Aaron Mahler

https://mastodon.halfpress.com/@halfpress

Former Encoding Engineer @  / Network Guy / Photographer / 3D Modeling, CAD & Printing Nerd / Retro Collector / Emulation Enthusiast / Restorer of 80s Arcades / Microcontroller Tinkerer / EV Driver / Past Academic CTO / All Around Geek

Pre-migration mastodon.social posts: [@halfpress](https://mastodon.social/@halfpress )

website: https://halfpress.com
500px gallery: https://500px.com/halfpress

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Last Notes

2026-09-21 19:22:51 GMT

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So will your luggage beat YOU home this time?

2026-09-21 16:22:20 GMT

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That is fantastic. Wish I had the skills and need for one, honestly!

2026-09-21 16:14:19 GMT

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I just want to know if the color gradient on there is the original design or a result of the prior debacle. :)

2026-09-21 16:09:58 GMT

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I can see the prototype aspect of it being a big component in the payoff if you have to otherwise iterate a lot with PCB houses. Tangible and intangible costs there with your efficiency, no?
Does it make you more free to experiment in a way that you’d not having to send designs out for manufacture?

2026-09-21 15:25:42 GMT

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Honestly, I never knew pick and place was even this attainable at a personal level. Nothing I’m anywhere close to needing in life at my skill level or real world use, but fascinating to know there’s something at this scale.

2026-09-03 16:09:35 GMT

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A German word that, to the English eye, is almost indistinguishable from the results of the issue you mention.

2026-08-09 14:55:51 GMT

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That thing looks glorious. I still proudly have my old RS-232 GTEK that works great with retro ROMs for which it’s a contemporary… but wow, that beast looks like a ton of fun!

2026-08-03 02:26:58 GMT

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Would definitely appreciate opinions and insights from others that have more experience than I do dealing with possible battery damage.
I can try testing continuity on traces. I could apply some solder mask and hit it with UV to cure where the little bits of copper are exposed.
I'm most curious if I need to sand or clean anything that presents more concern than I might know to have.
Lastly, I can hook it all up and just see how it works with diagnostic tests.
#retrocomputing #amiga3000t

2026-08-03 02:23:18 GMT

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Last battery shots for now: closeups of the positive and negative ends of the battery post-removal.
The back side of the board looks altogether better than the worst of what I shared here from the front side. There is little or no indication of issues in any traces spreading from the battery through holes.
#retrocomputing #amiga3000t
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2026-08-03 02:15:21 GMT

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The positive end of the former battery mount looks overall better than the other. There is some blue crytalline material on the legs of the close by 75LS174N IC. I'm including a photo before I fairly easily cleaned most of that off both sides of the IC with a swab and alcohol.
If this is worse than I think, then I wonder if the IC is compromised. I could remove it, test it and reinstall or replace it in a socket. Not sure if I want to do that preemptively, though.
#retrocomputing #amiga3000t
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2026-08-03 02:09:59 GMT

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I hired a crew and a crane to move the board upstairs to my workbench.
I added some fresh solder to the three battery terminals to prime them, then used my Hakko desoldering gun to suck it all back out. The battery pretty well fell off the board under its own weight.
I cleaned the area with alcohol and got some microscope shots. The worst is on the top negative end, but the traces seem intact even if exposed. I'll try to trace them and test continuity.
More...
#retrocomputing #amiga3000t
https://mastodon.halfpress.com/system/media_attachments/files/117/029/142/287/503/924/original/210f85a4b821b90d.jpeg

2026-08-03 02:03:08 GMT

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On to the scary Varta battery topic: here are the iPhone shots of the back of the board behind the three battery pins and the negative and positive sides of the battery topside.
First off - there's no immediately obvious horror show, so whatever damage there might be is, I hope, immaterial at best and slight at worst. The board is definitely not the nightmare it could have been 32+ years on from when it was made.
Opinions invited!
More detailed shots to follow.
#retrocomputing #amiga3000t
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2026-08-03 01:54:06 GMT

