@@AveragePootis True... @Adrians Digital Basement in the future, extend your outro or at least the static when working with IBM machines (assuming it's already pretty close already). Just 19/20 seconds and it would have been perfect!
Considering the other replies, it's perhaps browser/OS dependent, but on my Win10/Edge machine it indeed says 51:50 as well :) if he had padded it by 20 more seconds it would have been perfect!
Re that PC/AT case - I'd talk to a car paint shop or metal finishers. If you're worried about painting it yourself, they might be able to strip the old paint and repaint it, and match the colour. Given the amount of paint peel in the corner, that's probably what I'd do - the machine would look brand new after. For matching a touch-up paint -- I'd take the plastic front panel to a paint shop. Many of them have colour matching hardware, but matching the finish might be tricky.
@@jokkea492 HI, yes that does basically a RGB match, i have used it a bit on chrysler and GM cars from 60's as the small duplicor spray cans does not match properly, even with the formula from old books the basic pigments are different these days I have possible done close to 8-10 tower cases from 386-P4 buy just giving them to the local panel beater and asked to spray in a similar biege ( or GMH black for the black cases and GMH dark grey - the paint codes he uses is the same as what my 2002 car was in dark silver and black ) - he does it in a weeks turnover ( i drop of and pick up on a sat anyway )and is happy for $20 or some beer or lunch for him and the boys I have used a sanding disk ( flap disc not sure ) to take all the metal off then use the spray cans that are combined undercoat / final paint - they look fine , not 100% oem and the y do not have the wrinkle type finish but it is very good. The next one that i will do will be using 'rustoleam' i will be using a small brush or a piece of sponge to apply it and leave it as it as it leaves some line / brush marks - it is is really bad you can wet sand it with 800 or 100 grit paper
except car painting isn't cheap, at least not if its decent work. There's now good spray-paint for plastic right in your average hardware source. At the time this came out it was really difficult to get good adhesion on plastic, I've seen some terrible touch-up efforts in the past, but is very do-able now.
I was an engineer for IBM back in the 80's designing circuit board test equipment for card manufacturing and at one point I recall having 5170 serial no 4 (built in Greenock Scotland) as my main workstation. Love to see these old machines - and the old manuals - lot's of memories.
I'd love to see a part 4 with the bios solution you mentioned. Also a great solution for the finish would be to have the top cover bead blasted, and powder coated. I'm sure you could find a local shop that does such work. So no I'm definitely not tired of this series. Keep the updates coming.
There are a ton of TH-cam content creators that do powder coating ... I wonder if one of them would be willing to trade with you ... I watch a lot of those folks that sandblast and repaint old kids toys ... I wonder if one of them would be interested in sandblasting that old case and putting a fresh coat of powder coat on it.
You can use Pantone 413 to paint it which will match the original color. I would put a rust oxidizer on it an sand feather the edges and then put couple coats of primer then repaint entire case. This would allow you to sand feather the other scratches before painting to remove all blemishes
Adrian, you are now one of my top favourite channels on TH-cam, you come across as so friendly and genuine, and although I don’t always understand everything, I love the effort you make in explaining what you’re doing.
You can have the case redone via powder coating, it won't cost too much for a small article. Most paint shops are really good with color matching these days, too, they likely can match it as close to 100% as you can get without a time machine :)
Hi Adrian-I was working in my summer job from college at Popular Computing magazine (Byte’s sister publication) when the IBM AT was announced in New York. The next day, it was sitting on my bench at the magazine’s building in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Unfortunately, someone forgot to park the heads on the 5MB hard drive so it was DOA and they had to overnight a new hard drive to me… Then it was off to the reviewers… pretty cool what you did to restore this computer-brings back fond memories of 1984…
The first PC I bought was on holiday in Spain in 1993. It was a second hand IBM XT 286 and I was so proud to have a Spanish version of DOS on it. Quite soon afterwards I replaced the board for a baby 386 sx40, and I cut the front panel of the case down to make it flat 😮 as flat fronts was the trend by then. When I moved on to a 486 the only thing I kept from the 286 was the Square IBM sticker which I stuck onto my new no-name case😊.
That brings back so many memories!! The first ever PC I used at work was the IBM PC/XT then upgraded to the AT which had 5250 emulation to the IBM System 34 we had. Things have come so very far since then…
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In these old power supplies, the +5V is regulated, but the +12 and -12 are not; their voltages are simply derived from the +5V regulation. So if you lower the +5V voltage, the secondary voltages will track down. No big deal, as these voltages get regulated on the drives.
It's not touch-up paint, but I painted both the metal top-cover and the front panel of my 5170 (Sorry, Purists!) with Rustoleum spray paint and it looks nearly undetectable versus the factory paint. I'm really happy with it. I used Painter's Touch Ultra Cover Paint+Primer in Satin Stone Gray for the top-cover and a second whiter color from the same line to do the front, but I don't have that second can any longer. I can probably go to the store and figure it out if you'd like.
I opened up one of these PSU's as well and manged to replace that ludicrously loud fan with a noctua one with twice the airflow. You may chastise me for not keeping it original, but I put the old fan in storage and now it finally makes sense to install a Soundcard in the AT because you can hear anything at all over the sound of the PSU. The loudest part is now actually the harddrive but that's a lot more pleasant. What I failed at was taking it apart completely, so I never got to clean the 2nd layer PCB properly. tried to macrophotograph my way into it to get an idea on how the caps and parts look like but well, it felt not like a proper enough inspection. But I was too scared of ripping something apart that I couldn't put together again.
I have tried this ... couple of issues. It's only for latex paint which really isn't for metal and you have to buy at least a quart (maybe a gallon), which is way more than you need. Better off trying to find a rattle can that is close enough and spray the whole thing, or just leave it.
