{"id":5065,"date":"2023-02-07T11:47:06","date_gmt":"2023-02-07T10:47:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/?p=5065"},"modified":"2023-02-07T16:32:36","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T15:32:36","slug":"on-retro-computing-oric-atmos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/?p=5065","title":{"rendered":"On retro-computing: Oric Atmos"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>At the end on the previous post (on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/?p=4494\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Matra-Hachette Alice 90<\/a>) I was left with an open question: <strong>which vintage computer shall I work on next ?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I had in mind a small form factor one, either an <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Oric\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Oric<\/a> Atmos<\/strong> or an <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Apple_IIc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Apple IIc<\/a><\/strong>, depending on what would be available and depending on the price tag. I feared the Apple IIc prices would be bit crazy. At the time I started searching online, prices were between <strong>400\u20ac<\/strong> and <strong>900\u20ac<\/strong> &#8230; which is <strong>sheer<\/strong> <strong>madness<\/strong> !<\/p>\n<p>So, I decided to treat myself with an <strong>Oric Atmos<\/strong> for <strong>Christmas<\/strong> !<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2854\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/quantum-retrocomputing-pixels.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/quantum-retrocomputing-pixels.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/quantum-retrocomputing-pixels-300x158.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/?p=2941\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sinclair ZX81<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/?p=3007\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ZX Spectrum<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/?p=4494\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alice 90<\/a> or even the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/?p=3293\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mac Plus<\/a>, <strong>I did not own an Oric Atmos at the time<\/strong>. But I had one friend from school that did have one. And they were indeed famous in France.<\/p>\n<p>I actually could have owned an Oric-1. Around 1983-84, I was looking for a 8-bit home computer to buy. I narrowed down a list of possible one&#8217;s:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Apple_II\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Apple II<\/strong><\/a> : the Apple II was one of the first personal computers to gain widespread popularity. It was a myth. The son of an American colleague of my father stayed home for summer 1983. He was a couple of years older than me and he was lucky enough to own an Apple II+. I was keen on learning computer stuff, so I taught how to draw perspectives, and a bit of mathematics. He taught me a bit of AppleSoft BASIC. But these mythical machines were so damn expansive that the dream had to stay a dream.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Commodore_64\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Commodore 64<\/strong><\/a> : it was a serious contender for being the king of the list. In France, the Commodore 64 was released in 1982 and quickly gained popularity due to its advanced graphics capabilities and wide range of software and games. It was cheaper than the Apple II, for sure. But if you added the price tags of a monitor and a datasette &#8230; it was out of budget too. Curiously, none of my friends had a Commodore 64 though it was widely used for education and entertainment.<\/li>\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hector_(microcomputer)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Hector HR+<\/strong><\/a> : this one might not be very well known outside of France. Hector computers (also known as Victor Lambda) were a series of 8-bit machines produced in France in the early 80&#8217;s. Originally, they were rebranded <a title=\"Interact Home Computer\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Interact_Home_Computer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Interact Home Computer<\/a> microcomputers. Later models were designed and produced in France by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.micronique.fr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Micronique<\/a> (which still exists, though does not design computers <em>per se<\/em> anymore). One of the characteristics of Hectors that made them interesting to me is that they had an integrated tape deck. But, alas, priced around 4700 F (about 1500 \u20ac in 2022), it was way too expansive. At this price the Hector series of computers didn&#8217;t sell well, and production ended after a few year. It never reached popularity.<\/li>\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ZX_Spectrum\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>ZX Spectrum<\/strong><\/a> : the ZX Spectrum was probably the most popular choice for home computing in the very early 1980&#8217;s in UK, but also in France. It was known for its versatility and its low price. It was the major contender of the list. I had access to Speccies (and software) via friends. I knew its strengths. I knew also how unreliable were <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ZX_Microdrive\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Microdrives<\/a> and how insufferable was its keyboard. Still, it was the king of the list.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>Oric-1<\/strong> : I discovered the Oric-1 via ads and flyers. Given its characteristics and price tag, it easily made it to the list. At the time, it was indeed the top selling computer in France.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And &#8230; the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Amstrad_CPC_464\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Amstrad CPC 464<\/strong><\/a> came out of nowhere and took everything by storm. It was (to me) the obvious choice. I was lucky enough to get one for <strong>Christmas 1984<\/strong> and <strong>forever felt in love with it<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>But enough with personal history. Let&#8217;s take a look at the <strong>Oric saga<\/strong> !<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: oric-atmos; font-size: 18pt;\">The Tangerine, Oric &amp; Eureka saga<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tangerine_Computer_Systems\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tangerine Computer Systems<\/a> was a British microcomputer company that was active in the 1970s and 1980s. It was founded by Dr. Paul Johnson, Mark Rainer and Nigel Penton Tilbury. Its very first product was the <strong>TAN1648 VDU<\/strong> (Visual Display Unit). It was sold as a kit. It received much acclaim and It gave the company the recognition needed to get into the home computer market with the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tangerine_Microtan_65\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Microtan 65<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5073\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Tangerine_Microtan_65.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"428\"><\/p>\n<p>This&nbsp; <a title=\"MOS Technology 6502\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/MOS_Technology_6502\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">6502<\/a>-based micro-computer went on sale in 1979, available in kit form or as a ready-built system. Additional expansion boards became available later, offering more RAM, dedicated serial and parallel I\/O boards.<\/p>\n<p>In April 1982 <strong>Oric Products International Ltd<\/strong> was incorporated, Tangerine acting as the R&amp;D unit for the new Oric company. The original aim was to produce an executive desktop machine that could use <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Prestel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Prestel<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Videotex\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">videotex<\/a> services and run <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/CP\/M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CP\/M<\/a>. Tangerine started to work on the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Zilog_Z80\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Z80<\/a>-based Microtan 2 (also known as Tangerine Tiger). In the end, the design was sold to <a title=\"HH Electronics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/HH_Electronics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HH Electronics<\/a>, and released as the HH Tiger:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5074\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/hh-tiger.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"508\"><\/p>\n<p>A key backer of Tangerine was secondhand car seller British Car Auctions (BCA). With the success of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, BCA suggested higher volumes from the mass market to be the next target. The <strong>Oric-1<\/strong> was announced in August 1982.<\/p>\n<p>On the 27th January 1983, during the official launch party, six major deals with High Street stores for the supply of over 200 000 units were announced: &#8220;<strong>We&#8217;re going to beat Clive Sinclair by offering much more for much less money<\/strong>&#8220;.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5075\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Oric1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"308\"><\/p>\n<p>Based on a 1MHz <a title=\"MOS Technology 6502\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/MOS_Technology_6502\">MOS Technology 6502<\/a> CPU, the Oric-1 came in 16K and 48K RAM variants for \u00a3129 and \u00a3169 respectively, matching the Sinclair ZX Spectrum models and undercutting the price of the 48K version of the Spectrum by a few pounds (at launch).<\/p>\n<p>On the 13th of October 1983, the <strong>factory<\/strong> of Kenure Plastics in Berkshire, where the Oric-1 was manufactured, <strong>burnt to the ground<\/strong>. Production was said to have restarted within 24 hours in a new factory. About 160 000 Oric-1s were sold in the UK in 1983. The Oric-1 was almost immediately exported to France, which proved to be a very successful market. On the 29th of June, 1983, a contract was signed with a French company called A.S.N. making them the exclusive distributors in France. A.S.N. adopted the name <strong>Oric France<\/strong>. Around 50 000 units were sold in France, where it was the top-selling machine that year and elected &#8220;<strong>Computer of the year 1983<\/strong>&#8220;.<\/p>\n<p>Though Oric did not succeed to beat Lord Clive Sinclair at his own game, it was enough for Oric International to be bought out by <strong>Edenspring Investments PLC<\/strong> and given \u00a34m in funding in late 1983. This enabled the release of the <b>Oric Atmos<\/b>, an improved successor to the Oric-1, which added a true keyboard and improved ROM:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5077\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Oric-Atmos.