1st June 1995In the dark days prior to being requested to retire early, I managed a pretty powerful PC network running Novell using some very slick building estimating software. Everything was state of the art as regards size and talkability. It would talk to anything devised by any software house! By much expense and computer skills, it could (by Unix and a mini-computer) access all my employees' mainframes. Multi-million tenders were a mere nothing provided expert estimators were at the keyboards.
The attitude of good analytical estimators to computer gadgetry is not the subject of this letter. That is a legendary tale.
One memorable tender was nearly a failure due to networking problems. Changing cables did not work, a phone call to the estimating software hotline provided the most mundane of advice, "Stop the estimators from smoking and change the 'T' pieces" - it worked!
'Airborne Contamination'. Never did stop the smoking but a supply of 'T' pieces was equally effective.
So what? Well, my Electron played up and did silly things when not asked to. It would not reboot on occasion and just hung then printed stuff I hadn't asked for onto the screen. I tied it down to the Slogger AP2. Bill Bradbury suggested first suggested cleaning the contacts but I had done that with non-deposit cleaning fluids. Bill countered with, "Use a typewriter erasing pencil. Lightly stroke all the contacts and lightly brush off with the other end and reassemble." It worked and the Elk was as good as new. The eraser had to be re-sharpened several times - being made a black as "Cherry Blossom" boot blacking by the alleged cleaned contacts. Both Acorn and Slogger types.
There is a computer 'Health Warning' that smoking can damage connections but British Rail has Non-smoking trains and still points and signal failures. So my pipe is not really to blame!
Even if the various readers are not smokers, there are many forms of airborne 'muck' like BMW exhausts (Twice the bore of my pipe!) and wives with cookers etc so it must be worth the average Electron age of ten years - plus be worth a try. Another point, beware of spray cleaners on the monitor screen. Cover the Elk before spraying it.
Noticed an Electron put out to grass due to a failed key. Key switches are not difficult to replace. Bell Computers used to supply them. Tandy still sell forceps and a de-soldering kit.
Carefully split the case. Remove the keyboard connecting strip, take out the small screws securing the keyboard to the case. Bit of strong thread under the key cap and gently pull up. Keycap off and maybe a few more for working space, turn the keyboard over, de-solder the small blobs of solder connecting the dud keyswitch (You did, of course, mark the dud one!), turn it back (using forceps to release the securing clips - two opposite each other), push down and the old one is out. Throw it away!! Take a new one, turn the keyboard over, push it in until the securing clips are in place, turn over and solder the switch.
The fear-laden part is the re-soldering. This is no problem if you use reasonable care. The circuit board stops the solder spreading all over the place so reassemble in reverse order. Bingo! A computer repairer is born!
As a soldering person, I have never managed to connect two pieces of wire unless I knot them first. So apart from the fact that the Electron was deemed deceased and nobody can make that any more fatal even if less adept with a soldering iron than I (Very disputable), it is worth a try!
I have even managed it twice in one evening. Yes, I reinstalled the dud! My one and only failure.
Roy Warner
Good points about airborne contamination. Even better points about how easy it is to repair an Electron. I know from working on PCs that there tend to be so many connectors that dirt is the cause of many failures. I have a laptop which is causing problems because a relay on the power board which is supposed to switch between the battery and the mains adapter is dodgy. The power board started smoking and a lot of damage resulted.
The Elk is like anything else that needs to be looked after. The maxim "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is all well and good but sometimes "A stitch in time..." is equally applicable. Maybe we should treat our computers as we do our record players.
Also echo your words about getting sprays onto the Elk, especially the keyboard. I know of a thoughtful spouse who once cleaned a keyboard with Mr. Sheen. Whoops.
Gus Donnachaidh, EUG #20
