Alex
@devopslimeyninja.bsky.social
Technology nerd, DevOps and Platform Engineering ninja, maker of things, aerospace and science fiction fan. Los Alamos National Laboratory. Opinions my own.
And wiring upgrade complete. That’s one project popped off the stack.
November 13, 2025 at 12:44 AM
And wiring upgrade complete. That’s one project popped off the stack.
✅ upgrade complete.
November 10, 2025 at 4:35 AM
✅ upgrade complete.
My life seems like a world of nested side quests. My new printer arrived last Saturday, and so now of course I’m building a stand that won’t collapse at any minute.
November 8, 2025 at 3:46 AM
My life seems like a world of nested side quests. My new printer arrived last Saturday, and so now of course I’m building a stand that won’t collapse at any minute.
Right tool for the job, right?
I got into Tarn-X for cases like this. Not a great picture of the Z80 in the socket, but you can kinda see how all the legs are super oxidized from the CRT goop. And then after 10s of treatment (taken just now).
I got into Tarn-X for cases like this. Not a great picture of the Z80 in the socket, but you can kinda see how all the legs are super oxidized from the CRT goop. And then after 10s of treatment (taken just now).
October 31, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Right tool for the job, right?
I got into Tarn-X for cases like this. Not a great picture of the Z80 in the socket, but you can kinda see how all the legs are super oxidized from the CRT goop. And then after 10s of treatment (taken just now).
I got into Tarn-X for cases like this. Not a great picture of the Z80 in the socket, but you can kinda see how all the legs are super oxidized from the CRT goop. And then after 10s of treatment (taken just now).
...and I knew I'd seen those keycaps somewhere before!
October 31, 2025 at 2:07 AM
...and I knew I'd seen those keycaps somewhere before!
This time, I decided to try sous-vide method. Liquid Salon 20 in the freezer bag, run at 50C for about six hours. I also added a UV flood light and metal foil wrap just to be sure.
October 31, 2025 at 2:02 AM
This time, I decided to try sous-vide method. Liquid Salon 20 in the freezer bag, run at 50C for about six hours. I also added a UV flood light and metal foil wrap just to be sure.
Comparing keyboard before and after retrobrite
October 31, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Comparing keyboard before and after retrobrite
I removed two of the ICs on the other path, all good there.
October 30, 2025 at 8:21 PM
I removed two of the ICs on the other path, all good there.
The other two ICs on that path were also affected pretty badly, but cleaned up great. I needed to use some odorless mineral spirits to remove the last of the stubborn goop. Tarn-X helped clean up the IC pins once more.
October 30, 2025 at 8:17 PM
The other two ICs on that path were also affected pretty badly, but cleaned up great. I needed to use some odorless mineral spirits to remove the last of the stubborn goop. Tarn-X helped clean up the IC pins once more.
No surprise that the Z80 socket didn’t fair so well, but it cleaned up just fine. The CPU itself took a dip in Tarn-X that cleaned up corrosion on the pins.
October 30, 2025 at 8:11 PM
No surprise that the Z80 socket didn’t fair so well, but it cleaned up just fine. The CPU itself took a dip in Tarn-X that cleaned up corrosion on the pins.
The CRT river of doom took two paths through the ICs.
October 30, 2025 at 8:08 PM
The CRT river of doom took two paths through the ICs.
The anode lead on the fly back transformer is not in good shape 😭
The cracks and the chip in the wire are going to cause problems, assuming they didn’t already when the seller turned it on.
I have some special conformal coating on the way. It comes in pints.
The cracks and the chip in the wire are going to cause problems, assuming they didn’t already when the seller turned it on.
I have some special conformal coating on the way. It comes in pints.
October 24, 2025 at 2:22 AM
The anode lead on the fly back transformer is not in good shape 😭
The cracks and the chip in the wire are going to cause problems, assuming they didn’t already when the seller turned it on.
I have some special conformal coating on the way. It comes in pints.
The cracks and the chip in the wire are going to cause problems, assuming they didn’t already when the seller turned it on.
I have some special conformal coating on the way. It comes in pints.
The ribbon cable to the power supply is delaminating and corroding. Added a low profile socket to the power supply, and waiting for a replacement to arrive.
October 24, 2025 at 1:48 AM
The ribbon cable to the power supply is delaminating and corroding. Added a low profile socket to the power supply, and waiting for a replacement to arrive.
The SMK replacements arrived for the superbrain. Small snag in that the stems were wrong, but swapped out perfectly! So that’s the keyboard repair complete.
October 22, 2025 at 1:08 AM
The SMK replacements arrived for the superbrain. Small snag in that the stems were wrong, but swapped out perfectly! So that’s the keyboard repair complete.
The next project arrived already. Was not counting on this DECwriter to previously be a mousey house.
October 22, 2025 at 1:05 AM
The next project arrived already. Was not counting on this DECwriter to previously be a mousey house.
Pic from work in progress - even the PCB cleaned up okay with some scrubbing followed by fresh flux and solder. And more scrubbing.
October 18, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Pic from work in progress - even the PCB cleaned up okay with some scrubbing followed by fresh flux and solder. And more scrubbing.
There was one key that was too far gone (switch on the left), the others cleaned up ok.
October 18, 2025 at 3:02 PM
There was one key that was too far gone (switch on the left), the others cleaned up ok.
@keldrim.bsky.social and @jeriellsworth.bsky.social rate my repair.
October 18, 2025 at 2:59 PM
@keldrim.bsky.social and @jeriellsworth.bsky.social rate my repair.
a solution of misery. Some of it ended up in the tarnex bath. Over the next day or so it crystalized out. Not super helpful.
October 17, 2025 at 1:18 AM
a solution of misery. Some of it ended up in the tarnex bath. Over the next day or so it crystalized out. Not super helpful.
Definitely corrosive, but there's a lot worse. This is a picture from the eBay listing, so not overly conductive.
October 17, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Definitely corrosive, but there's a lot worse. This is a picture from the eBay listing, so not overly conductive.
Once the switches were soaked, I had to test them. Testing switches is a pain in the butt. So I made this. Attach a multimeter, slide in a switch and press. If it beeps, the switch is good. The copper strips are 6mm tape and worked great.
October 16, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Once the switches were soaked, I had to test them. Testing switches is a pain in the butt. So I made this. Attach a multimeter, slide in a switch and press. If it beeps, the switch is good. The copper strips are 6mm tape and worked great.
I couldn’t move them easily, and was worried that I’d cause damage. So I had to design this tool to remove and reinstall.
October 16, 2025 at 11:16 PM
I couldn’t move them easily, and was worried that I’d cause damage. So I had to design this tool to remove and reinstall.
Small snag. There are two fittings in the steel frame that secure the steel hardware for the space bar.
October 16, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Small snag. There are two fittings in the steel frame that secure the steel hardware for the space bar.
I hate it when I’m right.
October 16, 2025 at 10:16 PM
I hate it when I’m right.
Having grown up in the UK, I thought the same. Like it looks like a regular TV tube without the safety lens.
October 16, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Having grown up in the UK, I thought the same. Like it looks like a regular TV tube without the safety lens.