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"306\"><\/p>\n<p>Indeed the Oric-1 had <strong>issues<\/strong>. Its chiclet keyboard was really bad. Cables were found to fit poorly, most notably the power line: a slight knock and the Oric would shut down. The Oric Extended Basic 1.0 was rather buggy: &#8220;[&#8230;] <span style=\"font-family: Terminal, Monaco; font-size: 10pt;\">IF&#8230; THEN<\/span> worked but <span style=\"font-family: Terminal, Monaco;\">IF&#8230; THEN&#8230; ELSE<\/span> didn\u2019t unless the first statement in the <span style=\"font-family: Terminal, Monaco;\">ELSE<\/span> clause was a <span style=\"font-family: Terminal, Monaco;\">PRINT<\/span> statement\u201d (<i>Personal Computer News<\/i>, 29th of April 1983 Issue). And the loading \/ saving programs to tapes were unreliable, due to a bug in the error-checking routine, frequently causing programs to fail when loaded back in.<\/p>\n<p>So &#8230; the Oric Atmos tried to fix these issues. The mechanical keyboard is a really nice improvement. The new colors of the case are really lovely. The ROM was updated to v1.1, fixing (part of) the Oric Extended Basic. Alas, the updated ROM contained a few breaking changes on certain behaviors or memory addresses within the ROM, slightly breaking compatibility with the Oric-1. Other than that &#8230; <strong>the Oric-1 and the Oric Atmos are pretty much the same<\/strong>. Including <strong>bad power cable fitting<\/strong> and the <strong>faulty<\/strong> <strong>tape error-checking routine<\/strong>&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Soon after the Atmos was released, the <strong>modem<\/strong>, <strong>printer<\/strong> and <strong>3-inch floppy disk<\/strong> drive originally promised for the Oric-1 were announced. They were released by the end of 1984. The production of the Oric-1 lasted only a year and 350 000 units of the Oric Atmos were expected to be sold in 1984.<\/p>\n<p>Even though the Oric Atmos was elected &#8220;<strong>Computer of the Year 1984<\/strong>&#8221; in France, things were not so rosy. To understand why expectation were not met, it is interesting to compare the UK 1984 prices of major 8-bits computers<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Oric Atmos<\/strong>: \u00a3179<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sinclair Spectrum 48K<\/strong>: \u00a3129<\/li>\n<li><strong>Acorn Electron<\/strong>: \u00a3199<\/li>\n<li><strong>Commodore VIC 20<\/strong>: \u00a3129<\/li>\n<li><strong>Amstrad CPC 464<\/strong>: \u00a3349 (including a green monitor and the integrated tape deck)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Nevertheless, in November 1984, the launch of new computers was announced for Spring 1985:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The successor of the Oric Atmos: the <strong>Oric Stratos\/IQ164<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>An IBM PC 8086 compatible desktop computer (which was later shelved)<\/li>\n<li>An IBM PC 8086 portable computer (which also never saw the light)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In January 1985, it was announced that the grand total number of Oric-1 and Oric Atmos units sold since 1983 was around 350 000, meaning that only 120 000 Atmos units were sold so far. Much less than the 350 000 units expected for the year 1984 alone. And the Stratos was nowhere to be found in tech magazines. Oric computers almost disappeared from the UK market by the end of 1984. France was then Oric&#8217;s major market. But, in late 1984 \/ early 1985, <strong>Amstrad<\/strong> was already the new hot deal in France, not Oric any more.<\/p>\n<p>In February 1985, the Stratos\/IQ164 was finally announced at the <strong>Frankfurt Computer Show<\/strong>. The next day, <strong>Edenspring put Oric into receivership<\/strong>: Oric had debts of no less than \u00a35.5 million and assets of only \u00a33 million.<\/p>\n<p>On Mars 1985, Oric Product International was put up for sale and several companies, including the French importer <strong>A.S.N.<\/strong> and French company SPID \/ <strong>Eureka Informatique<\/strong>, were biding. On June, <strong>Eureka won the market<\/strong>, and took over all the activities of Oric. &#8220;<strong>Oric is now French&#8221; <\/strong>(as reported by <em>Hebdogiciel<\/em>, issue #86) :<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5078\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-hebdo1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-hebdo1.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-hebdo1-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Oric Statos\/IQ164, was renamed <strong>Oric<\/strong> <strong>Telestrat <\/strong>and launched in April 1986:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5080\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Oric-Telestrat.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"314\"><\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Telestrat<\/strong> was a <strong>telecommunications-oriented<\/strong> machine. It came with a disk drive as standard, and was sold for 3990F (around 1100\u20ac today) with 2 cartridges (Hyper-Basic and Telematic). <strong>But, in spite of Eureka best efforts, one year too late to the market, the Oric Telestrat now competed with 16-bit computers like the Atari ST or the Commodore Amiga<\/strong>. Only 6 000 units were sold when the new company went <strong>bankrupt<\/strong> in September 1987.<\/p>\n<p>As a side note, it is worth noting that the <strong>Oric<\/strong> <strong>Atmos<\/strong> was licensed in Yugoslavia and sold as the <strong>Nova 64<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5082\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-nova64.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"325\"><\/p>\n<p>In Bulgaria, the Oric Atmos clone <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pravetz_computers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pravetz<\/a> 8D<\/strong> was produced between 1985 and 19991:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5085\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-pravetz-8d.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"449\" height=\"339\"><\/p>\n<p>It is also worth noting that, in early 1985, had Oric started prototyping a <strong>Z80-based motherboard<\/strong> (codenamed <strong>Oric Phoenix<\/strong>), with the help of a Creotian company. It was designed to run CP\/M 2.2. It seems that only 5 motherboards still exists (as well as ROMs), rescued by the late Jonathan Bristow (a.k.a Twilighte) and passed on to people like <a href=\"https:\/\/pagespro.isae-supaero.fr\/fabrice-frances\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fabrice Franc\u00e8s<\/a>. More information here:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Defence Force forum<\/strong> (&#8220;New Oric Found !&#8221; thread): <a href=\"https:\/\/forum.defence-force.org\/viewtopic.php?t=177\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/forum.defence-force.org\/viewtopic.php?t=177<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Silicium.org forum<\/strong> (&#8220;oric phoenix&#8221; thread): <a href=\"http:\/\/www.silicium.org\/forum\/viewtopic.php?t=14827\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/www.silicium.org\/forum\/viewtopic.php?t=14827<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Video link<\/strong> (Fabric Franc\u00e8s, Vieumicro 2018) : <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=C_weEOahGIs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=C_weEOahGIs<\/a> (French)<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Oric Phoenix page<\/strong>: <a href=\"http:\/\/oric.free.fr\/phoenix.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/oric.free.fr\/phoenix.html<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Oric Phoenix board gallery<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/photos.google.com\/share\/AF1QipNrOv1VTSSooPb2dsZ7mTmLAmVn8j26BgJvXUuPkwEVa-UzYPq_fYVbXFJBQaOI_w?key=SXFQaWwxTGF3TkZReUVwLXlyVTJiRGIyV0F3NWhB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/photos.google.com\/share\/AF1QipNrOv1VTSSooPb2dsZ7mTmLAmVn8j26BgJvXUuPkwEVa-UzYPq_fYVbXFJBQaOI_w?key=SXFQaWwxTGF3TkZReUVwLXlyVTJiRGIyV0F3NWhB<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let&#8217;s <strong>conclude<\/strong> this saga with a fun fact, proving that the <strong>Oric magic still lives on<\/strong>. The <strong>Oric Atmos<\/strong> was used as a <strong>prop<\/strong> &#8211; among other vintage computers &#8211; on the set of the beloved British sitcom <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_IT_Crowd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The IT Crowd<\/a><\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5086\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-it-crowd.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"318\"><\/p>\n<p>Since then, the prop has been acquired and restored by <strong>Rees<\/strong> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@ctrlaltrees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ctrl-alt-rees<\/a> fame: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pFL_72HpVwk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pFL_72HpVwk<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5088\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-rees.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"296\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: oric-atmos; font-size: 18pt;\">Sourcing an Oric Atmos<\/span><\/p>\n<p>As usual when shopping for vintage computers, I went straight to <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Leboncoin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LeBonCoin<\/a> web site and searched for an <strong>Oric<\/strong> <strong>Atmos<\/strong> to treat myself for Christmas. I hesitated for a couple of weeks. There were only 4-5 good offerings. Some were in shady conditions. All were <strong>overpriced<\/strong>. I finally settled for one, lacking power cable, with a SCART connector in poor shape, but that was (only) 30-40\u20ac overpriced. <strong>Bad<\/strong> <strong>Fred<\/strong>. But I really wanted to treat myself after an intense year at work&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Anyways, a few weeks later (it took longer than usual because of the snow at the time), I received a not so well packaged Oric Atmos. Nothing broken, fortunately:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5089\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox1.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox1-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: oric-atmos; font-size: 18pt;\">Unboxing the Oric Atmos<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Let&#8217;s take a look at it<\/strong> ! The package came with the Oric Atmos itself, a SCART cable (in poor conditions, as advertised), a coaxial antenna cable, a black DIN3-DIN3 connector, as well as a white DIN5-DIN3 connector:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5091\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox2.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox2-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Also included was a SCART to antenna converter by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cgv.fr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CGV<\/a> (&#8220;Compagnie G\u00e9n\u00e9rale de Vid\u00e9otechnique&#8221;):<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5094\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox5.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox5-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The package also bundled a few cassettes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Welcome to Oric Atmos 48K<\/strong> by <strong>Tansoft<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Bruce Lee<\/strong> by <strong>U.S. Gold<\/strong> (spoiler: not an Oric game, as I figured out only later on)<strong><br><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>L&#8217;Aigle d&#8217;Or<\/strong> by <strong>Loriciels <\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Starter 3D<\/strong> by <strong>Landscape<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5092\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox3.