I am a painter. You could take that cover into a paint store and have them optically match the paint. I would recommend then using an artists brush. I also recommend an acrylic paint for ease of clean up. Make sure the sheen matches. It looks form the videos that you want a satin sheen? In cases of the larger spots, it's more complicated. A painter could take care of those. You need to spray on the paint which involves a painter taking the paint and putting it into a sprayer.
I just rebuilt a Tandy 3000 HL trash picked, 286/6Mhz. I know the pain of wanting to keep it original and needing to upgrade things to make it work. I don't think you did anything wrong with the modifications from stock. I had fun seeing you run into all the same problems I did. Keep up the good work.
My friends and I just explored an abandoned school and found like 10 or so of these and their monitors, keyboards, etc... Quite an exciting experience. Nice job on the restoration!
For the scratches / rust. I have run into this a couple of times and as soon as you start touching anything around the rust, you find out the whole area around it is bad. Unless you are OK with a big spot or you plan to strip down and repaint, it's probably better to just leave alone in the first place. I did use a product called Evapo-Rust on a Compaq case that was rusted (Evapo-Rust is non-toxic and doesn't hurt any of the "good" paint). It cleared off a good size area that had corrosion. After the rust was removed, it didn't look that bad ... actually looked better than the large rust spot that was there previously.
My first PC was a 10 to 12ish MHZ AT with 1 meg of ram and a VGA card. I remember playing eye of the beholder and learning how to use the DOS .. debug tool? Something like that to edit save games and give my characters like 25 strength and 256 hp.
The hottest temperature I ever experienced growing up in Atlanta was 108, in 1980. Over 100 is extremely rare. The hottest temperature ever recorded in the state was 112, way down south. Congrats on beating our record! If we keep burning fossil fuels for energy, we may all make 130 some day!
30:32 Johnson's paste wax (yellow tin) is what you need. It doesn't contain any abrasives like car wax often does, and it provides protection and can be buffed to a nice sheen. It's great stuff for many ither applications too.
Love your videos and style Adrian, but I would please recommend 3 things: 1. Never use windex (or any glass cleaner) on paint. The chemicals will damage the pigment and paint. As well as using a magic eraser, this is one of the reasons it's now dull. 2. Please look at using an anti-static wrist strap whenever touching, or handling IC's or boards. CMOS chips in particular will break down from ESD that you can't see or hear - even if it doesn't damage it immediately, it will degrade over time. Ideally, have an anti-static work mat as well that you can also connect to. These should be connected to ground (normally through a safety resistor). 3. Never touch the edge connectors. The oil and salts from your skin will cause corrosion and potential (no pun) issues.
IBM used colour Pantone 413 for the 5150/60/70 cases. You can go to a paint store and ask them to mix up you a batch and apply it with a foam roller for a nice finish. Alternatively, an auto paint supply store should be able to mix up a custom colour in a spray can.
Your videos are awesome. I really like how thorough and informative you are. I never thought retro computers would be so interesting to me. I started my career repairing IBM PC's, XT'S and AT's in the mid to late 80's.
In the automotive world I've used something called POR15 to treat rusted metal after sanding and before painting. It seems to work but if you've got pitting in the metal you really need to take a wire wheel to it and get as much of that out as you can. Rust is like a cancer, it will eat through the interior of the metal too. The POR15 will seal it off pretty well. For something that's severely rusty take a look at electrolysis for rust removal. It works remarkable well if you've got some sacrificial steel to use. Signed, guy who works on a lot of rusty old cars in a place where they love to throw down salt in the winter.
There is a thing called a Preval sprayer, consists of a glass reusable base, or jar and a part that screws on that has a nozzle on it with a gas under pressure. This enables you to go to a automotive paint store and have them match the paint to your top or bezel mix you a supply which you can thin and use as needed. The Preval power units can be purchased as needed. It is easy to use a large cardboard box as a paint booth for the item to be painted so as not to get paint all over things. I saw one guy using old noisy computer fans to vent the box so as to reduce chances of overspray. The Preval sprayer system can be bought on line, Amazon for instance, or in some cases the automotive PBE houses stock them. Just ask several autobody guys who is the go to guy when you need an old faded paint matched, that will be the place to ask to match your paint. They can keep the mix on file and make more any time you need it!
I used to work in an IBM lab in the UK in the 1980s, and we used to get a lot of hardware shipped from the US. Those switchable dual voltage power supplies were a real pain. If you didn't check to make sure they were set to the correct voltage (240v in the UK)... Bang!... New power supply required, sometimes a whole new machine. 110v CRT monitors were the worst though. I've blown up a few in my time plugging them into 240v by mistake.
I remember at work we used to have these IBM5170's and used them for years Our company being one that said if it still works don't change it so they didn't upgrade these for 5 years. Glad to see you getting one back to being totally operational again.
That side mark on case, now looks like burnt mark from propane torch.. Great decision to change front panel on existing cover. Long time ago, I have a PC power supply with multiple vertical boards inside and same markings on connector like IBM ones.. But that power brick was 2 times longer, than standard PC supply and wires wasn't integrated on board - on one side was a bunch of screw terminals.. That will be great to see another part from this series about BIOS.. 😊👍
Other people may have mentioned, but your iFixit toolkit includes a 1/4" to 4mm socket converter in the upper right, so you can use the iFixit 4mm bits with quarter-inch drive systems and power screwdrivers. In case that comes in handy sometime. (What I find handy when I need more torque or just to get into tight spaces by hand is my little 1/4" super-stubby bit holder. It's German - made by Wiha - and pretty cheap while still good quality. I can use it with the adaptor for my iFixit 4mm bits too.)
