Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: Oldsmobile_Mike on July 25, 2013, 04:09:17 AM
-
After being an Amiga fan and user for 20 years I've finally gotten my own A2000, hoarders and price gougers be damned, ha! ;) Of course it's got some issues and I'm sure I'll be swamping the forums with hardware questions any day now, but first the specs:
- A2000, Rev. 6 motherboard, full ECS including 2MB Megachip
- GVP GeForce '040, 16MB memory
- AD516 sound card
- Pair of hard drives of undetermined size or condition
It appears the monitor (even though double packed inside boxes) didn't survive the journey, no flicker of life at all on the screen when I power it up, but the best I can tell the Amiga itself is working, i.e., it responds to keyboard reset commands, caps lock key lights up, trackball lights up when you roll it around, also it came with one of those C= silver VGA adapters and when I hook it up to a standard VGA monitor it displays a sync error... all to be expected. Will know more once I've had a chance to bring in a working 1084 from home, but I'm confident the system itself is working and the monitor, eh, not a big deal. Maybe a loose solder joint? It's the Amiga I really wanted out of the deal, however. ;)
First questions:
- Has the usual battery damage. I plan on snipping it out very soon here, and I know the topic has been covered ad nauseum, but what's a quick tip to clean up around this area based on the attached photo?
- How do the keys come out? The left Alt key is broken off and part of it appears to be stuck inside the springy rubber piece. I'd like to pull this out and superglue it back together but don't want to damage it further. On my A500 the keys just pop off for the most part. Same on an A2000 keyboard? ---------------- Disregard, I managed to pull the broken bit out with pliers and superglued it back together. Cake!
Ack, and I already forget what my third question was. Oh well, it was pretty marvelous opening the original C= box today to receive her! :)
-
Oh, I can confirm that the A2000 is working now! Just hooked it up via it's composite output to a TV. Awesome! :) The WORK: hard drive is bad, but big woop, I'd planned on replacing these anyway, it's booting into Workbench off it's primary drive. :)
-
Very nice! The A2000 is nice to have a cd-rom internal and of course, you can get the Amber card flicker fixer and use it with LCD monitors.
I like the A2000, big solid and easy to work on!
You got a nice machine, 32bit ram on 040 accelerator... nice :)
Az
-
Hi Mike,
Congrats! The 2000 is the hardiest of all the big box Amiga's. That being said you really need to attend to the battery damage.
Definitely remove the battery with a nice accurate cutter.
Pull the motherboard, all socketed chips, and neutralize the battery acid (with Apple vinegar or citrus).
Wash it with distilled water.
Dry it off.
I put baking soda on the are and let it sit, then rewash the board.
Lastly I use radio shacks circuit board cleaner to clean all slot connecters and sockets. (nasty stuff, spray outside).
Put back together and enjoy. One thing to be concerned with is to very thoroughly try to neutralize the acid, the Amiga MB are sandwich boards and corrosion can still destroy traces.
-
Good!!
Just remove this ugly Varta battery, and pray that the acid has not attack the board too much...
-
Congrats. Rev6, 040 Accelerator and 16bit sound card. Good get!
Hope you have lots of fun putting it back together. Any mild cleaner and old tooth brush will remove the alkaline that's leaked from the NiCad. Don't use vinegar cos it stinks. Warm water with a mild detergent will do. If there's any remaining corrosion WD40 or RP7 on a cotton bud (q-tip?) should clear it. You might need a scraper/pin/jewellers screwdriver to carefully scratch any corrosion from metal parts. Don't scrape the mboard or tracks unless you know what your doing.
You might want to check the connections on the front right of the 68000 pins and socket, as they are fairly close to the battery and can sometimes get corroded
Make sure everything is wiped and fully dry before reassembling.
You can use a hair dryer on cold or warm (not hot) and low speed. Keep it a fair way back to reduce the possibility of static build up.
I remember doing this. Ahh it's fun bringing the old girls back to life.
Pity about the monitor it looks in great physical condition.
Congrats again.
-
I think you will like the A2000 - specially with an '040 in it. These things are tanks. I still have one that gets used every day.
It's a shame NCAUG doesn't still meet. They were a big help in may ways.