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox3-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>For some reasons was also included <strong>Match Day<\/strong> by <strong>Ocean<\/strong> &#8230; for the <strong>Sinclair ZX Spectrum<\/strong> !<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5093\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox4.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox4-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Oric Atmos came with a <strong>golden<\/strong> <strong>sticker<\/strong> glued on top:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5098\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox6.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox6-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>At first, I thought this Atmos had belonged to some kind of computer club from the 80&#8217;s called &#8220;<strong>Microth\u00e8que Informatique<\/strong>&#8220;. After googling around, I found out in the French magazine <em>Micro7<\/em> (May 1984 issue) that &#8220;Microth\u00e8que Informatique&#8221; was in fact an <strong>official French Oric reseller<\/strong>, listed by A.S.N. \/ Oric France:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5099\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-micro7-albi.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-micro7-albi.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-micro7-albi-768x436.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s flip the computer. It appeared that the <strong>printer and expansion<\/strong> <strong>connectors<\/strong> on the back were <strong>covered<\/strong> with <strong>tape<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5112\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox7.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-unbox7-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It seems that this was a <strong>common<\/strong> <strong>practice<\/strong> at the time. The power connector is located right next to the expansion connectors. <strong>This wasn&#8217;t a<\/strong> <strong>great<\/strong> <strong>design<\/strong>: if one <strong>touches a pin<\/strong> of the connector with the powered-on <strong>DC<\/strong> <strong>jack<\/strong> &#8230; it could <strong>fry the PCB<\/strong> !<\/p>\n<p>It was so common that the French version of the <strong>User Manual warns about this<\/strong>. Oddly, the original English version does not include such a warning &#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-warning.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"580\" height=\"384\"><\/p>\n<p>To <strong>avoid<\/strong> such an easy <strong>mistake<\/strong>, the <strong>connectors<\/strong> on the back of the Atmos were therefore often <strong>covered<\/strong> <strong>with<\/strong> <strong>tape<\/strong>. That being said, to start the cleaning process, I removed the tape.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: oric-atmos; font-size: 18pt;\">Opening up the Oric Atmos<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s first remove the <strong>golden<\/strong> <strong>sticker<\/strong> <strong>glued<\/strong> on the top of the case:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5101\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean1.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean1-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Once done, I <strong>flipped<\/strong> the Oric and <strong>removed<\/strong> the <strong>warranty<\/strong> <strong>sticker<\/strong>, since there is a <strong>screw<\/strong> <strong>hidden<\/strong> <strong>underneath<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5102\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean2.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean2-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The <strong>warranty<\/strong> <strong>sticker<\/strong> was still <strong>intact<\/strong>, but I am pretty sure <strong>someone<\/strong> <strong>tried<\/strong> to <strong>open<\/strong> this Atmos (maybe not knowing there was a hidden screw):<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5196\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-unbox8.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-unbox8.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-unbox8-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Then, it was a matter of <strong>removing<\/strong> <strong>6<\/strong> <strong>screws<\/strong> to free the red bottom part of the enclosure, revealing a few <strong>dust<\/strong> <strong>bunnies<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5103\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean3.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean3-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5104\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean12.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean12.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean12-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5108\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean11.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean11.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean11-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>To free the black <strong>top<\/strong> <strong>part<\/strong>, first, remove the <strong>4<\/strong> <strong>screws<\/strong> on both sides of the <strong>keyboard&#8217;s PCB<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5144\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean15.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean15.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean15-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5105\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean9.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean9.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean9-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Then <strong>unscrew the main PCB<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5145\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean16.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean16.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean16-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The main board now just <strong>sits<\/strong> <strong>on<\/strong> the <strong>keyboard&#8217;s PCB<\/strong>, connected to it via a <strong>flat<\/strong> <strong>ribbon<\/strong> <strong>cable<\/strong>. <strong>Gently<\/strong> raise the main PCB, the solder joints and the ribbon being <strong>very<\/strong> <strong>fragile<\/strong> (more on this later, unfortunately &#8230;):<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5106\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean8.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean8-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The main PCB can now be freed, <strong>slowly<\/strong> <strong>pulling<\/strong> <strong>off<\/strong> the keyboard <strong>connector<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5107\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean13.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean13.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean13-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It is worthwhile to note that, for some reasons, it is a <strong>15-pin<\/strong> connector &#8230; connected to a <strong>14-pin<\/strong> header. To properly insert it back, one has to align the <strong>red wire<\/strong> of the connector to the <strong>outermost<\/strong> pin from the <strong>header<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Once the connector removed, the keyboard PCB can be separated from the case, <strong>removing the last screw<\/strong> that was <strong>hidden<\/strong> <strong>underneath<\/strong> the main PCB. Both PCB&#8217;s are now freed from the case:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5147\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean17.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean17.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean17-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5109\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean7.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean7-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5148\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean18.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean18.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean18-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: oric-atmos; font-size: 18pt;\">Cleaning the enclosure<\/span><\/p>\n<p>It is time to <strong>clean<\/strong> the <strong>enclosure<\/strong>, using my usual little routine: a warm soapy bath, a good scrub with a toothbrush, let all parts of the casing dry, then IPA to remove residues from the tape and the stickers, then, as a final touch, anti-static cleaning foam applied with a soft micro-fiber cloth:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5111\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean5.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean5-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5110\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean4.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean4-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There you go, a <strong>cleaned<\/strong>, <strong>shiny<\/strong> and <strong>fresh<\/strong> <strong>smelling<\/strong> <strong>case<\/strong> !<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5137\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean14.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean14.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-clean14-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: oric-atmos; font-size: 18pt;\">The main PCB<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Here is a shot of the <strong>main<\/strong> <strong>PCB<\/strong>. It is in <strong>good<\/strong> <strong>conditions<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5158\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-pcb1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-pcb1.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-pcb1-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s start the <strong>cleaning<\/strong> <strong>process<\/strong>, first with <strong>compressed<\/strong> <strong>air<\/strong> to remove dust, then with a <strong>glass<\/strong> <strong>cleaning<\/strong> <strong>towel<\/strong> <strong>soaked<\/strong> in <strong>IPA<\/strong>, and a <strong>toothbrush<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5162\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-pcb5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-pcb5.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-pcb5-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I repeated the process on the <strong>other<\/strong> <strong>side<\/strong> of the <strong>PCB<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5164\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-pcb7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-pcb7.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-pcb7-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s inspect both sides of the PCB, looking for bad solder joints, broken traces or bad electrolytic capacitors. I had bought a <strong>cheap wifi-connected digital microscope,<\/strong> which helped a lot during the process:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5161\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-pcb4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-pcb4.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-pcb4-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I repeated this process on the <strong>other<\/strong> <strong>side<\/strong>. Solder joints were good, traces were fine, no bulging electrolytic capacitors. <strong>Good<\/strong> !