Amiga Maintenance - Page 2

wlcina · 16 February 2005, 15:07

It is a hard process, if you have computer turned on, I recommends to have a climatized desktop (case) and temperature should be stable all the time. Also dust is a problem, when you computer is turned on, it work as dust magnet - so you need climatization with a very good dust filter ;-)

Amiga1992 · 16 February 2005, 15:12

Yeah, I wouldnt risk my Amiga powered on all the time. I rather turn it on and off seldom than doing this. However if you are going to use it every day, it's best to leave it on. Otherwise it isn't.

lloyd · 16 February 2005, 19:22

Never, have I seen silicon rust. Steel and iron, yes - but never silicon. Electrolytic capacitors do need regular charging to re-fprm the insulating layer between the plates yes, but silicon is extremely stable especially when the silicon part (the wafer or chip) is hermetically sealed inside a cast resin block.

Besides wear and tear, the major destructive force for anything electronic is static electricity. So if you don't "zap" your Miggy, she'll probably work properly for years.

Maybe now is a good time to buy up Amigas on Ebay so that you can be sure of a good source of spare parts. Call me a sad bastard if you like, but I've got at least 25 Sinclair ZX Spectrums here in various states of repair - just for spare parts etc. I know for certain that, should I live another 50 years, I will still have a working Spectrum - so long as we don't have a nuclear war of course......

TheAmigaMan · 16 February 2005, 22:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew

As a proud owner of a standard Amiga 600 in pefect condition with an intact warranty seal

I keep hearing about peoples amigas failing (power supplies, disk drives etc) has anyone got any tips on looking after your Amiga?

If you buy a high quality Amiga to begin with, it should last you for at least 20 to 30 years of good use. The lower quality Amiga computers will not last as long. Also keep this in mind, "Thru-Hole" motherboards last much longer and are higher quality then "SMT" motherboards. If you want to keep and actually use your real Amiga computer for the next 30+ years, my advice to you, is to stock up on spare parts. That's what I did. I have a whole huge closet full of spare parts, drives, keyboards, mice, chips, etc. for my Amiga computers. I also have at least 2 of each Amiga model, one to use and one stored away as a backup.

Haakon · 17 February 2005, 10:58

Well, a 1987-amiga is close to being 20 years. I would actually guess a lot longer, if you are good at doing some maintainance. My A500 has gotten a rough treatment the last 8-10 years, beeing transfered a lot from cold to warm rooms and was even stored about 5 years in a house with no electricity. Never turned on those years. The temperature inside the room was probably below zero at the winter, and +20 degrees at the summer.

But it still works like a dream

TheAmigaMan · 17 February 2005, 21:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haakon

Well, a 1987-amiga is close to being 20 years. I would actually guess a lot longer, if you are good at doing some maintainance. My A500 has gotten a rough treatment the last 8-10 years, beeing transfered a lot from cold to warm rooms and was even stored about 5 years in a house with no electricity. Never turned on those years. The temperature inside the room was probably below zero at the winter, and +20 degrees at the summer.

But it still works like a dream

That is because the Amiga 500 has the higher quality "Thru-Hole" motherboard.

ant512 · 18 February 2005, 09:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheAmigaMan

That is because the Amiga 500 has the higher quality "Thru-Hole" motherboard.

You are DoomMaster, and I claim my five pounds.

TheAmigaMan · 18 February 2005, 10:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by ant512

You are DoomMaster, and I claim my five pounds.

Who the heck is this DoomMaster that everyone keeps talking about?!

DopPie · 19 February 2005, 15:44

Wasn't paying attention to this thread but more about, what I called, silicon rusting.

True silicon does not rust. My beetle rusts as it is it's primairy occupation.

However I was told silicon in plastic housing is able to oxidize (did I spell that correctly) or something. At least it can react to air reaching the silicon. Problems can occur when electricity goes through paths that are slightly damaged. The current wears the path out while it goes throug it and in time it will give. You can compare it to bad wiring. The wire suddenly gives. So can the (rusted/oxidized/dameged by air) silicon.

Anyway that is what they (IC designers) told me. I have never seen an oxidized IC under my microscope. I have seen ESD damaged IC's. Spectacular damages (in a microscopic perspective). Anyway ceramic housings seem to be better for durability.

This is what I know about it. When I have some unidentified tasks to do at work I will look into this some more because I'm sure this silicon oxidizing thing was told to me so I better check if its for real.

Any IC expers on this board (not including any doommaster alter ego) that know something about this?

BippyM · 19 February 2005, 16:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheAmigaMan

Who the heck is this DoomMaster that everyone keeps talking about?!

You really are a sad, sad, individual!

Every account you have created we know about you fool !!!!

Jeesh!!

Anyway silence is golden so please be quiet

Haakon · 21 February 2005, 12:25

To keep the topic a bit more on track:

Anyone got any tips on how you can get a severed yellowed A500 getting its old colours back?

Sune Salminen · 21 February 2005, 12:30

Sit next to it and smoke unlit cigarettes for 15 years?

