Blue Chip 128 (1571 clone) disk drive

[Andrew Wiskow]

I'm not sure how many 1571 clones there were, but I've never seen one in person...  There's one up on eBay right now:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300167832361

-Andrew

[Mangelore]

It's a shame the plastic has yellowed.

[Andrew Wiskow]

It's a shame the plastic has yellowed.

A good candidate for a nice spray paint job, methinks.  

-Andrew

[wte]

A good candidate for a nice spray paint job, methinks.  
-Andrew

Painting? Never! Use a bleaching agent (e.g. hydrogen peroxide)!

[airship]

Andrew, I just bookmarked that one myself. If I ever knew that Blue Chip made a 1571 clone, I'd forgotten. Who knows how much it will sell for? Especially when a 1581 (230187770288) is already bringing over $180 with 4 days to go!

BTW, Reinhard, You can't bleach plastic back to white. It's impossible. Even the car restoration guys have given up on this, and they have the most to lose. I've got a can of Krylon Fusion 'beige' sitting here right now. I'm working up the courage to try it on one of my old 1541s. It's supposed to be the best plastic spray paint you can get. We'll see.

[Blacklord]

Andrew, I just bookmarked that one myself. If I ever knew that Blue Chip made a 1571 clone, I'd forgotten. Who knows how much it will sell for? Especially when a 1581 (230187770288) is already bringing over $180 with 4 days to go!

BTW, Reinhard, You can't bleach plastic back to white. It's impossible. Even the car restoration guys have given up on this, and they have the most to lose. I've got a can of Krylon Fusion 'beige' sitting here right now. I'm working up the courage to try it on one of my old 1541s. It's supposed to be the best plastic spray paint you can get. We'll see.

Can you post before & after pics ?

[wte]

You can't bleach plastic back to white. It's impossible. ...

White would be the wrong colour! All commodore units have a (slight) beige colour. The refurbish specialists in the German "Forum64" http://www.forum64.de/wbb2/board.php?boardid=185 are using hydrogen peroxide and sun light - some use hypochlorite. The results are fabulous. But be carefull - maybe the surface becomes rougher.

[wte]

...
Can you post before & after pics ?

It was not requested, but here are pix from the bleeching of a C64G (before/after):

[Golan Klinger]

This was done with hydrogen peroxide and exposure to UV light? How long did this take?

[airship]

I'm astounded! Like I say, even the car guys say that's impossible, and they usually really know their stuff!

Is the procedure for this posted on that German forum? If so, I can't think of anything I'd rather see translated into English.

I doubt they're using over-the-counter drug-store hydrogen peroxide. What concentration? How long? Etc.?

My two C128s look HORRIBLE and I'd love to bring them back like that.

[wte]

Ok, here are the answers:

Q: What concentration?

Ich hab mir eine 15%ige Lösung gekauft, war aber ein Fehler. Das nächste mal nehme ich gleich eine 30 bzw. 33%ige Lösung und verdünne das ganze dann selber. Kommt auf die Dauer gesehen billiger.

=> I've bought a 15% solution, but that was a mistake. Next time i take a 30% or 33% solution and dilute it myself. That's much cheaper.

Q: How long?

Ich hab die beiden Gehäuseteile einfach mit einem Schwamm mit H2O2 ca. 30-40 mal eingrieben und trocknen lassen.

=> I've coated/rubed both parts of the case with H2O2 using a sponge 30 to 40 times and let it dry.

Tasten lasse ich dann für ca. 4 H baden. Danach abspülen, 1 Tag trocken lassen.

=> I let the key caps bath for 4 h. Afterwards wahing-up and drying for 1 day.

The whole "operation" needed a week.

[airship]

I need to get over to the home supply store. I tried the local hardware store but they didn't have any H2O2 except the 2% stuff.

So you sponge it, then let it dry in the sun, and repeat 30-40 times? Then soak the keys for 4 hours, rinse, and let them sun-dry for a day?

I'm going to try this on my beat-up 64C. If it works, I'll do my 128s. Before it's so cold they freeze.

[wte]

I need to get over to the home supply store. I tried the local hardware store but they didn't have any H2O2 except the 2% stuff.

Try the drugstore/pharmacy (so they do in Germany - and nowadays all have to show their ID papers for registration 'coz they might be terrorists planning to build a bomb - thanks Mr. Bush for giving our stupid politicians a lot of paranoia!).

So you sponge it, then let it dry in the sun, and repeat 30-40 times? Then soak the keys for 4 hours, rinse, and let them sun-dry for a day?

