Restoring old Amiga 1200

[Treguard]

Hi Guys

I've decided to get back into the scene and get the missus interested in using our old Amiga. Due to a number of reasons, our 1200 has been stored in the loft unused for about 10 years.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8hqbcb2km...tn5uKwCja?dl=0

Tbh I'm surprised the board is as clean inside as it is. None of the capacitors seem to have leaked, and the advice I've been given is that they should still be fine. Unfortunately I don't have a soldering iron (to place it against one of the capaictor legs to see if a smell emanates from it).

I've fully removed the RF Shield as there was plenty of rusting, and the general consensus seems to be that it's not needed anyway.

At the moment I've taken all of the keys off and am about to give the keyboard a good clean, followed by the membrane, then the keys (possibly in the dishwasher and then using BBlonde Cream to bring the whiteness back again). I do need to pick up some Isopropyl though and electric contact cleaner for cleaning the membrane.

I'm just struggling atm to try and lift the RF Modulator case off to sand it (to get rid of rust) although tbh at this point, I plan on putting it back on and leaving it for the time being - maybe at a later date I'll put something else in that space, but not for the time being).


I just thought that as the amiga unit has been in the loft for so long that it would be a good idea to give it a thorough clean before booting up to see if it still works

[alexh]

Good luck. I would have tried it first and then cleaned it.

The disk drive is the most likely part to be duff.

[Treguard]

Originally Posted by alexh

Good luck. I would have tried it first and then cleaned it.

The disk drive is the most likely part to be duff.

THink you're right. I think I had it in my head that I had to check the capacitors first before switching on after so long, but I think I was just a bit cautious there!

Tbh with the floppy drive, I was tempted to remove it and replace it with a compact flash card and make use of WHDLoad - although I do (strangely) enjoy the sounds the drive makes.

I have a 600 which will be the next project too. I'm expecting that will need more cleaning as unfortunately it was stored resting with the disk drive facing upwards. Sadly the bag both amigas were kept in somehow opened whilst in the loft....


Hmm I'm struggling to find any posts that mention how to remove just the top case part of the RF Modulator. By any chance have you come across any or is there a nack to it? Thanks in advance

[alexh]

With the A600 you should consider buying a cheap Gotek floppy disk emulator and the HxC firmware. (~£30 all in)

Then you just put the floppy disk images on a USB stick. Boot. Select from a list on the Amiga screen. Reboot. Play.

WHDload is a little heavy going for A600 with no RAM. Gotek will work just fine.

I think I just used a pair of pliers. Maybe a flat blade screw driver. Take care. Don't break anything. Why not just leave it rusty. clean it best you can.

You're never going to use the modulator again. Why not get someone to remove it? A few hard to budge solders and maybe a screw and then gone.

The extra space is perfect for adding an extra I/O (like a HDMI port).

[Treguard]

Originally Posted by alexh

With the A600 you should consider buying a cheap Gotek floppy disk emulator and the HxC firmware. (~£30 all in)

Then you just put the floppy disk images on a USB stick. Boot. Select from a list on the Amiga screen. Reboot. Play.

WHDload is a little heavy going for A600 with no RAM. Gotek will work just fine.

I think I just used a pair of pliers. Maybe a flat blade screw driver. Take care. Don't break anything. Why not just leave it rusty. clean it best you can.

You're never going to use the modulator again. Why not get someone to remove it? A few hard to budge solders and maybe a screw and then gone.

The extra space is perfect for adding an extra I/O (like a HDMI port).

Thanks I'll definitely have a look at that for the 600.
Tbh yeah I'm tempted to leave the rf modulator be - maybe put the board on its side and gently use an emery board on the top plate.

The plastic board section of the keyboard was easy emough to clean - just some warm water with a little non bleach dettol.

I'll probably send the 1200 off to amigakit to have the rf modulator removed as they seem like a decent bunch to do business with


I need to pop out tomorrow for:-
Electrical contact cleaning fluid for keyboard membrane

Isopropyl - cant remember if this is for rhe motherboard or the keys?

BBlonde Hydrogen peroxide to whiten case and keys - read that this stuff from superdrug is only a quid and nigh on just as good as the retro bright formula

Please correct me if wrong though

[NovaCoder]

Originally Posted by Treguard

I'll probably send the 1200 off to amigakit to have the rf modulator removed as they seem like a decent bunch to do business with

yep good idea, the RF modulator is pretty much redundant, same goes for upper RF shield.

Amigakit do a a good job. If you are going to send the motherboard to them you might as well get them to replace the CAPS and check the board out for timing fixes while they have it.

[Amiga1992]

Originally Posted by NovaCoder

Amigakit do a a good job. If you are going to send the motherboard to them you might as well get them to replace the CAPS and check the board out for timing fixes while they have it.