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Ok, I think pretty good news here?
I removed the main board. FIrst off, it's just friggin' gigantic. I ran out of bananas yesterday, sadly, so I can't demonstrate the scale in standard Internet units.
Also, the back of it looks as good or better than the front - so nothing scary hiding where I wasn't able to see before now. I don't see any leaky caps or related damage anywhere.
I'll touch on the battery area in the next posts.
#retrocomputing #amiga3000t
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2026-08-03 00:01:49 GMT

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The cleaned keyboard is a huge improvement over the filthy, stinkbug-poop-dotted version of a few hours ago. It remains yellowed, of course, but I plan to retrobrite the case and spacebar this week if the sun manages to come out for any length of time.
With this part done for now, attention turns back to the machine and removal of the main board. I have to do the dreaded analysis of the battery area - front and back - and see if I have nasty work ahead of me.
#retrocomputing #amiga3000t
https://mastodon.halfpress.com/system/media_attachments/files/117/028/638/057/296/072/original/edc738447c4a91e6.jpeg
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2026-08-02 23:56:26 GMT

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With the mouse in decent shape, I returned to the keyboard reassembly process.
Everything cleaned up nicely, including the rubber bits, and got dried in the over earlier. During cleaning and drying sessions, I worked on getting the filth out of the keyboard itself and wiping it down as best I could. Not perfect, but much better.
Oddly, the one nipple that is solidly yellow is the one under the one key that yellowed: the space bar. Bizarre.
The Return key re-assembly is a pain in the ass.
https://mastodon.halfpress.com/system/media_attachments/files/117/028/616/687/204/567/original/248e4fb1cf73fd84.jpeg
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2026-08-02 23:46:36 GMT

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I gave the mouse shell the same treatment as the keys, using the ultrasonic cleaner and denture cleanser tablets. It only takes a few minutes followed by a rinse and thorough drying.
The mouse is yellowed still, of course, but I’ll tackle that with a retrobrite process soon. Meanwhile, it sure looks a lot better.
https://mastodon.halfpress.com/system/media_attachments/files/117/028/578/041/886/219/original/1b1674a1be56f0ea.jpeg
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2026-08-02 23:40:16 GMT

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After the mandatory ARC Raiders session, work resumed on the mouse.
It turns out this is the much loved, quite sought after Amiga “pregnant mouse”. I always remembered it being a great mouse, but seems that opinion has only grown over the decades. Glad to have one.
It’s also yellowed and filthy as hell. The two screws turned out to be under the label, which I carefully removed for re-application later.
#retrocomputing #amiga3000t
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2026-08-02 16:38:17 GMT

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Tossing the keys into an old ultrasonic jewelry cleaner I got for my wife many years ago. Add in a CVS denture cleaning tablet for some fizz and silly green color then run it twice for good measure.
Maybe this is pointless and there is a placebo effect, but the keys are coming out very clean. Slight rub with my fingers as I rinse off the residue from the denture cleaner and they look almost new.
#retrocomputing #amiga3000t
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2026-08-02 15:54:56 GMT

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Gross. But progress made and nothing has broken during disassembly.
The outer shells - aside from yellowing to deal with - have been nicely de-poopified.
https://mastodon.halfpress.com/system/media_attachments/files/117/026/723/557/371/364/original/be464ada6c9fe812.jpeg
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2026-08-02 14:21:27 GMT

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Ok. Back at it this morning starting on the dreaded keyboard cleanup.
Working at the kitchen island still since washing things is a big part and I have room to spread out.
Bigger challenge is that Niles is bent that I’m sitting still here and not playing with him almost constantly, mewing and putting his teeth on my shins and grabbing at my legs. Have to take fetch and “fuzzy torso on a string” breaks with him. Real chore, I know. :)
Bummed the former coiled cable is just kinky now.
#cats
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2026-08-02 10:56:26 GMT

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One thing I recall as a teen with this machine was installing some additional Fast RAM. I think it involved moving the existing Fast to be the second 1MB of Chip and then putting in 2x as many new Fast ICs to make 8MB.
The vibe I recall was the wonky ZIP style legs being a pain in the butt and some bending. What I think happened was a leg finally weakened and broke. I had to stop short of my upgrade and wait considerable time to get a replacement IC. So mad.
#retrocomputing #amiga3000t #amiga

2026-08-02 04:14:05 GMT

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Ok, the case is 100x better than the filthy mess it was earlier today. Bedtime now, but I’ll tackle the keyboard and mouse in the morning and then apply a steady flow of electrons. We will see if we get the blue smoke, something wonky or - ideally - a happy 3000T that hasn’t been on for maybe 30 years.
Night!

