Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cornell!uw-beaver!uoregon!jdrew
From: jdrew@uoregon.uoregon.edu (James Robert Drew)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm
Subject: Re: C64 IC Failure
Message-ID: <3715@uoregon.uoregon.edu>
Date: 5 Feb 89 02:13:31 GMT
References: <435@manta.NOSC.MIL>
Reply-To: jdrew@drizzle.UUCP (James Robert Drew)
Organization: University of Oregon, Computer Science, Eugene OR
Lines: 23

As mentioned, the problem is almost certainly static electricity.  I suspect
that the grounding foil may be your best bet.  Alternatives include buying a
128, which is supposed to be less prone to the problem, and keeping a pair of
joysticks plugged in at all times.  This latter is what I do with my 128, and
I've had no problems since I got it (I got it since my 64 blew the joystick
post, got fixed, and blew a memory chip the next week).  A note on this: I have
heard of the problem arising when the computer is on and the joystick is
dropped onto a hard surface.  In addition, keeping the computer in a cool, dry
(read: low humidity) place should help, too.

***********************

Jim Drew (Crd. Xin)		     I was walking down Wall Street.  It seemed
jdrew@drizzle.cs.uoregon.edu	strange for Wall Street to be so deserted at two
				o'clock on a Friday afternoon, but, considering
				what was following me, perhaps it was not so odd
				after all.  I reached in my jacket for the .38
				I had holstered that morning, and pulled out...a
				banana.  Indeed, the eighty-foot tall fire
				hydrant chasing me was to be the least of my
				worries.
						- "Marc Lynx," detective
***********************