I’ve finally taken the jump into retrocomputing with something I’ve always wanted to own, a proper Commodore PET, or CBM 3016 to be exact!
The seller said 5 years ago when it was last turned on, that it worked perfectly fine. However I do wanna take some precautions before reawakening it. Not that something blows after all this time.
I however am still pretty new to retrocomputing and wanted to ask the experts on here, If/what I should first inspect under or over the hood before turning it on? Thanks in advance!
Get a multimeter. Open the computer. Inspect any batteries for leakage.
Measure voltage of batteries make eure they are in spec.
Inspect every capacitor, look for bulges. Use your multimeter and check for shorts across caps.
Eyeball everything else. Look for discoloration or anything out of place.