E-matrix 1230 Installation Issues

[zgermans]

Hi everyone! (First post!) I really need some help here...

I recently bought myself an A1200 from AmigaKit, refurbished with KS 3.0 and 4GB Flashdrive. It was brilliant, and I imagined I could now enjoy hours of hd-installed gaming loveliness, without the floppy changing I had with my old A500 back in the day.

However, I quickly found out that WHDLoad was the way to go, and subsequently that my bog standard A1200 wouldn't cut it. So, determined to reach WHDLoad gaming nirvana, I ordered an E-matrix 1230-50 32MB accelerator from Vesalia. It arrived yesterday, and immediately there were problems.

Firstly, it was impossible to even try to install it with the lip of the RF shielding in place. So, I bent the shield lip up towards the keyboard. Fine. Now the expansion board could be eased onto the socket. I try and make sure it's properly fitted, then screw the A1200s casetop back on, and power it up. Now it's dead. The power LED comes on, but no other signs of life. I panic, open the A1200, remove the board, and power it back on. Now it boots up fine. Some googling later, and I come across this thread:

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=51272&highlight=e-matrix

So this guy DaveGlo in the above thread buys the same board and encounters the same problem. It seems the board just doesn't fit properly without some serious abusing of the A1200 case (Is this an issue with only some cases?) If i look through the trapdoor on the back of the A1200 while the E-matrix board is installed, I can actually see that it's not 100% evenly inserted. We're talking a couple of millimeters at max from it being completely inserted, and it's progressively worse from one side to the other, so that the board is not completely parallell to the mobo/socket

There must be a way to install the damn thing without wreaking havoc to my E-matrix or even worse: the A1200? I mean, I know people on this forum use these cards, and AmigaKit install them in A1200Ds all the time. I really don't want to use pliers to brutalize my case, like DaveGlo in the other thread.

Suggestions? Help, please!

[zgermans]

I'm a total noob when it comes to actually fiddling with Amiga hardware, so I'm a bit skeptical about loosening the motherboards screws.

However, I have tried and endless number of slight variations of force, angle of push, pressing down, lifting up, wiggling etc. on the E-matrix to see if I can get it properly inserted, but still no luck. The second boot attempt yesterday (after all the minor pushing and wiggling) gave me the same black screen. Soft resets gave me some other colors as well; think it was yellow, blue and purple. Then black again. One soft reset gave me the early startup screen, but then reverted to black. So it must be a contact issue.

[zgermans]

What I meant was, I have no previous experience with building Amigas. I have built several PC's from individual parts to complete working order. I have also read up alot on Amiga hardware, as well as having watched youtube videos of hardware being installed in A1200s. So when AmigaKit states that installation is "straightforward" (ftr, not blaming them) I imagine it is doable for someone like me.

Anyway, any more suggestions? If someone here owns and have installed an E-matrix 1230 board, I would be really grateful for any help and input.

[zgermans]

I have bent the metal shielding upwards enough so that it can't come into contact with the board. The PSU is a standard weak A1200, which should manage the 1230 board since I have a Flash HD instead of a mechanical one, and no external drives or other peripherals that draw power. The LED does not change brightness, it glows steadily with it's regular strength. The RAM module looks ok, no signs of damage or a bad fit.

[zgermans]

Wow, didn't expect an answer several months after I posted the problem

Since I don't have my Amigas where I normally live (they're at my parents house), fiddling with them is normally reserved for holidays. Haven't tried fixing the problem since july, but will certainly dive into the world of Amiga again come christmas time. Will clearly try out your advice then.

When you modified the trap door, did you only modify the lid so that it can shut properly, or did you also do something with the lower plastic "catch" that runs parallell to the trapdoor and collides with the crystal?

[zgermans]

It seems you have another version of the board, with another crystal oscillator. My version has a big, shiny metal one, see pic:



As you can see from the pic, the crystal actually sticks out a little bit from the lower edge of the board, and collides with the plastic catches that run parallell to the trapdoor. This makes it harder to fit, and might be the reason I'm experiencing what I presume is contact issues.

Tricky little buggers, these crystals...

[zgermans]

Oh, I forgot to mention the strangest thing of all! I actually got this card working back in the summer, sort of. The thing is that it won't work immediately from cold booting. The A1200 plays dead when first switched on, then I have to do several (maybe upto 10) three-button resets, before it suddenly and magically boots. From then on, all is well, and it gets through warm resets flawlessly. It only plays dead on cold boots. This is what has been puzzling me.

Sorry for not writing this earlier, but as I mentioned, I only have access to my Amigas during holidays. Also, this post has been dead for four months. Slipped my mind, really.

My list of things to do now includes: 1) Fix the lid so that it can shut properly. 2) Do something about the catches to make room for the crystal. 3) Loosen up the mobo to maybe get a better alignment/fit 4) Clean the expansion port connectors with a rubber, just for good measure.