Here are the three circuit cards I had made. Express PCB has special prices for boards that conform to their 3.8 x 2.5 footprint. I was able to design the LED Driver and Status NOT Driver boards within the footprint. No way the Power Distribution Board would fit so I spaced it out so things […]

Read more "5/10/17 Custom Circuit Cards"

Taking a break from wiring. Showing you how the box was made. I followed the same format I used in the 1984 simulator. For the new one, the panels drove the box (I made the box to fit the panels, not the other way around).  

Read more "5/9/17 Box Construction"

Got all of the switches and rotary controls mounted. Actually turned out pretty good. Used Dremel to make pilot hole, then regular drill to enlarge hole. I had purchased new pushbutton switches because I thought I didn’t have enough already. After I had mounted the new ones, I got the old ones to finish out […]

Read more "5/8/17 Pushbuttons"

Finally got the Status Lights working correctly. I was having problems getting the correct Red/Green LEDs to flash correctly. I had purchased a number of pre-made 16 pin ribbon cables. Looking at them closely, I noticed the ends were oriented differently – notch side was 180 degrees out from some of the others. Also found […]

Read more "5/5/17 Status Lights and Ribbon Cable Issues"

Got fuse block mounted. Right now, have Annunciators and Status Lights wired.

Read more "4/30/17 Fuse Block"

Forgot to provide update after moving Annunciator +5 off the Power Distribution Board. Tonight, need to determine line/card for each Annunciator box. Replacement Switch/Rotary panel has arrive. Will drill/mount components this weekend (as the new wire won’t be in till Tuesday)

Read more "4/28/17 Update on 5 Volt Issue"

Completed half of the wiring to the Status Lights panel. Need to pair each red/green LED so I can match regular and NOT line. Foam strips should arrive today so I can seal up the Annunciator panel this weekend. Need to mod Annunciator Check program so I can identify I/O line vs box on the […]

Read more "4/27/17 Wiring the Status Lights"

Finished changing out lights on the Annunciator panel (yellow to white). Started wiring for Status lights. Quickly realized I’m going to need more wire for the switches and rotary controls. Ordered 1000 feet of 28 gauge on Ebay.

Read more "4/26/17 Wire – Need Lots of Wire!"

Built, tested and installed remaining LED Driver cards. Tested transistors before installing, but still found 2 dead ones during card testing. Also found 1 weak transistor for the red LED Driver card. Out comes the desoldering braid! This is not really a surprise because I don’t know the history of these transistors. They could have […]

Read more "4/23/17 Testing Card Components"

Mounted new power supply. Ran separate line for +5 to Annunciator box. Return line from driver card is now going to power supply instead of the Power Distribution Board. Using this new wiring, voltage remained at 5.2 with all Annunciator lights on.

Read more "4/22/17 New Power Supply Update"