The mystery is solved Let's repair the 8-bit guy "Found at Computer Reset" IBM Executive Workstation 

Thanks for sharing. That's very interesting. I was not aware of these 'marketing machines'. These 7496's could totally be a part of them. There is a big demand in the community for info about these 7496's. If she has more to share it would be very welcomed.

@UCOet9cU6_StydNTftV3y0qQ Yea, I think this is the most likely explanation so far. I hope we can get more info about these on-site testing machines

@@Epictronics1 It does seem to fit. A product meant for a counter much like point of sale kiosks would make a lot of sense. If it was a marketing test it sounds like they didn't fill the demand needed to sell such a similar product to something IBM already offered. I speculate they would have sent out one of those surveys that asked how much they expected a product would cost and it all fell well under the target IBM was going for so they opted for another product or went back to the drawing board. I could be wrong of course but it does seem to fill in all the gaps.

@@Carikenja Yes, Marketing machines is the most likely explanation so far. The most expensive CRT on the market put on top of the base range MOBO and a slick but poorly designed custom case. Sounds like marketing to me.

@@Epictronics1 The CRT might have RETAILED at a high price, but IBM probably could buy them in bulk at a much lower price, enabling a mid-priced ( though really IBM should make its money out of support contracts on top ) item overall. Looks like it was designed to compete with some of the remnants of DEC / NEC/NCR Terminals offering more functionality so a company could standardise its computer inventory instead of having little POS amber screen dump terminals, or those linked to other central computer systems solely. As we know the progress of the computer hardware at the time was so fast that designs became redundant almost before they were produced in reality. IBM of course also found that the software part of things had become so key , and they were out of that, such that the attempts to value engineer products as hardware for the mass market was becoming not worth doing. You can see why the products were dumped into the computer clearence guys (in the UK we had Morgan Computer retailing basically crap at just below better in the market prices, i got burned a couple of times trying to get items bought in working gave up and ordered Dell PCs and Panasonic Laptops.

Its not the exact machine, David was working on.

Interesting. I wonder if Richard ever sold any of these. Maybe these five were unsold because they were broken and unsellable

@Epictronics A friend in NY has at least one of these, I don’t know if he got his from CR.

@@compu85 Would you mind asking him where he got it and if he knows anything about these machines? He might know something interesting.

@@Epictronics1 I asked and he got his from Computer Reset too.

@@compu85 Interesting. So, CR is still the only source so far. If you don't mind, we would be interested to know if it was from the liquidation or if he bought it from Richard back in the day and if it was working when he got it. Thanks

Thanks :)

lolololol paperclip go boooom 😂😂

@@kami-kun_va The Dremel was an even worse choice.

Why you gotta do the one-byte man like that?

Thanks Adrian. I couldn't find anything while searching for this SONY CPD 9090. However, it also says CPD 9000 at the back, so I think this is a 9000 with some minor change. Perhaps the adaptation for the 7496?. The Operating instructions online (linked) confirms your guess. This CRT seems to have been mainly designed for the Sony SMC-70 Microcomputer. Sony were also offering cables for that funky Honda? connector at the back to PC/XT and even the proprietary PCjr :) A really cool CRT, a treat all by itself. www.manualslib.com/manual/242746/Sony-Cpd-9000-Operating-Instructions-Primary-Manual.html

I think the built-in Sony monitor was rolling when connected to the VGA card because it was designed only for 60 Hz refresh rate, while standard VGA text mode is 70 Hz. If the horizontal scan frequency was different, the image wouldn't be legible, and the IBM VGA monitor wouldn't produce a legible image when connected to the 7496's onboard video, either. You can also see how the Sony monitor has no visible flicker on a 30 fps camera when using the onboard video, so that proves it's operating at 60 Hz, versus the flickery image produced by VGA's 70 Hz mode.

@@Epictronics1 that's right. That connector is the EIJ-8 I think. I just ended up with a Panasonic TV with it as well. (From 1984) Usually it's digital RGB only, like CGA, but sometimes it supports analog like the one you have there. And indeed, confirmed in the manual, it's only 15khz, so basically exactly the same RGB support as a Commodore 1084. Basically it can only display PAL and NTSC frequency RGB video. Luckily MCGA can do that, unlike the VGA adapters. That's the CGA part of MCGA as CGA is 15khz. It just changes from digital TTL 16 colors to analog RGB to support a wide color palette we are all familiar with. MCGA also supports VGA output resolutions like 640*400*70hz for text mode which is why your IBM VGA monitor worked. (That other IBM monitor only supports 31khz and up, not 15khz)

@@vwestlife When looking at the rolling screen I can see two copies squished side by side. This suggests the external card was outputting two lines of signal for every line physically scanned by the monitor. Sync circuits are usually happy to semi-stably lock on if the signal is mathematically related to what it is supposed to be. As Adrian said the MCGA also can do high resolution text modes and I presume the ID pins on the connector tell it what scanrates to use. Which just leaves one question for me. MCGA supports 1-bit monochrome 640x480. What happens if software sets this mode when the 15kHz monitor is connected?