2026-08-02 03:39:43 GMT

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I wasn’t kidding when I said this machine had an obscenely long SCSI cable inside.
https://mastodon.halfpress.com/system/media_attachments/files/117/023/832/818/598/417/original/1f6751ec79f4ea6e.jpeg

2026-08-02 02:58:46 GMT

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I have to check the history, but I assume the American steel industry didn’t hit the skids until after Commodore discontinued this machine. Sheesh.
This several pound hunk of metal here is just for holding the hard drives. I think it can hold four front and back and/or 5.25” floppy or cd-rom drives in the front.
Granted, this was built in West Germany… so maybe my theory is wrong. :)
https://mastodon.halfpress.com/system/media_attachments/files/117/023/671/779/496/647/original/b6960b3ca61b69f7.jpeg

2026-08-02 02:48:15 GMT

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Meant to include this photo of the drive in the last post.
https://mastodon.halfpress.com/system/media_attachments/files/117/023/630/454/766/248/original/53f2d691700d0e2d.jpeg

2026-08-02 02:46:03 GMT

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The Toshiba CD-ROM drive in here is one I added back in the early 90s. It’s the first one I ever owned and it’s a sideways mounted caddy drive. I see there is a caddy in there, so I will be curious to see when powered up if it’s the disc I expect it to be.
My uncle owned an early CD-ROM publishing company back then called Lightbinders, Inc and they published a famous early disc on Darwin. I attempted to make an Amiga reader for it, but only did the early stages.
#retrocomputing #amiga3000t

2026-08-02 01:52:19 GMT

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Bit of a temporary hack, but I donut-holed some thick, dense adhesive furniture foot pads to keep the rusty bits from making surface contact.
I tried prying those rusty pads out, but no go without damaging the plastic foot itself.
https://mastodon.halfpress.com/system/media_attachments/files/117/023/410/527/664/676/original/2dee2d476ef7fdbd.jpeg

2026-08-02 01:35:08 GMT

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Noticing that the cross bar feet on the machine - aside from having those horrible abrasive rusted pads pictured earlier - have cracked over time with age. Oddly, the cracks are only on one side of the piece and fine on the other.
I’ll see what I can do to improve them, but these might be candidates for modeling and 3D printing as replacements.
https://mastodon.halfpress.com/system/media_attachments/files/117/023/342/699/656/067/original/558eff90bf539b83.jpeg
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2026-08-02 01:17:02 GMT

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Not shiny, but dust bunnies out, fresh grease where needed and the heads cleaned. Hope it works.
https://mastodon.halfpress.com/system/media_attachments/files/117/023/271/753/745/049/original/2140ad625a976182.jpeg

2026-08-02 00:48:25 GMT

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Some initial cleaning to make it less messy to work on. Coming along nicely. Other than the plastic front that is seemingly not at all yellowed, it’s all big screws and sheets of very heavy, textured, painted steel.
https://mastodon.halfpress.com/system/media_attachments/files/117/023/159/257/381/457/original/ed52a2735ba2dd56.jpeg

2026-08-01 23:02:03 GMT

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Last few shots for now before I take it apart further on my actual workbench.
A couple closeups of the A2065 ethernet card with AUI and coax, but no twisted pair. There's some white corrosion looking stuff on one the board's ICs, but it might just be bug poop or other similar filth. Looks easily cleanable. Leaving the card out of the mix for now, though.
Also, a close shot of the motherboard rev and fab information.
#retrocomputing #amiga3000t
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2026-08-01 22:54:56 GMT

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And finally, the first looks at the motherboard.
It is shockingly pristine and a gorgeous emerald color. Aside from dust, cobwebs and desiccated bug parts I've blown out, I see no signs of corrosion or other damage (so far).
It looks like someone installed a brand new motherboard inside of a 175 year old filthy computer case.
I should probably remove it and check the back side before I power it up.
Shown here with the drive tray and cables and fully exposed.
#retrocomputing #amiga3000t
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2026-08-01 22:47:45 GMT

