🇫🇷 Thomson MO5 "Platini": Part 1 [TCE

Let's have a look at the special edition version of the Thomson MO5 (a 6809-powered computer), released in honour of French footballer Michel Platini. I believe he had just captained France as the European Champions, hence the tie-in.
The MO5 retains the same internals as the original, rubber-keyed MO5 (i.e. 48KBytes of RAM), but we get a nice mechanical keyboard and some extra peripherals in a carry bag, including a cassette recorder (LEP), light pen (crayon optique) and sound/joystick interface. Interestingly the joysticks use a DIN plug (like Soviet/post Soviet machines) instead of DE9.
Certainly the mechanical keyboard is a nice improvement over the original rubber keyboard (similar to the Sinclair ZX Spectrum). The cassette recorder is a model MK50-050.
The cassette recorder, also known as a LEP or "Lecteurs Enregistreurs de Programmes", is AC powered with a 12V regulator. I tried adding an auxiliary input so I can load software via my computer, but it's not working well at the moment. I think I'll also convert it from AC to DC power.
Software, documentation and schematics can be found on the excellent DCMOTO website:
dcmoto.free.fr
The French computer forum SYSTEM.CFG is a good place to get advice on repairing a Thomson machine, or to find existing solutions (i.e. I found the solution to my TO7's cassette recorder issue there):
forum.system-cfg.com/viewforu...
To be continued.

[@WacKEDmaN]

maybe them loading errors are coz its being played back slightly too fast? it does sound quite fast for an old system like that...

[@Brfff]

Should be okay for speed - haven't adjusted those settings in Audacity. The MO6 (built-in cassette recorder) used transistors rather than Op. Amps. ... I got it working in the MO6 by connecting the AUX IN to the collector of the pre-amp transistor ......

[@MrWaalkman]

Errors from the "Quick reference guide to BASIC 1.0"
53 IO Input/Output Error. Cassette not adjusted correctly or bad tape.
61 PP Protected Program.
Not much help though...

[@Brfff]

Well it makes sense. Can't LIST the program(me) because it's a protected BASIC program (like on the Amstrad) - usually this can be fixed by modifying a bit in the header. And the I/O error ... because I'm trying to be tricky and not actually play a physical tape!