You can install a series resistor to make a fan spin slower. Yes, it works just fine with 4-wire fans when they don't have the PWM and tachometer wires connected. Or if this solution is too crude for your taste you can build a simple PWM circuit with a 555 timer and a potentiometer. Or even find one online ready made. Once I even used a DC-DC buck converter to control the fan speed, since I was too lazy to make a 555 circuit.
Zalman made a product back in the day called the Fanmate 2. This is an inline adapter with a knob for controlling the output voltage and the controller could mount anywhere inside or outside the case. It's a bit more versatile than a simple series resistor. Inside it's just a 7805, a resistor, and a potentiometer so it's easy to clone.
Nut drivers... YES!!!! They had these kits in faux leather/vinyl kits, with those exact two nut drivers, chip puller (cheap), tube of random screws, etc. I had at least two and still have the nut drivers! Wow, the memories.
I wonder what would be involved in getting the top case bead blasted and resprayed or powder coated the correct colour? That would also remove the rust underneath the existing paint.
Version numbers of 8-Bit Soundblasters: - 1.0: CT1320B with CMS installed - 1.5: CT1320C with easy CMS upgrade path - 2.0: CT1350 with new PCB and not-so-easy CMS upgrade path (additional chip needed) - 2.5 (Germany only): Rebadged Aztech Sound Galaxy NX-II for which German distributor CPS got the permession from Creative Labs to market this as CPS Soundblaster 2.5 due to supply shortage of Creative Soundblasters. Supports Adlib, Soundblaster and Disney/Covox I had a CT1320 (don't remember B or C) as a kid. A thing I remember was that the DSP chip was not a typical flat plastic case but massively bulging. But the card worked and I also have seen pictures on the internet of 1320s with bulging DSPs Nowadays, out of the 8 Bit cards, I have a CT1350 with the CMS upgrade (by coincidence purchased from Necroware on his eBay account, it was a test card that he used to develop the programming for the additional chip) and a CPS branded Aztech NXII Nice project, bringing back the 5170 to the original beauty, although it is a bumpy way.
Yeah, Papst fans are some of the best there are. You see them a lot in industrial applications. Digikey stocks them, but they aren't cheap unfortunately
43:34 While watching this - right after you said, "The power just went out" - my power went out. No joke. That was the most surreal experience I've had in a long time. Luckily it was only out for about 30 seconds, and my PC booted just fine after, but so weird.
You can replace the 12MHz clock crystal with a 16MHz clock crystal and that would bump the speed to 8MHz. Since the crystal is in a socket, that is a no-soldering upgrade. Since you are not using the original IBM BIOS, it should just work. A couple of the IBM BIOS versions will refuse to start if the clock crystal is replaced with a different speed.
The orange and black drivers look exactly like the ones I got in a PC repair kit around the same time frame. Mine came in a zippered faux-leather case with an assortment of nut and screw drivers, some yellow-handled tweezers, a tweezer-style chip puller that just bent and didn't work, as well as a little retractable wire claw that was great for grabbing screws out of difficult spots. I assume the same manufacturer is still around because I see toolkits with the same style tools still being sold unbranded, or under brands like StarTech.
An automotive paint store can scan the paint and mix it, and place it in a rattle spray can. You can then make a paint booth with PVC pipe and plastic, and a AC filter. Use an intake fan through a filter on one side and a filter on the other side so as not to pull paint fumes through the fan motor.
The little plastic things, are called stand-offs. Made mostly of either Nylon or plastic. With the badge rotation, there actually was a stand so that the machine could stand beside a desk, with its badge reading right side up! I'd love to see a part 4 with the bios solution you mentioned.
I usually sand down and repaint. the key to spray paint is letting it dry for a few days before touching it even though cans usually say 24hrs... wish i was closer, I would paint it for you. Maybe clear coat paint to help out the original paint.
I would imagine that IBM sold enough 5170s that when they tooled up for the next model, there were enough existing units in the field that they needed to support by producing spare parts for a few years after the original manufacturing run ended, and which has been the case for many other products as well. That may explain the late date code on the ‘new’ supply.
This is my favorite ever ADB series! Tell me you don't admire IBM's commitment to quality, robustness, and excellence! That machine is the beginning of the modern age. I sure would like to see Xenix or OS/2 1.0 running on it!
About the ifixit kit, as much as I love the kit you have...I also have the older style one that had a driver where the "extension" comes out and there is a hole in the driver handle so you can have a T handle driver that is great for screws like that. Find yourself one of the older ifixit drivers to go with your toolkit....you'll be glad you did.
For 20+ years I have used Servisol Foam Cleanser 30 to clean up computers ( and still do for my own computers), it is amazing stuff, it gets rid of most stains including permanent marker and leaves a nice sheen on the computer. I hope this helps someone.
I do not miss 46° temps. I used to live a place that was just typical July/August. No thanks. It was crazy to have that be here in Portland. The hottest I'd experienced in Portland prior to that was 41.6° (107°F). I did have to go outside in the 46° for about two minutes. It reminded me of why I don't live where I used to anymore. 😁 If there's a part four, I didn't see it … did you ever find someone interested in redoing the paint?
Thanks, Adrian, for another delightful video. I'd love to see a video using the old AT BIOS that has been amended to eliminate the various errors you were experiencing before
Dupli-Color makes great automotive professional grade paint that would be good for this project. It's not the cheapest but it's top notch stuff. You can pick up the stuff in a can, but you have no ability to match those. They make stuff you can mix but you'll need a pain gun and all that. They also make all the primer and clear coat for protection. You'd have to take all the paint off and redo it all and it won't be exact unless you match it. But best advice I can give for paint.
Older models of the ifixit kit came with a screwdriver w/ optional crossbar, and I use that thing on every screw, to the point where the rubber o-rings it uses as a grip are falling apart.