<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5160\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-pcb3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-pcb3.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-pcb3-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I finished the cleaning process with <strong>contact<\/strong> <strong>cleaner<\/strong> on each of connectors:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5163\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-pcb6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-pcb6.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-pcb6-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s take a more <strong>detailed<\/strong> <strong>look<\/strong> at this <strong>issue 4<\/strong> board from <strong>1984<\/strong> (according to ICs date codes):<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5199\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-pcb-montage.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-pcb-montage.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-pcb-montage-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here are the main components of the motherboard (source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defence-force.org\/computing\/oric\/hardware\/motherboard\/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.defence-force.org\/computing\/oric\/hardware\/motherboard\/index.htm<\/a>):<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Microprocessor<\/strong>: this Oric Atmos is powered by a 8-bit <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/MOS_Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MOS<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/MOS_Technology_6502\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">6502<\/a> microprocessor, running at 1MHz and manufactured by <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rockwell_International\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rockwell<\/a>. It is labelled R6502AP and can actually support up to a 2 MHz frequency.<\/li>\n<li><strong>VIA<\/strong>: the &#8220;Versatile Interface Adapter&#8221; (VIA) is an IC specifically designed to work with the 6502 microprocessor. It handles interruptions and I\/O&#8217;s. It is manufactured by <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Synertek\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Synertek<\/a> and labelled SYS6522A.<\/li>\n<li><strong>ROM<\/strong>: the Oric Atmos has 16 kilobytes of ROM onboard, embedding the Oric Tangerine Basic. It is labelled ORIC BASICV1.1 and is manufactured by <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hitachi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hitachi<\/a>. The V1.1 ROM of the Atmos is mostly &#8230; a debugged version of the V1.0 ROM of the Oric-1. There is an empty spot (IC10) right next to the ROM, used for a second one. It was possible to add de V1.0 ROM for compatibility reasons in this free location. Adding a switch would then allow people to select the ROM version.<\/li>\n<li><strong>RAM<\/strong>: this Oric Atmos is equipped with 64KB of RAM (8 x TMS4164A-12NL DRAMs manufactured by <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Texas_Instruments\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Texas Instruments<\/a>). The ROM overlaps 16KB of RAM, thus only 48KB are user accessible. It is nevertheless possible to disable the ROM with a ROMDIS signal (generated by the disk drive controller or other external interfaces) and get access to the freed upper 16KB of RAM.<\/li>\n<li><strong>ULA<\/strong>: the &#8220;Uncommited Logic Array&#8221; (ALU) is the core of the Oric. If was designed par Tangerine Computer Systems to handle memory management, bus arbitration and video display. It is labelled as HCS 10017.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sound generator<\/strong>: the Oric Atmos uses the a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/General_Instrument_AY-3-8910\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">AY-3-8912<\/a> sound chips from <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/General_Instrument\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">General Instrument<\/a>. It was very common at the time, and was also used by the Amstrad CPC and MSX computers for example. It <span style=\"font-family: Verdana;\">is able to play sound over 3 channels while using a noise generator. It includes two 8bits I\/O ports used by the printer port and for polling the keyboard.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Speaker<\/strong>: the Oric Atmos includes a huge speaker (relatively to the size of the computer), located right on the PCB.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Clock<\/strong>: this 12MHz quartz crystal clock feeds the ULA and generates clock signals pour the 6502 (1 MHz) and for display (6 MHz).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Voltage regulator<\/strong>: the Oric Atmos uses a LM7905 negative voltage regulator manufactured by <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Semiconductor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Semiconductor<\/a>. This is a rather strange design, since it generates negative 5 volts, which is converted back to the positive 5V required by the components of the motherboard. Moreover, heat is an issue with this regulator. It is thus screwed to a metal heat sink. Even with the heat sink, it can get extremely hot.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reset button<\/strong>: the Oric Atmos reset button is located on top of the PCB. Since the Atmos is designed &#8220;upside-down&#8221; (keyboard on top, PCB on the bottom, components facing down), this button is, in practice, accessible through a square hole on the bottom part of the case. To reset the Atmos, you would thus have to lift the case up to reach the reset button underneath. Or flip the case upside down. This bad design is made even worse because the DC barrel jack did not fit well, and would often disconnect when moving the case even a little bit, resetting the Atmos &#8230; the hard way.<\/li>\n<li><strong>RF modulator<\/strong>: the board uses an ASTEC International UM 1233 RF Modulator to generate signals for <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/UHF_television_broadcasting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">UHF<\/a> Televisions (the same used for the Sinclair ZX81). It seems that on some later French models (<em>Eureka<\/em>&#8216;s ?), the RF Modulator was removed. I could not find any pic to confirm.<\/li>\n<li><strong>RGB output<\/strong>: the Oric Atmos uses a DIN-5 RGB video output connector. On some later French models, tweaked by <em>Eureka<\/em>, the Atmos used a DIN-6 connector, the middle extra pin supplying +5V.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tape connector<\/strong>: the Oric Atmos uses a DIN-7 tape connector. Tape reading \/ writing is said to be <strong>very<\/strong> unreliable on Oric&#8217;s.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keyboard connector<\/strong>: the main board is connected to the keyboard PCB via a 14-pin header.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Expansion port<\/strong>: a 34-pin expansion port is available, to be used by various peripherals, such as a disk drive controller or a V23 modem. The pinout of the Bus expansion is available here for example : <a href=\"http:\/\/www.48katmos.freeuk.com\/ports.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/www.48katmos.freeuk.com\/ports.htm<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Printer port<\/strong>: printers are connected via a standard mono-directional Centronics <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Parallel_port\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">parallel port<\/a>. The pinout of this 20-pin bus is available here: <a href=\"http:\/\/passionoric.free.fr\/fr\/oric.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/passionoric.free.fr\/fr\/oric.htm<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>DC power jack<\/strong>: the Oric Atmos is powered by a +9V DC 2.5mm power jack (center positive) that barely fits and is very, very capricious. There is no on\/off button. It usualy takes a couple of tries to properly boot an Atmos.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: oric-atmos; font-size: 18pt;\">The SCART cable<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Video output on the Oric Atmos is a bit &#8230; cumbersome. While the original English User Manual skips a most of the subject, the French version goes into <strong>3 pages<\/strong> detailing the different options and types of cable needed (SCART to UHF, UHF, RGB to SCART, powered or not, &#8230;), depending on the monitor capabilities (mono, color, with or without SCART interface, PAL, SECAM, &#8230;):<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5181\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-manual-video.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"474\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-manual-video.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-manual-video-768x428.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I guess, depending on your own configuration, there was a pretty good chance that the cable you actually needed was not the one sold with the Atmos but one of the optional ones (the C.G.V. SCART to UHF converter packaged with the Atmos I bought being one these).&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>On top of that, some later models &#8211; produced in France by <em>Eureka <\/em>&#8211; had a different RGB connector (DIN-6 instead of DIN-5, with an added +5V pin on the center, to power the SCART connector):<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5251\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-din6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"563\"><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-din6-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"563\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[<strong>Credits<\/strong>: shots from user <strong>jluis<\/strong> on <a href=\"https:\/\/forum.system-cfg.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">system-cfg.com<\/a>&#8216;s forum, <a href=\"https:\/\/forum.system-cfg.com\/viewtopic.php?f=1&amp;t=13976\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/forum.system-cfg.com\/viewtopic.php?f=1&amp;t=13976<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5255\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-din6-3-tilt.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"519\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[Eureka Informatique ad. in French magazine <strong>Tilt #<\/strong>24 (Sept. 1985): &#8220;<em>Its SCART output is now self-powered<\/em>&#8220;]<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, in my case, I will be using the regular <strong>DIN-5 RGB output connector<\/strong> of my Atmos, and the bundled <strong>powered<\/strong> <strong>SCART<\/strong> <strong>cable<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5190\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-rbg-back.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-rbg-back.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-rbg-back-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s take a look at this <strong>RGB-to-SCART<\/strong> <strong>cable<\/strong>. Here is a shot of the cable once <strong>cleaned<\/strong> with soapy water:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-scart1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-scart1.