[Coco] CoCo 1 troubles

[Arthur Flexser]

That keyboard problem is one I've never heard of.  The only thing that
immediately occurs to me is to try cleaning the controller's contacts and
see if that makes any difference.  Oxidation there can cause some weird
problems.

Can we assume that the ROM in the controller is standard RSDOS?

One thing you could try is unplugging the ROM and reinserting the
controller in the cartridge slot.  If you still have the keyboard problem,
you know it's not associated with the ROM.  (Come to think of it, oxidation
on the ROM pins can also cause weird problems.  Maybe just re-seating the
ROM might fix it.)

Sounds like the spring in the cartridge door may have popped off.  You
might try opening up the CoCo and seeing if there is a spring lying around
inside (some shaking may be required to find it).  If the spring is on the
door, the hinge may just need cleaning of some gunk off.

Art


On Mon, Dec 21, 2020 at 1:29 PM Salvador Garcia via Coco <
coco at maltedmedia.com> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I unpacked my CoCo 1 for the Glenside CCC Virtual reunion. I have the
> following hardware:
>
> CoCo 1, 64K model # 26-3001, s/n 0050536
>
> Floppy drive with controller model 20-3022
>
> I found that the CoCo wasn't in the best of condition. Here is what I
> found:
>
> Mechanical: The cartridge door has lost its "spring action". When I plug
> in a cartridge and then remove it, the cartridge stays open instead of
> snapping back into the closed position.
>
> CoCo: This is one is weird, and I can't be sure to describe it concisely.
> When the floppy controller cartridge is plugged in, I seem to randomly lose
> keystrokes. This happens often enough that it seems that some of the
> keyboard keys aren't responding. I thought it might be a KB problem, but
> the keys sometimes do respond and when the floppy controller is NOT plugged
> it, the keys respond all of the time.
>
> In some cases, the keys bounce, but I am not sure if that is the CoCo or
> me who am inadvertently pressing the chiclet keys more than once.
>
> Does anyone have any suggestions on how to narrow down the problem of the
> non responding keys?
>
> Anything I can do to get back the springy behavior of the cart cover?
>
> As always, thank you! Salvador
>
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