I have the same exact two nut drivers. They are the only part of that kit I still have. If I remember correctly they came in a fake leather folio. There was a yellow three pin grabby thing I used for a long time, and a very simple chip extractor.
28:20: "This is definitely a non-smoker computer. Maybe it was used in an office environment..." LOL, how old are you? I worked in an office full of these machines from 1988 to 1994 (and most of the PC/ATs were there before I was), and smoking was permitted everywhere in that office until 1992 or thereabouts. And my employer at that time was actually a bit ahead of the game in terms of becoming a non-smoking office. I suspect that a lot of PC/ATs you come across will have residual cigarette smoke smell in them, as non-smoking offices weren't the norm until well after most PC/ATs were out of service. I do not smoke, never have smoked and never liked being around smokers, so I started keeping records at that office, in 1989 or 1990, I think, to track whether the users of computers I was called to fix were smokers or non-smokers. I hoped to be able to show that computers exposed to cigarette smoke failed more often than those that weren't. The data I collected thoroughly disappointed me. It showed that those old PC/ATs were pretty resilient, for the most part, and were not affected by typical office environmental hazards. That is to say, smokers' computers experienced problems at about the same rate as non-smokers' computers.
Adrian, I'd wager that several of your viewers could supply you with a nice 5170 case cover if you "put out the call to arms". I would have been one of them, but about 10 weeks ago I took my near-pristine 5170-339 to the local e-waste facility, along with the 5154 (Enhanced Color Display) and Model M keyboard. The machine had been upgraded with a Make-It! 486 processor and it had 15MB of extended memory on IBM memory adapters (12MB on one and 3MB on the other), it pained me a bit to just scrap it, but it hadn't been used since 1996 or thereabouts and I couldn't imagine that anyone would want to deal with it. Clearly, my timing was poor.
Oh man, no. It’s old school belt and braces, but not very sophisticated, and an absolute pain to work on. We have come a long way and there’s nothin there to miss. :-)
I feel less bad about destroying the pUrItY of my Olivetti M290 when its motherboard died about 15 years ago and I couldn't find a direct replacement. So.. thanks for that, Adrian!
many automotive paint shops have a machine that they can match the paint if you take a sample to them, and put it in a spray can also, because the magic eraser is a little abrasive, that could be why you are seeing the top being dull
There probably was an acidic element in the water that broke down the paint, also there is a porous aspect to even some of the best paints. I'm sure you'll get in contact with a good painter eventually that can help with more permanent solutions.
before you throw that modem away, remember a TI Silent 700 series terminal usually doesn't have a serial port, but an internal modem only. Cool opportunity to get a thermal terminal up and running. just set them AT modem registers right :)
Adrian, regarding cleaning vitnage computer cases, I'd recommend Cif cream cleaner. It dies this job just fine, but keep in mind that stuff is a bit of polishing solution, so do not scrub the case too much or you will go straight through the layer of paint to the bare metal. Not to mention polishing out some of the paint texture which will look awful. Use with caution.
I use Pledge Furniture Polish to treat my electronics. Both plastic and metal friendly. Also, I suggest using a company like ColorMatch for matching the paint color. They sell car paints and they do have a match for IBM systems and nearly everything I've thrown at them.
I appreciate that this video's runtime is 51:50
Hmm, my phone shows 51:51... probably a rounding error lol
@@aaronjamt Mine too, to be fair a 5151 went with 5150's
@@AveragePootis True... @Adrians Digital Basement in the future, extend your outro or at least the static when working with IBM machines (assuming it's already pretty close already). Just 19/20 seconds and it would have been perfect!
Considering the other replies, it's perhaps browser/OS dependent, but on my Win10/Edge machine it indeed says 51:50 as well :) if he had padded it by 20 more seconds it would have been perfect!
@@FlyingDutchman19801 I'm using a Pixel 3a with the official YT app.
Best series you've done. IBM 5170 for the win!
Yes, part 4 please!!!
Part 4 could be just having fun with the machine using period appropriate software.
Another part would be interesting.
Can you get the network card going as well??
Would not mind part 4 with the bios fix!
And part 5 with a bocaram card to increase the Ram
Would love to see the BIOS solution you came up with! And definitely not tired of seeing this computer yet
Yep
Absolutely. And people who 'might be sick of 5170 Videos' they always have the choice not to watch one or the other video.
Me three!
Yes, please!
Yes very curious about the BIOS fix!
Yes, I would like to see you patching the old AT bios to get rid of 613 drive error!
Re that PC/AT case - I'd talk to a car paint shop or metal finishers. If you're worried about painting it yourself, they might be able to strip the old paint and repaint it, and match the colour. Given the amount of paint peel in the corner, that's probably what I'd do - the machine would look brand new after.
For matching a touch-up paint -- I'd take the plastic front panel to a paint shop. Many of them have colour matching hardware, but matching the finish might be tricky.
There is a handheld laser "gun" that calculates/tell the exact color.
@@jokkea492 That's...pretty cool.
@@jokkea492 HI, yes that does basically a RGB match, i have used it a bit on chrysler and GM cars from 60's as the small duplicor spray cans does not match properly, even with the formula from old books the basic pigments are different these days
I have possible done close to 8-10 tower cases from 386-P4 buy just giving them to the local panel beater and asked to spray in a similar biege ( or GMH black for the black cases and GMH dark grey - the paint codes he uses is the same as what my 2002 car was in dark silver and black ) - he does it in a weeks turnover ( i drop of and pick up on a sat anyway )and is happy for $20 or some beer or lunch for him and the boys
I have used a sanding disk ( flap disc not sure ) to take all the metal off then use the spray cans that are combined undercoat / final paint - they look fine , not 100% oem and the y do not have the wrinkle type finish but it is very good.
