Tools:
- A power drill with 9/32 drill bit
- 2 nylon bolts and nuts (see photos below)
- Some temporary non-destructive white velcro (cut to size)
Several years ago I found out about a woman in Colorado who had a very good condition 1084S monitor for sale. After some emails back and forth, she agreed to ship it to me for a fair price. The monitor was only $100; it was a total bargain. I couldn't believe my luck!
About a week later a box arrived on my doorstep. To my horror the shipping box had virtually no padding on the inside and the monitor was able to just flop around in there. What had once been a pristine and near-mint 1084S - one of the best Commodore monitors ever made (imo) - was now a very nice working monitor with a totally destroyed tray system. The true bane of so many Commodore monitor designs.
My damage specifically included:
- A sheared off left hinge on the monitor case (not the tray)
- A sheared off right hinge on the monitor case
- A broken off latch on the tray side.
I tried everything over the years: multiple brands of Super Glue on the monitor posts (nope!), epoxy (nope!), you name it (nope!). Also, I 3D printed the tray latch but it would simply pop off after a few uses.
Ultimately, I accepted defeat and have been using masking tape for a long time now. But then last week at the 14th meetup of the Seattle Commodore Computer Club (SEA-CCC), one of the members brought his own 1084S in as part of his hardware setup. I mentioned how jealous I was when I saw his tray door was attached all snug as a bug. That's when he showed me his secret: his monitor's posts had been snapped off as well, and he'd drilled a hole in order to put a small bolt and nut through. And it was solid metal! I was completely fooled, and it made me wonder if I could find a color-matched option.
The following is the repair I made. At my local hardware store, there is a small section of nylon threaded nuts and bolts. I found the following: Next was the tricky part. I had to look at the inside of the monitor and measure where I believed the center of the post would be on the outside of the case. And I needed to do this for the (Gasp! Gnashing of teeth! Pretentious finger wagging!) drill.
Using masking tape, a bright light and a Crayola marker, I traced the outline of the monitor and put a blue dot where I believed I needed to drill the plastic housing. The blue ink is not permanent, and easily washes off if you make a mistake. And, just pressing the tape to the monitor will leave a dot where you want it if you've got things aligned correctly. This step took some patience and care. WIN!