Collector's Corner..On Repairing The Oldies

[Steve B]

The Bane of all collector's is the dreaded REPAIR

somehow i have managed all of these years to avoid having to make my own repairs .this is not to suggest that none of my computers needed fixing..hardly the case ..
generally i need about 1/2 a dozen repairs done per year and i have always had someone i trusted to make them
well i seem to be out living the computers and the folks who repaired them for me.. as i have no one currently to make repairs

i am on the verge of attempting a Reed replacement repair for several auto-sensory computers
a few of these are quite expensive and in one case..a very rare computer

any pointers from those that do make their own repairs?
do you guys use De-Soldering Irons to loosen up and remove the defective Eprom or just the regular soldering Iron?
i have visited a few sites on the net that discuss the repair but i am still hesitant to do it myself

i wonder if a local TV/COMPUTER repair shop could manage this sort of fairly common repair if i provided them with the Reed Switches?
any comments are appreciated

Beyond Repair Regards
Steve

[Larry]

i wonder if a local TV/COMPUTER repair shop could manage this sort of fairly common repair if i provided them with the Reed Switches?
any comments are appreciated

Beyond Repair Regards
Steve

Steve, I find replacing reed switches to be relatively easy, and I had plenty
of practice on my Elegance.
At your local electronics store you can get solder flux in a pen, sort of
like the familiar felt tipped pen, but with liquid flux in it instead of ink. You will
obviously need a soldering iron and a solder remover. They are both easy to
use. Other than that, you just need some reed switches, and I'm not aware
of more than one type. Oh, yeah, get a pair of long nosed pliers and some resin cored solder.
Fidelity apparently were penny pinchers and set out to save money by
putting in cheap and nasty reed switches, which ended up costing them
dearly in lost sales.
You melt the solder and at the same time tug gently with the pliers on
the reed switch, which is on the other side of the board. Shape the new
reed switch, ie, bend the ends 90degrees so that the straight part will be
the right length for the holes, taking care to have the flat part of the actual
switch that you can see through the glass facing the base of the wooden
playing surface. Before putting it in, give a good rub around
the holes with the flux pen, and also rub the ends of the reed switch. Put
the switch in the hole and bend the ends back a little so it can't move, then
apply the solder. Then you just need to nip off the excess length of the
wire at each end of the switch.
Now Murphy's Law comes into play here. For every reed switch you fix
another one will go bung. Of course this can only happen a maximum of
64 times, so take heart!
Kostea, on reading this post, may be able to suggest improvements to
my method, but it has worked fine for me. Unlike you millionaires, I have
always had to figure things out myself.
hope this has'nt been a wasted read for you,
take care,
Larry

[Steve B]

Hi Larry i appreciate your reply
sadly,,i just now tried opening up a Fidelity EAG and there is just too much in the way of the actual reeds
two layers of mother board and several connections
not to mention 2-3 screws supporting one of the mother boards with stripped threads that wont come loose
i am certain if i try this myself i will wind up causing heavy damage to something critical like the 030 processor or something similar

very frustrating as this EAG has only one dang reed thats dead(G3 square)
now i have another EAG with at least 6-8 dead reeds

plus i dont know if the reeds are the standard magnetic reeds or the "hall effect " sensor type because i cant get to them to see them

i guess for this EAG i will not be fianchettoing too many Bishops


i got megabucks invested in these two machines
MEGA bucks..i tell you .. so i guess im just
Screwed Regards
Steve

[ricard60]

Here is a link of somebody changing a reed switch is not a fidelity EAG board but maybe you can get some ideas from it.

http://www.meca-web.es/articulos/cambiosensor.htm

reed switch regards
Ricardo

[Steve B]

Here is a link of somebody changing a reed switch is not a fidelity EAG board but maybe you can get some ideas from it.

http://www.meca-web.es/articulos/cambiosensor.htm

reed switch regards
Ricardo

yes i saw Mecas video
Mike Watters also has a good example of a Conchess reed repair on his site

these are relatively easy repairs because the Reed switches are open and easy to get to

in my case ..with the EAG's its very difficult to get to the actual reeds
no i think i will need to find someone more experienced and located here in the US..to repair them
perhaps i can offer someone a chess computer to repair them
an Excel Mach III or something similar?
or.. money of course

Blockaded Regards
Steve

[ricard60]

This remebers me when i went to the university, teachers explain easy examples but when the test comes you have to solve very hard problems

allways on your own regards
Ricardo

[Steve B]

This remebers me when i went to the university, teachers explain easy examples but when the test comes you have to solve very hard problems

allways on your own regards
Ricardo

EXACTLY CORRECT
in my case i cant even get to the reed switches
the repair itself would be easy(i think)

this reminds me of Watters repair page on the Mark V
he says its easy to Open the Mark V and then quickly moves on to the actual repair

it took me 2 hours to open a Mark V the other day
2 stripped screws!

