The IBM PCjr thread which became the exoDOS Thread

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

That is a video created by Jim Leonard - it is using the "composite" mode for video, which looks so much better due to color blending, than on a regular CGA monitor. It was an art form.

The gameplay really is lacking though. I think he picked "novice" mode and you play a while with no enemy cars.

I don't know. I get these desires to go make a free "upgraded" version of these arcade games, and Spy Hunter never got a proper sequel. It's real sequel is an absolute abomination, one of the 25 worst games ever made from what I can tell.

They did do an overblown 3D Spy Hunter for the PS2. The camera is all wrong, it's a totally separate thing. But imagine:

- Better driving controls
- More crap in the streets to avoid
- Other vehicles helping you
- More enemy types: there are 4 in Spy Hunter, plus some of the ones in water which are essentially the same
- Different weapons?
- Better controls. Spy Hunter was the first "you need a lot of buttons" games, but you still slow down by moving the gamepad or joystick down, at least on the PC version.
- Objectives that still work with a 2D game? The objective for the original is just to keep going.

I dunno. I have other stuff to finish but I think about a true sequel to a lot of these arcade games often.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

There are MS-DOS game jams! I need to enter one some day.

This person made a game called "Cara Grabs Antimatter." It is a cute little mechanic that I have seen before in some form, but I can't recall if I have ever seen it exactly implemented like this game does. The creator asked if people wanted to try it on their real systems, and I was happy to.

It worked flawlessly on my PCjr, here is a screenshot - one thing to note is that I believe the colors used for a real CGA machine are yellow, green, black and then that pinkish red thing CGA does.

On the PCjr, they (correctly) come up as brown, gree, red and black - I have had it explained to me before, and I have seen documentation on why this is the case. A lot of games act this way, when it comes to the PCjr palette and color modes and the PC's CGA ones.



You can try the game out here: https://voxel.itch.io/cara-grabs-antimatter

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I'm reading that Qix came out for the IBM PC in 1982. It is on my list.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I have my PCjr on two Ikea shelves and one just burst. The monitor fell to the ground screen first and no longer works.

Argh, I say.


Argh.

[Jizaboz]

Noooooo

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

So, the new PCjr monitor I have is doing this.

There is chatter, which I have never heard from a CRT (just a vector) and there are spots where it seems to be blasting red and green blotches on the tube. What the heck is this even called?

[Jizaboz]

Flyback transformer failure is my first guess! I can tell by the sound and the flickering of the screen. This is exactly what happened to my Zenith TV after being dropped. It MIGHT be able to be salvaged simply by reflowing the flyback connection to the board assuming neither the transformer or board cracked.. or it could even be a cap finally shitted out. Here's a video I checked out:

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Just documenting some frustration: I was able to get the case off the back of the monitor. I cannot get it to snugly fit back on.

[Jizaboz]

Just documenting some frustration: I was able to get the case off the back of the monitor. I cannot get it to snugly fit back on.

That was the only part I would have truely dreaded lol. Apparently they are a bitch to take apart and snap back together and I would have been pissed if I broke a tab off. I want recap my Vectrex one day but argh that case!

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Yes, this is awful and frustrating. I got confirmation from the admin of the PCjr forum that they can be a little tricky. I was not interested in tricks this morning.

A casual glance did not indicate the problem. I guess I will leave it on with the case off for 20 minutes to see if I can tell where the zaps start.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I decided to stop waiting for others. There was a suggestion to get isopropyl alcohol and clean the anode cup with it. I know how to not get shocked. I can clean a cup, god dammit. I used to do this stuff all the time. So that is the next thing for the two monitors out here that fail in the exact same way after 15 minutes, which is a stupid and impossible coincidence, but here we go.

[AArdvark]

please don't end up in the death thread!

[Flack]

These are both for sale on my local FB Marketplace. I looked and they are from different sellers. It's like those old Reese's commercials, one guy with the chocolate and one with a jar of peanut butter!

Both items are listed as untested and based on the context I'm guessing that means "doesn't work." The computer says it came from a storage unit and there are no cables, cords, or even a keyboard, just the computer. The monitor says "untested because someone cut the video cable off." That... that is more than untested.

These feel like when someone gets a good deal on a "fixer upper" car that ends up costing 100x the original sale price. "Well, at least the bones are there! Also, we'll need to replace the bones!"

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Right. Both monitors I have were said to be working. They were. They are. For 15 minutes.

I could have sent the last one back but if I can get them fixed, I wanted a spare. We'll see.

I do love Oklahoma FB marketplace. Cut cords aside, your stuff is so much better than ours!

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Quick question I should know the answer to:

So, I am going to pop the anode cup for both of these PCjr monitors. In a video like this, he connects the clips to the frame.



Should the monitor be plugged into the wall? Does the electricity discharge itself into the frame of the monitor and that's it, it's fine?

[Jizaboz]

Fuck no it should not be plugged up lol.

You are discharging anything left in the capacitors. I use a clamp to the frame and a screwdriver on the other end of the wire under the anode cup. So yes, you are simply discharging into the metal frame!

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Fuck no it should not be plugged up lol.

You are discharging anything left in the capacitors. I use a clamp to the frame and a screwdriver on the other end of the wire under the anode cup. So yes, you are simply discharging into the metal frame!

It is bizarre to me that the energy just "goes away" into the frame, but that is what I will do.

[Casual Observer]

Fuck no it should not be plugged up lol.

You are discharging anything left in the capacitors. I use a clamp to the frame and a screwdriver on the other end of the wire under the anode cup. So yes, you are simply discharging into the metal frame!

It is bizarre to me that the energy just "goes away" into the frame, but that is what I will do.

My dad did this by using a long screwdriver to touch the frame, less safe id guess but I think he wore gloves

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Fuck no it should not be plugged up lol.

You are discharging anything left in the capacitors. I use a clamp to the frame and a screwdriver on the other end of the wire under the anode cup. So yes, you are simply discharging into the metal frame!

It is bizarre to me that the energy just "goes away" into the frame, but that is what I will do.

My dad did this by using a long screwdriver to touch the frame, less safe id guess but I think he wore gloves

Yeah, I've got a homemade solution for this as well. I may go that route than spend $75 on the proper tool for it, I think.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

It is the middle (well, end) of summer and the humidity out here is the highest it's gonna be. I turned the monitor on for the PCjr and it worked for 25 minutes. It was, in the winter, freaking out after 15.

It did not and does not make sense to me that TWO monitors could have the same problem. The lack of humidity did make sense to me. Well, we'll see. I am now going to leave it on and see if it still has a problem for an hour.

OK???