t some other issue with the power supply or the mainboard that will fry one CPU after another…