Amiga Stash Wes

[danbeaver]

There are at least 2 camps on the current retro scene:  those that love the hardware and like to restore it, and those that love the retro games played on any device.  The are a fair number of hybrids out there too.

Personally, I grew up on computers and programming, then fell in love with the Amiga hardware and the Amiga OS.  I've used my Ami for office work way more than gaming, and after tweaking the living hell out of my A4000T, bought an X1000.

But you have to ask yourself, not "do you feel lucky,"  but what is the experience you want?  

There is a strange pride to restoring a vintage computer with a life expectancy designed for years and not decades, but the simplicity of the old games can de-stress folks as they remember a simpler life.

[danbeaver]

While car batteries use hydrochloric acid, the barrel battery contains potassium hydroxide, or lye.  First neutralize the lye with an acid such as acetic acid (white vinegar), and rinse with distilled water until the residue is gone.  Whether you rinse with 91% isopropyl alcohol next or later, let the motherboard dry for at least 24 hours.  Unfortunately the lye will dissolve the copper traces within the layers on the motherboard causing "invisible" damage that can only be diagnosed using a schematic and multimeter.

[danbeaver]

Some experts don´t suggest the vinegar...

Well, I don't suggest either apple vinegar or lemon juice due to the contaminates, and in the lab I would probably rinse with 0.01 molar HCL using litmus paper to test the effluent for a pH of 7 as a pH meter would require an expensive micro probe -- I mean we're talking $4,000 for the probe.  However using plain deionized water to wash away the precipitation leaves the alkali salt still attached to the copper metal; while one might be able to use a reducing compound or abrasive to clean the metal, I have absolutely no idea why one would go to such trouble when a simple acid wash followed by a clean rinse is so much easier. I suppose to each his own...

[danbeaver]

The lemon juice contains Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and contaminants that are not terribly soluble; if you just want to neutralize a base and do nothing else, use a pure acid, however if you wish to something else, then go for it.