Did I break it?

BILDOZER · Joined: Nov 06, 2007 Posts: 18 Location: Houston

I just received my first bendable toy in the mail, a Speak and Read. I was using some alligator clips to see what I could do. All of a sudden it stopped coming on. I disconnect the clips and tried to turn it on and nothing happened. Changed the batteries, same results. Can anyone help?

v-un-v · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 3:10 pm Post subject:

Keep the batteries in and just keep poking around at the board. You have to remember that these old TI toys have had some pretty serious life adventures (I mean they are 20-30 years old). Some get left in the loft, which gets cold and the boards start to deteriorate etc.

keep at it!

Oh yes, and welcome

to electro-music.com bildozer Very Happy

BILDOZER · Joined: Nov 06, 2007 Posts: 18 Location: Houston

I think I killed it. Tried fiddling around for a while and can't get anything but the normal popping sound when I put power to anything connected to the speaker. Sad

Thanks for the welcome!

Pehr · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 11:04 pm Post subject:

Maybe it's just the speaker. Try to connect it to an amp..

BILDOZER · Joined: Nov 06, 2007 Posts: 18 Location: Houston

When I hit the power button it doesn't make sound and the display doesn't light. I think I blew something. Sad

Thanks for the help though. I didn't know I could damage it with the power from the "C" batteries. I'm going to hit some pawn shops today and see if I can find a toy to replace it. Probably won't find a Speak & ______ but maybe something bendable.

Danno Gee Ray · Joined: Sep 25, 2005 Posts: 1351 Location: Telford, PA USA

Don't forget about thrift stores. Salvation army, Goodwill etc. I have found tons of good benables including speak and spell/read/maths at these places.

octatone · Joined: Nov 07, 2007 Posts: 3 Location: lovejen2

Once I thought I killed my speak and read while probing, and it turned out the batteries just lost voltage.

Razz

Did you try that Wink

blue hell · Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2007 12:00 pm Post subject:

Luka · Joined: Jun 29, 2007 Posts: 1003 Location: Melb.

did you see any little flashes of conductance from the points to your clip at all?

you really need to first work out where the power supply is at when your bending a toy, then you work around that becasue that area has the potential to fry everything else in the board.

also chuck a resistor onto the end of your clips and this will limit the charge and will help preserve the life of the toy. if you find a nice bend, then change resistor values in your probe and this will give you a good idea how to set it up later

BILDOZER · Joined: Nov 06, 2007 Posts: 18 Location: Houston

I did see some flashes in the minutes before it died on me. Thanks for the help. I'll definately take your advice with the resistors. Hopefully I will get my lazy butt out of the house tomorrow and to some second-hand stores so I can start breaking things gain Wink

. Take it easy, Luka.

salamanderanagram · Joined: Apr 08, 2007 Posts: 20 Location: VT

once i bought two speak and x's at a church sale and neither of them would turn on... after exposing the circuit board and finding where the button matrix connected to the board i was able to turn it on by connecting the 1st and 6th (i think) of those points together.

make sure it's not just a crappy power button (oddly, every other button on both of those machines works perfectly, and one even turned on the first few times i tried and then stopped working)

Luka · Joined: Jun 29, 2007 Posts: 1003 Location: Melb.

yeah i killed my matrix on my speaknspell when i was diggin out a whole to make a patch bay. whoops.

luckily i found this and build a new interface for it

http://www.sailormouth.org/index2.php?pg=membrane.inc

BILDOZER · Joined: Nov 06, 2007 Posts: 18 Location: Houston

Thanks for the tips guys. I tried what salamanderanagram said with no luck. Atleast I have learned one of the things not to do!