Introduction - New Amiga owner

[ramis77]

Hi!!
 
My name is Ramiro Aranda, and I have an Amiga 500 just from yesterday. I am spanish and have 32 years old. I´m not a programmer, but I like video games since I was a child (I had a 16Kb RAM Spectrum). Unfortunately, I have never used an Amiga.
 
I have no idea in how to deal with the Commodore, so I expect to learn a lot in these forums.
 
The computer came with a big joystick and more than 200 disks, and I don´t know yet how much memory has installed.
 
I tried to turn it on last night but my old TV didn´t work, and I could see only the screen in one colour in my plasma TV (with Amiga 520 connected), I suppose I have to get another old-tube TV.
 
Moreover, the computer has an interruptor near the disk driver, and I have no idea of what activates...
 
I think I will have to read a lot here!!
 
Regards,
 
Ramiro

[Domi73]

Welcome

[ferix]

Wellcome mate!!!

What colout is It? Green?
The switch could be for deactivate the memory expansion, so if It's broken, It could generate a memory error, and It's reflected with a green screen.
Of course, that error could be generated by other causes, like a faulty chip, a bad seated chip, etc...
There are more error colour codes, like grey for a rom problem, so let us know the colour to help you.

The complete error colour code:

Red: Bad ROM
Yellow: CPU Exception before bootstrap code is loaded (faulty CPU).
Green: Bad Chip Ram or Agnus, or any support chip (74LS245, Gary chip... etc.).
Black: No CPU (ouch!!!).
White: No error.
Grey: CPU passed.

PD.: I'm spanish too, I got a speccy 16k too, and I'm 32... Are you from the other side of the mirror???

Saludos.

Edit:
Corrected a mistake and expanded with the general colour codes.

[ramis77]

Thank you for your repplies!
 
The colour is green. Is it easy to repair?
 
And what about the switch in the right side of the computer? It seems to have been added making a hole in the case...
 
to ferix: nice to meet you, I live in Zaragoza.

[ferix]

I think the switch is for deactivate the internal expansion. Some old (very old) games doesn't work with the expansion attached.
The green screen error could be generated by a bad seated chip, so open your amiga an push on every chip, and try again.

[tasmanian guy]

Welcome aboard, Amiga 500 is almost at the bottom end to begin your entry level of Amiga but you can get some great games for that machine regardless with just 1 megabyte of memory and a 880k disk drive.
 
Hope you get your Amiga 500 sorted out with the green screen!

[ElPolloDiabl]

I bet the battery on the expansion RAM has leaked...

Underneath the Amiga there is a trapdoor, pop it open and you will see in there a card. This is the 512k RAM expansion. Pull the card out and see if there is any corrosion near the battery.
Actually unscrew the entire case to get at the 512k card, you will need to pull out the cards wire and switch as well (that switch you said was modded onto the case).

[ramis77]

I have opened the Amiga and:
 
 - You are right, there is a 512 Kb expansion card. At the internal side of the switch there are 2 cables that are solded to the expansion card (they are OK) and 3 cables that go towards the Amiga mainboard (2 of them are desolded from the switch)
 
 - I can see corrosion in the battery
 
I am going to ask for a solder to fix the cables but I think the computer is going to work only without the expansion... Is it easy to get and replace that battery or maybe I should look for a new expansion card?

[JC]

Welcome aboard!

[ferix]

- I can see corrosion in the battery
 
I am going to ask for a solder to fix the cables but I think the computer is going to work only without the expansion... Is it easy to get and replace that battery or maybe I should look for a new expansion card?

First, try to boot without the expansion card. If It boots, then take a look at the memory expansion. Some tracks on the pcb could be damaged by the battery leak, so they will need to be repaired.

P.D.:
I forgot It. I'm from La Coruña.

[amigakit]

Welcome!

[Cammy]

Welcome to the world of Amigas! If your 512k expansion is cleaned up and has the battery removed, there's a chance it will go on working (although the clock won't keep the time anymore, no big problem). If you don't want to use the bad quality Composite or RF-out from the A520, you can buy brand new S-Video/Composite adapters relatively cheap. These plug into the RGB port where the A520 is plugged in, but give you a much clearer, sharper image, and all you need is a TV with an S-Video input. You can get them here - http://www.amigamaniac.com and they really help! Using one of these with any CRT TV makes it instantly feel like a big 1084 monitor because of how crisp the display is, and with LCD TVs it's even clearer. It should work with Plasmas as well, provided there's S-Video inputs.

[ramis77]

Bad luck,
 
I have removed the expansion card and I have the same green screen when I try to boot. I don´t know if I have to do something with the three cables that went from motherboard to the switch (I have tested to unit between them but the result is the same)
 
Do you think is worth sending to somewhere to repair it?

[ferix]

Hey, don't give up!!!
I'll help you to fix your amiga.
In the worst case, you can send It to me.
I'll repair It for you, for free, of course. You only pay the shipment and the spare parts.
But first, try to do It yourself.
First of all, carefully lift up all the socketed chips, and reseat them.
Ok, Agnus needs a special tool to be extracted, but you can get It for 4 euros or less.
(http://todoelectronica.com/extractor-integrados-plcc-p-7376.html)
If you need more tips, please tell me. You can send me a PM. I'll answer you... in spanish

[Cammy]

Is it a blank green screen or is it a green-tinted display, showing the Kickstart screen?