The next one that i will do will be using 'rustoleam' i will be using a small brush or a piece of sponge to apply it and leave it as it as it leaves some line / brush marks - it is is really bad you can wet sand it with 800 or 100 grit paper
Or, you could get it painted in a nice candy apple red with ghost flames and racing stripes. 🤪
except car painting isn't cheap, at least not if its decent work. There's now good spray-paint for plastic right in your average hardware source. At the time this came out it was really difficult to get good adhesion on plastic, I've seen some terrible touch-up efforts in the past, but is very do-able now.
I was an engineer for IBM back in the 80's designing circuit board test equipment for card manufacturing and at one point I recall having 5170 serial no 4 (built in Greenock Scotland) as my main workstation. Love to see these old machines - and the old manuals - lot's of memories.
I'd love to see a part 4 with the bios solution you mentioned. Also a great solution for the finish would be to have the top cover bead blasted, and powder coated. I'm sure you could find a local shop that does such work. So no I'm definitely not tired of this series. Keep the updates coming.
Oh yes, let’s see a video on how to get the ibm bios working! Thanks!
There are a ton of TH-cam content creators that do powder coating ... I wonder if one of them would be willing to trade with you ... I watch a lot of those folks that sandblast and repaint old kids toys ... I wonder if one of them would be interested in sandblasting that old case and putting a fresh coat of powder coat on it.
Exactly.
Chips channel! I enjoy watching those channels too.
Probably lots of restoration channels, like mymechanics or similar
PART 4!!! Bring it on!!!
I'm also looking forward to part 4!
@@alexdhall Part 4!!!!. Yes please!!!!
You can use Pantone 413 to paint it which will match the original color. I would put a rust oxidizer on it an sand feather the edges and then put couple coats of primer then repaint entire case. This would allow you to sand feather the other scratches before painting to remove all blemishes
I am for one not sick of watching you work on any computer you have repaired.
I very much appreciate this video being 51:50 in length
Adrian, you are now one of my top favourite channels on TH-cam, you come across as so friendly and genuine, and although I don’t always understand everything, I love the effort you make in explaining what you’re doing.
You can have the case redone via powder coating, it won't cost too much for a small article. Most paint shops are really good with color matching these days, too, they likely can match it as close to 100% as you can get without a time machine :)
Hi Adrian-I was working in my summer job from college at Popular Computing magazine (Byte’s sister publication) when the IBM AT was announced in New York. The next day, it was sitting on my bench at the magazine’s building in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Unfortunately, someone forgot to park the heads on the 5MB hard drive so it was DOA and they had to overnight a new hard drive to me… Then it was off to the reviewers… pretty cool what you did to restore this computer-brings back fond memories of 1984…
The first PC I bought was on holiday in Spain in 1993. It was a second hand IBM XT 286 and I was so proud to have a Spanish version of DOS on it. Quite soon afterwards I replaced the board for a baby 386 sx40, and I cut the front panel of the case down to make it flat 😮 as flat fronts was the trend by then. When I moved on to a 486 the only thing I kept from the 286 was the Square IBM sticker which I stuck onto my new no-name case😊.
That brings back so many memories!! The first ever PC I used at work was the IBM PC/XT then upgraded to the AT which had 5250 emulation to the IBM System 34 we had. Things have come so very far since then…
In these old power supplies, the +5V is regulated, but the +12 and -12 are not; their voltages are simply derived from the +5V regulation. So if you lower the +5V voltage, the secondary voltages will track down. No big deal, as these voltages get regulated on the drives.
It's not touch-up paint, but I painted both the metal top-cover and the front panel of my 5170 (Sorry, Purists!) with Rustoleum spray paint and it looks nearly undetectable versus the factory paint. I'm really happy with it. I used Painter's Touch Ultra Cover Paint+Primer in Satin Stone Gray for the top-cover and a second whiter color from the same line to do the front, but I don't have that second can any longer. I can probably go to the store and figure it out if you'd like.
I opened up one of these PSU's as well and manged to replace that ludicrously loud fan with a noctua one with twice the airflow. You may chastise me for not keeping it original, but I put the old fan in storage and now it finally makes sense to install a Soundcard in the AT because you can hear anything at all over the sound of the PSU. The loudest part is now actually the harddrive but that's a lot more pleasant.
What I failed at was taking it apart completely, so I never got to clean the 2nd layer PCB properly. tried to macrophotograph my way into it to get an idea on how the caps and parts look like but well, it felt not like a proper enough inspection. But I was too scared of ripping something apart that I couldn't put together again.
Always nice when things work out in the end as they should.
take the front panel to home depot paint department, they have a color scanner that is pretty good.
Just took a paint chip there today. Worked freaking perfectly.
I have tried this ... couple of issues. It's only for latex paint which really isn't for metal and you have to buy at least a quart (maybe a gallon), which is way more than you need. Better off trying to find a rattle can that is close enough and spray the whole thing, or just leave it.
@@mattp3437 At least here some Automotive stores can colour match rattle cans (they actually mix the colour on site), might be worth a look.
I am a painter. You could take that cover into a paint store and have them optically match the paint. I would recommend then using an artists brush. I also recommend an acrylic paint for ease of clean up. Make sure the sheen matches. It looks form the videos that you want a satin sheen? In cases of the larger spots, it's more complicated. A painter could take care of those. You need to spray on the paint which involves a painter taking the paint and putting it into a sprayer.
I just rebuilt a Tandy 3000 HL trash picked, 286/6Mhz. I know the pain of wanting to keep it original and needing to upgrade things to make it work. I don't think you did anything wrong with the modifications from stock. I had fun seeing you run into all the same problems I did. Keep up the good work.