-
I have a idea, lets form a Amiga group in the DC/MD area, I have 4 A2000 and a lot of extra stuff, I just can not find anybody who speaks Amiga. Any takers?
-
Congrats Mike ! I'm sure you'll have tons of fun with it :)
-
I have a idea, lets form a Amiga group in the DC/MD area, I have 4 A2000 and a lot of extra stuff, I just can not find anybody who speaks Amiga. Any takers?
I am also in the DC metro area (live in Silver Spring but work in DC). I might be interested in reviving a users group in our area. I also have a A2000 as a A2500 plus others (see sig).
-
@motrucker, @Bigbronc, @rdolores - that would be great! I know there's at least a couple more still semi-active Amiga users in our area, and I remember going to a few of the old NCAUG meetings. Of course they were mostly on days that I already had something scheduled (of all the luck), but my favorite was when they had a booth at the old Fairfax Fair with an A3000 & a Toaster, doing fades & wipes and "Star Trek beam-ups" on people as they walked by. Ah, good old days, must've been around 1995-ish?
What would you guys propose?
-
Frighteningly close to my own system, Mike.
But I think I use the floppy emulator more often than the hard drive.
-
But I think I use the floppy emulator more often than the hard drive.
I never really "got" the idea of a floppy emulator. What do you use it for so much? On my A500 All my games are on WHDLoad on a partition of my CF card, and when I need to transfer files from my PC I just burn them to a rewriteable CD. Couldn't think of a single reason why I'd need a floppy emulator?
-
I never really "got" the idea of a floppy emulator. What do you use it for so much? On my A500 All my games are on WHDLoad on a partition of my CF card, and when I need to transfer files from my PC I just burn them to a rewriteable CD. Couldn't think of a single reason why I'd need a floppy emulator?
No need for CDs is one advantage.
Storing my files directly on my PC is another.
Why transfer when they are already stored there/
-
LOL. I think this is the first time I've ever found a use for "Productivity" mode. ;) After tweaking the colors and screen placement a bit (after I took this picture, unfortunately), it doesn't look half bad!
-
@motrucker, @Bigbronc, @rdolores - that would be great! I know there's at least a couple more still semi-active Amiga users in our area, and I remember going to a few of the old NCAUG meetings. Of course they were mostly on days that I already had something scheduled (of all the luck), but my favorite was when they had a booth at the old Fairfax Fair with an A3000 & a Toaster, doing fades & wipes and "Star Trek beam-ups" on people as they walked by. Ah, good old days, must've been around 1995-ish?
What would you guys propose?
If its a small group, we can meet in our homes. Anything larger, maybe a school if we can get some kind of non-profit group status. Tuesday & Thursday evenings are best from me. We may be able to get some Baltimore area people too.
-
@motrucker, @Bigbronc, @rdolores - that would be great! I know there's at least a couple more still semi-active Amiga users in our area, and I remember going to a few of the old NCAUG meetings. Of course they were mostly on days that I already had something scheduled (of all the luck), but my favorite was when they had a booth at the old Fairfax Fair with an A3000 & a Toaster, doing fades & wipes and "Star Trek beam-ups" on people as they walked by. Ah, good old days, must've been around 1995-ish?
What would you guys propose?
I live in Edgewater (just outside of Annapolis) but don't drive much these days. I would find some way to a meeting though, if something can be put together. I'm all for it.
Our old group ended up meeting at Libraries. That was free. Or members homes - I would think a place to meet would not be a problem.
-
Ok, first thing, we will be a small group, so meeting at a school or some place is overkill. I think we should meet and greet someplace, then plan at our houses after that. It just so happens I have a yacht in Baltimore, so I am offering a day on the water to talk about forming a retro computer club, maybe more than Amigas in the future. PM me with your contact info and a few dates that you would like to meet; I will collect the dates and find a date we all can connect with; we meet for the first time on the boat. From there we can set any future meets and what not.
-
What Kickstart chips are in it Mike?
I just sent Iggy a nicely configured and optimized up the wazoo 3.9 boot drive archived as an LHA for his A2000/040. I could send it to you too if you like?
-
@ Oldsmobile_mike
An idea on the battery. I have my battery mounted off the motherboard in a small plastic case velcroed to the front inside. It makes motherboard damage almost impossible, and changing the battery a snap - just soldering a couple of wires. I bought this machine like this, but kept this idea alive.
