Datasette ground wires.

ral-clan · Post by **ral-clan** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 11:26 am

On most of my Canadian-sold datasettes, there is a little metal grounding wire with a washer-type thingy on the end coming out of the connector.

I've never actually hooked it to anything, but I've always wondered just where it was supposed to be attached to? A screw on the bottom of the VIC-20 or just any grounding source?

It doesn't seem to be needed, but perhaps in some cases it was necessary.

It's interesting to note that the VERY first Canadian-sold datasette I owned did NOT have this wire (it was a white, PET style datasette). When it failed, our new squarer 1502 kind did have this wire.

ravenxau · Post by **ravenxau** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 6:19 pm

The Australian models had this as well - i never connected it to anything (in one case it actually fell off!) and it worked fine.

ral-clan · Post by **ral-clan** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 7:48 am

ravenxau wrote:The Australian models had this as well - i never connected it to anything (in one case it actually fell off!) and it worked fine.

I always tape this metal wire to the datasette cable so it is not dangling around. I imagine if it were to accidentally slip inside one of the expansion slots on the back of the VIC it could cause a short circuit and do some damage.

carlsson · Post by **carlsson** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 10:39 am

If you are careful and not afraid of the damage you may cause the computer, it can be used as a poor man's reset button by short circuiting the exact right pin in the userport. It is not recommended to this, and bad things would happen if you one day pick the wrong pin, but I used to do it in the 80'ties.

Remember the C2N Datassette dates back to the PET/CBM computers, of which some (?) models even can fit two tape recorders. I'm not familiar with the case design, if there was a ground point somewhere on the PET where this lead can be attached. Many, but not all Datassettes seem to come with this wire. As discussed in a C2N thread on Vintage Computer Forum, the original (rare?) rectangular Datasette seems to have come in a few variations regarding cable type as well as colour and design of the recorder itself. Here is mine, having a thick black cable without the ground wire inside the cable.

ral-clan · Post by **ral-clan** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 11:25 am

carlsson wrote:As discussed in a C2N thread on Vintage Computer Forum, the original (rare?) rectangular Datasette seems to have come in a few variations regarding cable type as well as colour and design of the recorder itself. Here is mine, having a thick black cable without the ground wire inside the cable.

That will always be my favourite datasette design. Probably because it reminds me of the PET (the first computer I ever used). I have one, although I think there is a short in the cable I haven't got around to fixing yet.

carlsson · Post by **carlsson** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 5:48 pm

It lacks the recording LED and a hole for possible (but again not recommended) azimuth tweaking. The latter can be solved with a drill, but installing a LED may be a bit more work. Either mod would eliminate any collector's value of the recorder though.

ral-clan · Post by **ral-clan** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 5:52 pm

carlsson wrote:It lacks the recording LED and a hole for possible (but again not recommended) azimuth tweaking. The latter can be solved with a drill, but installing a LED may be a bit more work. Either mod would eliminate any collector's value of the recorder though.

But I just saw a version of this datasette with a LED and an Azimuth hole on the Internet. Dont' remember where but it was on a site that had info on the C64-DTV....wish I had known it was going to come up in this discussion thread.

Schema · Post by **Schema** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 8:45 pm

I've always wondered that too - does the manual say anything about it? (too lazy to check myself

)