Repairing A Badly Damaged Schleuniger PowerStrip 9500 Machine – Can We Save It?
0I recently came into possession of a new (used) Schleuniger 9500 PowerStrip machine that my company purchased for a good price online. It needs a bit of love and attention, but will be a challenging project to return to it’s glory. See the pictures below – I have added comments to them where necessary.
As you can see, it’s very dirty. One of the biggest problems I see so far is that someone has started to take this thing apart, and just quickly threw a couple of bolts together to barely hold it together. Even the computer in the display got the dismantle treatment and the screws and nuts were just thrown in a bag, along with some nice big fingerprints on the LCD :/ Lots of damage to the transports, the fans are broken, someone has cut wires in the power supply to do something of their own with the fans (and I think they tried to bypass the safety interlock at the same time theyy were looking for lines to power said fans) and lots of other hidden gems.
Other things to notice are the damage to all of the transport pulleys, the aluminium is really messed up too. The Power supply is not screwed in (its kinda flopping around in there), fans are broken, the front of the machine is cracked and the shelf on the bottom of the machine is completely bent up. The Right transport has a bearing issue, not surprising as it’s been beaten to death with a hammer (see the pictures if you don’t believe me!). I’ll have to completely remove that unit as I can’t tell if its salvageable, the might have lost too many pieces already. One thing is for sure, it doesn’t work or look right!
This should be a fun project to start working on! I will try to post updates as I progress on this. Feel free to leave any questions or comments! Enjoy!
FINALLY got to use my $100 Snowblower!
0When I moved into the new house I bought a snowblower from the neighbours the exact same day for a hundred bucks. It needed some work, which I was able to complete, but until this weekend we never really had any snow to use it with. Finally, I was able to use it after two years of waiting and I can honestly say that I am very impressed with it!
Amongst many things, the snowblower needed some work on the engine. A lot of work on the engine. Im pretty sure the oil that was in it was from the factory, and had been there for quite a few years. When it was drained for the very first time it looked like black treacle. It wasn’t until the 2nd time I drained it that I could really see that it was full of metal fragments. In fact, I spent a couple of days working on this specific problem and probbably changed the oil a dozen times in all.
This weekend was quite brutal, we got a total of around 18 inches of snow over 3 days and it was nice to get to use the machine. I tried to capture some earlier videos and they didnt turn out so good. Not only did I take care of my property line, but also 3 of the neighbours. Im not a pro at using this thing yet, but it definately showed me that it was more than capable of moving significant depths of snow very quickly.
Getting Back Into Parker 6K4 / 6K6 Controller Programming Again
0Its been a long time since I did any work on the Parker Controllers, but I have been having the itch again for quite a while to do some more work on it. There were many things I was doing with the controller that could have been optimized, or improved – such as better feature detection and improved latency. I also never really got around to adding encoder support for any of my previous projects with the controller.
I recently got a Parker 6K6 controller from eBay to work with. They are available for less than 50 dollars nowadays. Its been a lot of fun writing new code to talk back and forth with the controller in a proper, organized way. I have made a new basic communication library that allows easy connection and Send/Receive capability and can be shared across various C++ projects, so if I want to make something new I can just import that code and get going. Adding an interface with wxWidgets 3.xx is fairly straight forward and saves a lot of time. A long time ago I had used an old Parker controller (It wasn’t a 6K4, it was a much older model that used an ISA connection card) to make an experimental CNC routing table for a saw. It was pretty basic, it just about worked but wasn’t very good.
My son is also going to tech school and has been expressing an interest in learning how to work with CNC machines a little more in-depth than just loading a model and pressing the Start button, so I think if I can teach him some of this from a purely technical level, it will help him understand better. I think that him helping to build the machine and understand the programming will be quite beneficial. G-Code in itself is quite a complex thing to learn, especially from an optimization stand point, so we will have to see how it goes.
As I make progress in code, I will make some updates here. If you are interested in this sort of thing or have any questions, let me know in the comments below. Not sure anyone even uses this controller anymore!