-
Ok, first thing, we will be a small group, so meeting at a school or some place is overkill. I think we should meet and greet someplace, then plan at our houses after that. It just so happens I have a yacht in Baltimore, so I am offering a day on the water to talk about forming a retro computer club, maybe more than Amigas in the future. PM me with your contact info and a few dates that you would like to meet; I will collect the dates and find a date we all can connect with; we meet for the first time on the boat. From there we can set any future meets and what not.
Is this idea gaining any traction. I wish I could do more to help, but I think it's a great idea.
-
Hey @ A2000 experts! Finally having a chance to get back to this. I pulled the battery and scrubbed the area for about 30 minutes with a combination of toothbrush, Q-tips, soap, Radio Shack electronics cleaner, WD-40, etc. It's sitting in front of a fan drying out right now, which is why it looks a little wet still in this picture. Does this result look typical of the process or should I work on it longer? I can't seem to get it to be any "less green". On the bright side the corrosion doesn't appear to have gotten into my 68000 socket, oh, and it's a 6.4 board, I found the sticker when I pulled it out to clean it. W00t. :)
-
a little more alcohol on it wont hurt :)
-
That was the one thing I forgot to list - alcohol. Putting a little more of that on there now, and then one for me afterward! ;)
-
If you guys are starting a DC/Metro area group I would definitely also be interested as I live in the area :)
-
If you guys are starting a DC/Metro area group I would definitely also be interested as I live in the area :)
I would love to! Just not sure what's centrally located enough, or how far people would be willing to travel? My office moved to Gainesville earlier this year. It's right off Rt. 66 just west of Manassas. On the downside it's a hike for the Maryland folks. On the upside I've got several decent-sized IT work tables and plenty of monitors, power, tools, etc.
I don't think anyone would want to come to my crappy basement apartment off Craigslist, LOL. ;)
-
I am also in the DC metro area (live in Silver Spring but work in DC). I might be interested in reviving a users group in our area. I also have a A2000 as a A2500 plus others (see sig).
I am in Alexandria, VA - just outside DC. I might just be interested in forming a group. Last Amiga user group I properly belonged to was ALFA - the Amigoid Life Forms Association in Hampton, VA back in the early '90s. :-)
bp
-
I am in Alexandria, VA - just outside DC. I might just be interested in forming a group. Last Amiga user group I properly belonged to was ALFA - the Amigoid Life Forms Association in Hampton, VA back in the early '90s. :-)
Ha, you might be more centrally located than I am... although everyone is more than welcome to come out to my office in Gainesville (!!), and then we'd all get to see that A1000 you've been working on! ;)
-
I keep searching for A2000s on eBay, but I can't help worrying what kind of upgrades they can't accept. Can they be upgraded to AGA at all? If not, then that's quite disappointing.
-
They can't be upgraded to AGA, no - there are just too many differences. But you can use an RTG graphics card, so you only would need AGA for games.
-
I suppose you could always stick an A1200 motherboard inside a 2000, that might be interesting and would probably fit pretty well... but sort of defeat the purpose, LOL. :p
A2000's are great though, love them for what they are. Of course mine is all in pieces right now being restored, but I can't wait to have it running again, haha. ;)
-
I suppose you could always stick an A1200 motherboard inside a 2000, that might be interesting and would probably fit pretty well... but sort of defeat the purpose, LOL. :p
A2000's are great though, love them for what they are. Of course mine is all in pieces right now being restored, but I can't wait to have it running again, haha. ;)
Would an ATX mobo fit?
I'm thinking an AmigaOne flavour or even an old P3 running Amithlon. :)
-
Would an ATX mobo fit?
Actually since I have mine open right next to me I can tell you. Internal dimensions measure just under 17" from left-to-right, and just under 14-1/4" front-to-back. Sorry European folks, you're going to have to convert that on your own. :p
I'm a Dell shop here and don't have any ATX motherboards handy, but I set one of Dell's proprietary BTX boards in... it looked kind of rediculous though, also the slots are on the wrong side, haha. ;)
-
Would an ATX mobo fit?
