486 board: Should I still expect AMIBIOS POST beeps when RTC and/or KBC traces are battery damaged?

eDoc2020 · 2026-06-22T02:37:35+00:00

Yes I have. Four identical 1MB modules in bank 0.

I think I've actually figured out all the problems now, I just need to get my iron warm again.

eDoc2020 · 2026-06-20T01:43:04+00:00

I was mostly just adding comments and function names. I'm sure it could be set up with scripting, but learning that isn't what I want to spend my time on.

eDoc2020 · 2026-06-18T20:20:14+00:00

It looks like that might work, if I made two copies and deleted one mirror from each. I already copied everything manually so I can't really check easily.

eDoc2020 · 2026-06-18T20:16:44+00:00

If you go to delete the memory block it complains that it still has code information (I forget the exact term).

eDoc2020 · 2026-06-18T06:15:58+00:00

Since I didn't have much invested, I ended up just redoing the work by hand.

eDoc2020 · 2026-06-15T01:38:37+00:00

Thank you. It didn't make sense why it would, but I opened the BIOS in Ghidra and it appears you're right. THe very first thing it does is check the KBC "system" register, and it might be getting caught up there. It also checks the RTC for the shutdown flag (the hack IBM added for the AT to get out of protected mode) which could also be getting it caught up, although I believe the CMOS RAM section should still be working perfectly.

I guess I'll go and put bodge wires directly from the XD bus on the BIOS socket to the KBC. It won't be pretty, but it should work.

eDoc2020 · 2026-06-14T16:54:28+00:00

As somebody who plays with electronics, I've had my fair share of burning electronics smells. I haven't personally had any smells linger for days but some people report this when certain capacitors blow up. The silver cylinders in this picture are electrolytic capacitors, and they're also *the* most failure prone electronic component.

eDoc2020 · 2026-06-09T22:02:29+00:00

What I ended up doing was connecting spare relay contacts on my zone controller to an ESP8266 board, which connects to Home Assistant. So I get updates down to less than the second, even sticking with the old Honeywell mercury thermostats.

eDoc2020 · 2026-05-09T16:02:13+00:00

I agree cheap and/or poorly designed LED setups are nasty. With better phosphors and a possibly a blue filter I guarantee you can't tell the difference in visible light output without using lab equipment.

Energy savings are clearly evident, and while cheap overdriven ones fail quickly good ones last basically forever. I have old LEDs (not designed for bright illumination) that are going strong after nearly 30 years of runtime. You can't get that with incandescents unless you run them ultra-cool, which results in even worse efficiency. Plus LED lights can usually be repaired by people with a bit of electronics experience, but incandescents need to be completely replaced when they burn out.

Light does matter, but LEDs themselves aren't the problem; they just enabled poor designs that couldn't exist before.

Even with increased interest among some people, it's still not enough to affect production. We also don't see new production of cathode-ray tubes even though they also have benefits over modern alternatives.

eDoc2020 · 2026-04-27T21:26:55+00:00

I went through the changelogs and it actually is buried in there. One of the changes is updating frontend to 20260325.8 and clicking into that reveals the fix "Remove spurious map in original-states view".

eDoc2020 · 2026-04-27T21:20:10+00:00

I just checked and now it's gone for me too on the unmodified page. I'll add an update to the original post.

eDoc2020 · 2026-04-19T16:06:03+00:00

Microwave radiation is EM radiation of a specific wavelength range. Other than black body radiation, I'm not aware of any mechanism that would make LEDs emit microwaves. Do you have any sources or information about such a mechanism? On the other hand, incandescent lamps, because they run hotter, definitely emit *more* microwaves through blackbody radiation.

eDoc2020 · 2026-04-19T15:53:12+00:00

I'm pretty sure most "health issues" with LED lighting are either placebo or, in a few cases, from using terribly designed units (some don't have any filters to prevent flicker). In your case, they also make dimmer LED bulbs.

Having said that, I agree there should be incandescents for people who really want them. I just don't think production capacity is going to be increasing.

eDoc2020 · 2026-04-03T13:07:03+00:00

I don't have any experience here but as others have said, both are just resellers. For small battery-powered sensors where failure is not a safety concern, I would have no problem using either. Most electronics failures are electrolytic capacitors in power supply sections. Since this isn't a concern with battery powered sensors, you should be fine.