New Car For $150 – Can it be fixed? 2004 Dodge Stratus SXT Coupe 2-Door
0I recently purchased a new (old) car from a good friend of mine that has been sitting for almost a year in her back yard, she was already thinking of the cash for junk cars options so I decided it to purchase it. I paid $150 for it. The car had an issue where the tire exploded and she hit a guard rail, and now its sitting with damage and a broken axle. The quote she received to have it repaired at a mechanic was very high, so the car has just been sitting ever since.
As my current vehicle (Honda Odyssey) is on it’s last legs with a dying transmission, I figured I could use a challenge with everything going on in the world, and see if I was able to repair the car, get it inspected and see if I could make use of it as my daily runner for my 100+ mile daily commute, but I definitely would need to install a new car stereo if I get it working, because I can’t drive around without listening to my music. I figure worse case, if I don’t get it working and I have to scrap it, it’s only $150 that I paid for an auto repair.
On initial inspection of the car, there is some significant damage on the Passenger side. The underneath of the fender is all scraped up and worn, the passenger side door window is smashed out, and the tie rods and sway bar links have been bent with such force they have been completely snapped off. The wheel just kinda flops around inside the wheel well. The roof and doors have been leaking and there is a fair amount of water inside the car. The rest of the car isn’t in too bad condition. Nothing that a bit of work can’t take care of, at the end, you are always expected to do some type of work when getting used cars. And for that, maybe it’s better to just consider looking for new cars for sale.
Pictures Below. Can it be fixed? I’ll post updates every so often of how i’m progressing on the car for those interested in following! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below in any of the posts. Thanks!
Review Of Old Games
0So, I found a video on YouTube of one of my really old Amiga games and it inspired me to work on making some pages about some of these projects, what the challenges were and anything else that comes to mind during the development. The particular game in question was one of my earlier ports of my Twinz game to the Amiga, but was a version I thought for sure I had lost the source code for. At some point during it’s Aminet presence, it was pulled and played. The website android4fun.net is extremely popular among the players around the world to acquire the modded android games or applications.
As I started looking at some of my Discography lists, it came to my attention that I was actually missing a lot of different projects, including all of my current App Store apps, so I figure it would be a great time to start working on some of this, plus it will be a great trip down memory lane about the good old days!!
My Game Development on Amiga was fairly slim, I made a good couple of dozen unfinished games, and spent most of my time focussing on smaller routines. In the beginning, development was mostly in AMOS & AMOSPro. I then upgraded to SAS/C and worked on a few unfinished projects there, and at the end I was doing some porting work using StormC with my good friend Paul.
Over the next few weeks, I will dig through my old archives and see if I can get any of these old games and projects running. I know I have a few screenshots for some of the bigger projects, but it will be extremely interesting to pull out some of the *really* old and bad stuff! Stay tuned!!
[SOLD] For Sale: Schleuniger CS9100 & CA9170 Coax Stripper
1See Pictures Below. I have for sale, a Schleuniger CS9100 Cut & Strip Machine w/CA9170 Stripper. The item is currently listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace and can be viewed at https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2086871051614810/ Good condition, turns on and appears fine. No Prefeeder, but is compatible with most standard Schleuniger prefeeders. Reasonable offers accepted. Pick-up only is preferred, only as the unit is quite heavy.
In addition to the unit, the following extra tools & items are included:
1x Diamond Coated Feeder Wheel
1x Knurled Wheel
1x Grooved Feeding Wheel
1x Set of new Urethane Feed Rollers
Guide Tubes – Sizes 3mm through 8mm
2x Sets of V Blades
CA9170 Coaxial Stripping Unit & Inkjet Printer Interface
Robotics Interface
Misc. cables for connecting the components
Local pick-up from Schwenksville, PA only. Feel free to email me at fishguy8765 <at> gmail.com, or leave a comment here, and ask questions. Sold as-is. Thanks.
Amiga 1200 Power Supply Made From An Old ATX Power Supply
0I was having some issues with my A1200 constantly crashing and resetting, and at the time I had been using an old, original white power supply box. A friend of mine had suggested that I get a new one, as the caps might be going bad in it. It would certainly explain the resets at random occasions and a few other things, so rather than buy a new one, I decided to convert an old ATX power supply I had laying around and make use of it.
