Will someone fix my A1200 accelerator board?

[bigfoot]

Hi, I've recently come back to the Amiga scene and bought myself a tower with Paragon 68040 / 33 mhz / 32 meg ram.

Unfortunately I think the board died after using the Amiga for a few times.

Does anyone know how to repair it? I would be eternally grateful

[Rabbit80]

I'm sure people here can help - just try to give as much info as possible... Like - do you get anything such as a coloured screen when you power up... A coloured screen indicates a specific error!

[Zetr0]

@Bigfoot

Hello there, welcome to the EAB, theres plenty of mischief availble here to get into

now just to clarify,

the Paragon was a rebaged Apollo 040 wasnt it?

have a look here amiga.resource luscious linkie

does it look like this ?



(images from amiga.resource.cx)

The last image shows the modification to have 2 SIMM ports (allowing you upto 64MB of ram)

[bigfoot]

wow, talk about close up 'naked' shots Yes, exactly the same as the photos without the extra simm port.

It is an appolo 040 / 33mhz / 32 mb ram

when it is plugged in, the amiga starts up but nothing happens, would you call that a 'grey' screen? Also the hard drive light is constantly on.

when I plug in my spare ordinary 4mb expansion or boot it vanilla, normal boot up process occurs.

[Charlie]

Hi bigfoot,
Welcome to the EAB!
Progress...
...you've narrowed it down to your accelerator (or at least power to it).
Suggestions?
-The '040 is quite a power-hungry chip. This can lead to stability problems in desktop A1200s as the psu brick isn't really up to the task - One would hope that's not an issue for a 'tower' but if all else fails your psu may be worth checking.
More likely for you is some kind of poor connection:
Cotton Buds + some kind of PCB -friendly cleaner may help here...
-Clean the edge-connector of your mobo+ the socket for your '040 card. Do the same for the simm sockett + simm. (while you're @ it try an alternate known-functioning simm, possibly from your Ram cardI to see if that will help).
Success? -No?
-See all thosesocketed chips in Zetr0's Photo? See if pressing them down into their sockets helps. (pref one @ a time & testing so you know the culprit)
Success? -No?
-This depends on your confidence / tools: One @ a time carefully remove each socketed chip, clean chip + socket, replace, test, move onto the next one...
Success? -No?
Damn! Time to ask for more help.

[bigfoot]

That is the thing, I am not confident in doing that. Is there a forum member who wants to do my dirty work? I would gladly pay for your trouble.

While am at it, if it is fixable, can the battery be changed to modern Ni-mh type battery?

[alexh]

Get some actual photographs of the board uploaded.

If it still has the barrel battery on board has it leaked?

[Charlie]

Pulling socketed chips is not for the faint-hearted but giving 'em a shove with your thumb to potentially reseat them should be ok.

Yes, the battery can be replaced, though you bring up an important point...

Old batteries can leak & 'battery acid' kills PCBs pretty damn quick!

Is there ANY sign of the current battery spilling it's guts?
Is there ANY sign of discolouring of the PCB near said battery..?
Yes?
It MUST be removed - NOW! (you don't need a battery for function, a replacement can be sorted later)

If it's in a clip-holder - easy! If soldered to the PCB:

Removal (if required)
-I have a soldering iron: Get a grip of the battery/carrier, end of iron on the soldered legs as they poke through, pull (not too hard) as the solder melts - one leg @ a time. Solder braid to mop up some of the solder first will make this MUCH easier.
-No soldering iron: See if you can get the end of a SMALL pair of scissors onto the legs of the battery / holder between that & the PCB - snip away. GENTLY.

Now do your very best to gently get the discolouring & any crud off the PCB:
-PCB cleaner (or lemon juice) + cotton buds.
-Clean carefully after, you don't want to leave the cleaner on either...
...dish-washer (set to low temp) believe it or not, though I favour baby-wipes followed by the cotton buds + a little water.
-Yes, some considerable drying time will be required before trying to power up again.

If there is any such damage try to take some close-ups & post them on the forum...
...you'll make Zetr0 a very happy bunny!

If the above 'simple' fixes don't get you very far there are indeed peeps on the EAB who will be able to help - awaiting volunteers...
...there's also one or two places you can still send Amiga bits for repair.