In this case he wrote only about repeated sponging [what a word] and drying. I don't think he used sunlight (like some other did). He also didn't talk about sunlight for the keys.

I'm going to try this on my beat-up 64C. If it works, I'll do my 128s. Before it's so cold they freeze.

If I remenber correctly someone reported about sensitive F-keys so you should check the keys for cleanliness and slick surface from time to time.

Regards WTE

[Guest]

Try the drugstore/pharmacy (so they do in Germany - and nowadays all have to show their ID papers for registration 'coz they might be terrorists planning to build a bomb - thanks Mr. Bush for giving our stupid politicians a lot of paranoia!).

Considering that Germany (and Europe as a whole) has seen a lot more terrorist attacks from al-Quaida than the US has, and the fact that al-Quiada has adopted hydrogen peroxide as the chemical of choice for bomb making, it would be logical that you guys would have to supply an ID.

Here in the states we have a similar situation for a different product.  Methmphetamine is a HUGE problem here because it is very easy to make and even the poorest of the poor can get their hands on the ingredients.  To curb the production of Meth it has become a federal law that all over the counter drugs with the requisite components for making Meth now have to be locked up behind the pharmacists' counter.

[Golan Klinger]

Up here in Canada I can get as much isopropyl alcohol and pseudoephedrine-laced cold medicine as I want. Fun? Wow!

[Guest]

thanks Mr. Bush for giving our stupid politicians a lot of paranoia!).

I'm going to correct your statement:
Thanks Mr. Terrorist for giving our stupid politicians a lot of paranoia!).

You're blaming the wrong person. :arg:

Dan...

[Golan Klinger]

Actually, wte is German so I think he meant that his stupid politicians got their paranoia from your stupid President who may or may not have gotten it from stupid Mr. Terrorist. What I think we can agree on is that politicians and terrorists are stupid and the sooner they're all gone, the happier we'll all be.

And now, back to our 1571 clone/cleaning Commodore computers thread...

[Guest]

thanks Mr. Bush for giving our stupid politicians a lot of paranoia!).

Up here in Canada I can get as much isopropyl alcohol and pseudoephedrine-laced cold medicine as I want. Fun? Wow!

Thanks Mr. Terrorist for giving our stupid politicians a lot of paranoia!).

What I think we can agree on is that politicians and terrorists are stupid and the sooner they're all gone, the happier we'll all be.

And now, back to our 1571 clone/cleaning Commodore computers thread...

I agree. Leave politics and religion off this site. :|

Dan...

[Guest]

The yellowing on the 1571 clone looks more like nicotine stains to me.

Dan...

[airship]

You can get smoke stain off with just a good scrubbing. At worst, a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser will take it off though you have to be careful as it IS an abrasive.

[Golan Klinger]

The yellowing on the 1571 clone looks more like nicotine stains to me.

That would fit because isopropyl alcohol and ammonia are the only two things I know of that will remove nicotine stains without abrasion. I had previously thought it was impossible to remove yellowing without removing the top layer of plastic so I'n not convinced this will work. There was an interesting article about the yellowing of older computers and consoles (see here) that pretty much confirms that you can't clean off the yellowing.

I'll believe the isopropyl alcohol trick when I see it work for myself this weekend. Or not. I'm looking forward to the experiment.

[airship]

This drive brought $34.77 + $14.50 shipping. Sounds pretty cheap to me.

[Andrew Wiskow]

This drive brought $34.77 + $14.50 shipping. Sounds pretty cheap to me.

I just sold a complete, like-new, in-box 1571 drive on eBay...  It went for $28.77.  

So this nicotine-stained, no-box, no-manual 1571 clone sold for more, huh?  Go figure.  :/

-Andrew

[Blacklord]

This drive brought $34.77 + $14.50 shipping. Sounds pretty cheap to me.

I just sold a complete, like-new, in-box 1571 drive on eBay...  It went for $28.77.  

So this nicotine-stained, no-box, no-manual 1571 clone sold for more, huh?  Go figure.  :/

-Andrew

Clone being the operative word I reckon - rarer than the original article.

cheers,

Lance

[Andrew Wiskow]

Clone being the operative word I reckon - rarer than the original article.

I just hope Blue Chip did a better job on their 1571 clone than they did on their 1541 clone, which was a dud.  :/

I forgot to bid on this...  And I'm the one who originally advertised it here!  :förvånad:

-Andrew