Amiga1992 · 21 February 2005, 14:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheAmigaMan

Who the heck is this DoomMaster that everyone keeps talking about?!

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheAmigaMan

I will have my own Amiga site up soon[...] It will be hosted by the famous DoomMaster himself.[...]BYE EVERYONE.

Reference: http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=183329&postcount=15

Please:
GO AWAY. GET A LIFE. YOU NEED PSYCHOLOGICAL HELP. YOU SAD SICK FUCK-O. STOP RUBBING YOUR LAME AMIGA FIVE HUNDRED AGAINST YOUR BALLS AND LOCK YOURSELF UP IN A LONEY BIN BECAUSE YOU NEED IT.

Haakon · 21 February 2005, 17:55

he-he-he...guess this topic is meaningless. Care to inform us newbies about the doommaster/the amigaman?

Amiga1992 · 21 February 2005, 18:13

he's just one of the most pathetic trolls the Internet has ever seen.

manicx · 22 February 2005, 08:53

Well, just to return to the topic, all you can do is use your Amiga as much as you can and find a good engineer in case you have problems. If you have a problem, just go there and ask to fix it. If the Amiga board is dead because a custom chip broke. Buy a new mobo, refurbish and use.

Fenrir · 11 March 2005, 16:33

My Amiga 500 1.2 has been treated like a nightmare since 1988, when I bought it. The eject spring failed after 5-6 years and I kept ejecting the disks pressing the failed button to lift the disk and using a pencil to take them out.
I brought it around my friends' houses, and even abroad. It's been below zero more than one time (here it's impossibile to keep mobile things frost-free - something always happen sooner or later ;P like the warming failing or carrying it from a house to another.
It's yellow, but it still WORKS like a dream even today, when I use it to play games that don't work on my A4000.

The secret is probably to never really take it away. Don't spill anything on it, and clean the innards with a small vacuum once in a while to remore ash, dust, hair, skin scabs and so on. Avoid power failures while on, and play it once in a while and I'm sure it won't die for a long time.

Haakon, for the yellow-ish things... you can use wood polish spray and a soft cotton tissue. I use it and it's nearly white. Ok not white like when I bought it - that kind of yellowing can't be avoided - but the stark yellow can be cleaned a bit.

Good luck!

MarlboroMan · 11 March 2005, 17:57

I think its a good idea to dismount the amiga from time to time and put all plastic parts in a bucket full of water with some household cleaning agent. You have to remove every single key from the keyboard which will take quite some time. Ive read somewhere that some kind of whitener could be added to the water but i never tried it (dunno if the keys are blank afterwards o_O)

I also dismount the shielding plate and the mainboard and clean it with the vacuum cleaner (be carefull not to scratch it, best thing is to use the brushes that come with the vacuum cleaner).

I do this no more than once a year (maybe if youre smoking you should do it more often).

DopPie · 11 March 2005, 19:13

I tried a heap of things to get my amiga white again. No cure. I simply bought a "new" one from vesalia and keep it clear from any sunlight. As for my yellow amiga; I aquired an new keyboard and I guess I shall have to paint the case white.

If anybody find a chemical to turn the Amiga white again (without it melting or getting brittle) I'm all ears.

Fenrir · 11 March 2005, 21:23

I don't think it's possible, that kind of yellow does penetrate inside the plastic and I think it's the plastic that is... like.. "oxydizing" just because of the air around it.
Anyway I like that yellow colour, it says "I'm old and I still freakin' rox". If it were to turn milk-white again.. I don't know if I'd like it.

21 February 2005, 12:30	#32
Sune Salminen Dinamáquina Join Date: May 2002 Location: BH/Brasil Age: 49 Posts: 370	Sit next to it and smoke unlit cigarettes for 15 years? Last edited by Sune Salminen; 21 February 2005 at 15:44.

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16 February 2005, 15:07	#21
wlcina Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Czech republic Posts: 580	It is a hard process, if you have computer turned on, I recommends to have a climatized desktop (case) and temperature should be stable all the time. Also dust is a problem, when you computer is turned on, it work as dust magnet - so you need climatization with a very good dust filter ;-)

16 February 2005, 15:12	#22
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,646	Yeah, I wouldnt risk my Amiga powered on all the time. I rather turn it on and off seldom than doing this. However if you are going to use it every day, it's best to leave it on. Otherwise it isn't.

16 February 2005, 19:22	#23
lloyd Mehh :D Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Bristol, SW UK Age: 61 Posts: 242	Never, have I seen silicon rust. Steel and iron, yes - but never silicon. Electrolytic capacitors do need regular charging to re-fprm the insulating layer between the plates yes, but silicon is extremely stable especially when the silicon part (the wafer or chip) is hermetically sealed inside a cast resin block. Besides wear and tear, the major destructive force for anything electronic is static electricity. So if you don't "zap" your Miggy, she'll probably work properly for years. Maybe now is a good time to buy up Amigas on Ebay so that you can be sure of a good source of spare parts. Call me a sad bastard if you like, but I've got at least 25 Sinclair ZX Spectrums here in various states of repair - just for spare parts etc. I know for certain that, should I live another 50 years, I will still have a working Spectrum - so long as we don't have a nuclear war of course......

