Help !!! A1200 in need of urgent operation ...

[Retromania]

Greetings everyone!

Some of you may recall seeing the thread entitled "Is this a decent price for this spec?" that I posted a while ago.  The saga ended, or so I thought, with Parcel Force re-delivering the Amiga Power Tower to me in its poor excuse for a box.  But when I opened the box I found ...

The plastic front panel has been shettered off the
screw threads. The metal chassis is actually bent. The hard drives were just loose and rattling around in the machine. The floppy disc drive has had its plastic front smashed off.  Luckily the PPC and BVision cards were intact and undamaged.

So, what are my options ?  The machine is dead as it is.  How do I resurrect it ?  What do I transplant it all in to ?

If I decide to just quit whilst I am not ahead and sell the PPC and BVision cards, how much could I expect to get for them ?  The PPC card was originally described as a Phase5 PowerPC 603e @ 175mhz with 68040 CPU.  The seller then admitted it was a 160mhz when I asked if it really was a 175mhz as I could not find reference to it on the Amiga websites.  The BVision card is a Phase5 Blizzard Vision 3d Graphics accelerator with 8mb memory on board.  Any advice on a price would be appreciated.

I guess it could be an interesting transplant project but is it worth it?  What would you suggest ?

Thanks and Regards

Retromania :-(

[Crisisdog]

PPC accelerator cards for Amigas are very rare lately.  I wouldn't get rid of it as you may never come across one again.  Depends on how big of an Amiga fanatic you really think you are.

 :-D

[Retromania]

@ Crisisdog

Thanks for your reply.  I am a fan for sure and have owned a 1200 since launch.  I just never ventured into the Tower Conversion arena and thought it would be easier to buy a tower "already done" so to speak.

The PPC is only an 040, not an 060.  I was not sure how rare this type might be and thought it was the "common garden" type.

Still, I fancy a bit of a rebuild project - surely it can't be that difficult ?  (Famous last words !!!).  Hopefully the Hard Drives survived the battering that the Power Tower received and will still work.  If not I will need to get the software for the PPC from somewhere when I re-install.  Is this easy to come by ?  I guess it is just a set of drivers right ?

Thanks

Retromania

[Retromania]

Does anyone have any recommendations regarding a rebuild ?  Would I be better trying to get hold of another Power Tower ?  Can these still be purchased new ?  If not, what is the best option ?

Thanks

Retromania

[Retromania]

... and following my last post, does anyone in the UK want to sell a Power Tower (good condition of course) ?

Thanks

Retromania

[balrogsoft]

Retromania wrote:
Does anyone have any recommendations regarding a rebuild ?  Would I be better trying to get hold of another Power Tower ?  Can these still be purchased new ?  If not, what is the best option ?

If you finally buy a new tower i recommend to you a Xtreme Box from Amiga Super Bit, i have this one, it is smaller than other towers for Amiga 1200, its height is width of the A1200 original case, other cases are tallest, and it have a great design:

http://asb-computer.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=27_18&products_id=384&osCsid=2d44fb2edf787761e116a2d73fa816d9

[Retromania]

@ Balrogsoft

Thanks for the link.  I was looking at the D-Box from Amigakit and this may well be the answer :-)

[Ianoakley]

Why not take all along to Big Bash 4 in Peterborough where they will be running a repair type clinic.
I'll be taking ny A1200 which is housed in a D Box to the show (MAG stand) if you want to see if that is an option.

Irresepective of the condition of this Power Tower are you saying the Amiga does not work?

[Retromania]

Irresepective of the condition of this Power Tower are you saying the Amiga does not work?

Hi Ianoakley

I have not attempted to fire the Amiga up, so I cannot say it does not work.  I am waiting for Parcel Force to sort out the claim I have made so do not want to compromise anything at this stage.  The framework of the Power Tower is quite impressive, looking at it for the first time.  It is however, in this instance, bent and twisted at the back where the A1200 ports are.  

Not good!!!

Not Good at all!!!

I hope you are reading this, Mr A Bourhill.  I hope that people will avoid your ebay id 8-Bit_Trader too.  I do not like dishonest people and I will do my best to alert my fellow Amigans about people that are dishonest.

And if you are reading this Mr Bourhill, I am taking legal advice as to the best way to take out a Civil Action against you.  

Retromania

[Tomas]

The plastic front panel has been shettered off the
screw threads. The metal chassis is actually bent. The hard drives were just loose and rattling around in the machine. The floppy disc drive has had its plastic front smashed off. Luckily the PPC and BVision cards were intact and undamaged.

I assume the a1200 mobo got damaged too?  :-?

[Retromania]

I assume the a1200 mobo got damaged too?

Hi Tomas

The mobo does not "look" damaged - but I will not know until I can test it properly.  There are no obvious signs of damage though.  The Power Tower seems to have absorbed the impact of all the damage.