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-scart1-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It is <strong>powered<\/strong> by a <strong>9V battery<\/strong> via an specifically added <strong>plug<\/strong>. This part is <strong>damaged<\/strong> (it was advertised as so in the pictures of the offering), but it can be <strong>easily<\/strong> <strong>repaired,<\/strong> fortunately.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Before that<\/strong>, let&#8217;s take a look <strong>inside<\/strong> this <strong>SCART<\/strong> <strong>connector<\/strong>: &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5151\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-scart2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-scart2.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-scart2-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I am not quite sure, but by the look of it, this connector may have been home-made or customized &#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5175\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-scart7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-scart7.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-scart7-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5177\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-scart9.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-scart9.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-scart9-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Time to <strong>repair<\/strong> the damaged <strong>battery<\/strong> <strong>plug<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5152\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-scart3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-scart3.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-scart3-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5153\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-scart4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-scart4.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-scart4-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There you go. <strong>Not<\/strong> <strong>perfect<\/strong>, but it <strong>should<\/strong> <strong>be working<\/strong> now !<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5154\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-scart5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-scart5.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-scart5-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Now, let&#8217;s go a little further and let&#8217;s find out the <strong>wiring<\/strong> of this <strong>SCART<\/strong> <strong>cable<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5176\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-scart8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-scart8.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-scart8-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here is a <strong>summary<\/strong> of the <strong>wiring<\/strong> of this particular cable, from visual inspection of the RGB-SCART connector and from continuity tests (the DIN-5 and SCART connectors on the drawing are seen from the top, as pictured in the above photo):<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5186\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-rgb-scart-wiring.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"373\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-rgb-scart-wiring.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-rgb-scart-wiring-768x337.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s end this process by spraying <strong>contact<\/strong> <strong>cleaner<\/strong> on both the <strong>DIN-5<\/strong> and <strong>SCART<\/strong> connectors:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5156\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-scart6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-scart6.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-scart6-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: oric-atmos; font-size: 18pt;\">The keyboard<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s take care of the <strong>keyboard<\/strong>. I started by removing the keys one by one with a <strong>key<\/strong><strong>cap<\/strong> <strong>puller<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5118\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb1.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb1-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>As always, it is a real <strong>mess<\/strong> under, with <strong>dust<\/strong>, <strong>gunk<\/strong> and things that used to be alive at some time:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5119\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb2.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb2-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5120\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb3.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb3-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5121\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb4.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb4-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Once <strong>dusted<\/strong>, <strong>vacuumed<\/strong> and cleaned with <strong>isopropyl<\/strong> <strong>alcohol<\/strong>, I sprayed <strong>contact<\/strong> <strong>cleaner<\/strong> on each key <strong>switch<\/strong>. Then it was time for a warm <strong>soapy<\/strong> <strong>bath<\/strong>, followed by the usual <strong>scrub<\/strong> with a cloth for each key:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5122\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb5.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb5-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5123\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb6.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb6-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Now, let&#8217;s take care of the <strong>keyboard&#8217;s PCB<\/strong> itself. As I usually do, I used <strong>glass<\/strong> <strong>cleaning<\/strong> <strong>towels<\/strong> soaked into <strong>IPA<\/strong> and a <strong>soft<\/strong> <strong>toothbrush<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5125\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb8.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb8-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Then I sprayed <strong>contact<\/strong> <strong>cleaner<\/strong> on the <strong>keyboard<\/strong> <strong>connector<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5126\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb9.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb9.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb9-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It is time for a <strong>visual<\/strong> <strong>inspection <\/strong>with the digital microscope :<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5127\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb10.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb10.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb10-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I inspected each solder joint with the digital microscope. I flew <strong>fresh<\/strong> <strong>solder<\/strong> on a couple of ones that <strong>weren&#8217;t looking great<\/strong>. All in all, it wasn&#8217;t that bad &#8230; until I checked the <strong>ribbon<\/strong> <strong>connector<\/strong>, which <strong>I must have teared apart<\/strong> <strong>inadvertently ! Damn it ! <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The pins were <strong>rusty<\/strong> and <strong>so fragile<\/strong> that the ribbon <strong>came right off <\/strong>when I touched it to have a better look at it<strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5128\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb11.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"637\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb11.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-kb11-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Note: I was <strong>so sad<\/strong> that I did not take pictures of the broken ribbon connection. The above pic is extracted from <strong>RetroLab<\/strong>&#8216;s video <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FxXmP9deeKk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FxXmP9deeKk<\/a>, but is a perfect illustration of <strong>the mess<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: oric-atmos; font-size: 18pt;\">Repairing the keyboard<\/span><\/p>\n<p>It seems this my <strong>misfortune is not uncommon<\/strong>, the connector being particularly <strong>fragile <\/strong>after 40 years of loyal services.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Some of the <strong>pins<\/strong> <strong>broke<\/strong> when the ribbon teared apart and were still <strong>attached<\/strong> <strong>to the PCB<\/strong>. I tried to <strong>remove<\/strong> each of the remaining ones. Even though <strong>I took great care not heating the soldering iron too much<\/strong>, I ended up like this:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5382\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-mess-01.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-mess-01.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-mess-01-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Some of the <strong>traces<\/strong> had started to <strong>lift<\/strong> and <strong>crack<\/strong>. <strong>Continuity<\/strong> was <strong>lost<\/strong> on most of the connector&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Via_(electronics)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">vias<\/a> : only seven of them were still usable. The <strong>ribbon<\/strong> <strong>connector<\/strong> itself was <strong>corroded<\/strong>, falling apart, and <strong>could not<\/strong> be <strong>reused<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>It is pretty clear that <strong>I need proper desoldering tools. <\/strong>A <strong>soldering iron<\/strong> and a <strong>copper<\/strong> <strong>wick<\/strong> are definitely <strong>not well suited<\/strong> for such a <strong>fragile<\/strong> PCB !<\/p>\n<p>I figured I could use a set of 14 <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jump_wire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dupont wires<\/a> as a replacement. I started to <strong>follow each trace<\/strong> to find out a <strong>corresponding available<\/strong> <strong>solder<\/strong> <strong>joints<\/strong>, <strong>solder<\/strong> a <strong>wire<\/strong> to it (and check for continuity) and use the <strong>female<\/strong> <strong>Dupont<\/strong> <strong>endings<\/strong> to connect things back to the <strong>keyboard<\/strong> <strong>header<\/strong> on the main PCB:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5135\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-mess02.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-mess02.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-mess02-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It was a <strong>long<\/strong> and <strong>tedious<\/strong> process (proving once again that my eyesight is definitely not what is used to be). Here is the final <strong>result<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5136\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-mess03.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-mess03.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-mess03-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here is another picture, with a bit of <strong>cable<\/strong> <strong>management<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5140\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-mess04.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-mess04.