anyway...my other EAG has 6-8 dead reeds
with the EAG that has only one dead reed..i can work around it and play a game trying to ignore the G3 square
but with this one...
ignoring 8 squares is more like playing checkers(draughts) then chess


In A Pickle Regards
Steve

[Steve B]

anyway...my other EAG has 6-8 dead reeds
with the EAG that has only one dead reed..i can work around it and play a game trying to ignore the G3 square

Interestingly...
i had the second EAG turned on all day long with pieces on the defective squares

initially i had 8 defective squares ,,but now there are only 5
it seems three reed switches have come back to life

perhaps if i keep these computers tuned on long enough with pieces on them..all the reed switches will be working again....

Day Dreaming Regards
Steve

[ricard60]

This is the second time i read that somebody with bad reed switches on its boards turns it on and leave the pieces on the defective squares for some hours and bring some back to life.

magnetic therapy regards
Ricardo

[Steve B]

This is the second time i read that somebody with bad reed switches on its boards turns it on and leave the pieces on the defective squares for some hours and bring some back to life.

magnetic therapy regards
Ricardo

another idea i have is to use VERY big magnets to sit on the dead squares and not just the normal pieces
perhaps this will wake up the dead reed switches

i am now using this magnet for the dead g3 square on the first EAG:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10261668@N05/4512695722/

Innovative Regards
Steve

[Steve B]

Over the coming weeks i shall be testing all of my Fidelity auto-sensory chess computers to establish the extent of Damaged Reed Switch Infestation ..speading like wildfire through-out the collection

Computers Tested:
Elegance A-OK
Elegance B-OK
Playmatic S-OK
EAS-Budapest-OK
EAS-5Mhz Glasgow-OK
Prestige-Glasgow-OK
EAG Mobile Master-OK
EAG 2100-OK
EAG v2-OK
EAG v6-5 dead reed's
EAG v9-1 dead reed
EAG Premiere-OK

Computers Not Yet Tested:

Elite Private Line
Elite Privat

If I have any more computers with dead reeds i shall be dumping the whole kit n caboodle

Soul Searching Regards
Steve

[Steve B]

Now Murphy's Law comes into play here. For every reed switch you fix
another one will go bung. Of course this can only happen a maximum of
64 times, so take heart!

Well truer words were never spoken Larry
i just spent 2 hours replacing 2 reeds on a Conchess Ambassador
i took special care to make certain that all of the other 62 squares were working perfectly before i opened the computer..i probably spent 1 hour testing each square with a variety of magnets to ensure that when i replaced the two defective ones i wouldn't need to replace any other ones anytime soon
sure enough..after i finished the repair.... ..put the whole thing back together...up pops another new dead square

i think its time for a less frustrating hobby already regards
Steve

[ricard60]

Steve,
when are you going to test your exclusive board reed switches?

exclusive regards
Ricardo

[Steve B]

Steve,
when are you going to test your exclusive board reed switches?

exclusive regards
Ricardo

not sure what you mean Ricardo?
my Mephisto Exclusive boards are OK
In Fact..i used an Exclusive board with the Risc II modules in the training match against the Res I-Ruffian
i have only 2 more Fidelity computers to test and i am finished
if you look a few posts above this one you can see the status of my Fidelity Reed Switch testing

Perplexed Regards
Steve
P.S.- i have also checked the Mephisto Bavaria board (piece recognition) and the reeds in the TSBIV La Regence
while the Bavaria is OK ..sadly the La Regence has 4 dead squares

P.P.S.- I have only now discovered that my Fidelity CG64 module(64 Great Games) is compatible only with computers containing the 1983 Budapest WC Engine and not any later Fidelity Engines
i think there is a later version of the CG64 module which is compatible with all modular capable Fidelity computers(Sensory 9,Prestige-Glasgow..etc..etc)

[Steve B]

Over the coming weeks i shall be testing all of my Fidelity auto-sensory chess computers to establish the extent of Damaged Reed Switch Infestation ..speading like wildfire through-out the collection

Testing is now completed:
Elegance A-OK
Elegance B-OK
Playmatic S-OK
EAS-Budapest-OK
EAS-5Mhz Glasgow-OK
Prestige-Glasgow-OK
Elite Privat-OK
Elite Private Line-OK(1 dead reed repaired)
EAG Mobile Master-OK
EAG 2100-OK
EAG v2-OK
EAG v6-5 dead reed's
EAG v9-1 dead reed
EAG Premiere-OK

The EAG V6 and V9 are in for repair at a local Computer Repair shop
they seemed confident they can fix it but it will not be cheap
they quoted me a price that will cost me an arm and a leg

Hopping Regards
Steve