I'm thinking an AmigaOne flavour or even an old P3 running Amithlon. :)
There's more than enough room, BUT - why in the world would anyone want to?
-
Actually since I have mine open right next to me I can tell you. Internal dimensions measure just under 17" from left-to-right, and just under 14-1/4" front-to-back. Sorry European folks, you're going to have to convert that on your own. :p
I'm a Dell shop here and don't have any ATX motherboards handy, but I set one of Dell's proprietary BTX boards in... it looked kind of rediculous though, also the slots are on the wrong side, haha. ;)
Of course, you mean just under 43cm from left to right and just under 36.2cm front to back, where the formula is multiply the Inches by 2.54, as everyone should know. This system is used all over the World, but some people haven't caught up yet!
BTW, I was interested when I read in another recent post of yours that no one would want to have an Amiga meeting in your "Craig's List" type apartment, which is in a basement. I think you could benefit from getting someone from Craig's List, LETS (Local Exchange Trading Systems), or Parecon (Participatory Economics) to come round and tidy it up. My flat is 31.22 square metres, but since having someone from LETS come to tidy it up, I've felt for the first time that I could hold some kind of meeting here with about 3 or 4 people including me. Of course, you'll have to learn how big 31.22 square metres is and then measure your flat in metres to see how it compares. In the German soap opera Lindenstrasse which you can watch on http://www.lindenstrasse.de , they've said that they think 40 square metres is too small to live in, or too small for a couple. In the main building at Lindenstrasse 3, where most of the main characters live, they have a "Hobby Keller" (Hobby Cellar) where they can do various activities such as band practice (i.e. a modern music group of 3 or 4 people), so it seems like that may be the kind of place you're living in. Perhaps you could find somewhere else in another building with a "Hobby Cellar". Here in London, there are often Residents' Halls attached to buildings or estates which can be used for various activities.
I don't think I could have an Amiga meeting here, though, because I haven't met any Amiga enthusiasts from London recently. I think it's more likely to be a meeting about home brewing or distilling and running moonshine!
-
A little more progress on this project, waiting for bits to come in from Newegg, AmigaKit, etc., is making me bite my nails, just have a couple easy questions:
1 - Thoughts on the GeForce 040 - should I run it with the little metal cover on or off? I'm sure GVP knew what they were doing when they put it on there, right? ;) *wink wink* Offhand I'm guessing better RF protection and lower noise on, but better airflow off. Will probably go with "off".
2 - A really nice member on this board gave me a box full of old A2000 bits he no longer needed, including a BSC/Alfa Data "Tandem" card. I'm considering various things that I might be able to do with this card including resurrect some data from my old A1200 IDE hard drives (3.5", so I won't need any adapters), or adding an IDE-to-CF adapter for transferring files. Anyone have any experience with this "Tandem" card? Not concerned about speed, just compatibility with "large-ish" hard drives and CF cards? :)
Thanks!!!
-
A little more progress on this project, waiting for bits to come in from Newegg, AmigaKit, etc., is making me bite my nails, just have a couple easy questions:
1 - Thoughts on the GeForce 040 - should I run it with the little metal cover on or off? I'm sure GVP knew what they were doing when they put it on there, right? ;) *wink wink* Offhand I'm guessing better RF protection and lower noise on, but better airflow off. Will probably go with "off".
..
Thanks!!!
Mine runs in cover off mode. I had to replace the fan and the new one was half a mill higher than the cover.
-
@ Olds Mike
Back when I had a GVP '040, I didn't even get the top to that can. Ran it for about 2 years with no trouble.
-
That "cover" on the Gvp board is an RF Shield afaik you can run it no problem like that.
-
@ Oldsmobile_Mike (http://www.amiga.org/forums/member.php?u=1043)
Have you added a CD-ROM/DVD drive yet? It allows access to some old games, and loads of magazine CDs, and art work. An easy upgrade, and all internal in the A2000.
-
Of course. CD-RW drive is already mounted. :) Just received my replacement battery kit from AmigaKit today, need to get that soldered in and then everything put back together. I also rewired a 3-speed Antec fan to work inside the power supply (with the speed selector switch mounted on the back of the PSU), am looking online for round cables at the moment plus a few other bits. And case lights - I know some people hate 'em, but she's gonna be blue, hehe. :D
-
That should be a really nice A2000. Mine is sorta like yours, except that it has a GVP 030 card, and I'm using 3.5. I tried 3.9, and found to much of a memory hog, so I went back to 3.5OS.
