Mike's PCjr Page

My JrIDE has been acting strangely for the last few months. Sometimes when it boots it will show a garbled name for my DOM module, sometimes it will get to the boot menu but not respond to anything I press, and sometimes the contents of some of the folders on the hard drive will be corrupted. I can fix these issues by wiggling the JrIDE a bit and things go back to normal. This leads me to think that the connector must be having issues. When I took the JrIDE off to look at it I noticed some of the copper lining tubes in the connector socket were crushed down or otherwise deformed. I fixed these the best I could, but they're still kind of mangled. The JrIDE works, but I don't think it's stable as bumping or wiggling it seems to screw things up again.

What's the best way to get this fixed? Do I just have to buy a new one?

The connector is friction fit and it can be replaced. I'm not sure what the current pricing is for them, but they are somewhere around $15 to $20.

Where did you get your jrIDE? TexElec is selling them now, so I know they have a supply of connectors.

Brutman wrote:The connector is friction fit and it can be replaced. I'm not sure what the current pricing is for them, but they are somewhere around $15 to $20.

Where did you get your jrIDE? TexElec is selling them now, so I know they have a supply of connectors.

Mine is one of the originals that I bought here (Rev A with a purple board). Does anyone do repairs? Desoldering that connection and soldering in a new one is very much beyond my skills.

It's working right now (I put it in an old sidecar case for some extra stability) but it's not 100% reliable. I really should get it fixed.

Remember, it's friction-fit, not soldered ... that connector can be pried off the board.

You want to ensure the board isn't damaged as the connectors are not designed to be removed and then reinstalled, but a handful of such removal/installation cycles should be safe.

Anybody with reasonable tools should be able to do it. (I used small flat blade screwdrivers the first time to pry the connector apart. And a piece of wood with a rubber mallet to tap the connector onto the jrIDE.) If you are paranoid about it I don't offer professional repair services, but I think I could handle it. You just need to find me some free time. ;-0


Mike

Brutman wrote:Remember, it's friction-fit, not soldered ... that connector can be pried off the board.

You want to ensure the board isn't damaged as the connectors are not designed to be removed and then reinstalled, but a handful of such removal/installation cycles should be safe.

Oh so it just prys off? I should be able to do that. Where can I get a replacement connector though?

I suggested checking with TexElec above ... they are making new jrIDEs so they must have connectors.

Here is another potential source :

https://www.connectorpeople.com/Connect ... 5/532773-2

https://www.connectorpeople.com/Connect ... 5/532771-2

I really need to get me a pair of these for my own jrIDE. It's connector is like Tempest', it has at least one hole at a corner which was damaged and makes for a loose connection I believe.

TexElec said they're ordering parts for more JrIDEs soon and they would order a few extra and let me know when they came in. I'm not sure on the timeline or the cost however.

I was thinking that I could use one of the connectors from an old sidecar. I have an old Power sidecar that I stole the case from for use with my JrIDE, but looking at the connector it appears a few of the pins don't have any copper in them. I assume this is because the Power sidecar didn't require them as the extra parallel port sidecar I own has copper in all the pins. Can I still this with the JrIDE or will it not work?

I don't know for sure, but consider that the power sidecar was intended to be the first sidecar in the chain--it should be passing through all lines in use.