Summary & Current Status Physically Restored, Minimally Functional
This machine had been kept in well protected storage and was complete, in good condition. It was stripped down and cleaned, with special attenttion to the electrical connectors. The keyboard was jammed due to rubber buffers having deteriorated and fragmented. The power supply was tested with dummy loads and voltages were adjusted.
The AL-2000 is partly functional. The nixies light and display all zeros, suggesting that the basic machine and memory cycles are working. It does not respond to any keypresses and further investigation will most likely require partial or total reverse engineering.
The AL-2000 was in compete and undamaged condition. It was dismantled and all circuit boards were removed. The case was washed and the metal chassis was cleaned, the circuit boards were cleaned, the edge connectors were cleaned with pencil eraser and DeOxit. Several connector fingers had marked green corrosion and the corresponding socket locations were cleaned. The boards all appeared undamaged with no sign of overheating.
The mains wiring and earthing was carefully inspected and found to be in good condition. The mains cable was replaced with an IEC socket, this fitted nicely into the case cutout and exactly matched the existing mounting holes.
The power supply board was traced and a circuit was generated. Connectors were added to the low and high voltage sides for easy connection of dummy loads and meters. The low voltages were out of adjustment but were easily re-adjusted. The high voltages were all correct.
First power-up was successful. The nixies take some time to light and the last one or two may take up to a minute. This is probably related to the high voltages being off-spec and the ageing of components in the drivers. Since the machine otherwise works well, investigation is not a priority at present.