So, Case lights huh? You'll have post a photo of that......
-
It's very much a work in progress still. Here's a pic of the PSU while I was testing the new fan. ;)
Of course it looks like AmigaKit is sold out again on the Indivision ECS. Rats, and they just got some in a few days ago. Should've ordered sooner! :-/
-
It's very much a work in progress still. Here's a pic of the PSU while I was testing the new fan. ;)
Of course it looks like AmigaKit is sold out again on the Indivision ECS. Rats, and they just got some in a few days ago. Should've ordered sooner! :-/
You most likely will have to pre-order the SD/FF. I am still using a Microway AGA 2000. Not the best, but it works fine with CRT monitors.
-
Amiga 2000 restoration project coming along nicely. Still needs a lot of work but at least it's running again. Yes, it is packed full of blue LED's, and the trackball lights up red when you spin it. Dork-dork-dork. ;)
Unfortunately it seems that even after cleaning the heck out of my motherboard and installing one of those AmigaKit coin battery adapters, it's not keeping time. I can set the time and save it, but when I turn it off and back on again the time just comes up to whatever it was that I originally set it at (like it's stuck in the past), or occasionally some random time. I'm going to try to check it a little more, but on the off-chance does anyone have a 6.4 or 6.5 motherboard with no battery damage they'd like to sell? It can be completely stripped of chips because I've already got all those, but an undamaged late revision would be nice, or tips to repair this one? I've got a spare 4.4 that works but would rather not step back to such an older one just for a working clock, LOL. ;) Thanks!!
-
You really don't want to use the 4.x motherboard. It will drive you crazy. Try trouble shooting what you have first. Do you have a good schematic?
If not, DLH may well have one on line.
Good luck....
-
......
Unfortunately it seems that even after cleaning the heck out of my motherboard and installing one of those AmigaKit coin battery adapters, it's not keeping time. I can set the time and save it, but when I turn it off and back on again the time just comes up to whatever it was that I originally set it at (like it's stuck in the past), or occasionally some random time. I'm going to try to check it a little more, but on the off-chance does anyone have a 6.4 or 6.5 motherboard with no battery damage they'd like to sell? It can be completely stripped of chips because I've already got all those, but an undamaged late revision would be nice, or tips to repair this one? I've got a spare 4.4 that works but would rather not step back to such an older one just for a working clock, LOL. ;) Thanks!!
Don't think its necessary to revert to an older MB just for the clock.
Key point is: If your machine is keeping time fine when it is running then there is nothing wrong with the RTC. It is most likely that the RTC chip isn't happy with 3v battery of the replacement 2032 kit. If you have an old portable phone battery 3.6v you might try that. My old A2000 was fine with a 3v coin battery but my new one isn't. The RTC needs 3.6 v. 3v only is sometimes not enough in my experience.
You've done heaps of good work don't throw it away. Try one of these first:http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-LIR2032-LITHIUM-ION-3-6V-RECHARGEABLE-COIN-CELL-BIOS-BACKUP-CMOS-BATTERY-/140705458330?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20c2b2e89a. If that doesn't work check the continuity of the tracks from the RTC chip to the battery.
-
The chip needs just about 2.2V - my first A500 memory board had just a 2.4V Varta battery and worked for years.
-
Don't think its necessary to revert to an older MB just for the clock.
Key point is: If your machine is keeping time fine when it is running then there is nothing wrong with the RTC. It is most likely that the RTC chip isn't happy with 3v battery of the replacement 2032 kit. If you have an old portable phone battery 3.6v you might try that. My old A2000 was fine with a 3v coin battery but my new one isn't. The RTC needs 3.6 v. 3v only is sometimes not enough in my experience.
You've done heaps of good work don't throw it away. Try one of these first:http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-LIR2032-LITHIUM-ION-3-6V-RECHARGEABLE-COIN-CELL-BIOS-BACKUP-CMOS-BATTERY-/140705458330?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20c2b2e89a. If that doesn't work check the continuity of the tracks from the RTC chip to the battery.
