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teenix · 09-28-2022, 10:49 PM

(09-28-2022 09:48 PM)rprosperi Wrote: Tony, it's a darned good thing for all of us that your job forces you to hibernate in some places for long periods. What would become of us if you had a normal job and busy social schedule??? Looking forward to seeing this mature. Though I adore my Panamatik HP-34E, I have other Spice carcasses just waiting to be upgraded so that they can join the 34E in the working much better than new pile.

Early retirement now, so have a bit of time. My youngest daughter had some issues, and I wanted more time with her, so I quit flying. Also, I nearly met my demise 3 times flying low level and so I thought perhaps it's best left to those with younger and sharper minds.

I didn't know about Bernards creation, something I wouldn't have thought of, otherwise I probably wouldn't have started this, but oh well I have to press on now.

It's crazy stuff trying to do this cooped up in a little caravan, but what's life without challenges :-)

cheers

Tony

Harald · 09-29-2022, 07:47 PM

(09-28-2022 10:49 PM)teenix Wrote: I didn't know about Bernards creation, something I wouldn't have thought of, otherwise I probably wouldn't have started this, but oh well I have to press on now.

Tony

I think this is about a Woodstock transformed into a 34. I have one, too. But a real spice will be nice, too Smile

**rprosperi** · 09-29-2022, 10:56 PM

(09-29-2022 07:47 PM)Harald Wrote:
(09-28-2022 10:49 PM)teenix Wrote: I didn't know about Bernards creation, something I wouldn't have thought of, otherwise I probably wouldn't have started this, but oh well I have to press on now.

Tony

I think this is about a Woodstock transformed into a 34. I have one, too. But a real spice will be nice, too

Panamatik has both Woodstock-hosted and Spice-hosted repair/replacement boards, and each type can act like both Woodstock and Spice machines (and the 67), so it's easy to not know/track which ones do what, and running in what. There, that will help clarify things! Smile

teenix · (This post was last modified: 09-30-2022 12:07 AM by teenix.)

(09-29-2022 10:56 PM)rprosperi Wrote: Panamatik has both Woodstock-hosted and Spice-hosted repair/replacement boards, and each type can act like both Woodstock and Spice machines (and the 67), so it's easy to not know/track which ones do what, and running in what. There, that will help clarify things!

He's smarter than I am :-)

Harald · 09-30-2022, 09:35 AM

True, there is a Spice repair solution from Bernhard. If I understand it correctly it is identical to the Woodstock "low power" version.

Here are my Woodstock 34E and 67E. These are not "low power" but "new ACT" calculators.
[Image: img_20220930_1128450ifak.jpg]

tangdfx · 09-30-2022, 11:40 AM

(09-30-2022 09:35 AM)Harald Wrote: True, there is a Spice repair solution from Bernhard. If I understand it correctly it is identical to the Woodstock "low power" version.

Here are my Woodstock 34E and 67E. These are not "low power" but "new ACT" calculators.

Great. It a good idea to use spice 34c keys on woodstock chassis.

Mike T. · 10-02-2022, 12:31 AM

(09-28-2022 10:49 PM)teenix Wrote: It's crazy stuff trying to do this cooped up in a little caravan, but what's life without challenges :-)

cheers

Tony

Don't think it isn't appreciated !

teenix · 10-05-2022, 03:26 AM

Hi all,

I received the circuit boards for the ROM replacements.

The 18 pin board will replace ROM 0 chips which also provide display information.

The 8 pin ROM boards come in 2 types, ROM only and ROM/RAM types.

ROM only boards do not have the data line for RAM.

The 8 pin ROM/RAM types can be programmed to replace one, some, or all of the 8 pin ROMs in a single package.

These will be a bit of a challenge to assemble due to the tiny component sizes. I will start with the HP-92 ROM 0 chip that broke while I was trying to read from it. Hopefully it will spring back into life.

As I thought, the Spice CPU board hit a snag and will need a re-hash - the joys of prototyping.

cheers

Tony

teenix · 10-06-2022, 05:01 AM

Hi all,

Talk about fiddly soldering :-)

This is the assembled ROM 0 replacement. If it all went well, I'll be able test it with some 67 code and verify the ROM output is the same when hooked up to the buses from a 67.

Hopefully the 92 will come back to life soon.

cheers

Tony

Massimo Gnerucci · 10-06-2022, 06:10 AM

(10-06-2022 05:01 AM)teenix Wrote: This is the assembled ROM 0 replacement. If it all went well, I'll be able test it with some 67 code and verify the ROM output is the same when hooked up to the buses from a 67.

Amazing!

teenix · 10-07-2022, 03:48 AM

Display testing for the Spice.

I'll activate the "ACT" soon and hopefully "Pr Error" will be displayed.

Next will be the new keyboard test.

cheers

Tony

Paul Dale · 10-07-2022, 07:51 AM

I'm looking forward to this one.

The 34C was the first HP I purchased. I'd used a few models before then which I've an attachment to but the 34C is my model.

teenix · 10-08-2022, 06:55 AM

It looks like the "ACT" for the 34C is working.

One full day of fault finding all because of a single character typo in the code :-(

Keyboard next.

cheers

Tony

**rprosperi** · 10-08-2022, 11:55 AM

Great news Tony, I'll bet you were never so happy to see a machine respond with "Pr Error"... Smile

teenix · (This post was last modified: 10-12-2022 01:34 AM by teenix.)

Hi all,

A little more progress. I have an external power switch as the real one is not assembled yet.

The right-hand switch is working according to the calculator selected.

The display is working, although for this particular one, the right most digit appears to be dead. The data getting to it is correct so there must be a dud connection on the common cathode. This might be repairable if the lens assembly can be removed and replaced without destroying anything.

I ran my virtual keyboard from the PC and all seems to be working, although I got 90.0000 for ASIN 88.0000, which is wrong. I found a simple code bug and is now fixed.

I attached the real keyboard and ran some test code and the data that I was expecting is appearing ok. I'll hook it up the through the ACT soon and it should(?) start working as a Spice.

Some fiddling with the circuit boards was required as the whole assembly must be a certain thickness to fit properly into the Spice casing. Both the side clips line up ok and are holding everything together as they should. I am now hoping the display fits where it should and doesn't interfere with the battery charge board. It is sitting in a test jig at the moment and normally will sit closer to the top of the board.

There is quite a bit of code to test yet and will take some time. I also added an extra feature that the other CPU models don't have, so that has to be tested as well.

cheers

Tony

mfleming · 10-12-2022, 12:10 PM

Extra feature? Buzzer for RTC alarms?

teenix · 10-12-2022, 12:38 PM

(10-12-2022 12:10 PM)mfleming Wrote: Extra feature? Buzzer for RTC alarms?

It does have a mini piezo element that I will fit and test tomorrow, but not the extra bit.

Mike T. · 10-13-2022, 11:10 PM

(10-12-2022 01:30 AM)teenix Wrote: I also added an extra feature that the other CPU models don't have, so that has to be tested as well.

Do I see a wireless antenna on the board?

teenix · 10-14-2022, 01:24 AM

(10-13-2022 11:10 PM)Mike T. Wrote: Do I see a wireless antenna on the board?

Bluetooth

teenix · 12-07-2022, 01:39 AM

Hi all,

Still plodding away with the Spice CPU board. The software is taking a lot longer than I thought, but no chips yet, so no rush.

I constructed the battery connector/charger circuit board and it seems to be working although I might have the charge rate a bit low, about 20% of capacity, maybe around 50% might be better but I'll have to see if it overheats anything.

cheers

Tony