Trouble with first power on

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JohnH
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jan 30, 2024 4:24 pm

Trouble with first power on

Post by JohnH »

I'm having a little trouble with my Commander X16. This is the first time using it, have not had a display from the start

I have the power adapter, keyboard, and mouse from Tex Elec. When I hit the power button the power LED comes on and the blue LED on the upper right hand corner of the keyboard under the 1. Shift Lock LED isn't working. No display over VGA to a somewhat new Dell monitor and an older Dell LCD. I also tried connecting it to a LCD TV using RCA.

I've tried connecting powered speakers and hitting the Shift 40/40 key to change video mode and still no display and I don't hear any beeps.

Starting to wonder if the board is booting up fully.

Any ideas on what to check next?
JohnH
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jan 30, 2024 4:24 pm

Re: Trouble with first power on

Post by JohnH »

The keyboard light is in the upper left hand corner and I'm hitting the Shift and 40/80 Display key.
DragWx
Posts: 340
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2023 9:07 pm

Re: Trouble with first power on

Post by DragWx »

Try taking the SD card out to be sure you're going to the READY prompt and not to a program-launch menu, and then try the caps lock key, since that's definitely supposed to toggle the LED on the keyboard (don't worry about the other two LEDs). You can also try blindly entering PSGPLAY1,"C" if you'd like to generate a beep through your speakers.

If it's not giving you anything, you might want to try (carefully) pressing on each socketed IC to make sure nothing creeped out during shipping.
the_seb
Posts: 19
Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2022 3:25 pm

Re: Trouble with first power on

Post by the_seb »

did you try it inside a case or outside at the beginning ?
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Black Cardinal
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2021 5:02 pm
Location: Albany, Oregon USA

Re: Trouble with first power on

Post by Black Cardinal »

It might be worth trying another monitor. Mine didn't work with an older Sony LCD monitor I had on hand. I read somewhere that the VGA output isn't quite 100% standards-compliant, and that it's possible some monitors may not be tolerant of its signal. This proved to be true in my case. When I switched to an NEC EA232Wmi that I already had attached to another computer, it worked fine.
JohnH
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jan 30, 2024 4:24 pm

Re: Trouble with first power on

Post by JohnH »

Thanks for all of the suggestions.
I've not put it in a case yet, been running it on the anti-static bag
PSGPLAY1,"C" didn't seem to do anything
No change when pressing the Shift Lock
I've tried 4 different monitors using 2 different tested VGA cables, all LCD but different generations
.
The first time turning it on, I jumped it with the front panel connector. I was careful and haven't fried a board this way before. Hopefully this isn't the first time.
JohnH
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Jan 30, 2024 4:24 pm

Re: Trouble with first power on

Post by JohnH »

Good news. I pulled a 3rd party power supply out of an old PC and it is working! I guess there is something going on with the power adapter that came in with it. These things happen from time to time. I'm just glad it is the power adapter and not something more serious.
ImmortalDreams
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Dec 29, 2023 1:43 am

Re: Trouble with first power on

Post by ImmortalDreams »

Hey, I'm having almost exactly all the same problems as you with my cx16. None of my monitors, new or old work. No sound or keyboard response, etc. Can you please tell me, did you replace the power adapter or the power supply? Also, what would you recommend I replace mine with? Thanks!
Hanover
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2024 5:50 pm

Re: Trouble with first power on

Post by Hanover »

Mine won't power up at all. The blue light on my case comes on for a split second along with the yellow power light on the motherboard and then it just turns off.
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ahenry3068
Posts: 1131
Joined: Tue Apr 04, 2023 9:57 pm

Re: Trouble with first power on

Post by ahenry3068 »

That sounds like a power supply issue. Did you get the Power supply from Texelec or a 3rd party. ?
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