Can I harm other space fury boards by testing other boards to see if they work

Dave27

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Can I harm other space fury boards by testing other boards to see if they work

I want to test some vector generator pcbs but i just wanted to make sure if one is bad that I'm testing it wont harm my other pcb's in the cage. I would think not since each PCB plugs in seperatly but not sure.....Thankyou.....Dave
 
I want to test some vector generator pcbs but i just wanted to make sure if one is bad that I'm testing it wont harm my other pcb's in the cage. I would think not since each PCB plugs in seperatly but not sure.....Thankyou.....Dave


It should not be a problem as long as you check the "suspect boards" for
shorts on the +5 , +12 and -12 power lines. The vector boards have a small
I/O space BC-BF hex and 4k in the memory space E000-EFFF hex.
Also know that the vector boards disable the on board clock of the CPU board.
So if the clock is bad on the vector boards the processor will be "stopped"

Mike
 
Thankyou Mike.

It should not be a problem as long as you check the "suspect boards" for
shorts on the +5 , +12 and -12 power lines. The vector boards have a small
I/O space BC-BF hex and 4k in the memory space E000-EFFF hex.
Also know that the vector boards disable the on board clock of the CPU board.
So if the clock is bad on the vector boards the processor will be "stopped"

Mike
 
Yeah- your other boards will be fine.

Your biggest worry will be whether or not the monitor can handle any possible garbage that the questionable vector boards can put out.

Sometimes they'll output a deflection signal that is pegged to the positive or negative rail.

An oscilloscope is safer. Better yet- simply test the X and Y signals for a reasonable level. A few volts of changing voltage is a safe bet that it won't hurt the monitor.

Kerry
 
Unplugging a vector monitor during testing is always best. I generally use a scope first, and check voltages. I tend to work with Atari boards, and the output X/Y voltages have a general swing around 2-4v. Not sure what space fury would be though.
 
sounds about right. If you put the voltmeter on the DC scale, you should see a small voltage. Maybe a varying number between-4 and +4V. Probably lower if it's working. My AC scale doesn't pick up anything- maybe it is rigged solely for 60hz.
 
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