The Sinclair QL Forum

Hi everyone!

Last November, I was lucky enough to purchase a Thor XVI that had been stuck in a garage for a few years (thanks SNG!) and missing it's original PSU - no FDD nor SCSI HDD.

I'm looking for a User Manual and any technical/schematic documentation, having trawled and found all the usual available docs on Dilwyn's and Simon NG's site.

I've now started to refurbish it and have purchased a matching internal PSU that fits beautifully (N2Power XL160-1.)

I intend to desolder and replace the 3.6v NiMH backup battery which is flat as a pancake and probably beyond recharging.

Next, I need the pinout of the 8-pin DIN Monitor socket so I can wire up a suitable SCART cable and see whether it will actually boot-up.

Can anyone here help?

Just bumping this request for any info we might have about the Monitor pinout for the Thor XVI?

martyn_hill wrote: ↑Sun Apr 14, 2024 11:17 pm Just bumping this request for any info we might have about the Monitor pinout for the Thor XVI?

Hi Martyn,

Look at Tony Firshman's web site, where he has information the Thor 1, which maybe be similar to the Thor IXV

http://tfs.firshman.co.uk/ql/ftp/qlgen/index.htm

Thanks for the tip, Derek.

Yes, had looked there as well - all Thor-1/20/21 related materials.

It's always possible that CST re-used the original QL Monitor pinout when they designed the IO board for the -16, though where they'd stick the 'Intensity' signal I don't yet know.

I'll just probe the outputs once I fire up the beast later this week and share what I find here

martyn_hill wrote: ↑Sun Apr 14, 2024 11:17 pm Just bumping this request for any info we might have about the Monitor pinout for the Thor XVI?

I'm on the "run", but had a quick look on my server and found this:

Oh, brilliant!

Thank you, saves me messing about tracing each signal

If you happened to have any other technical or user documentation in the -16 and would be willing/able to share at some stage, I'd be very grateful!

I'm almost ready to fire it up forget first time - hoping the significant corrosion on most of the pins won't interfere too much!

get the Distribution with all the info (2,9 GB)

https://www.sinclairql.net/downloads/TH ... BUTION.ZIP

or the Thor part here
Greetings from Switzerland
Markus

Thanks Desin!

Yes, that's pretty much the same set of docs I've researched thus far.

Still missing a User Manual and any low level Technical documentation on the Thor-16.

Will keep on looking

martyn_hill wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 7:38 am ..., though where they'd stick the 'Intensity' signal I don't yet know.

If I understood the documentation correctly, the I-bit replaces the F-bit on mode 8 SCR files. It's identical to the way mode 15 works for GD2 sprites, one of the "new" but seldom seen modes introduced by J.Grimbert for SMSQ/E.
With the latest update for Dilwyn's BMP viewer I included the Chaos_mode12_SCR and it will show the difference between normal colours (half values) and I-bit colours (full values) when shown on a High Colour system.
https://dilwyn.qlforum.co.uk/graphics/bmp105.zip
BSJR

HI BSRJ!

Thanks - all good info, though I was actually looking for the Monitor pinout to know 'where' the Intensity bit is output (got that now, too!)

Meanwhile, I've finally fitted the replacement PSU and checked all good power to the 2x boards, but the system doesn't come up (yet.)

ICs get warm to the touch (especially the 2nd 68B02 co-processor and the main DRAM and PALs), but not at all excessively.

I have a good CPUCLK at 8MHz feeding the 68k but also a periodic RESETCPU signal every 5us which appears to be keeping the whole system in limbo/cycling.

No activity on RW nor DTACK so far and VSYNC and CSYNC also follow a 5us cycle (out of phase with RESETCPU but otherwise similar.) No video image yet.

AS and DS get one pulse each in each 5us RESET cycle (about 40 CPUCLKs.)

Tracing the various core signals around the board is made particularly difficult as all the exposed pins/solder points are covered in a fine corrosion later (not battery acid fortunately - just surface oxidisation), so probing randomly isn't very effective.

What I need is a decent schematic - does such a doc even exist out there? The block diagrams of the main and IO boards is only marginally useful at this level of troubleshooting...

At this next stage, knowing how the RESET signal is generated and by 'who', would be a good step forward in troubleshooting...

Thanks again for any input. I'm determined to get this beast running again where possible and will share all my findings here future posterity.