Commander X16

Hello all.
I'm having trouble with my X16 Developer's Edition getting a picture and audio. For the picture, I've tried two different monitors for VGA (A slightly older Dell widescreen from around 2013, I think? and an Acer from 2007) as well as trying to get it into composite mode with my LG widescreen TV. The computer definitely turns on as both the power and power supply LEDs (power supply ATX picoPSU from Texelec) are on when it's plugged in. As for audio, I've used my Logitech Z200 speakers and tried using SHIFT+40/80 to see if it made a sound for switching to Composite, S-Video, etc., and got nothing. I know for sure it's not the keyboard, as I've done CTRL+ALT+DELETE to reset it and that works. I know the VGA isn't exactly compliant, but is there anything else I can do?
More info:
My board's DAC socket has a manufacturing defect where it wasn't soldered in correctly (will get this fixed in the future). If this is the issue, I have no clue why it would affect the video.
I have not tried another picoPSU power supply other than the one Texelec sells, though I might try that next.
I have tried a different power adapter with no change in the results.
I even tried taking out the "upgrades" that Texelec provides and still no change
Do I just have a defective board or something?

The VERA board (with the SD card slot and the video port) is responsible for the video, the PSG audio, and the SD card interface, so if it isn't working correctly (or maybe not seated properly?), none of that will work. You said your DAC socket (for the YM3012?) was bad, so that eliminates audio from the FM chip.

At this point, the only way I can think of to see if the board is making it all the way to BASIC is, try typing "POWEROFF" and pressing enter; your X16 should turn itself off.

Two replies from Discord, so far:

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MooingLemur — 2:52 PM
sounds like it's coming out of reset since Ctrl+Alt+Del works. Long-press power might yield whether the CPU is running code out of ROM as it should slow blink the activity light as it tests low RAM, even before it initializes VERA.
if VERA is not coming out of reset or is otherwise not working, the diag will hang at that point.
if the slow blink doesn't happen, re-seat CPU and ROM in their sockets.
Another test could be to see whether caps lock toggles the keyboard light on a normal boot (not a long-press diag boot)

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Stefan Jakobsson — 3:00 PM
Verify that JP1 is not closed
Remove battery if installed

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Just to explain my suggestions a bit further.

JP1 is a pair of jumper pins on the VERA board. They are only used while programming the firmware of the VERA. If a jumper is installed at JP1, VERA will not be able to initialize, and you get no video. There's a label on the PCB near JP1, so it's easy to find. Ensure that nothing connects the pins together before you start the computer.

On boot, the Kernal reads some settings from the battery backed NVRAM. Remove the 3.3V coin cell battery, and also disconnect the computer from power for a minute or so. That should clear NVRAM, in the unlikely event some values therein prevent to computer from booting properly.

Stefan wrote: ↑Sat Mar 29, 2025 8:21 am

JP1 is a pair of jumper pins on the VERA board. They are only used while programming the firmware of the VERA. If a jumper is installed at JP1, VERA will not be able to initialize, and you get no video.

Ah, yeah I've had a jumper on there since day 1. I'll try it without a jumper to see if anything works well

Good news, it works now. I had the JP1 closed since day 1 and that's what was giving me trouble. probably should have looked at the documents a little more closely about it.