My friends and I just explored an abandoned school and found like 10 or so of these and their monitors, keyboards, etc... Quite an exciting experience.
Nice job on the restoration!
Time to start your own channel. Hop to! :-D
You should sell them
For the scratches / rust. I have run into this a couple of times and as soon as you start touching anything around the rust, you find out the whole area around it is bad. Unless you are OK with a big spot or you plan to strip down and repaint, it's probably better to just leave alone in the first place. I did use a product called Evapo-Rust on a Compaq case that was rusted (Evapo-Rust is non-toxic and doesn't hurt any of the "good" paint). It cleared off a good size area that had corrosion. After the rust was removed, it didn't look that bad ... actually looked better than the large rust spot that was there previously.
My first PC was a 10 to 12ish MHZ AT with 1 meg of ram and a VGA card. I remember playing eye of the beholder and learning how to use the DOS .. debug tool? Something like that to edit save games and give my characters like 25 strength and 256 hp.
I have the same orange/black drivers from a kit I bought back in 90's. The kit case and some tools are gone, but the drivers are here and very useful.
The hottest temperature I ever experienced growing up in Atlanta was 108, in 1980. Over 100 is extremely rare. The hottest temperature ever recorded in the state was 112, way down south. Congrats on beating our record! If we keep burning fossil fuels for energy, we may all make 130 some day!
30:32 Johnson's paste wax (yellow tin) is what you need. It doesn't contain any abrasives like car wax often does, and it provides protection and can be buffed to a nice sheen. It's great stuff for many ither applications too.
Yep.. part 4!!!
Love your videos and style Adrian, but I would please recommend 3 things:
1. Never use windex (or any glass cleaner) on paint. The chemicals will damage the pigment and paint. As well as using a magic eraser, this is one of the reasons it's now dull.
2. Please look at using an anti-static wrist strap whenever touching, or handling IC's or boards. CMOS chips in particular will break down from ESD that you can't see or hear - even if it doesn't damage it immediately, it will degrade over time. Ideally, have an anti-static work mat as well that you can also connect to. These should be connected to ground (normally through a safety resistor).
3. Never touch the edge connectors. The oil and salts from your skin will cause corrosion and potential (no pun) issues.
IBM used colour Pantone 413 for the 5150/60/70 cases. You can go to a paint store and ask them to mix up you a batch and apply it with a foam roller for a nice finish. Alternatively, an auto paint supply store should be able to mix up a custom colour in a spray can.
Your videos are awesome. I really like how thorough and informative you are. I never thought retro computers would be so interesting to me. I started my career repairing IBM PC's, XT'S and AT's in the mid to late 80's.
In the automotive world I've used something called POR15 to treat rusted metal after sanding and before painting. It seems to work but if you've got pitting in the metal you really need to take a wire wheel to it and get as much of that out as you can. Rust is like a cancer, it will eat through the interior of the metal too. The POR15 will seal it off pretty well.
For something that's severely rusty take a look at electrolysis for rust removal. It works remarkable well if you've got some sacrificial steel to use.
Signed, guy who works on a lot of rusty old cars in a place where they love to throw down salt in the winter.
There is a thing called a Preval sprayer, consists of a glass reusable base, or jar and a part that screws on that has a nozzle on it with a gas under pressure. This enables you to go to a automotive paint store and have them match the paint to your top or bezel mix you a supply which you can thin and use as needed. The Preval power units can be purchased as needed. It is easy to use a large cardboard box as a paint booth for the item to be painted so as not to get paint all over things. I saw one guy using old noisy computer fans to vent the box so as to reduce chances of overspray. The Preval sprayer system can be bought on line, Amazon for instance, or in some cases the automotive PBE houses stock them. Just ask several autobody guys who is the go to guy when you need an old faded paint matched, that will be the place to ask to match your paint. They can keep the mix on file and make more any time you need it!
Not sick of this series of all. Very useful to old IBM restorers.
I used to work in an IBM lab in the UK in the 1980s, and we used to get a lot of hardware shipped from the US. Those switchable dual voltage power supplies were a real pain. If you didn't check to make sure they were set to the correct voltage (240v in the UK)... Bang!... New power supply required, sometimes a whole new machine.
110v CRT monitors were the worst though. I've blown up a few in my time plugging them into 240v by mistake.
Who would ever get tired of ibm restorations? Don't leave us hanging Adrian!
I remember at work we used to have these IBM5170's and used them for years Our company being one that said if it still works don't change it so they didn't upgrade these for 5 years. Glad to see you getting one back to being totally operational again.
That side mark on case, now looks like burnt mark from propane torch..
Great decision to change front panel on existing cover.
Long time ago, I have a PC power supply with multiple vertical boards inside and same markings on connector like IBM ones.. But that power brick was 2 times longer, than standard PC supply and wires wasn't integrated on board - on one side was a bunch of screw terminals..
That will be great to see another part from this series about BIOS.. 😊👍
6:36 Jeez, that transformation from just de-dusting! That fan appears BRAND NEW when comparing the before and after shot
Other people may have mentioned, but your iFixit toolkit includes a 1/4" to 4mm socket converter in the upper right, so you can use the iFixit 4mm bits with quarter-inch drive systems and power screwdrivers. In case that comes in handy sometime.
(What I find handy when I need more torque or just to get into tight spaces by hand is my little 1/4" super-stubby bit holder. It's German - made by Wiha - and pretty cheap while still good quality. I can use it with the adaptor for my iFixit 4mm bits too.)
Woodgrain vinyl for the sides!
I read that in Duke Nukem's voice. I wonder why...
Hey, that's not a bad idea!
Yes, Adrian, I'm very interested in your solution, and it seems like a lot of other folks do too! Looking forward to it! Thanks!
