Golborne Vintage Radio

General Automation GA16-220 minicomputer.

Me, working away on a Friday afternoon hacking away at some FORTRAN IV program or other.

Chap from the Burn In QA lab comes in to speak to me about something.

Cue an enormous cloud of smoke from the GA16 powersupply: one of the diodes had just shorted out because the fixings had become loose & it overheated.

It was a bog standard heavy old psu & easy to fix once I'd ordered the bits from RS.

I think there's still a couple of those big old bolt mounting diodes in my junk box next door, not that they're likely to be used.

Must have been 40 years ago if it's a day.

I still remember the stink of the melted cable insulation.

I had a DVD player/recorder that suddenly died. A huge hole was evident in a randomly placed rectifier on the main board. Replaced it and it worked for another few years.

In 1970s a TV died suddenly. A dropper resistor had fallen off. I guess wrong solder? I tied on the lugs with wire and though the solder softened it didn't drip.

I love it when something goes bang. Usually easier to find the fault.

Same computer system: Hazeltine 2000 vdu stops working.

Hook a scope up & eventually realise that the 5V rail really shouldn't have that hum on it from a defective bridge rectifier.

Wasn't my smartest morning's work.

I think there's some of the RS bridge rectifiers from that repair next door too.

Though they are a bit more likely to find a use than the stud diodes.

Really more luck than anything else, particularly as it was probably my first repair but I was looking into grandad's radio with him when I was in my teens. We determined a valve was not lighting up so I suggested I go to John Birkett's in Lincoln and buy another. I went there and bought one then rode my bicycle over to Newark where he lived and fitted the valve. We were both really happy when it lit up then the set burst into life.

Many Christmases' ago a sudden need for a microwave oven occurred, we have next doors keys and they were not at home. Borrowed their oven, didn't work, about to take lid off when the wife said "is it the plug fuse?".
It was...