As with all things power related, if you plan on trying to make one of these things at home, make sure it is unplugged and de-energized! I will not be held responsible for anyone electrocuting themselves!
So, what do we need to get going?
- An old ATX power supply, any size will do. I used an old 250watt supply.
- An old Amiga Power Supply or Power Connector
- Multimeter
- On/Off switch. I was creative and re-used one (See Below)
- Crimp Tool/Insulation Tape
Step 1 – Prepare the Power Connector
Before we can start, we need to be able to connect the power to the Amiga. The best way to do this is to acquire one from an old Amiga supply. Most Amiga fans have several laying around, I used one from an old supply I had brought over from England years ago. It’s not much use to me here in the USA anyways 🙂
Open up the power supply, and cut out the wire at the base of the transformer. This will give you the maximum amount of length available on the new project. You can of course cut it down if you want a shorter one. My current desk doesn’t have a very good power layout, so having a 6 foot cord worked out quite well.
Step 2 – Acquire A Power Switch
Due to the ATX power supply needing a short to work, the best and easiest way to regulate this is to use a simple power switch. Being creative, I used the one that was already in my existing Amiga PSU and cut it out with a length of wire. It also helps to keep it a little more nostalgic!
Step 3 – Prepare the ATX Power Supply
The easiest way to make this work is to cut off one of the Molex connectors on the line that powers a HD. Most ATX supplies have some that are longer than the rest, just cut the plug off the end. You also need to cut the Blue line from the ATX Motherboard connector (-12V). Make sure to clean the other end up, so theres no exposed wiring hanging around. In the next step, there is a table showing the common colour codes for the Amiga wiring.
Step 4 – Assemble The Wires Together
Theres a number of different ways to connect the wiring, some people prefer to just twist wires together and tape them, but you can also use a crimping tool, or a terminal block. The good thing with terminal blocks during the testing phases is that you can swap the wires around if you do manage to get them mixed up. Below is a table showing the common wiring colours of the Amiga to ATX connections. Some Commodore wires may vary in colour, if this is the case, see below to determine how to make sure you have the right ones. It is crucial that it be correct before it is plugged into your Amiga. Don’t blow it up!
Assemble/Connect the wires as shown in the table. Make sure they are safe from coming into contact with each other.
Amiga Wire Colour | ATX Wire Colour | Voltage/Supply |
---|---|---|
Red | Red | +5V |
Black | Black | 0V/Ground |
Brown | Yellow | +12V |
White | Blue | -12V |
Step 5 – Connect The Power Switch
Now we need to connect the power plug to the ATX supply. On a normal motherboard, this is done by shorting out 2 pins together. This is why using a switch makes the job perfect. The simple way to acheive this is to look at the blue wire we cut off the motherboard connector. The pins to short are directly next to it (See the picture above) in the form of the Green & Black wires.
Cut these wires and follow them up to the power supply, you can then attach the switch directly to these Green & Black wires and voila! You now have a working switch. When the switch is on, the power supply will work, and then flick the switch to turn it off again. Remember, not all ATX power supplies have a power switch in the back of them, so this is a perfect solution to the problem.
Step 6 – Test The Crap Out Of Your Wiring!
I can’t stress enough that you DO NOT plug this new power supply into your Amiga until you have FULLY tested that it’s wired up correctly. If even one wire is not correct, your Amiga would be toast. Take the time to test your work, before plugging it in! All you need is a simple multimeter to read the voltages.
I drew a quick diagram of how to read the values. When you are holding the ATX side of the power plug and looking directly at the pins, each one should measure exactly as they are pictured in the diagram. Place the Negative electrode on the outer shield of the connector, and touch the Positive electrode on each of the pins. You should get very close to the values shown. If a wire is in the wrong location, then you need to fix it and test it again. It’s extra-important to test this when your Amiga wires don’t match the colour table above.
Step 7 – Give it a whirl!
When you are confident your wiring is all good, you can give it a try in your Amiga! She should boot up just the same as before, so take note if any wierd behaviour occurs. In my case, my A1200 booted a lot quicker and almost all my crashes and random resets stopped happening. It wasn’t until I did this, I realized how bad my original power supply really was!
If you have any questions about this, feel free to ask them in the comments. I hope you find this useful!
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