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Author Topic: A question on attaching stuff securely in A1200 tower  (Read 7049 times)

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Offline Daedalus

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Re: A question on attaching stuff securely in A1200 tower
« on: February 11, 2004, 09:02:00 PM »
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Mhmm. And I suppose you have a PHD on assembling A1200 towers, eh?


No, but I am a Class 4 Electronics Assembler who has been doing electronics assembly for over 20 years.


And of course, during those 20 years of expreience, you learned the one true way to mount an A1200 motherboard in a tower? The A1200 was never designed to go in anything other than a console case. There is no right or wrong way of doing it. There are no books or courses to study. Only testimonies by other users who have taken up the challenge.

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There is absolutely no great skill required to assemble an A1200 tower


WRONG !  Actually, a great deal of skill is required to properly assemble an Amiga 1200 Tower of Power.

Again, there is no "proper" way of carrying out this work. There are things one can do to make it a more successful project, and things one can do to try not destroying any part of their computer. I have done it myself, and while it does require more skill and dexterity than assembling a standard PC, it doesn't need a great deal of skill at all. A decent hand with a hacksaw, drill and soldering iron coupled with a bit of cop on will get you through it just fine.

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The only part which requires attention is properly dealing with internal cabling in tight spaces, for the sake of better air-flow.


WRONG AGAIN !  The first thing you must concider is the case.  You can NOT just use any case for an Amiga 1200 tower.  The PC case that you use must fit the Amiga 1200's motherboard and any expansion hardware that you will be adding.  

No disrespect intended, but if you're stupid enough to buy a case that's smaller than the parts you're putting into it, you would be too stupid to even think of attempting something like this. No PC case will actually fit the A1200 motherboard, all you can do is buy one bigger than the board and improvise.

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Also, the back piece, that the PC cards would normally be screwed to, must be removed.

No, it doesn't. And notice I'm not obnoxiously shouting "WRONG AGAIN!!!" If you are a little creative with the positioning of the board, the slots at the back will not get in the way, and will even line up with any PCI or Zorro busboard slots you may wish to use.

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 Then a custom made piece of sheet metal is riveted or screwed to the rear opening.  The case that you use MUST have a sub-chassis.

*Sigh* No it doesn't. It may very well make things easier, but you can quite successfully install an A1200 motherboard in a standard one-piece tower, the only modifications required to the case being the cutting of a slot for the original sockets of the 1200 and the removal ot the motherboard mounting plate.

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It must be as long and wide as the Amiga 1200's motherboard and any board plugged in.  Holes are drilled into the sub-chassis and stand-offs are installed.  Then the Amiga 1200 motherboard is firmly screwed onto those stand-offs.

Again, you deserve to fail by your own devices if you've bought a case too small for the computer you're installing in it. The motherboard can be secured to brackets mounted anywhere they're needed, and doesn't need a mounting plate at all.

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Any addon board that is plugged into the "trapdoor" expansion port must also be mounted on stand-offs.

... Because they'll also be mounted on the stand-offs designed for them inside the original A1200 trapdoor space? Any device designed to be mounted in the trapdoor slot will be happy to sit on top of the trapdoor edge connector in a tower with maybe a cable tie or similar to stop it from moving too much. If possible, maybe a screw through a hole for additional security onto a bracket mounted nearby, but you can get away without it.

Yes, it requires a certain level of skill, but we're not talking about replacing an on-board SMT chip or anything. What's the problem? And what's the problem with using an internal scandoubler? I've used one in mine for years without a single problem.
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Offline Daedalus

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Re: A question on attaching stuff securely in A1200 tower
« Reply #1 on: February 11, 2004, 09:07:59 PM »
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Cyberus wrote:
You do NOT know what you are talking about!
Don't bother with the A1200, it is a toy computer. You should get an A2000, or the A1500 or A2500. These are the flagship Amiga computers. I personally own 3 of these professional computers:-D


For a toy, it is not all that dissimilar from an A2000, 3000, 4000, or any big-box variant. I towered my A1200 into a custom PC tower, and I have spent lots of money on add-ons and stuff, and I would not swap it for any other Amiga in the world. True, a big-box amiga is easier to work on and more stable, but anyone wanting to tower a 1200 has to be expecting a challenge, and understands there will be problems and hassle.
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Offline Daedalus

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Re: A question on attaching stuff securely in A1200 tower
« Reply #2 on: February 11, 2004, 09:21:02 PM »
*LOL* Cyberus, no problem... I kinda replied too quickly and didn't see the humour :)

Anyway, Eco, for our BlizzardPPC, how far away from the PSU is it? Would it be possible to construct some kind of bracket that you could mount on the PSU and use for securing the board? Maybe even a block of wood glued to the underside of the PSU, and put a well insulated screw through any mounting holes on the board? Or even a couple of cable ties around the upper part of the board and the bock or wood?

As for the Scandoubler, I have a similar one in my tower but haven't had any trouble with it falling off... You sure you pushed it really hard onto the chips, and that the tops of its sockets are touching the A1200's motherboard all the way around? Mine required a fair bit of force to get to sit right, but hasn't moved since. Failing that, a couple of cable ties may be passed through the hard drive holder holes on the motherboard (I'm assuming you aren't using the holder) and used to secure the scandoubler enough to stop it causing trouble.

As you may have guessed, I'm a big fan of cable ties  ;-)
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Offline Daedalus

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Re: A question on attaching stuff securely in A1200 tower
« Reply #3 on: February 13, 2004, 10:52:46 AM »
Hmmm... Can't see from those shots, but how close is the metal panel right behind the board? Where the Ram is? Any chance of a shot pointing the other direction? If it's close enough it could be secured to that panel or something in between, maybe using that small hole you pointed out. Again, cable ties could be your friend here :-) A pic from the trong-side of the tower and a further back shot showing the back of the tower would definitely help here anyway.
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