Hi i Had the same Problem with the coin battery from amigakit with my A2000 it turn out that if heated to long when soldering the track at the back of the coin cell on the board looses contact which might have happened to you as well,i had to by a new one and use a very short solder time to make sure i didn,t damage the back of the coin battery board, which i think is what happened in you case i hope, check the tracks from the soldering points for the battery on the motherboard to the rtc clock if they have no breaks then its the coin battery that is defect. GOOD LUCK.
-
... If you have an old portable phone battery 3.6v you might try that.
If that doesn't work check the continuity of the tracks from the RTC chip to the battery.
I use rechargeable 3.6VDC phone batteries, too. I remotely mount them so they can't damage the MB if they leak. Food for thought.
Are you handy with a meter?
-
Hi Mike,
Pull the motherboard, all socketed chips, and neutralize the battery acid (with Apple vinegar or citrus).
Wash it with distilled water.
Dry it off.
I put baking soda on the are and let it sit, then rewash the board.
I can see the Baking Soda (it's alkaline--should neutralize acid), but Vinegar or citrus? Those are, themselves, acidic in nature.
Maybe a little distilled water with the Baking Soda to make a paste and then gently clean it (light scrub) with a soft, soft toothbrush.
-
It's very much a work in progress still. Here's a pic of the PSU while I was testing the new fan. ;)
Of course it looks like AmigaKit is sold out again on the Indivision ECS. Rats, and they just got some in a few days ago. Should've ordered sooner! :-/
(Jim Carrey voice) "The fan is BLUE!... The freakin' fan...is...BLUE!"
:roflmao:
-
Unfortunately it seems that even after cleaning the heck out of my motherboard and installing one of those AmigaKit coin battery adapters, it's not keeping time. I can set the time and save it, but when I turn it off and back on again the time just comes up to whatever it was that I originally set it at (like it's stuck in the past)
An Amiga stuck in the past? Whoever heard of such a thing?
Oh. Wait...nevermind (runs) :D
-
I can see the Baking Soda (it's alkaline--should neutralize acid), but Vinegar or citrus? Those are, themselves, acidic in nature.
Maybe a little distilled water with the Baking Soda to make a paste and then gently clean it (light scrub) with a soft, soft toothbrush.
NiCad batteries contain acid?
Nickel Hydroxide plate, cadmium electrode and alkaline electrode. Not sure what's doing the oozing but it's obviously corrosive (oxidizes.) i'm not sure there's anything in there that's an acid though.
But baking soda is a great cleaner for acids or bases in any case and it doesn't stink.
As long as you remove any residue. Your teeth are a good example of how good it is.
@Zipper. My experience with A2000s has taught me that sometimes 3v just aint enough. But I'd check the RTC chip with a volt meter to see what voltage is getting to it from the battery. As it might be the battery, socket, bad solder joint, bad track, or a partial short that is causing the problem.
-
Mike
Do you need an A2000 schematic?
I have the one for Rev 6. It's 12 pages!
-
Thanks everyone!
@gertsy - I ordered two of those batteries today. Fingers crossed that that's all I need!
@Lozspd4 - Ugh, I hope I don't have that problem! Although I'll admit to leaving the soldering iron on there a bit long, I wanted to make sure it was solid. :( On the bright side I ordered two of the AmigaKit battery kits "just in case"(TM), so I have a spare.
