Adding Power Cable (Preperation)
Adding Power Cable (Preperation)
The original Flux capacitor!
(my flux droper bottle)
Here I add some flux liquid to the power terminals - I find the underside of the board easier to start from.
I always recommend to use a good NO CLEAN and NON CORROSIVE flux....
If you wonder why I capitalize these words... I suggest imagining the consequence of putting your PCB / Motherboard in industrial strength super concentrated Acid.... Or any Handy nearby A500+ that still has its battery =)
This is the heating part of the heat and suck protocol!
And Pump.... suck those terminals right up
An even closer shot of the power terminals..... see I spoil you lot.....
Excelent I can see through to the other side....
En' Voila
Holy terminals of much need power rails note the +12v (top) and +5v (bottom) silk masking
Ahhh the classic 4 pin Floppy Power Molex..... How I love thee!
So much so that I snipped and tinned the leads =)
Lets get the colour code right.... red = +5v, yellow = +12v and black = Ground
And this is how you fit the new power rail
(Power soldering .... all four at the same time gets you bonus points and a new trophy unlock!)
Yes... the most handiest tool in the tool box....
Nail clippers.... they take a smidge of practice.... but once you have the nack..... you can use these for almost anything!
And There you have it.... a new power rail... waiting to be used.....
Please note that on the +2AB theres not much +12v juice... so ensure the device you plumb up to it doesn't use it ( or less than 0.3amps )
And since I am on my soap box, remember to keep kids inside..... and playing video games.... its the only way they will learn!
The magic Posi-driver (aka Philips) as it majestically screws the motherboard once again back into the tray.
The hard part is over!
Installing the Adapter on the +3 Supplemental
My thanks to fitzsteve for poping over and helping me out with the camera work and providing his +3 for the photoshoot!
After dismantling the Spectrum +3 and removing the motherboard - the first thing to do is add a POWER RAIL for the IDE Device.
As you can see, unlike the +2AB we have to solder the wires underneath the motherboard as the power header has been populated for use with the 3" Floppy Disk Drive.
So here were are,
- +12v is at the top (yellow)
- two grounds in the middle (black)
- +5v is at the bottom (red).
A point to note is that unlike the Spectrum +2A/B the +3 has a solid power supply on the +12v (about 1amp to play with) so one can use common 3.5" IDE hard disks if they so wished! (please note you are limited to 128GB due to CHS limitations - use this space wisely
)
Installing the motherboard into the bottom chassis, we gently route the power rail Molex wire around the chassis screw mount
A close up reveals the position of the Power Molex wires, although with a little squeeze you could fit all four in the bottom or top left corner.
After mounting the Z80 8bit UIDE adapter to the motherboard, install the IDE cable - an optional mounting for the IDE to CF adapter is on the FDD mounting chassis.
After using a bit of insulating tape on the FDD mounting chassis (to avoid shorts / grounding), mount the IDE - CF adaptor to the FDD Mountin Chassis - as you can see single CF to IDE adapters will fit perfectly!
Sadly dual adaptors will not. - well not without a little more work.
Here is the overview of the of the Z80 8bit UIDE adaptor connected to the IDE to CF Adaptor.... looks great!!
To ensure OCD monkey satisfaction (and for tidiness) - its time to cable-tidy the IDE cable with a cable tie!
After preparing the Compact Flash Card - it was installed it and ready for action...
As you can see it is almost as if the Spectrum +3 was designed .... nay destined for this!