@@eDoc2020 The solution is to connect it to an LCD monitor with an information display that tells you the horizontal and vertical frequencies of the input signal. Then you'll know for sure.

I see. Thanks. It sure helped for a safe shipping :)

I actually recorded me pulling out a clip from the machine as a joke but decided to skip the joke in the edit :)

@@Epictronics1 I think I have a few monitors that need cases unscrewing , seem to be all kinds of loose bits moving about.

@@Epictronics1 honestly, I don't really blame the 8-Bit Guy personally for the paperclip fiasco, especially since it is actually a technique used for testing even modern power supplies without installing them in a system (EVGA guide: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-buPMx9dw0LU.html), I personally just wish he wasn't under so much time crunch that he wasn't able to properly investigate and realize that doing that would have been a bad idea for that particular power supply, and also have time to get a proper bit to remove that fastener.

@@highpath4776 haha, well, same here actually. But in this particular case I think it was wise to avoid any risks

Thanks

Thanks :)

Thank you, glad you liked the video :)

There's nothing quite like the Model M.

Couldn't even send all the screws.

Everything? Seems a bit dramatic. The immense amount of hate he's received for a single screwup seems ridiculous to me

​@@Evan2what about his "drean computer" project that came out as a completely different product that wasn't even close

Thanks, I'll try it out :)

Thank you :)

Thanks. No, I have not tried it yet. I will do at some point I'm sure. I think Dave Jones made a good video using it a while back.

The gun nut?

Thank you :)

Thank you :)

Thanks :) It's alive! I'll make a second video and we'll just play around with it for bit and have some fun

@@Epictronics1 thats very good to hear

It was nuked not 14hours later too, it was crazy lol

I never fit back the same number as come out.

lol

Thanks :)

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it :)

Yes, he joined the live chat

@@Epictronics1 Excellent! I bet David would very happy with you for resurrect this prototype like IBM 7496. 😁 This prototype isn't an unreleased device like beta testing?

@@BillyRazOr2011 Well, nobody seems to know what they are really. There are several theories but so far there is no documents or pictures to support any of them.

@@Epictronics1 Oh... That's pretty unfortunate. But I hope someone would know about that device for rare documentation.

Totally agree. The 8-bit guy is a good lad and I like his videos.

Thank you :)

Thank you :)

I’m curious what did you scold him for exactly? I too feel like that video was somehow not thought about much

Thanks!

Yea, that makes sens. Piles of cash take up a lot of space. Perfect with a smal 7496 on the desk haha. I'm starting to think that something zapped this board. I did some more testing with the floppy controller and it turned out marginal too. Thank you :)

Some chips encounter flaws during the manufacturing process, and eventually fail over time. Some were more susceptible to ESD. I forgot what the pass/ fail rate was common for that period, but IC's are much more reliable these days.

@@timmooney7528 I agree. I have piles of commodores with dead MOS chips and a few clones with failed IC's. But this is my first encounter with dead custom IBM chips.

@@Epictronics1 when you say "something" was this "something" called David? :P

Could be metal migration, a slow death that occurs over time, totally unrelated to usage hours, ie stock kept on shelves for years never works when taken out for use.

Thank you

Thanks :) But I'm still learning :)

Thanks :) My english is a mess. No wonder

@@Epictronics1 the English was fine, just it's like you forces the words. With some practice will be fine. Sounds like the south part of USA. Sorry 🙏 I shouldn't judge you, probably would have a similar issue. But I think you have great videos so I try to help. Just relax the throat.

Thanks :)

This is the second PC in the 8-bit guys video. It's the one with garbled screen

Thanks :)

He did nothing wrong, he did everything correct.

@@jettesides420 Thanks :)

lol, thanks

Totally agree. I wouldn't know to ask for it if it wasn't for David

@@Epictronics1 loved seeing the time and attention to detail in this video. You can tell that you really care about the machine and respect it’s history. I would love to know more about this one and why it was made. We may never really know. Thanks again.

@@Epictronics1 Oh dang. Thanks, I planned on digging through your channel later anyway but this is great.