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-mess04-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here is a shot of the <strong>Dupont<\/strong> connectors hooked to the keyboard <strong>pin<\/strong> <strong>header<\/strong>. Nothing to be proud of, it is <strong>messy<\/strong> &#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5141\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-mess05.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-mess05.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-mess05-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; but &#8230; it fits, and, I hope, it will work:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5143\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-mess07.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-mess07.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-mess07-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s go for a <strong>first<\/strong> <strong>test<\/strong>, crossing fingers !<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: oric-atmos; font-size: 18pt;\">First tests<\/span><\/p>\n<p>To power the Oric Atmos, I used a <strong>standard PSU,<\/strong> bought just around the corner (2250 mA, more than the 600 mA needed), selecting:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>9V<\/strong> (among 3V \/ 4.5V \/ 5V \/ 6V \/ 7.5V \/ 9V \/ 12V positions)<\/li>\n<li>a <strong>2.5mm<\/strong> barrel jack (plugged to be <strong>center<\/strong> <strong>positive<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5227\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-psu.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-psu.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-psu-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I hooked the PSU to my <strong>surge<\/strong> <strong>protector<\/strong> <strong>power<\/strong> <strong>strip<\/strong>, and <strong>turned<\/strong> its <strong>switch<\/strong> <strong>on<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5139\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-mess06.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-mess06.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/oric-mess06-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>No magic smoke. Just a very faint <strong>buzz<\/strong> coming from the speaker. <strong>Garbage<\/strong> on the screen. No <strong>sound<\/strong> when pressing <strong>keys<\/strong>. <strong>Damned<\/strong> !<\/p>\n<p>But, after some <strong>fiddling<\/strong> with the barrel jack<strong> &#8230; voil\u00e0 ! <\/strong>The Amos <strong>powered<\/strong> on correctly this time<strong>.<\/strong> The repaired <strong>RGB-to-SCART cable worked<\/strong> ! You can see on this shot the <strong>9V battery<\/strong> powering the SCART connector:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5224\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-test1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-test1.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-test1-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Without the batteries powering the SCART connector, as expected, it <strong>does<\/strong> <strong>not<\/strong> properly work (doesn&#8217;t switch to RGB). When powering on the Atmos, the screen goes therefore like this (it is dimmer in real life):<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5242\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-test3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-test3.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-test3-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>For the next round of tests, I <strong>put<\/strong> the <strong>case<\/strong> <strong>back<\/strong> <strong>together <\/strong>&#8211; next to my RecalBox console and my Atari ST &#8211; and <strong>tried<\/strong> the (hopefully) repaired <strong>keyboard<\/strong> :<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-test2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-test2.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-test2-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Yes ! It freakin&#8217; worked ! <\/strong>(and so does the sound chip, tested thanks to the sound emitted at each key stroke, and via the <span style=\"font-family: Terminal, Monaco;\">ZAP<\/span> and <span style=\"font-family: Terminal, Monaco;\">PING<\/span> commands)<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: oric-atmos; font-size: 18pt;\">Cassette tapes restoration<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s take care of the <strong>cassette tapes bundled<\/strong> with the Atmos I acquired:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5324\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-soft1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-soft1.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-soft1-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The cases were <strong>not in bad conditions<\/strong>. For most, it was just a matter of a <strong>good<\/strong> <strong>cleaning<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5325\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-soft2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-soft2.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-soft2-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5326\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-soft3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-soft3.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-soft3-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The &#8220;Starter 3D&#8221; box <strong>needed a little more work. <\/strong>Once cleaned, I consolidated the <strong>broken<\/strong> <strong>case<\/strong> with <strong>black<\/strong> <strong>tape<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5327\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-soft4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-soft4.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-soft4-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5328\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-soft5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-soft5.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-soft5-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here is the <strong>final<\/strong> <strong>result. <\/strong>Not that bad<strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5329\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-soft6.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-soft6.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/oric-soft6-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Note: it turned out that the &#8220;<strong>Bruce Lee<\/strong>&#8221; tape <strong>was also<\/strong> for the <strong>Sinclair ZX Spectrum<\/strong>, and <strong>not<\/strong> for the <strong>Oric<\/strong> <strong>Atmos<\/strong>, just like &#8220;Match Day&#8221;. I guess I&#8217;ll have to try both of them on my Speccy !<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: oric-atmos; font-size: 18pt;\">Tape recorder cable<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Oric Atmos I bought was bundled with some cables, but <strong>none<\/strong> that I could use to <strong>connect<\/strong> it to a <strong>tape<\/strong> <strong>recorder<\/strong>. So I <strong>ordered<\/strong> an Oric-1 \/ Oric Atmos cassette tape recorder cable from <a href=\"https:\/\/coolnovelties.co.uk\">coolnovelties<\/a>, in the UK.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, a few days later, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Royal_Mail\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Royal Mail<\/a> suffered a <a href=\"https:\/\/fr.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/LockBit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LockBit<\/a> cyber attack. The consequences of the ransomware <strong>halted all international shipments for weeks<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5376\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/royal-mail-lockbit-scr.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"958\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/royal-mail-lockbit-scr.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/royal-mail-lockbit-scr-768x866.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[<strong>Royal Mail<\/strong> cyber incident]<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5371\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/royal-mail.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"860\" height=\"176\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/royal-mail.png 860w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/royal-mail-768x157.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">[<strong>coolnovelties<\/strong> information update for their customers, following Royal Mail cyber attack]<\/p>\n<p>So &#8230; instead of the dozen of days (including Brexit custom red tape) it usual takes, it took this time over a <strong>month<\/strong> for the cable to arrive:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-cable-01.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-cable-01.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-cable-01-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5393\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-cable-02.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-cable-02.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-cable-02-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Hip Hip Hurray !<\/p>\n<p>The tape recorder cable is composed of a <strong>DIN-7 connector<\/strong> on one side and of <strong>two 3.5mm jack<\/strong> (MIC, EAR) plus a <strong>2.5mm jack<\/strong> (REM) on the other side:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5394\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-cable-03.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-cable-03.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-cable-03-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here is the <strong>wiring<\/strong> of the cable (DIN-7 seen from the top, as pictured in the above photo):<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5391\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-tape-recorder-cable-wiring.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-tape-recorder-cable-wiring.png 800w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-tape-recorder-cable-wiring-768x323.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Note that <strong>pin<\/strong> <strong>#4<\/strong> and <strong>pin #5 (sound)<\/strong> from the DIN connector are <strong>not<\/strong> wired.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: oric-atmos; font-size: 18pt;\">Testing software<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Shall we play a game ?<\/strong> The <strong>Oric<\/strong> series of computers is notorious for being <strong>capricious<\/strong> when it comes to <strong>loading<\/strong> software <strong>from<\/strong> <strong>tape<\/strong>. So, I was expecting a <strong>bumpy ride<\/strong> ! And &#8230; it turned out to be true.<\/p>\n<p>To test the cassettes that were bundled with my Atmos, I used the <strong>tape<\/strong> <strong>recorder<\/strong> from my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/?p=4494\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Matra-Hachette Alice 90<\/a>. Not sure if it would work, but at least, it matched the black and red <strong>colors<\/strong> of the Oric Atmos !<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5396\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load1.