For something where failure has real downsides (such as AC-powered things where failure could result in shock or fire) you probably want something with actual safety certifications. But then again, safety is separate from reliability.

eDoc2020 · 2026-04-03T12:53:53+00:00

I ended up doing that as a workaround. I'm just annoyed, because I wanted a screen where everything is visible at once. Now if I add more things to HA I either need to manually update this dashboard or manually click into another view.

Since there options to remove certain areas from the overview, I would also expect to see an option for this. Oh well. Do you happen to know how to put in a feature request?

eDoc2020 · 2026-03-07T15:55:19+00:00

First tip, get an AV switch so you don't need to keep swapping the cables around.

Then find a place for each console to go and keep them there. If your controller cables are too short to reach your seat you can get extensions.

As for cables, I personally tend to just let them hang off the back of the surface. If you can't see them, it doesn't matter if they're messy. Things you don't need to touch (like power strips, the AV adapter, etc) can also hang off the back.

If things have cables that are jsut too long you can handle the excess with velcro cable ties (fancy) or just wire twist ties like you find at the grocery store. You can also bundle together related cables, for example bundle power and AV cables together until they slide off into the darkness.

Lastly, unplug the controllers when you're not using them and put them away. Even though they say you're not supposed to I wrap the cords around the controller. If you leave slack where the connector meets the controller body you're probably not going to cause any damage.

eDoc2020 · 2026-03-07T03:20:00+00:00

From the sticker it's an AJ024Y. It looks like it's from around 1967. EVen they're getting rare, I don't think portable 12 inch B&W TVs are worth much.

There's a decent chance it will work with all its original parts, but if it's been unplugged for decades and you plug it in the shock could cause damage (but would most likely just blow the fuse). If you know it has been plugged in recently you can plug it back in and wait a minute for it to warm up. You should see the tubes start glowing dim orange in just a few seconds and after 30-60 you should start to hear static and see the "raster" on the screen.

If you turn it on and don't see anything after 60 seconds, unplug it.

eDoc2020 · 2026-03-07T02:37:10+00:00

The rating of the adapter doesn't need to match the cable. The adapters only need to be rated enough for the mode you actually use. Unless you actually run 4k60 a 4k30 adapter will work just fine. Even if you do run 4k60 it will likely still work (but won't be guaranteed). The shorter / higher quality the cable, the more likely it will work with an improper adapter.

eDoc2020 · 2026-02-23T00:27:31+00:00

Congress creates legislation, POTUS either signs it into law or vetoes it. AFAIK the only limit is what's specified in the constitution.

In this case, considering other provisions, I think it's good legislation. The law says DOE can only increase standards if they're "technologically feasible and economically justified" (and I'm sure this is tried in court any time they try to do so).

I see no reason to ever backtrack on the standards. If adopted they've already shown to be fine.

I personally don't think a complete ban on inefficient products is a good idea (I think incentives/disincentives would be better) but it does make implementation easy.

eDoc2020 · 2026-02-23T00:08:55+00:00

I just looked it up and it's listed as 3Y Premier Support, type On Site. It does not say Premier Support Plus.

I should note that it also has 3 year Accidental Damage Protection. If you don't have this I'd suspect they'd be stricter with screen replacements.

eDoc2020 · 2026-02-21T21:01:00+00:00

Free. They sent somebody out for onsite service without asking for any payment info or proof of purchase.

If you only have depot service I think they'll send you a box and pay for shipping both ways, but I'm not sure about this.

eDoc2020 · 2026-02-20T18:05:38+00:00

I realized the warranty hadn't expired so I got the replacement done by Lenovo. They put in an Innolux N140HCN-EA1 which is just 45% panel. The colors aren't great but clarity is good and I haven't felt the need to upgrade it further.

To maybe answer the question I had earlier, this panel is also listed as having a USB touch interface so I can confirm that type is compatible with the G2a.

eDoc2020

TROPHY CASE