Industrial archeology with an illusion 240 desk

[JustinPentecost]

So I bought an Illusion desk at auction for pennies thinking it might be good for the village hall, typically being me I'm now so deep in I don't want to give up until I have made it work.   So initially I I had nothing, not a sausage, no VGA output, no lights on the front.   Inside I found the Mempac Battery and three lit LEDS.   I replaced the Mempac battery and left it powered up overnight.    In the morning there was an output on the screen with a number 06.     

So I put the software on a floppy and put that in the disk drive, I get nothing.   It refuses to boot from the floppy.   (the floppy is totally dead, there is nothing not even a buzz and a light)

So if there is anyone out there. 

 Is it possible to lose the bootstrap ?   Has a rom Been corrupted ?

If I get no answer I will try another floppy drive ..

 

Thankyou

Justin

[KWR88]

Hi Justin,

First thing i would have looking at on this is the internal battery.

Was there any signs of corrosion around the battery, discolour track etc.

You should be seeing the battery voltage on the header to the right of the battery, the centre and left pin should have a jumper connecting the together.

 

[iank99]

21 hours ago, JustinPentecost said:

So I bought an Illusion desk at auction for pennies thinking it might be good for the village hall, typically being me I'm now so deep in I don't want to give up until I have made it work.   So initially I I had nothing, not a sausage, no VGA output, no lights on the front.   Inside I found the Mempac Battery and three lit LEDS.   I replaced the Mempac battery and left it powered up overnight.    In the morning there was an output on the screen with a number 06.     

So I put the software on a floppy and put that in the disk drive, I get nothing.   It refuses to boot from the floppy.   (the floppy is totally dead, there is nothing not even a buzz and a light)

So if there is anyone out there. 

 Is it possible to lose the bootstrap ?   Has a rom Been corrupted ?

If I get no answer I will try another floppy drive ..

 

Thankyou

Justin

Sounds like an Illusion 120 - the first iteration of the series - if it has a MemPac, so very likely an STMain 1 motherboard. From experience, it's darned hard to corrupt the onboard ROM and the desk should boot however, as Keith says it might be that the battery has leaked and eaten some of the PCB or it could just be that the STMain has died (it does happen).

If you have access to a Frog or Jester - try the PSU from that - I have seen weirdness with failed PSU's where you get power but it's got AC waveforms on the output or the output never really initialises (they're switch mode PSU's). The desk doesn't need a Floppy to boot - only to save shows or update the operating software so try leaving the floppy disconnected initially.

I have spare floppy drives about that came from Zero desks (so there shouldn't be issues with initialisation on the Bios) if you need one, I'm not sure I have a working STMain 1 from an Illusion though - but being honest, it's a 20 odd year old desk - I wouldn't spend much effort on it, it might be handy for some spares reclamation though.

 

[kgallen]

Some Frogs going begging in Leeds if you're in that neck of the woods.

https://www.blue-room.org.uk/topic/77291-desks-for-spares/#comment-602410

 

[JustinPentecost]

First off .. I am BLOWN AWAY by the fact you guys have responded with your knowledge and advice.    The idea that someone would offer to help with a 20 year old desk is just wonderful.      If you ever have any Motioncontrol or film camera issues, you can get my number from an internet search. 

Keith first ..

Was there any signs of corrosion around the battery, discolour track etc.

I didn't THINK so,  I gave it a good clean and some pcb cleaner and it seemed ok .. I was looking for a trace on the tracks (To find the test point) NOW you have told me where the test point is so I will check a voltage from there (I will send a picture of the PCB)

Ian ..

This is SO useful, what I omitted is that I didn't have a power supply so I made one out of an ATX PSU.  Now I WOULD have said "And that works fine" My assumption being that that was what the three LED's are.

Which leads me to kgallen,   Who has put me onto a source of a spare PSU.  and in Leeds where I will be next Thursday.

I'm overwhelmed, I do have to make a slight "confession", there is no real object to this, Yes of course it might be a thing for the village hall, but in truth I have any number of enttec boxes and Dragonframe licenses, which would be far more suitable.    I spend my life (as you guys probably do too) making, testing and fixing "Stuff", if it had been faced with a 20 year old motion control anything I'd have put it on ebay for 99p and said "first person to come and collect can have it".     For some reason fixing something you don't really NEED is like an odd perversion of mine.  (On the other hand showing the guys in the robotics club how DMX works would be fun).

I will post an update later today ..

Thankyou all so much .. This has really made my day ..

 

[kgallen]

Great news! We like keeping good kit running, especially Zero88 kit 😀 and we even less like good usable kit going in the skip…

Let us know how you get on. 

Kevin

[JustinPentecost]

So Ian I have Emailed AC lighting about the units they are breaking for spares.  If they are good with me collecting on Friday I will be able to drop them in Coventry on my way back to Henley if you are interested ..

Justin

[iank99]

1 hour ago, JustinPentecost said:

So Ian I have Emailed AC lighting about the units they are breaking for spares.  If they are good with me collecting on Friday I will be able to drop them in Coventry on my way back to Henley if you are interested ..

Justin

Justin - I PM'd them too about me paying carriage for the two Frogs as 'last resort' but I suspect if they can get them out the door without faff - they'll take your hand off

I'd certainly be interested in the Frogs for spares - the 520i's not so much (I have 3 already!!) and would be happy to have you drop them off at my workshop - drop me an eMail ian at serviceguy dot co dot uk to arrange that (you can probably ignore the post I just made on The Blue Room about this)/ If you want to take a reclaimed floppy drive with you to experiment - I'd be happy to do that too. 

[kgallen]

@iank99 is the STMain1 in a Frog likely to fit an Illusion 120?

[iank99]

9 hours ago, kgallen said:

@iank99 is the STMain1 in a Frog likely to fit an Illusion 120?

Yep - it's the same board - if you want to use the printer interface you need to solder a connector in place - it will also need it's system ID setting so it knows that it's in an Illusion - Keith will know the magic buttons to press to do that

 

[KWR88]

I know several magic buttons but in this case you will need the enchanted floppy disk of changing 🤣

Send me a PM to the address below and i will arrange a link to download the image.

[kgallen]

(Apologies, Keith, there might be an XLS question coming your way too...!

https://www.blue-room.org.uk/topic/77296-quick-qestion-for-anyone-with-a-deeper-understanding-of-lighting-desks-than-me-error-codes/#comment-602450

)

[iank99]

3 hours ago, KWR88 said:

I know several magic buttons but in this case you will need the enchanted floppy disk of changing 🤣

Send me a PM to the address below and i will arrange a link to download the image.

I too now have an enchanted floppy disk of changing - I've had to muck out the unicorns & scrub the dragon down to get it (and no - that's not code for anything @kgallen )

[kgallen]

3 hours ago, iank99 said:

I too now have an enchanted floppy disk of changing - I've had to muck out the unicorns & scrub the dragon down to get it (and no - that's not code for anything @kgallen )

I now need to "scrub my mind" of that concept. Thanks a lot @iank99 😁