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One liability - not for the computer, but any surface that matters to me - are the long-rusted four, dome-shaped feet on the bottom of the machine. They appear to be made of metal - like every other square inch of this 55+ lb machine - and are now akin to very rough sandpaper.
I need to do something about these if I can figure out their means of removal.
Also, I had forgotten they pre-install a second floppy drive cover, but hide it behind a blank.
https://mastodon.halfpress.com/system/media_attachments/files/117/022/684/503/744/912/original/6b0f8496e8309d22.jpeg
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2026-08-01 22:41:28 GMT

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To my surprise, I found a bin full of Amiga manuals and binders from every system I owned as a kid. Some of them are stiff and the pages stuck together, I assume from humidity since there are no stains from water damage.
The 3000T manual - aside from being dusty - is actually in really good shape.
Also, inside and under the front cover (and copious dust) is the sticker for my CommodoreExpress Gold Service. I don't recall ever utilizing it.
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2026-08-01 22:35:07 GMT

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I found the original 3000T mouse which looks as filthy and stinkbug-pooped-upon as the rest of the system.
In the process, I also found four more mice of the era. Two of them are original Amiga mice. One of them is an early three button optical mouse I had that required this annoying shiny grid pad. One of the Amiga-style mice is, I do believe, a Commodore 64/128 model 1350 mouse... but I need to inspect it more closedly to confirm that.
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2026-08-01 22:27:56 GMT

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The two hard drives I had in this beast were still there, but not screwed down or attached to what looks to be a roughly 200 ft long SCSI cable.
The drives are looking pretty filthy. Fortunately, I know why they are detached. Probably 25 or more years ago, I removed them, attached them to one of my Linux PCs with an Adaptec card and imaged the drives. I've had them bootable in emulators ever since. BlueSCSI will end up hosting those images soon.
https://mastodon.halfpress.com/system/media_attachments/files/117/022/606/833/566/983/original/9096027819f065ba.jpeg

2026-08-01 22:18:31 GMT

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The back of the machine looks... decent. I seem to be missing the front and back screws for the main side panel.
Current me has a lot of reasons today to kick past me square in the crotch. See my prior post about my A500 mysteries.
There are two missing slot covers. One I know is from the Picasso II board I regret "loaning" to someone 20+ years ago. The other empty slot is a mystery right now. Nothing I can recall would be missing.
Note the ancient ethernet card.
Niles is skeptical.
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2026-08-01 22:05:23 GMT

I'll start this as my A3000T restoration thread with some hashtags. I'll leave those off on most posts except when something is perhaps worth highlighting.
I've extricated it from the basement and quickly remembered what a complete tank this machine was. Heavy as hell.
It's pretty filthy on the outside, especially the keyboard. Anyone in the US that ever had stink bugs in their attic or basement knows what they are seeing on much of that keyboard surface.
#amiga #amiga3000t #retrocomputing
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2026-05-24 11:50:04 GMT

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I initially read that as Polish Kielbasa soda and it had strong Primus vibes for a moment…

2026-04-24 01:38:22 GMT

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Thanks for the detail! I feel like I rebuilt these long ago, but it’s been years. I’ll give them a good check soon.
Last real work I did was replacing all the old bulbs with compatible LEDs. The effect was amazing, especially during the insanity of full redocking and “condition green”. I think something is slightly off with the lights in the backdrop during attract mode, though.
Was also thrilled to find a modern replacement LED segment score display. Looks nearly original.

2026-04-24 01:15:51 GMT

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Do you have advice for measuring the feel of overall working flippers? Short of them being obviously bad, is there an early sense of decline or knowing they are short of ideal without some point of reference? The ones on my Williams Space Station function well, but should they be… stronger? Tighter?
Basically, do you just examine the parts you cited periodically or wait until something feels decidedly off?
Always been curious…

2026-03-28 14:37:12 GMT

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Here is another fun Byte archive and a unique presentation style if you've not seen it.It's a blast for browsing and I've been using it this past week to read specific articles referenced in a book on Commodore's history: https://byte.tsundoku.io

2026-02-14 13:12:35 GMT

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Always fun to think about the context where many of these older cards might have been used. Holidays and destinations are more obvious... but this one is pretty curious. Any insights?