In my quest to restore the Commodore SX-64, my first obstacle was the lack of video signal on the internal monitor. I needed to diagnose the Commodore SX-64 video signal before I would be able to move on to any other Commodore SX-64 repairs. In this video, I will go through the process to diagnose a Commodore SX-64 blank screen and step through how to repair a Commodore SX-64 blank screen. In this video, I’ll go over how to build a DIY Commodore AV cable, how to reseat Commodore chips, and how to replace a Commodore PLA chip.

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Watch the complete Commodore SX-64 restoration here

The Commodore SX-64 keyboard is usually the first thing to fail on these old systems. As such, I need to repair the keyboard on this SX-64 restoration. To begin, I’ll need to DIY an SX-64 keyboard cable from a 25-pin serial cable. I’ll use the SX-64 replacement keyboard cable to diagnose problems with the membrane keyboard itself and resurface the SX-64 membrane keyboard. Finally, I’ll rebuild the plastic shell of the SX-64 keyboard with Bondo automotive filler in order to get the SX-64 keyboard as close to the original stock look as possible.

The Commodore 1541 floppy diskette drive is notorious for breaking down. The Commodore SX-64 floppy drive is no different. As I continue my Commodore SX-64 restoration, I find that the 1541 floppy drive doesn’t read diskettes any more and makes a chattering sound when attempting to read a disk. In this video, I walk through how to diagnose the SX-64 floppy drive as well as possible remedies before finally replacing the 1541 mechanism with a standalone drive.