The Sinclair QL Forum

Hi Dave The other obscure but common problem I saw was that two of the microdrive units had erase tab detect switches that contained enough tarnish to cause poor contact. Both poor contacts were between pins 1 and 3, which is the position that enables the erase circuit. This caused improper erase fu...

Thanks again Dave Yes, I think I get it now re. the tape-loop - my (admittedly naive) assumption was that the loop itself was a constant here and that any given point on the tape would remain in contact with the same point on an adjacent loop. But as you point out very clearly, the tape actually 'sl...

Thanks Dave! I was hoping you'd take the bait! I still don't feel I grasp items 1 & 2, but thanks for offering an explanation! 3. Perhaps related to the above, but just how is tieing RAW1/2 down to -12V via that pair of 33k Ohm resistors (as recommended in the mandatory modification list) suppos...

Hi everyone But putting extra brackets around x on the function call stops it from being modified - it is now treated as a local variable within the function. Whilst just semantics, it would be more accurate to say "... it is now treated as an expression and thus passed by value rather than by ...

Hi Derek

Derek_Stewart wrote:I have 2 QXL cards which could be built into a Black ATX case.

What was the spec of the QXL (as opposed to the QXL II you originally posted)? What price did you have in mind?

Is there still one unit left unclaimed?

Hi everyone A little while ago I picked-up a repaired superHermes and fitted to one of my unexpanded QLs (with Minerva 1.98). At the time, I carried-out some testing of SER3 with its increased range of BAUD rates - connected to QPC on a laptop with native COM port. Curiously, I was never able to get...

Hi everyone Prompted by recent testing of a batch of MDV units and inspired by Dave's recent announcement of a potential replacement MDV board being made available some time soon, I thought to gather together some of my own observations and unanswered questions that have accrued over time around the...

Hi Dave - it's reassuring to hear that the heads are less-likely to be the cause of faults (beyond contact-wear.) Measurements of faulty MDV units during my efforts to reproduce a legible set of signal traces (ala Appendix D5 of the Service Manual - see another thread) indicated that the first stage...

I was thinking something similar - but having researched replacement heads, came up blank.

Seems a lot of extra hassle with the return shipping thing, but very happy for Dave to have my business!

Hi Dave

Given my perverse fascination with our beloved MDVs, I can't help myself but to put my name down for 4 units, please

M.