@@rphntw1n Thanks :)

I don't know man. I'll have to install Office 97 and ask Clippy😁

twice the fireworks😭

Yea, that would explain the choice of the full size model M with the numpad. It looks absolutely huge and out of place with this tiny IBM. I also forgot to mention in the video that it has a cable duct under the unit. It's however to small for the standard model M cable. They were probably considering a straight cable with this project.

Best to keep it civil 😆

Thanks!

@@Epictronics1 and I just watched the 8bit guy video: another virtual like for not opening the PSU with a Dremel………. Sigh!

Thanks Hugh :)

I have a set of screw drivers for bolt head screws but these standoffs were unusually large.

Thank you :)

I'm not familiar with the video you mentioned. Do you have a link or video title?

m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Wh2OCBZpzZ8.html

@@stevecarr32 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BXqjoTkyFXw.html This is a re-upload of the ai video as he took it down. His IBM workstation video is still easy to find (but with comments disabled)

Thank you :)

Thank you :)

haha, Thank you :) Well my voice is commented quite a bit in different ways.

Thanks :)

Thanks! : )

Cool. Do you have any old pictures from the office? We'd love to see those machines in action.

@@Epictronics1 We were not using these exact machines, ours were low profile clones, the floppy drives were mounted back as far as possible, with the normal blanking plate installed in the front covers, so the drives were hidden. You had to pull the plastic case front panel off to access the drive. Otherwise they were boring under-powered white/beige boxes with no apparent drives installed (kind of like a modern gaming PC, blank front, no drives) I think most of ours ran mono screens, maybe that's why the IBM 7496 was called 'executive' because it had that Sony colour screen.

@@paulstubbs7678 I think they sound like cool machines :) I'd love to hack one of those clones to make them do something fun. Well, there was one Executive with a PS/2 CRT on top. Unfortunately it was snatched from CR so we don't know much about it. But the common guess is that it was mono.

Thanks :)

Hope you enjoyed it :)

@@Epictronics1 Yes, it was really a great video. The shots are at a perfect angle. If I may suggest something, add some background music.

No, The new owner of "Clippy" has commented below. That machine will be repaired too. Yes, this is the second unit in that video. The one with skewed text that they were tinkering with on Texelec's kitchen table.

it's not a "device", it's a computer.

@@Epictronics1 thanks for clearing that up. i'm glad you saw that comment because i haven't found it, but i trust you. very good news to hear that one will be fixed as well, i trust it'll make my feed in good time.

@@staticfanatic I don't think he will make a video. Not that I'm aware of at least.

Nothing to be anxious about David. I fixed it with a paper clip in minutes! hahaha

The paper clip needs to be precisely calibrated

​@@Epictronics1 Is there an IBM part number for the paper clip ;-)

@@AndyGoth111 Yea, I had to go through a whole box to find one that fits perfectly : )

@@MySmartHomeDomain Yes, they are FRU 472506. I found them here: www.staples.com/Staples-Jumbo-Paper-Clips-Smooth-1-000-Pack/product_472506

Thanks :)

he disabled comments like 5 or 6 days after the video was uploaded

That is a very good option but I have been offered a spare board specifically for this machine. I would have to source another model 30 board to leave those chips in there.

Thanks!

Thank you :)

Yea, why not. That would totally make sens. I'll consider it for the next swap. They are not easier to solder but it will be easier to swap chips in future testing and trouble shooting.

just don't noticed where you got the spare PLCC custom chips from

@@Mr1X They are borrowed from two other working PS/2 systems. IBM used these chips in several other machines.

Thanks. I have never heard this before :)

@@Epictronics1 that might have been the case on early controllers if the heads rest state were lower down then moved after start up.

Certainly with the 8-bit micros I had, the manual said not to turn the power on or off with a floppy in the drive - I think the thought was that as the power surged on or faded out it might cause the read-write head to erase the data on whatever part of the disk it was sitting on.

@@john_amend_all Interesting. I had completely missed this

Thanks :)

TBH Not really. Just replaced chips on it and did some repairs. Now, actually following and fixing, say, broken solder joints (like David has done in many of his videos) IMO is the next level, taking a boards and device with damaged traces and bringing them back to life. Soldering new capacitors and resistors is not a terribly difficult job. Replacing chips is a bit harder, but not impossible for most people with a steady hand and an understanding of electronics. But broken traces, especially ones that are not easily visible, takes more patience, and trouble shooting, as well as full knowledge of how the board works and how things interact.

Thanks. Yes, The loaners came out of other PS/2 systems from 1987.

Fancy seeing you here, Alex Tirrell lol

@@jettesides420 Told ya I was into retro stuff. :D

Thanks :)

Yes, It can't be. I don't know of any other 74xx machines.

