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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: CJK3o3 on August 21, 2014, 06:59:21 PM

Title: Poor A500 Restoration
Post by: CJK3o3 on August 21, 2014, 06:59:21 PM
It's been a while since I've done anything with my amigas.

I bought this poor thing online for the equivalent of $15 :
(http://sitetest.webtest.etop.pl/amigabefore.jpg)

Inside there was a working 6A board with a little extra - a mikronik 6110 pc keyboard adapter (needed to be fixed but now works like a charm, in fact I even made a copy of it with the same ATMega chip).

The keyboard was completely butchered. Somebody tried to fix it and melted the membrane and damaged the controller board.

After dipping the case in various chemicals to get rid of the brushed on black paint i saw a ton of cracks and dents and also somebody even carved their name into it...

Hours of gentle grinding with different grit water sandpaper, then 3 coats of primer, sanded again with 1200 grit then finally 4 layers of white acryl base laid on :

(http://sitetest.webtest.etop.pl/amigaafter.jpg)

There is no way to tell that this miggy is actually painted. The surface is smooth but feels "plastic".

I recapped the mobo, the floppy disk drive and got it a fully restored mitsumi qwerty keyboard.

It had a 512 memory expansion inside. Battery was dead and leaked acid but I managed to get the board fixed.

Another one brought back to life :)
Title: Re: Poor A500 Restoration
Post by: curtis on August 21, 2014, 07:09:15 PM
Absolutely a beautiful restoration on the case!
Title: Re: Poor A500 Restoration
Post by: Oldsmobile_Mike on August 21, 2014, 08:24:21 PM
Fantastic work!  Boy if I had that kind of free time, I'd love to buy and fix up every A500 & A2000 I see on ebay.  *wishful thinking*  ;)
Title: Re: Poor A500 Restoration
Post by: CJK3o3 on August 21, 2014, 08:24:30 PM
A couple more pics of the finished restoration.

(http://sitetest.webtest.etop.pl/assembled.jpg)

(Not screwed together yet)

I was bored so I polished the top of the rebuilt floppy to give it a mirror like finish :P Pimp my miggy. The keyboard is as good as new. Retrobrightened, cleaned with all rust removed. The whole mobo is recapped.


(http://sitetest.webtest.etop.pl/assembled2.jpg)
Title: Re: Poor A500 Restoration
Post by: carvedeye on August 21, 2014, 08:28:29 PM
You did a fantastic job looks like new
Title: Re: Poor A500 Restoration
Post by: mindprober on August 21, 2014, 08:32:45 PM
Great work!

Maybe the thread title should be changed to avoid confusion. "Awesome A500 restoration" is what I would call it, but I got your original meaning.
Title: Re: Poor A500 Restoration
Post by: CJK3o3 on August 21, 2014, 08:45:41 PM
Quote from: jdryyz;771419
Great work!

Maybe the thread title should be changed to avoid confusion. "Awesome A500 restoration" is what I would call it, but I got your original meaning.




Thank you all for the kind words. And yes jdryyz you're right. Unfortunately constantly thinking in three different languages can make me confused sometimes.
Title: Re: Poor A500 Restoration
Post by: mindprober on August 21, 2014, 09:19:36 PM
:D


Quote from: CJK3o3;771420
Thank you all for the kind words. And yes jdryyz you're right. Unfortunately constantly thinking in three different languages can make me confused sometimes.
Title: Re: Poor A500 Restoration
Post by: Thorham on August 21, 2014, 10:57:55 PM
Dat case restoration :crazy:

Great job, good to see these great machines being restored :cool:

Now all you need is a Commodore badge.
Title: Re: Poor A500 Restoration
Post by: klx300r on August 22, 2014, 12:07:19 AM
@ CJK3o3

Great Work !:drink::D
Title: Re: Poor A500 Restoration
Post by: Dragster on August 22, 2014, 01:04:57 AM
Oh man, what a great work! It looks fantastic!!

It makes me so happy to see one more of our beloved Amigas going back to life.

Cheers,

Dragster.
Title: Re: Poor A500 Restoration
Post by: mfletcher on August 22, 2014, 02:19:24 AM
An incredible job! Im very impressed with your hard work!
Title: Re: Poor A500 Restoration
Post by: CJK3o3 on August 22, 2014, 07:42:46 PM
Haha i really should get the name of the topic changed. Anyway this is the 15th miggy that I brought back to life. I think this one will be sold for whatever amount I can get and as usual the $ will go to a good cause - either for food for homeless 4 legged things or something similiar.

3 A1200's, 8 A500's, 2 A600's, one A3000 and one A2000 fixed and restored.
Title: Re: Poor A500 Restoration
Post by: Ral-Clan on August 22, 2014, 08:49:32 PM
It's sad to think how many Amigas in the late-1990s/early-2000s either got painted black or towerized into PC cases.

I'm guessing that's because by the year 2000 our Amigas were starting to show their age performance wise (PCs were clearly surpassing even the fastest 68K Amigas). Most PCs released in the late-1990s/early-2000s had switched to black plastic. So, I suppose the (then) decade old light-beige colour and wedge style cases of the A500 and A1200 were a visible embarrassment to some Amiga owners.

Thank goodness we've stopped comparing our classic Amigas to PCs and are starting to enjoy them for the retro-systems they are. We've now come full circle and are starting to appreciate the original beige wedge cases again.
Title: Re: Poor A500 Restoration
Post by: AmigaOldskooler on August 22, 2014, 09:26:25 PM
Nice one! Cheers! :drink:
Title: Re: Poor A500 Restoration
Post by: ognix on August 22, 2014, 11:12:11 PM
Very nice job!
You're making a good "example" for everyone, doing this great effort not taking into consideration how much money the A500 is worth, but just the good and genuine enthusiasm is driving you.  :-)
Title: Re: Poor A500 Restoration
Post by: motrucker on August 23, 2014, 08:25:44 AM
Nice job. I love seeing some one who brings 'em back.
Title: Re: Poor A500 Restoration
Post by: Darth_X on August 23, 2014, 09:38:59 AM
Quote from: jdryyz;771419
Great work!

Maybe the thread title should be changed to avoid confusion. "Awesome A500 restoration" is what I would call it, but I got your original meaning.


Yes. Great work!!!