You can install a series resistor to make a fan spin slower. Yes, it works just fine with 4-wire fans when they don't have the PWM and tachometer wires connected. Or if this solution is too crude for your taste you can build a simple PWM circuit with a 555 timer and a potentiometer. Or even find one online ready made.
Once I even used a DC-DC buck converter to control the fan speed, since I was too lazy to make a 555 circuit.
Zalman made a product back in the day called the Fanmate 2. This is an inline adapter with a knob for controlling the output voltage and the controller could mount anywhere inside or outside the case. It's a bit more versatile than a simple series resistor.
Inside it's just a 7805, a resistor, and a potentiometer so it's easy to clone.
I'm working on my own 5170 now. Thanks for such amazing videos.
Nut drivers... YES!!!! They had these kits in faux leather/vinyl kits, with those exact two nut drivers, chip puller (cheap), tube of random screws, etc. I had at least two and still have the nut drivers! Wow, the memories.
Watching this is like watching Return of The King. I already know how it ends because I've read the book but I'm still excited.
We bought the extended release DVDs. We've gotten more viewing hours out of the appendices than from the feature films themselves.
Whew! That was one long journey to getting that machine up and running. So worth watching and learning. Thanks Adrian!
Definitely more videos on this. If you’ve got more to show us, do it!
I wonder what would be involved in getting the top case bead blasted and resprayed or powder coated the correct colour? That would also remove the rust underneath the existing paint.
A lot of auto part stores can easily mix those two colors in spray cans or touch up paint bottles.
go ahead with the 4th part. I like tagging along with you enduring to resolve things and to get what you really like to achieve :D
2:43 I LOVE the chonky. Wish modern PCs still had it.
Version numbers of 8-Bit Soundblasters:
- 1.0: CT1320B with CMS installed
- 1.5: CT1320C with easy CMS upgrade path
- 2.0: CT1350 with new PCB and not-so-easy CMS upgrade path (additional chip needed)
- 2.5 (Germany only): Rebadged Aztech Sound Galaxy NX-II for which German distributor CPS got the permession from Creative Labs to market this as CPS Soundblaster 2.5 due to supply shortage of Creative Soundblasters. Supports Adlib, Soundblaster and Disney/Covox
I had a CT1320 (don't remember B or C) as a kid. A thing I remember was that the DSP chip was not a typical flat plastic case but massively bulging. But the card worked and I also have seen pictures on the internet of 1320s with bulging DSPs
Nowadays, out of the 8 Bit cards, I have a CT1350 with the CMS upgrade (by coincidence purchased from Necroware on his eBay account, it was a test card that he used to develop the programming for the additional chip) and a CPS branded Aztech NXII
Nice project, bringing back the 5170 to the original beauty, although it is a bumpy way.
Those PAPST fans are built like a tank in W. Germany. I saw many of those in large racks and they were built to last forever!
Yeah, Papst fans are some of the best there are. You see them a lot in industrial applications. Digikey stocks them, but they aren't cheap unfortunately
The funny thing is Papst is the German word for Pope
Just wanted to say that I am not sick of seeing videos about this computer!
Given I was interested enough to watch parts one to three I'd certainly be game for part four.
Yes, please continue the series. I used the quadtel and would love to see if I could get it back to the IBM Bios. You are genius, thank you!
The two nut drivers are for sheet metal screws. Those two sizes cover most of the ones you come across. Appliances, furnaces, etc. :)
43:34 While watching this - right after you said, "The power just went out" - my power went out. No joke. That was the most surreal experience I've had in a long time. Luckily it was only out for about 30 seconds, and my PC booted just fine after, but so weird.
I've had old PCs give me jolt in the past for that very reason!
You can replace the 12MHz clock crystal with a 16MHz clock crystal and that would bump the speed to 8MHz. Since the crystal is in a socket, that is a no-soldering upgrade. Since you are not using the original IBM BIOS, it should just work. A couple of the IBM BIOS versions will refuse to start if the clock crystal is replaced with a different speed.
The orange and black drivers look exactly like the ones I got in a PC repair kit around the same time frame. Mine came in a zippered faux-leather case with an assortment of nut and screw drivers, some yellow-handled tweezers, a tweezer-style chip puller that just bent and didn't work, as well as a little retractable wire claw that was great for grabbing screws out of difficult spots. I assume the same manufacturer is still around because I see toolkits with the same style tools still being sold unbranded, or under brands like StarTech.
An automotive paint store can scan the paint and mix it, and place it in a rattle spray can. You can then make a paint booth with PVC pipe and plastic, and a AC filter. Use an intake fan through a filter on one side and a filter on the other side so as not to pull paint fumes through the fan motor.
The little plastic things, are called stand-offs. Made mostly of either Nylon or plastic.
With the badge rotation, there actually was a stand so that the machine could stand beside a desk, with its badge reading right side up!
I'd love to see a part 4 with the bios solution you mentioned.
This series turned into quite a marathon, but lots of opportunities came for learning. It was worth it 👍
Me gustó, es emocionante ver el rescate de estas computadoras, sobre todo, para america latina donde no pudimos vivir esos tiempos
The iFixit toolkit has a 1/4" to 4 mm Driver Adapter (it's in the upper-right corner, at least in mine) to let you use its bits in a larger tool.
I usually sand down and repaint. the key to spray paint is letting it dry for a few days before touching it even though cans usually say 24hrs... wish i was closer, I would paint it for you. Maybe clear coat paint to help out the original paint.
A lot of paint stores can color match if you bring in what you are matching. This can give you exact color match.
I would imagine that IBM sold enough 5170s that when they tooled up for the next model, there were enough existing units in the field that they needed to support by producing spare parts for a few years after the original manufacturing run ended, and which has been the case for many other products as well. That may explain the late date code on the ‘new’ supply.
