The booking thread is here: http://www.stardot.org.uk/forums/viewto ... 25&t=14128
This is an ideal opportunity for some new faces to attend. We are a very friendly bunch and anyone who attends will be made to feel welcome.
Do not feel intimidated. You do not need to be an electronics genius or a coding wizard. You just need to have an interest in Acorn related kit. If all you want to do is shoot the crap out of stuff in White Light, trust me, you will be more than welcome. Equally, if you're just interested in beer and a chat - that works as well.
There is likely to be lots of interesting, rare and odd stuff to see. There is a lot of software development going on at the moment; with two very high quality games that have been recently released: White Knight and Prince of Persia. There are all sorts of new hardware items being developed too; with the current notable highlights being BeebSCSI and VideoNULA.
Given the amount of space we have, everyone will be free to bring whatever kit they want to show off. (Although you don't have to bring kit if you don't want to.)
Although there can be no guarantees, if your Acorn kit is feeling a little poorly there is likely to be someone on hand with the skills and tools to fix it.
If you would like to come, please leave a post here: http://www.stardot.org.uk/forums/viewto ... 25&t=14128 or send me a PM. The cost for the full weekend is a very reasonable £15. There are still some rooms available at the Hotel. But they are likely to sell out soon. So don't delay if you want to stay there.
A note about re-capping
8-bit BBC Computers have paper capacitors in the power supply unit. These dry out over the years and now have a tendency to go bang with the production of some fairly spectacular foul smelling smoke. This is unlikely to cause any electronic harm to your computer, but the smell lingers and is unpleasant.
It is relatively straightforward to replace the capacitors with new equivalents. However, if you haven't had your PSU re-capped (or don't know if it has been recapped) and are reluctant to do it yourself, there will be people (myself at the very least) at ABUG who will be happy to do it for you.
If you want your PSU recapped please can you purchase and bring the necessary replacement parts with you. There are several eBay vendors who sell cheap kits. Retroclinic is well known and trusted: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/263287592196
