deskthority

Hi,

As the title says I was wondering if any users have a spare xwhatsit converter/solenoid controller for an IBM 5251 beamspring.

Please PM me with any offers.

If I was doing a Beamspring restoration now, I’d use DMA’s common sense controller. Much more capable than Xwhatsit’s already impressive work, and easily sourced. Setup is the challenging part, though, and you’re still Xwhatsit bound when it comes to the solenoid driver.

I have some xwhatsit pcbs for sale if you want those:

Beamspring Controller

Solenoid Driver

Though, at the risk of not selling crap I'm trying to get rid of, I'd also go with CommonSense. That's how I converted my beamspring, I tried to solder up the xwhatsit controller two (three? I lost count) times, and failed every time.

Solder? Xwhatsit’s beamspring controller just slides on in. His Model F controller is the one that needs soldered, as IBM had gone that way with their hardware too.

Muirium wrote: ↑

25 Sep 2019, 20:29

Solder? Xwhatsit’s beamspring controller just slides on in. His Model F controller is the one that needs soldered, as IBM had gone that way with their hardware too.

He’s selling blank PCBs, that require all components to be hand soldered....

Oh. Hmm. Shouldn’t those PCBs be “reflowed” in an oven, rather than soldered at all? Perhaps I just don’t understand the jargon.

I remember Xwhatsit schooling us on how easy reflowing was: quicker and more reliable than hand soldering, when you have the kit. But I was still pleased to let him look after that side of things when I got my Beamspring and Model F controllers from him!

Muirium wrote: ↑

25 Sep 2019, 19:51

If I was doing a Beamspring restoration now, I’d use DMA’s common sense controller. Much more capable than Xwhatsit’s already impressive work, and easily sourced. Setup is the challenging part, though, and you’re still Xwhatsit bound when it comes to the solenoid driver.

Ideally I'd like something that slides in and does not require manual soldering or wiring. I've looked at the common sense controller instructions and found that most of it just flies right over my head.

A lot of people find soldering with a solder paste and a hot air gun (or in the oven) method easier than hand soldering each component one at a time. It’s a matter of personal choice and what one is at ease with.