*Edit*
Posting together?
alexh always gets to the point faster than me...

[alexh]

As you said, the technique I've always used is to cut the legs off the battery holder with wire cutters. So easy even my mum could do it.

[bigfoot]

Is there a forum member who would like to take this board off me and make it work? I am tearing my hairs out ( Not that there is much to tear out )

[alexh]

Not me. Too little information to make a diagnosis even.

Send it here:

http://www.amigacenter.com/Homer.html

They will charge you about €100 but you'll get it back working.

[Zetr0]

@bigfoot,

I really feel for your plight, normally I would offer my help, but alas I have had no choice but to reduce my projects so much since I have started back at university.

(this reminds me i have some work i need to finish for our dear Coze )

Alexh suggests Amiga Center France, I have had some great dealings with Jaque, although expensive, its a first rate service, insured all the way and one I would recomend

you could also try your hand for help at www.amiga.org there is a chap called PG (per gunnar) a great bloke in the miggy scene, he can and does upgrade 040 cards to 060 for a fair price have a chat with him, as you may well get very lucky and for a few pennies more get an faster 060 than stock instead of just a simple 040 repair.

I hope this helps, good luck on this endevor, please keep us informed on how it goes

[bigfoot]

Thank you for the replies chaps, I've contacted PG via email. Just thinking about the 060 upgrades Which processor is better for WHDLoad? 040 or pimped 060?

[Graham Humphrey]

If you have a search around EAB you'll find the 040 can be a bit troublesome for some WHDLoad games. Couldn't comment on an 060 as I've never tried it but I believe it's a bit more reliable.

[twizzle]

Originally Posted by Graham Humphrey

If you have a search around EAB you'll find the 040 can be a bit troublesome for some WHDLoad games. Couldn't comment on an 060 as I've never tried it but I believe it's a bit more reliable.

i`ll second that about an 040 having probs with some games,
however i have used an 060 with whdload with no problems , and currently use a bppc 603e 060 with whdload

[bigfoot]

Just got a reply from PG, he seems very keen to upgrade all the apollos in the world from 040 to 060! Thanks guys!

[Dimlow]

Bigfoot i have been on holiday for a while so never saw your post, i have repaired one 1240 and upgraded two 1240's to 1260, id be interested in having a look at this card for you. I'm not an expert on these but i do have the tools to do the job. I also have an idea as to what is wrong with it. got an good photo's of the area around the battery ?

I can't fault PG's work but his postage charges are quite steep from what i have here on this board and others. I don't think that's his fault, just his location. But if you willing to pay the postage within the UK i could take a look at it for free. There will be no charge for my time as i will be doing it just for the fun of it. Of course if there are parts that need to be replaced or you want it upgraded to an 060 then there will be costs of parts. Also i can only upgrade if it already has the updated Mach chips on board as i don't have stock of these.

[bigfoot]

@ Dimlow,

Thanks for your message, I do have the mach 131 chip. If the board is repairable, how much will you be charging for the upgrades?

I would like the 060 upgrade as I'll be mainly using it for WHDload and Miracle Piano playing.

A new type battery that doesn't leak.

An extra SIMM holder so I can upgrade to 64 mb RAM.

How fast can the 060 be overclocked? As this board will be in a tower, am thinking of gluing some hefty heatsink and fan.

Of course any advice from you would be greatly welcome.

[cosmicfrog]

comon bigfoot get ya cameraout heheheh we want to see befor and after shots and as we all know some 1 round ere needs he`s weekly shot of p0rn hehehehhehe

[Dimlow]

I have a spare 040 @ 40 Mhz and an 060 @ 50 latest revision ( works at 80Mhz), but before we look at upgrades we should look at getting the card working.

As for the Simm socket i don't have any, they are available on RS and other places but are not cheep about £20 plus delivery etc i have not checked prices.

battery, again dont have any, i just removed them from my boards.

The 060 cost me around £45 that's is what i will charge you for it. but my time for the upgrade will not be free as it does take a long time to change the processors.

My free timer offer is only for the fun of repairing it. My guess is that there has been some damage around the chip next to the battery as i guess its leaked. but also the processor could be dead i will need to check this out.

PICTURES PLEASE before we start.

yes pron, Zetr0 me thinks