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load1-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In the end, excluding &#8220;<strong>Bruce Lee<\/strong>&#8221; and &#8220;<strong>Match Day<\/strong>&#8221; that were actually <strong>ZX<\/strong> <strong>Spectrum<\/strong> games, I had <strong>only 3 cassette tapes<\/strong> to experiment with:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Welcome to Oric Atmos 48K<\/strong> by <strong>Tansoft<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>L&#8217;Aigle d&#8217;Or<\/strong> by <strong>Loriciels<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Starter 3D<\/strong> by <strong>Landscape<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I started with the first one, typing in <span style=\"font-family: Terminal, Monaco;\">CLOAD &#8220;&#8221;<\/span> &#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5409\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load8.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load8-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and it started to load from the tape. <strong>Nice !<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5399\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load3.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load3-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After a long while, <strong>I was greeted <\/strong>with this<strong> welcome screen<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load4.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load4-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Hey<\/strong> ! This is <strong>working, <\/strong>though <strong>colors<\/strong> are a <strong>bit<\/strong> <strong>washed<\/strong> <strong>out<\/strong> ! <strong>Alas<\/strong> &#8230; it did <strong>not<\/strong> <strong>go<\/strong> <strong>further<\/strong> than the <strong>welcome<\/strong> <strong>screen<\/strong>, no matter how long I waited. I tried pressing a few keys. Nothing.&nbsp; Humm&#8230; <strong>how frustrating !<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Then, I tried the other two cassettes, while also <strong>adjusting the volume level<\/strong>, knowing that the <strong>Oric is very sensitive<\/strong> to it:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5401\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load5.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load5-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I could <strong>not<\/strong> load &#8220;Starter 3D&#8221;, no matter what. At one time, it <strong>almost<\/strong> loaded &#8220;L&#8217;Aigle d&#8217;Or&#8221; &#8230; but I ended up with a white blinking cursor on a black screen. It had probably <strong>failed<\/strong> to run the program and gave up, since I could blindly type in the <span style=\"font-family: Terminal, Monaco;\">ZAP<\/span> command and hear corresponding the sound:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5402\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load6-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load6-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load6-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load6-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load6-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>So disappointing !<\/strong> Were the <strong>cassette tapes<\/strong> failing ? Quite possible after almost 40 years. Was the <strong>Matra-Hachette tape player<\/strong> unreliable when used by the Oric ? Possible. Was it the <strong>volume<\/strong> <strong>level<\/strong> ? May be. Was it &#8230; the <strong>Oric<\/strong> being as stubborn as it is known to be ? Most probably too !<\/p>\n<p><strong>Let&#8217;s investigate.<\/strong> First, let&#8217;s take a look the tape player. I <strong>cleaned<\/strong> its <strong>head<\/strong> with a <strong>cotton swap<\/strong> soaked in <strong>IPA<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5404\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load7.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load7-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I had cleaned the head just a couple of months before. Since then, I had kept the recorder safe, away from dirt. The <strong>head<\/strong> <strong>turned<\/strong> <strong>out<\/strong> to be quite <strong>dirty<\/strong> after the many many attempts at <strong>loading<\/strong> tapes. I guess at least <strong>one<\/strong> of the cassettes was in <strong>poor<\/strong> <strong>conditions<\/strong>&#8230; Difficult to draw definitve conclusions. <\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: oric-atmos; font-size: 18pt;\">Getting more software<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Since I had only three software to play with, and since they wouldn&#8217;t load, I had to find another source of software. Fortunately, the <strong>Oric<\/strong> <strong>community<\/strong> is quite <strong>active<\/strong>. Finding <strong>.tap<\/strong> or <strong>.dsk<\/strong> files for the Oric is very easy.<\/p>\n<p>But I didn&#8217;t plan on buying a device such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/ceo.oric.org\/peripheriques\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Erebus<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ceo.oric.org\/peripheriques\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cumana reborn<\/a> or <a href=\"http:\/\/users.tpg.com.au\/romsey\/SVI\/SVI-CAS_Owners_Manual.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"style-scope yt-formatted-string\" dir=\"auto\">SVI-CAS<\/span><\/a> or any other equipment to load .<strong>tap<\/strong> or .<strong>dsk<\/strong> file from <strong>SD cards<\/strong>. So I needed a way to <strong>convert<\/strong> these files into <strong>.wav<\/strong> file that I could play back, feeding in the tape recorder cable EAR jack.<\/p>\n<p>This is where <a href=\"https:\/\/osdk.org\/index.php?page=main\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OSDK<\/a> (<strong>Oric Software Development Kit<\/strong>) came to the rescue. It is a cross-development system to create new software for the Oric. Incredibly enough, version <strong>1.20<\/strong> of the kit was released only a <strong>few weeks ago<\/strong>: <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5408\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/new-osdk.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/new-osdk.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/new-osdk-768x500.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>OSDK<\/strong> provides tools (<strong>compiler<\/strong>, <strong>assembler<\/strong>, <strong>linker<\/strong>, &#8230;) to <strong>cross-develop software for the Oric line of computers<\/strong>. It also includes Oric <strong>emulators<\/strong> (Euphoric, Oricutron) and a set of <strong>tools<\/strong> to manage floppies, convert .<strong>tap<\/strong> files to .<strong>wav<\/strong> or even .<strong>tap<\/strong> to .<strong>dsk<\/strong> files. <strong>Very cool !<\/strong> And indeed, there are <strong>amazing<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defence-force.org\/index.php?page=games\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">new Oric games<\/a> built on OSDK, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defence-force.org\/index.php?page=games&amp;game=space1999\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Space 1999<\/a>, here running on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.petergordon.org.uk\/oricutron\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Oricutron<\/strong> emulator for macOS<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5412\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/osdk-space1999.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"724\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/osdk-space1999.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/osdk-space1999-768x654.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Since I was testing Oricutron, I figured I might as well try the software that failed to load on the Atmos, starting with &#8220;<strong>Welcome to Oric Atmos 48K<\/strong>&#8220;:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5411\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Capture-decran-2023-02-04-a-19.52.54.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"752\" height=\"860\"><\/p>\n<p>Oddly enough &#8230; it <strong>stopped<\/strong> exactly where it <strong>froze<\/strong> on my Atmos. Hummm. May be I had been missing something here&#8230; a keystroke or anything to do to go beyond the welcome screen ? Had the demo actually loaded from the tape on the Oric ? Now, I kinda think it did&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>I also tried &#8220;L&#8217;Aigle d&#8217;Or&#8221; and &#8220;Starter 3D&#8221;, which both worked lawlessly on the emulator:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5417\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-aigledor-starter.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"369\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-aigledor-starter.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-aigledor-starter-768x333.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Anyways, I was looking for a set of <strong>tools<\/strong> to <strong>converts<\/strong> <strong>.tap files into .wav<\/strong>. So I fired up my <strong>Windows XP<\/strong> virtual machine, and copied <strong>OSDK 1.2<\/strong> into it. I downloaded a few <strong>.tap<\/strong> files, convert them into .<strong>wav<\/strong> files with <span style=\"font-family: Andale Mono, Times;\">Tap2Wav.exe<\/span> and transferred them back to my mac so that I could play them back:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5407\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/osdk-virtualbox.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"625\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/osdk-virtualbox.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/osdk-virtualbox-768x565.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5437\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/osdk-tap2wav.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1346\" height=\"989\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/osdk-tap2wav.png 1346w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/osdk-tap2wav-768x564.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1346px) 100vw, 1346px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5438\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/osdk-mac-wav.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/osdk-mac-wav.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/osdk-mac-wav-768x464.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I used the default <strong>Tap2Wav<\/strong> settings (4800 Hz). Here is what a resulting .<strong>wav<\/strong> file looks like in <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Audacity_(audio_editor)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Audacity<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5440\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/osdk-audacity.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"447\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/osdk-audacity.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/osdk-audacity-768x404.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>My test <strong>setup<\/strong> was the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Atmos was hooked up to my <strong>Samsung<\/strong> <strong>TV<\/strong>, using the <strong>SCART<\/strong> cable, powered by the 9V battery,<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>tape<\/strong> <strong>recorder<\/strong> <strong>cable<\/strong> was connected from the input of the Oric to the output of my <strong>MacBook<\/strong> <strong>pro<\/strong> (<strong>EAR<\/strong> Jack pugged in),<\/li>\n<li>For each try, I typed the usual <span style=\"font-family: Terminal, Monaco;\">CLOAD &#8220;&#8221;<\/span> command on the Atmos, and <strong>played<\/strong> the corresponding file from <strong>Audacity<\/strong>, <strong>fiddling with<\/strong> a few&nbsp;<strong>parameters<\/strong> (<strong>volume<\/strong> level, sometimes slightly adjusting the <strong>speed<\/strong>):<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I took a <strong>lot of trials and errors<\/strong>. <strong>Mostly errors !