Do all this stuff, replace the caps even if they are not leaking!

[Treguard]

Cheers guys. Will definitely get the caps replaced if I send it off to them Got my bblonde cream, cling film and isopropyl. In the end only Maplins sold it (in Manchester at least). I didn't4 really fancy ordering it off ebay if honest.


Edit (18:59 25/06/2015)
Got back today with the stuff, and tbh Maplins seemed to be the only place in Manchester that sold Isopropyl. One of the boots advised where to go, and the pharmacist in superdrug said they used to sell it. That's out of about 12 shops (one of the others gave me a shifty look --- No I just look rought this morning lol).

I also found the PSU which is only 25w and does seem quite old. Tempted to try it, but if not I'll just pick up another.

[Treguard]

Hmm I'm not too sure if that 25w psu was meant for the 600 as I can't find a second one in the loft. Tbh at this stage the only extras ill have on are the internal floppy, hard drive, accelerator. If possible I do plan to have a cf card as df0 without floppy/hd but unsure if that'll work.

[alexh]

Originally Posted by Treguard

If possible I do plan to have a cf card as df0 [You mean DH0 - alexh] without floppy/hd but unsure if that'll work.

That will work. Prep the CF card on your PC with a USB card reader. Plug it via an adapter into the IDE port inside the A1200 instead of the HD and it will boot.

You cannot boot from the PCMCIA connector.

[Treguard]

Originally Posted by alexh

That will work. Prep the CF card on your PC with a USB card reader. Plug it via an adapter into the IDE port inside the A1200 instead of the HD and it will boot.

You cannot boot from the PCMCIA connector.

Thanks Alex Ah right honestly didn't realise you didn't have to have something connected to df0 in order to boot. I know the hard drive definitely has stuff on it (just in order to test to see if it works when I've finished cleaning).

With the BBlonde cream, i don't have a UV light, so it looks like I might have to either do a couple of applications, or see if we get some decent sun this week

Hmm I'm not too sure now whether I'm best cleaning the keyboard, connecting it back up and trying to boot the 1200 before cleaning the motherboard. What do you reckon? From the photos it's pretty clean anyway, just the odd flecks of rust which need sucking up. The only other places I have noticed rust are around the screwholes on the motherboard. Not sure if this would be a problem (i.e. if the rust can somehow spread onto more of the pcb?)

Btw, apologies if I've posted this in the wrong forum!

[OldB0y]

Originally Posted by Treguard

Hmm I'm not too sure if that 25w psu was meant for the 600 as I can't find a second one in the loft. Tbh at this stage the only extras ill have on are the internal floppy, hard drive, accelerator. If possible I do plan to have a cf card as df0 without floppy/hd but unsure if that'll work.

The A600/A1200 PSU's are identical, and fully interchangable. I don't think there are any CF -> floppy adapters, only CF - IDE. The Gotek would be a better bet as a floppy replacement

[alexh]

Originally Posted by Treguard

With the BBlonde cream, i don't have a UV light, so it looks like I might have to either do a couple of applications, or see if we get some decent sun this week

FYI our conservatory has UV filters built into the glass. If you have a modern conservatory then you will probably have the same. Try and leave it outside in direct sunlight.

[Treguard]

Originally Posted by OldB0y

The A600/A1200 PSU's are identical, and fully interchangable. I don't think there are any CF -> floppy adapters, only CF - IDE. The Gotek would be a better bet as a floppy replacement

Thanks, I'm thinking of looking at the Gotek for the 600 definitely along with the PCMIA Transfer kit I just picked up to use on the two

Originally Posted by alexh

FYI our conservatory has UV filters built into the glass. If you have a modern conservatory then you will probably have the same. Try and leave it outside in direct sunlight.

Thanks for that, I'll give it a go. I did just put it near to an electric fire, but will try outside instead

[edd_jedi]

A bit of advice, don't waste your time retrobrighting the keyboard keys. Having done it myself it will take you literally hours if not days, and you will cry when they start to go yellow again in 6-12 months. The case isn't such a big deal, you can just redo it in an hour or so, but the keys are not worth the effort. Just buy a new one, £30 and your Amiga will look and feel like new

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131500667284

[Treguard]

Originally Posted by edd_jedi

A bit of advice, don't waste your time retrobrighting the keyboard keys. Having done it myself it will take you literally hours if not days, and you will cry when they start to go yellow again in 6-12 months. The case isn't such a big deal, you can just redo it in an hour or so, but the keys are not worth the effort. Just buy a new one, £30 and your Amiga will look and feel like new

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131500667284

Funny you should say that as the bloke at AmigaKit had a similar story lol. Oh well, it's a learning process I guess Downstairs stinks of the stuff now.