17 February 2005, 10:58	#25
Haakon Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Norway Age: 49 Posts: 180	Well, a 1987-amiga is close to being 20 years. I would actually guess a lot longer, if you are good at doing some maintainance. My A500 has gotten a rough treatment the last 8-10 years, beeing transfered a lot from cold to warm rooms and was even stored about 5 years in a house with no electricity. Never turned on those years. The temperature inside the room was probably below zero at the winter, and +20 degrees at the summer. But it still works like a dream

19 February 2005, 15:44	#29
DopPie Zone Friend Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Den Hoorn, NL Age: 45 Posts: 259	Wasn't paying attention to this thread but more about, what I called, silicon rusting. True silicon does not rust. My beetle rusts as it is it's primairy occupation. However I was told silicon in plastic housing is able to oxidize (did I spell that correctly) or something. At least it can react to air reaching the silicon. Problems can occur when electricity goes through paths that are slightly damaged. The current wears the path out while it goes throug it and in time it will give. You can compare it to bad wiring. The wire suddenly gives. So can the (rusted/oxidized/dameged by air) silicon. Anyway that is what they (IC designers) told me. I have never seen an oxidized IC under my microscope. I have seen ESD damaged IC's. Spectacular damages (in a microscopic perspective). Anyway ceramic housings seem to be better for durability. This is what I know about it. When I have some unidentified tasks to do at work I will look into this some more because I'm sure this silicon oxidizing thing was told to me so I better check if its for real. Any IC expers on this board (not including any doommaster alter ego) that know something about this?

21 February 2005, 12:25	#31
Haakon Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Norway Age: 49 Posts: 180	To keep the topic a bit more on track: Anyone got any tips on how you can get a severed yellowed A500 getting its old colours back?

21 February 2005, 17:55	#34
Haakon Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Norway Age: 49 Posts: 180	he-he-he...guess this topic is meaningless. Care to inform us newbies about the doommaster/the amigaman?

21 February 2005, 18:13	#35
Amiga1992 Registered User Join Date: May 2001 Location: ? Posts: 19,646	he's just one of the most pathetic trolls the Internet has ever seen.

22 February 2005, 08:53	#36
manicx Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Athens, Greece Posts: 991	Well, just to return to the topic, all you can do is use your Amiga as much as you can and find a good engineer in case you have problems. If you have a problem, just go there and ask to fix it. If the Amiga board is dead because a custom chip broke. Buy a new mobo, refurbish and use.

11 March 2005, 16:33	#37
Fenrir Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Tromsø, Norway Age: 47 Posts: 66	My Amiga 500 1.2 has been treated like a nightmare since 1988, when I bought it. The eject spring failed after 5-6 years and I kept ejecting the disks pressing the failed button to lift the disk and using a pencil to take them out. I brought it around my friends' houses, and even abroad. It's been below zero more than one time (here it's impossibile to keep mobile things frost-free - something always happen sooner or later ;P like the warming failing or carrying it from a house to another. It's yellow, but it still WORKS like a dream even today, when I use it to play games that don't work on my A4000. The secret is probably to never really take it away. Don't spill anything on it, and clean the innards with a small vacuum once in a while to remore ash, dust, hair, skin scabs and so on. Avoid power failures while on, and play it once in a while and I'm sure it won't die for a long time. Haakon, for the yellow-ish things... you can use wood polish spray and a soft cotton tissue. I use it and it's nearly white. Ok not white like when I bought it - that kind of yellowing can't be avoided - but the stark yellow can be cleaned a bit. Good luck!

11 March 2005, 17:57	#38
MarlboroMan Space for rent Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Germany Age: 43 Posts: 102	I think its a good idea to dismount the amiga from time to time and put all plastic parts in a bucket full of water with some household cleaning agent. You have to remove every single key from the keyboard which will take quite some time. Ive read somewhere that some kind of whitener could be added to the water but i never tried it (dunno if the keys are blank afterwards o_O) I also dismount the shielding plate and the mainboard and clean it with the vacuum cleaner (be carefull not to scratch it, best thing is to use the brushes that come with the vacuum cleaner). I do this no more than once a year (maybe if youre smoking you should do it more often).

11 March 2005, 19:13	#39
DopPie Zone Friend Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Den Hoorn, NL Age: 45 Posts: 259	I tried a heap of things to get my amiga white again. No cure. I simply bought a "new" one from vesalia and keep it clear from any sunlight. As for my yellow amiga; I aquired an new keyboard and I guess I shall have to paint the case white. If anybody find a chemical to turn the Amiga white again (without it melting or getting brittle) I'm all ears.

11 March 2005, 21:23	#40
Fenrir Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Tromsø, Norway Age: 47 Posts: 66	I don't think it's possible, that kind of yellow does penetrate inside the plastic and I think it's the plastic that is... like.. "oxydizing" just because of the air around it. Anyway I like that yellow colour, it says "I'm old and I still freakin' rox". If it were to turn milk-white again.. I don't know if I'd like it.

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