<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I had to <strong>find the proper volume level<\/strong> for it to start loading. Without the proper volume level, the Atmos doesn&#8217;t find anything to load. And, even when it finds the proper header and starts to load, most of the time, it sadly ends with errors:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5454\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load-error.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load-error.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load-error-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, <strong>after a lot of failures<\/strong>, and something like <strong>an hour<\/strong> messing with Audacity parameters (and cursing), <strong>I managed to load &#8220;<\/strong>L&#8217;Aigle d&#8217;Or&#8221; from this setup.<\/p>\n<p>Loading a software from tape requires a bit of Voodoo incantations. Maybe the <strong>good spirits<\/strong> of the <strong>Amstrad<\/strong> <strong>CPC<\/strong> and <strong>Atari<\/strong> <strong>ST<\/strong>, sleeping peacefully close to the Atmos, helped taming the Oric Atmos<strong>. <\/strong>Who knows ? <strong>Victory at last ! <br><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5451\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load-2.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load-2-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5448\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-aigledor.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-aigledor.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-aigledor-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I <strong>thought<\/strong> that the <strong>parameters<\/strong> were now <strong>settled<\/strong> and that loading games would now be <strong>easy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Not so fast !<\/strong> I learned the hard way that you have <strong>adjust the volume to find its proper level for each game<\/strong>. I never managed to load Starter 3D. That being said, I am not fond of car races&#8230; so &#8230; meh.<\/p>\n<p>But, <strong>later that night<\/strong>, I managed to load &#8220;<strong>Defence Force<\/strong>&#8220;, which is probably one of the <strong>best<\/strong> <strong>games<\/strong> for the <strong>Oric<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5453\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load-defence-force.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load-defence-force.jpg 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/oric-soft-load-defence-force-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: oric-atmos; font-size: 18pt;\">Next steps<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Well, that was a <strong>long and bumpy ride<\/strong>. I am <strong>not<\/strong> entirely happy with the <strong>keyboard<\/strong> <strong>repair<\/strong>. I will probably try to <strong>improve<\/strong> that.<\/p>\n<p>In the end, I have a <strong>working<\/strong> <strong>Oric<\/strong> <strong>Atmos<\/strong>. It is a <strong>capable<\/strong> little machine, no doubt about that. Certainly one of the <strong>cutest<\/strong> 8-bit computers from the 80&#8217;s. It definitely has a <strong>strong<\/strong> <strong>character<\/strong>. Its power <strong>jack<\/strong> is <strong>very, very peaky<\/strong>. It is a <strong>bit<\/strong> <strong>moody<\/strong> when it comes to <strong>load<\/strong> <strong>software<\/strong> from its <strong>tape<\/strong> interface. The <strong>disk<\/strong> interfaces were much more <strong>reliable<\/strong>. I certainly will investigate in that direction.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Now comes usual the question: what shall be the <strong>next<\/strong> <strong>vintage<\/strong> <strong>computer<\/strong> to work on ? Last time, I had hoped to find a <strong>decently priced Apple IIc<\/strong>. A few months later, I am now pretty sure this will not be the case any time soon (but I&#8217;ll be keeping an eye on the various offerings, of course).<\/p>\n<p>So &#8230; I am looking for either:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Commodore_64\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Commodore 64<\/a><\/li>\n<li>a Commodore <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Amiga\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amiga<\/a> 500<\/li>\n<li>or a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Texas_Instruments\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Texas Instrument<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/TI-99\/4A\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TI99\/4A<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I am also trying to complete my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/?p=3144\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amstrad CPC464<\/a> setup, actively looking for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cpcwiki.eu\/index.php\/Amstrad_External_Disk_Drive\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DDI-1<\/a> external disk drive as well as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cpcwiki.eu\/index.php\/Vortex_Expansions_RAM_card\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vortex expansion RAM card<\/a> (256K or 512K).<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, I also have a few <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Game_%26_Watch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Game &amp; Watch<\/a> and <strong>electronic tabletop games<\/strong> from my own childhood that are waiting for some well deserved love :<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5297\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/table-top-games.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"850\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/table-top-games.png 850w, https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/table-top-games-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: oric-atmos; font-size: 18pt;\">Acknowledgments and links<\/span><\/p>\n<p>As usual, I am deeply <strong>indebted<\/strong> to the retro-computing and Oric community, which is incredibly active. <strong>Dbug<\/strong> (Micka\u00ebl Pointier), in particular, does an <strong>amazing<\/strong> work ! Here are a few <strong>thanks<\/strong> and <strong>links <\/strong>(sorry, some resources are French only):<\/p>\n<p>Communities and dedicated web sites:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Defence Force<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defence-force.org\/index.php?page=main\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.defence-force.org\/index.php?page=main<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>OSDK<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/osdk.org\/index.php?page=main\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/osdk.org\/index.php?page=main<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Dbug&#8217;s blog<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.defence-force.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/blog.defence-force.org<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Oric, the story so far<\/strong>: <a href=\"http:\/\/oric.free.fr\/STORY\/contents.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/oric.free.fr\/STORY\/contents.html<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>System.cfg Forum (8bits topic)<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/forum.system-cfg.com\/viewforum.php?f=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/forum.system-cfg.com\/viewforum.php?f=1<\/a> (French)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Defence Force Forum<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/forum.defence-force.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/forum.defence-force.org<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Silicium.org (oric topic)<\/strong>: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.silicium.org\/forum\/viewforum.php?f=61\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/www.silicium.org\/forum\/viewforum.php?f=61<\/a> (French)<\/li>\n<li><strong>MO5<\/strong>: <a href=\"http:\/\/mo5.com\/musee-machines-atmos.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/mo5.com\/musee-machines-atmos.html<\/a> (French)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Muso&#8217;s ORIC Site<\/strong>: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.48katmos.freeuk.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/www.48katmos.freeuk.com<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>The Oric site<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oric.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.oric.org<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>YouTubers:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Ddbug&#8217;s stuff<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@DbugII\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@DbugII<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>ctrl-alt-rees<\/strong>:&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCe7aGwKsc40TYqDJfjggeKg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCe7aGwKsc40TYqDJfjggeKg<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Noel\u2019s Retro Lab<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/NoelsRetroLab\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/NoelsRetroLab<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>GalaMoon Retrogaming<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCHoSrYaPSHUIMXoXH3bRRbQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCHoSrYaPSHUIMXoXH3bRRbQ<\/a> (French)<\/li>\n<li><strong>RetroLab<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@retrolabo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@retrolabo<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Re-Tech<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@Re-Tech\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@Re-Tech<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Manuals, Book &amp; Schematics:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The Oric Library<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/library.defence-force.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/library.defence-force.org<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>PCB schematic (issue 4)<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/Fred72z\/ORIC\/blob\/main\/Schemas_materiel\/SCHEMA%20ORIC_ISS4.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/github.com\/Fred72z\/ORIC\/blob\/main\/Schemas_materiel\/SCHEMA%20ORIC_ISS4.pdf<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Service Manual<\/strong>: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.48katmos.freeuk.com\/servman.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/www.48katmos.freeuk.com\/servman.pdf<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Oric and Atmos repair guide<\/strong>: <a href=\"http:\/\/oric.signal11.org.uk\/html\/repairguide.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/oric.signal11.org.uk\/html\/repairguide.htm<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the end on the previous post (on the Matra-Hachette Alice 90) I was left with an open question: which vintage computer shall I work on next ? I had &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5065"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5065\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}