[Restore]Amiga 1200 Kwizoke restore (if possible) blog...

[Mr. Trog]

Ok... With my old Miggy 600 finished, time I turned my attention to the family (ex commercial) Kwizoke system.

These were standard A1200s, modified with an IDE CD ROM via idc / ribbon cable, connected to a Roland midi synthesizer, which in turn was connected to a harmony unit, going into a PA amplifier. All in a plastic case.

It ran proprietary software and the system was authenticated with a "dongle" type device hanging out of a port at the back.

The unit has been in the family since new, approx (1995/6) and was in regular commercial usage in mother in law's public house up until 2005. It has been used infrequently since then.

Below are some pictures of this almost forgotten unit. It's my job to restore it. It was working last time it was used about 5 years ago, but it is still on its original caps. There is evidence of leakage looking through the spare "garage door" connector on the back...

I'm not after anything, just wanted to make a "blog" cataloguing the process. This unit has very special sentimental value to my mother in law and my wife... And I feel it's a shame letting it go to waste.

Not even attempting to power it on yet until a full examination had taken place.

Pictures are attached... Will keep updated, blogging the experience. Hope the mods don't mind me doing this and apologies if it's in the wrong section.

Matty


EDIT 1: 29/8/20 Homemade "UV" chamber - See post 3. Peroxide cream I am using is this... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jerome-Russ...ce-g0979249316
Only needed to do one overnight treatment. At £1.69 per bottle, I cleared the shelf!

EDIT 2: 30/8/20 Examination of board revealed some corrosion around IDE & Composite filter area. Waiting for capacitor kit.

EDIT 3: 1/9/20 Reassembly complete. Pics will follow. The keyboard membrane has gone rotten though... Traces (or flakes) just falling off every time I went to plug the thing in. Those flakes are traces. Which Escom just drawn on with a HB pencil by the looks of it.Hard PCB membrane going in.

[sutol]

Hi Mr.Trog
Very interested in this, I am doing the same thing.
I have now fixed the A1200 (broken track in the end caused by a leaky cap)
The thread is at http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?...50#post1408850 if your interested.

The problem I now have is that the floppy doesn’t boot (others do).
I think the failed motor drive signal to the floppy drive has caused the floppy disk to be worn in one place as it wasn’t spinning.
If you could do a copy of the floppy it would be appreciated

[Mr. Trog]

Originally Posted by sutol

Hi Mr.Trog
Very interested in this, I am doing the same thing.
I have now fixed the A1200 (broken track in the end caused by a leaky cap)
The thread is at http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?...50#post1408850 if your interested.

The problem I now have is that the floppy doesn’t boot (others do).
I think the failed motor drive signal to the floppy drive has caused the floppy disk to be worn in one place as it wasn’t spinning.
If you could do a copy of the floppy it would be appreciated

Yeah sure. Not got round to floppy yet (doing it today). To state the obvious - The belt is OK, right?

Some more pics...

Homemade "UV" chamber... A cassette of unused LEDs on a strip attached to lid of a A1200-sized container. One overnight treatment has done the trick. The LEDS are a "cool white" that I purchased off Skegness car boot a couple of years ago. Apparently they are UV safe - meaning they give off zero UV - the overnight bleaching of a peroxide-covered keyboard would indicate Mr. Chinaman who made the things was "incorrect" about that.

And the other pic is the result. Keys are in there at the moment.
The pic doesn't do it justice. There is zero yellowing in real life - I just have rubbish camera.

[Mr. Trog]

@sutol

Kwizoke disk as requested...

[sutol]

Thank you Mr.Trog, I'll try it and let you know the outcome

I am just starting to build my UV chamber (I work in LED lighting for machine vision, so have access to some quite powerful UV lights!)
My experiments on a couple of keys, just in the sun, has allready made a world of difference.

[Mr. Trog]

No worries. Hope it works out for you!

[Mr. Trog]

Double-posting, but who cares

Keyboard membrane rotten. Trace "flakes" in the socket. Beyond any kind of realistic repair. Went the nuclear option too, by trimming the connector... Almost barbershop quality trimming, but nope. More flakes.

#greendandruff.

[solarmon]

Originally Posted by Mr. Trog

Keyboard membrane rotten. Trace "flakes" in the socket. Beyond any kind of realistic repair. Went the nuclear option too, by trimming the connector... Almost barbershop quality trimming, but nope. More flakes.

Best to get a hard/PCB keyboard membrane as a replacement - for example:

https://sordan.ie/product/713/new-pr...0--1200-green/

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Premi...-/114227168563

[Mr. Trog]

Originally Posted by solarmon

Best to get a hard/PCB keyboard membrane as a replacement - for example:

https://sordan.ie/product/713/new-pr...0--1200-green/

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Premi...-/114227168563

Yep thats the one I ordered. Should be original equipment they are that good.
Fitted one to my Miggy 6,never looked back.

[Mr. Trog]

Pic below...Got 2 stacks this size of Amiga compatible CDROM drives. And cables (IDE44 interfaces).

Should I cut cases and for a couple? I'm thinking not... Would it decrease value? Not been back in the Amiga game long enough to know yet.

Answers on a postcard?