@Tenacious - schematics would be great! Do you have them somewhere I could download, or can you email them to me at ******@**********? The only ones I've been able to find online so-far are ones for the A4000, which have been less than helpful. :-/
If the replacement battery doesn't solve the problem it sounds like it's time to pull the board again and check the trace going from the battery to the clock chip. I'm assuming it's just one line somewhere, and once I've identified that I should just be able to measure for 3V at whatever pin on the clock chip, correct? And if I'm getting less than that, or no voltage, and the AmigaKit kit isn't the problem, I can just run a bypass wire? Seems simple enough. :D
**shakes my fist at the sky in the direction of C= designers who went with these leaky batteries, LOL**
-
On an interesting side note, I notice the PCD-60B card reader in my A500 is getting about 2100K/sec with a 133x Transcend 4GB card in a GVP sidecar, and the PCD-60B in my A2000 is only getting about 1700K/sec with a 600x Transcend 8GB card hooked up directly to my 040 board. Still need to troubleshoot that down and check my MaxTransfer and buffers, etc., as I'd expected the 2000 to be much faster. Of course my 040 card is also running an older version of the GVP ROM, just received the latest ROM from TJLazer today, need to put that in and see if it helps. It did in my A500. :)
-
@Tenacious - schematics would be great! Do you have them somewhere I could download, or can you email them to me at CompTechMike at gmail dot com? The only ones I've been able to find online so-far are ones for the A4000, which have been less than helpful. :-/
**shakes my fist at the sky in the direction of C= designers who went with these leaky batteries, LOL**
Mike
We only had time to scan the 8th page for now. If something else is vital to your project, we can scan that too. Soon, I hope to scan the whole thing and upload it to some place logical.
-
Got it, thanks! :) That definitely will help if I need to start tearing her back down.
Another side note - it looks U801 Buster has a pin labeled "_BEER"? Oh you silly, silly C= engineers. ;)
-
Indivision ECS arrived today so I figured I'd check the battery while I had her open again. If I understand the diagram Tenacious sent correctly this is a fairly simple circuit (keeping in mind I'm no electrical engineer). Voltage should flow from the two positive terminals on the battery through the resistor at R803 and into the U801 clock chip. I'm assuming the clock chip needs 3V, or close to it. Actually the factory battery is marked as 3.6V on the diagram.
So with my multimeter I measured 2.9 volts directly between battery positive terminal and case ground, and 2.63 between R803 and ground. If I understand correctly this is telling me I've got some degradation in the voltage along those tracks, but not much. So logically thinking, If I put in one of those higher output batteries I should be fine, what do you guys think? Or am I just totally off-base? Haha. ;)
*disclaimer - am sure I'll wind up frying something! ;)
-
Good Day,
When I bought my A2000HD the battery was starting to leak. I pulled the board out and then the battery. Once cleaned up I soldered a shielded wire (overkill) to extend the battery leads to a small board with a plug and and a new Varta battery. Screwed with standoffs behind the LED assy. Tidy and can't touch the board, a rev 6.2.
-
Your dropping some voltage across R803. Gertsy may be right about the coin batteries not really having enough volts for this chip (same chip as other Amiga models?).
You might try the neg probe (carefully!) on pin 9 to ensure your not reading a drop thru the case.
IIRC, the coin batteries are not rechargable like the original. Is there a diode in this kit to prevent charging while powered ON? Does it replace R803?
-
Grats on your purchase!! Looks tidy and minimal acid damage!
-
......
So with my multimeter I measured 2.9 volts directly between battery positive terminal and case ground, and 2.63 between R803 and ground. If I understand correctly this is telling me I've got some degradation in the voltage along those tracks, but not much.....
Hmmm that's sus. If I get you right there's a drop in voltage between the battery and the RTC chip. There shouldn't be. The voltage should be the same at both ends of the track. If you can test the voltage at the solder joint where the battery enclosure positive terminal is connected to the track, that will tell you where the problem is. It's possibly a short on the track or something wrong with the Amigakit coin battery unit. (Could be the diode has fried from overheating).
Testing voltages with the power off isn't going to fry anything as long as you are careful with the metal probe points so that you don't short between tracks or components. Which is fairly hard to do but can be done if you're a little clumsy.
-
Well, no love from my A2000 clock yet. The new LIR batteries arrived (thankfully I ordered two - one arrived DOA!), but the other read a solid 3.6V on the battery itself, and 3.31V at the resistor. I checked this on my spare A2000 board and noticed there's also about a .3V drop between those two points, so I'm sort of thinking this is normal?
Anyhow, set the clock and left it off overnight, and it's still showing the wrong time. I'm suspecting my clock chip must be toast, any thoughts? I'm not really adept enough with soldering to replace the clock chip, wonder if it's time to ship it off to someone else? *sigh* Should I check pin 9 for continuity to ground? Am not 100% positive on which is pin 9, I think it's the top-right when facing the front of the system?