Well, to be fair. I do misstakes too.

@@Epictronics1 Everyone can make mistakes.

@@MidoseitoAkage Totally agree

Thanks, there might be a spec sheet out there. I'll try to find it now that we know what it is.

It turned out to be a 15khz CRT. The onboard MCGA can do that and VGA!

@@Epictronics1 Oh, interesting, thanks! So the CRT can't display 80 columns or just interlaced?

@@elmariachi5133 It can't take the 31khz from the VGA card. It can only take 15khz from MCGA and other machines with 15khz.

@@Epictronics1 Yes. 15kHz usually means incompatibility with flicker free high resolution signals, like the older Amigas, that's what I was wondering about.

Really? Are you absolutely sure? I would have to watch it if you are sure it's one of these

@@Epictronics1 about 90% the picture is from the side.

@@jeriks7894 Ok, I'll watch the movie. Thanks

@@jeriks7894 Hmm.. It doesn't seem to be available online. Anyone who has it, please check.

No, but we found the manual for the Sony. It's a 15khz CRT and will not accept a VGA signal unfortunately.

lol. A tiny thing like that could easily set you back an hour in a project. Well, at least we got a complete teardown out of it.

Thanks!

Yes, they are PLCC sockets

:)

The space at the back of the machine seems to be intended for cable management. There is only space for a right angled power connector in the compartment. And it still needs that weird angle to fit.

Thanks :)

Yes I remember seeing here in late 1980's UK as terminals only for corporate/ government. The video flicker problem is the custom sync rate for mono only when changing video card. These are very rare as where they have been fitted/type of customers these machines having memories/storage would have been destroyed for security. So probably why no paperwork on these machines due to customers I no longer have my service manuals as I had to hand them back.

Interesting. The form factor would certainly fit. But I find it strange that there is no documentation to be found anywhere. And these machines really look and feel as they were put together for testing. There are large gaps, hand written p/n, fragile parts and some questionable design choices. Although, I have to say. If they were well built with IBM quality they would have fit perfectly on any counter with all the cables hidden away behind covers (facing the customers) and a very small form factor. Well, at least if we would exclude the keyboard. That Model M looks huge compared to the 7496.

@@Epictronics1 interesting so what other IBM with same case and mono monitor identical spec and time? They were not that reliable I think but never had a problem with the monitor. I did not work for IBM but I cannot tell you who I did work for but had access to the manuals. I knew it was an oddity as you could not order through normal channels.

@@Electronics-Rocks Very interesting. Is there any way we could find out more about these machines? Do you have any former colleagues that might have something in the archives? BTW. There was one 7496 with a mono display. Unfortunately someone snatched it from CR. The machine in this video has a modded Sony colour Trinitron, likely intended for the Sony SMC-70 Microcomputer.

@@Epictronics1 Quite clearly the thing has a unique model number - so it was a product.

Unfortunately beyond my skills. I'll ask Dave Jones :)

@@Epictronics1 there is a guy on curiousmarc's channel who has reverse engineered a lot of the PS2, and helped Marc restore his system. If anyone is to know, I imagine he'd be a valuable source of information.

@@dmkitsch Yes, Why didn't I think of Eric (TubeTimeUs) I have sent him a tweet now. Let's see if he is interested.

I got a reply from Eric. Apparently other 72X8300 are affected too. IBM forgot to passivate the die which probably caused this issue.

@@Epictronics1 Really interesting, it's a shame there isn't a spare stock of parts around to keep the device permanently fixed

Well, I didn't actually dive deep in the design of the PSU. But the "Clippy" connector is clearly mains. When the CRT turns on, the PSU senses this and turns the PC on too. I will probably spend some time with the PSU at some point and see how it's designed.

@@Epictronics1 I would be fun to actually know what those pins do. Because it did blow fairly badly for the 8bit guy. So I'm suspecting one pin must be like 5v or 12v and the other must have been like mains in order to fry so many things? 🤔

@@ToxicwasteProductions I will check. But I think it's just mains. I think the PSU in the PC has a circuitry to sens when the CRT turns on. When it does, it turns on the PC too. A bit unusual but I think that's what I will find when I dive in to it.

@@Epictronics1 didn't the PS1 model 2011 worked liked this too? (Well sort of)

@@MasterControl90original I don't actually know. I have one of those early PS/1's lined up for a video but I don't have the matching CRT yet.

Thanks :)

Love the PX3 music. Possibly the best music for the nasty PC Speaker? I think it's made by ru-vid.com

@@Epictronics1 yes, the px3 music is cool And so is his other music.