Yes...another episode with your BIOS solution would be great. There is no such thing as being tired of you troubleshooting these iconic machines.
This is my favorite ever ADB series! Tell me you don't admire IBM's commitment to quality, robustness, and excellence! That machine is the beginning of the modern age. I sure would like to see Xenix or OS/2 1.0 running on it!
I second that. Xenix 2.2 would be of great interest.
About the ifixit kit, as much as I love the kit you have...I also have the older style one that had a driver where the "extension" comes out and there is a hole in the driver handle so you can have a T handle driver that is great for screws like that. Find yourself one of the older ifixit drivers to go with your toolkit....you'll be glad you did.
For 20+ years I have used Servisol Foam Cleanser 30 to clean up computers ( and still do for my own computers), it is amazing stuff, it gets rid of most stains including permanent marker and leaves a nice sheen on the computer. I hope this helps someone.
That feeling of bliss at the end of a long project is unbeatable.
I'd love to see how you got the original bios working! Thanks for the great work, you never talk too much.
My first computer at work was an IBM PS2 Model 60. Solid build quality.
I do not miss 46° temps. I used to live a place that was just typical July/August. No thanks. It was crazy to have that be here in Portland. The hottest I'd experienced in Portland prior to that was 41.6° (107°F). I did have to go outside in the 46° for about two minutes. It reminded me of why I don't live where I used to anymore. 😁
If there's a part four, I didn't see it … did you ever find someone interested in redoing the paint?
Thanks, Adrian, for another delightful video. I'd love to see a video using the old AT BIOS that has been amended to eliminate the various errors you were experiencing before
Dupli-Color makes great automotive professional grade paint that would be good for this project. It's not the cheapest but it's top notch stuff. You can pick up the stuff in a can, but you have no ability to match those. They make stuff you can mix but you'll need a pain gun and all that. They also make all the primer and clear coat for protection. You'd have to take all the paint off and redo it all and it won't be exact unless you match it. But best advice I can give for paint.
the iFixit kit has an adapter in it so you can use the bits in with a drill/electric screwdriver or just a bigger handled screwdriver.
Older models of the ifixit kit came with a screwdriver w/ optional crossbar, and I use that thing on every screw, to the point where the rubber o-rings it uses as a grip are falling apart.
I have the same exact two nut drivers. They are the only part of that kit I still have. If I remember correctly they came in a fake leather folio. There was a yellow three pin grabby thing I used for a long time, and a very simple chip extractor.
28:20: "This is definitely a non-smoker computer. Maybe it was used in an office environment..." LOL, how old are you? I worked in an office full of these machines from 1988 to 1994 (and most of the PC/ATs were there before I was), and smoking was permitted everywhere in that office until 1992 or thereabouts. And my employer at that time was actually a bit ahead of the game in terms of becoming a non-smoking office. I suspect that a lot of PC/ATs you come across will have residual cigarette smoke smell in them, as non-smoking offices weren't the norm until well after most PC/ATs were out of service.
I do not smoke, never have smoked and never liked being around smokers, so I started keeping records at that office, in 1989 or 1990, I think, to track whether the users of computers I was called to fix were smokers or non-smokers. I hoped to be able to show that computers exposed to cigarette smoke failed more often than those that weren't. The data I collected thoroughly disappointed me. It showed that those old PC/ATs were pretty resilient, for the most part, and were not affected by typical office environmental hazards. That is to say, smokers' computers experienced problems at about the same rate as non-smokers' computers.
Adrian, I'd wager that several of your viewers could supply you with a nice 5170 case cover if you "put out the call to arms". I would have been one of them, but about 10 weeks ago I took my near-pristine 5170-339 to the local e-waste facility, along with the 5154 (Enhanced Color Display) and Model M keyboard. The machine had been upgraded with a Make-It! 486 processor and it had 15MB of extended memory on IBM memory adapters (12MB on one and 3MB on the other), it pained me a bit to just scrap it, but it hadn't been used since 1996 or thereabouts and I couldn't imagine that anyone would want to deal with it. Clearly, my timing was poor.
I am very impressed by that power supply...brilliantly designed!
Oh man, no. It’s old school belt and braces, but not very sophisticated, and an absolute pain to work on. We have come a long way and there’s nothin there to miss. :-)
I feel less bad about destroying the pUrItY of my Olivetti M290 when its motherboard died about 15 years ago and I couldn't find a direct replacement. So.. thanks for that, Adrian!
many automotive paint shops have a machine that they can match the paint if you take a sample to them, and put it in a spray can
also, because the magic eraser is a little abrasive, that could be why you are seeing the top being dull
There probably was an acidic element in the water that broke down the paint, also there is a porous aspect to even some of the best paints. I'm sure you'll get in contact with a good painter eventually that can help with more permanent solutions.
before you throw that modem away, remember a TI Silent 700 series terminal usually doesn't have a serial port, but an internal modem only. Cool opportunity to get a thermal terminal up and running. just set them AT modem registers right :)
Adrian, regarding cleaning vitnage computer cases, I'd recommend Cif cream cleaner. It dies this job just fine, but keep in mind that stuff is a bit of polishing solution, so do not scrub the case too much or you will go straight through the layer of paint to the bare metal. Not to mention polishing out some of the paint texture which will look awful. Use with caution.
38:37: Oh hai, Rammy!
Thanks so much, Adrian - what a fantastic journey!
I use Pledge Furniture Polish to treat my electronics. Both plastic and metal friendly. Also, I suggest using a company like ColorMatch for matching the paint color. They sell car paints and they do have a match for IBM systems and nearly everything I've thrown at them.
48:36 beautiful!! bet it felt so good to finally get this working