Found an A500+ is it worth keeping?

[keithshaw3]

Hi all, I currently own an A500 that works perfectly well with a Gotek and an ACA500+, I've just found an old A500+ in my parent's loft, the battery looks to have leaked a bit but I don't think it has eroded anything too bad, it also has an expansion surrounded by a metal casing labeled A501+ I assume this is the extra memory?

My question is, is it worth keeping and getting it cleaned up and working, is it a special model with a rare motherboard, chips, etc. could I use it for spare parts in case my working model develops a fault? or should I just put it on eBay?

Pics attached.

Thanks in advance.

[eXeler0]

Although this goes against my instincts, you could sell everything in parts. Chipset, memory chips, mobo without chips, keyboard, drive, case.. there will be buyers

[Torti-the-Smurf]

Amigas getting more and more expensive and harder to find. My advice ; keep it .

Greetings, Torti

[Jpor]

Originally Posted by Torti-the-Smurf

Amigas getting more and more expensive and harder to find. My advice ; keep it .

Greetings, Torti

Seconded on that. The A500+ has 1MB Chip RAM onboard as standard. The A501 is extra RAM.

The issue back in the day with 500+ was that earlier games for the A500 didn’t work correctly due to having 1MB chip. A lot of games were geared towards the A500 0.5MB chip and Slow RAM. These days the 500+ are a great starter system for WHDLOAD

[keithshaw3]

Great, thanks for making up my mind, I'm going to keep it , should I remove the battery before it leaks even more or just clean it up?

I may even get time in the future to get it going and run it along side my A500 as purely a disk-based machine if the drive works, or I could move the gotek to it as I don't use it much since I got the ACA500, mmm options options

[Matt_H]

Get that battery out of there! It will continue causing damage until it's removed.

[fxgogo]

And clean it up. Lots of videos on YT on how to do that and look for potential damage.

[keithshaw3]

ok, thanks, I will get onto it right away

[fitzsteve]

Definitely worth cleaning up, just make sure you do a thorough job with lemon juice and then clean (again thoroughly) with IPA. It may need some repair work to traces, depends how much the corrosion has spread but if you're lucky it might just be on the surface.

If it does end up as a problem to get it working as above the parts on the board (especially the 2mb Agnus) are quite valuable and you could even get it transplanted to an A500++ board

[stevelord]

I've a slightly different suggestion:

Clip the battery, clean it up and assess the damage. If you're comfortable doing a more complex repair or recap, or getting it recapped consider that. You'll also need to look into the A501 as there may be a battery in there. If there is it'll need clipping and cleaning.

Once you're done, have a think of what you want to do with it over and above your existing 500. Might work well with a Checkmate or another 500 might be handy to have.

On the other hand, you might not have a use for it. If you can't find a use for it, then consider selling on Amibay or eBay. No need to be greedy. Just look at recently sold item prices most closely matching your own.

[fitzsteve]

No need to recap an A500/A500+ unless there's noticeable damage to a cap or an issue related to that capacitor, they're not generally a problem like the SMD caps, none of my A500 or A500+ have ever needed a single cap replaced.

[keithshaw3]

Some great suggestions, thank you,

I added a photo of the battery to the post to show the damage, it does not look too bad, so if I just clip it, clean it and not replace it, it should be fine except I will have no RTC?

I will definitely check out the A501 too, I didn't realize there was a battery in that too.

[fxgogo]

That capacitor juic has a way of getting in to places you never thought possible. Very dependant on its storage position. My A500 for example had dripped down onto the legs of my 68000. Didn’t touch the board, just the processor.

[keithshaw3]

mmm, I will take a good look at the weekend, if I do decide on keeping it I will probably send it to someone who knows what they are doing instead of me making it worse

[fxgogo]

Good idea. I had a go at capacitor replacement and almost destroyed my A1200. Best left to the experts.

[lesta_smsc]

Originally Posted by Torti-the-Smurf

Amigas getting more and more expensive and harder to find. My advice ; keep it .

Greetings, Torti

This is one of the reasons I'm having difficulty in parting with my Amigas! I was hoping to sell on but at the current rate I'll be unlikely to buy back in the near future!

[Matt_H]

Originally Posted by keithshaw3

so if I just clip it, clean it and not replace it, it should be fine except I will have no RTC?

Correct.

I will definitely check out the A501 too, I didn't realize there was a battery in that too.

The A501 has a battery, but the A501+ does not. Those metal cases are an extreme pain to open, so if you don't have to, don't.

[keithshaw3]

Originally Posted by Matt_H

Correct.



The A501 has a battery, but the A501+ does not. Those metal cases are an extreme pain to open, so if you don't have to, don't.

Phew that's a relief, I did look at it and thought how the hell do I get into this thing