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How to connect Commodore disk drives

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing December 15, 2010April 24, 20241541, 1571, commodore, commodore 64, power brick, vic 20

Connecting a single drive to a Commodore C-64, 128, or VIC-20 is pretty easy: Plug a 6-pin serial cable from the port on the back of the computer to one of the two ports on the back of the drive. It doesn’t matter which port you use. The second port is for “daisy chaining” additional peripherals, such as a printer, or multiple drives. And even though a fast load cartridge speeds up the drive, it plugs into the computer.

Older drives like the 1540, 1541, and 1571 are self-contained. Plug a power cable (which, conveniently, is no different from the power cable used on a most desktop PCs) into the back and power it on. Later 1541-IIs and 1581s use an external power brick. The two drives’ power bricks are interchangeable; however, they do differ from the power brick used by the computer itself. Fortunately, the original power bricks are labeled with the compatible devices, either on a silver sticker on top or molded into the underside.

It’s multiple-drive setups that get trickier. Read more

Using two or more transformers together on a train layout

Dave Farquhar Toy trains December 14, 2010November 22, 2016american flyer, lionel, marx, train layout

Using two or more transformers together on a train layout seems like a good thing to do. It’s a common practice in consumer electrical devices to chain multiple batteries together to get more power. So it stands to reason that you could chain multiple small American Flyer/Lionel/Marx transformers together to get more power.

It doesn’t work that way–you can’t chain two 90w transformers together to get 180 watts. But there are still reasons you might want to use multiple transformers; say, to control different blocks of track on your electric train layout.
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How to clean viruses off other people’s systems safely

Dave Farquhar security, Viruses, Windows December 13, 2010antivirus, bitdefender, christmas, firewall, Microsoft Security Essentials, spyware, USB flash drive, WAN

What should you do when someone hands you a computer, tells you they think it has a virus, and asks you to clean it?

Proceed carefully, that’s what. You don’t want to infect your other computers with whatever it has.

To get it gone safely and effectively, you really need two things: an antivirus live CD, and a spare router.
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Upgrade diary: HP Pavilion a305w

Dave Farquhar Hardware December 12, 2010December 30, 2015amd, antivirus, black friday, dell, hp, intel, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Security Essentials, symantec, windows 7, Windows XP

Wow, what a slug. Want me to tell you how I really feel?

Typical Black Friday special from years past. Cheap, but what a limiting future. Here are your handful of options. As far as I can tell, there are about eight of them.

Sorry about that downtime

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized December 11, 2010hp, toshiba

We had some power hiccups this morning, and that led to some networking issues that I didn’t notice until tonight. Between soldering a circuit together for the article I’m working on, drawing diagrams, and rebuilding a consumer-grade HP Pavilion to possibly resell, I never noticed my webserver wasn’t up.

But we’re back now, and my soldering skills, well, pretty much look like the last time I did some soldering. Makes me wonder how much business I have trying to solder a new power jack onto my sister’s Toshiba laptop, but the replacement jack is just two connections, so four joints total.

Publishing again

Dave Farquhar Personal December 11, 2010

Last week one of my blog posts got out of control and morphed into something I thought would be more appropriate for a magazine article. So I fired it off on Monday to an editor for an opinion, and he told me yesterday that they want to buy it. And, presumably, publish it at some point.

Once I get some drawings to him, they’ll write up and send me a contract. I don’t want to say the name of the magazine or the subject matter until the contract’s signed, but it’s a magazine published by a company that’s been around since the 1930s and is very highly regarded. I’m looking forward to working with them.

Instant welding with Aileene’s Tacky Glue

Dave Farquhar General December 9, 2010November 25, 2020

I’m not sure where I read this first, but I love this trick for making instant repairs. If you’re putting together something made of paper, wood, or a combination of the two, join it together with a bit of Aileene’s Tacky Glue (this also works with ordinary Elmer’s white glue or Elmer’s wood glue), then zap it in a microwave for 20 seconds. That 20 seconds is enough to instantly cure the glue for a strong bond.

How to check SSD alignment

Dave Farquhar Hardware, Windows December 8, 2010November 20, 2016DEC, raid array, vista, windows 7

If you didn’t align your partitions when you upgraded to an SSD, there’s a pretty good chance you’re giving up performance and life expectancy. Here’s how to check SSD alignment.

But first, a bit of good news. If you created the partition with Vista or Windows 7, your partitions should be aligned. If you upgraded from XP and didn’t re-partition the drive in the process, then it probably isn’t.

Get ready for some command-line jockeying and some math. Read more

Bubble wrap as cheap window insulation

Dave Farquhar Saving money December 7, 2010caulk

Need a cheap way to keep your house warmer?

I’ve been using shrink film on my windows for years. It’s effective. It’s a little expensive and it takes a while to do, but it works. But today I read something that should work nearly as well and be cheaper: Use bubble wrap. Read more

Secret weapon of the day: music wire

Dave Farquhar General, Saving money December 6, 2010August 30, 2017stiff wire, super glue

The secret weapon of the day is music wire, also sometimes called piano wire. It is a super stiff, hardened steel wire, available in diameters ranging from .006 inches to .192 inches, a range that starts out smaller than a #80 drill, and ends at the approximate size of a #10 drill.
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