I also tried a variety of "setclock reset" and "setclock save" commands from the shell, just in case it was something in WB that was knackered.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Also, why the bloody he** is OS3.9 so slow? I don't remember it taking close to 3 minutes to boot up on my old A1200 back in the day, and I sure didn't have an 040 in my A1200! Icons load at a glacial pace, and all I've got is a fresh install with all the Boing Bags, Visual Prefs, Full Palette (to use the Rebel 16-color palette), FBlit, and BlazeWCP. I've already removed AmiDock. Seems like the more patches I put in to try to speed things up the slower it goes, might have to revert back to MagicWB icons, LOL. :p
-
Well, no love from my A2000 clock yet. The new LIR batteries arrived (thankfully I ordered two - one arrived DOA!), but the other read a solid 3.6V on the battery itself, and 3.31V at the resistor. I checked this on my spare A2000 board and noticed there's also about a .3V drop between those two points, so I'm sort of thinking this is normal?
Anyhow, set the clock and left it off overnight, and it's still showing the wrong time. I'm suspecting my clock chip must be toast, any thoughts? I'm not really adept enough with soldering to replace the clock chip, wonder if it's time to ship it off to someone else? *sigh* Should I check pin 9 for continuity to ground? Am not 100% positive on which is pin 9, I think it's the top-right when facing the front of the system?
I also tried a variety of "setclock reset" and "setclock save" commands from the shell, just in case it was something in WB that was knackered.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Also, why the bloody he** is OS3.9 so slow? I don't remember it taking close to 3 minutes to boot up on my old A1200 back in the day, and I sure didn't have an 040 in my A1200! Icons load at a glacial pace, and all I've got is a fresh install with all the Boing Bags, Visual Prefs, Full Palette (to use the Rebel 16-color palette), FBlit, and BlazeWCP. I've already removed AmiDock. Seems like the more patches I put in to try to speed things up the slower it goes, might have to revert back to MagicWB icons, LOL. :p
Get the schematics out and trace connectivity to each pin on the clock chip from agnus or wherever it's supposed to connect. It could be the variable cap affected by corrosion as well - you could probably take one from a 500 memory expansion.
-
Get the schematics out and trace connectivity to each pin on the clock chip from agnus or wherever it's supposed to connect. It could be the variable cap affected by corrosion as well - you could probably take one from a 500 memory expansion.
Good idea. As a cross check, chip pins are numbered counter-clockwise (looking down on the component side of the board) around the body from pin 1, which is the next pin after the notch.
You could confirm power to the chip while powered up.
You are certain there is no moisture remaining under this chip? Check continuity from pin to pin and cross check to the schematic.
EDIT:
With a scope or possibly a logic probe, you could test for a pulse train out of Y800.
If you replace U801, use a solder sucker AND solder wick (Radio Shack) to remove as much solder as possible. It would hurt the MB the least to gently snip the old chip out and then remove each remaining pin individually. When you install the new one, align the notch. Sparsely apply solder to the pins on BOTH sides of the board to ensure that all the layers in the MB are connected to each pin.
It would be a shame to waste the work you have in this board already.
-
Haven't had much time for this, still no love. With power off pin 18 is showing exactly the same voltage that I'm getting at the resistor (so the chip is getting power), and pin 9 is showing continuity to both case ground and Batt negative. It's a pretty high resistance, but I compared it with my spare A2K motherboard and the measurements are about the same.
I also checked the positive sides of 811 and 812, not exactly sure what those components do but I know they're getting power.
Will try to find time to check more pins soon, taking the drive sled out over and over is getting pretty old, LOL. :p
-
Also zero resistance between Batt Negative terminal and case ground. I'm checking easy stuff first, LOL. ;)
If I do have to replace the clock chip at least I see plenty of them on ebay... think I'll socket it. ;)
-
Good Day,
Try reseating the main chip, may be a bit loose/poor contact.
Chris
-
Try reseating the main chip, may be a bit loose/poor contact.
Main chip - U801 - is soldered directly to the board. Wish it were that easy! If I wind up feeling daring enough to replace it, I'm going to socket it. 18-pin sockets are only .50 cents on ebay. :p
-
Hmm, If the solders are all good then it probably has some bad cache and has no place to hold the time. A socket is a good idea.
Chris