Romulator - Amiga 600

Honey Badger · 14 June 2020, 04:30

I received a Romulator for my Amiga 600 today. Really looking forward to using it, but can't quite figure out how to connect the wire jumper onto the motherboard...

indigolemon · 14 June 2020, 10:33

It needs to tap the reset signal. From memory you need to solder it next to a transistor? I'll see if I can find the picture (was a while ago)

Honey Badger · 14 June 2020, 14:32

yeah, seems I need to revisit my decades-ago soldering skills ...

unless there's a means to clamp it on somehow

indigolemon · 14 June 2020, 15:42

I think you're looking at soldering I'm afraid, but with the cable end tinned it should be a quick touch to get this connected

(still haven't found the image, sorry)

Honey Badger · 14 June 2020, 15:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by indigolemon

I think you're looking at soldering I'm afraid, but with the cable end tinned it should be a quick touch to get this connected

(still haven't found the image, sorry)

No worries on the image - quite sure it's the transistor at Q511 - and yeah, should be a fairly simple soldering job.

Thanks for the hints!

Honey Badger · 14 June 2020, 16:38

think I might have ruined it -- the Amiga doesn't boot at all, turns on to a completely black screen & the caps lock light flickers - and attempting to reboot via the amiga keys doesn't do anything

I took out the Romulator and the Amiga works --- well, suppose I can try 'soft rom' techniques

indigolemon · 14 June 2020, 17:22

Oh no

Was the Romulator in the socket the right way round?

cmorley · 14 June 2020, 17:37

$80 and it doesn't come with instructions?!

Honey Badger · 14 June 2020, 17:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by indigolemon

Oh no

Was the Romulator in the socket the right way round?

Like so ... looks ok to me ...

Click image for larger version

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Honey Badger · 14 June 2020, 17:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmorley

$80 and it doesn't come with instructions?!

just the card - supposed to just "know" it would seem

indigolemon · 14 June 2020, 18:07

Yeah- AOTL could really do with printing the instructions and including them in the package. Wouldn't take much effort for them at all!

Regarding your issue I'm not sure what else to suggest sadly.

The picture I remembered is on the AOTL site at least:

Honey Badger · 14 June 2020, 18:15

What’s interesting is ... the pin looks like what you’d plug into the keyboard connector of the Amiga 500 version

Click image for larger version

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indigolemon · 14 June 2020, 18:42

Yes, with the 500 version you can tap the signal at the keyboard connector, by pressing that pin into the top of the lead from the keyboard itself. The keyboard on the 600 is a different setup, hence the need to solder to get the same signal.

Honey Badger · 14 June 2020, 18:49

guessing they sent the wrong wire - would have to cut the pin & strip the wire first

Honey Badger · 14 June 2020, 19:20

Well ... bad romulator and/or I screwed something up

Soldered in the cable & still get blank screen, but caps lock light permanently on

Putting the ROM back in gets the Amiga working again

So .... this little project is kaput

Will try my luck with soft rom, have plenty of expanded RAM for that

cmorley · 14 June 2020, 19:46

Shameless plug:

https://www.exxoshost.co.uk/forum/vi...hp?f=44&t=2018

Honey Badger · 14 June 2020, 19:50

Intriguing! Thanks ... will certainly look into this possibility

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmorley

Shameless plug:

https://www.exxoshost.co.uk/forum/vi...hp?f=44&t=2018

mkstr · 14 June 2020, 20:46

The 600 is a bit awkward because there is no convenient place to pick up the reset signal. I would suggest you ensure the reset is definitely working properly before fitting the Romulator.

Leave the original ROM installed and get the wire hooked up as shown in the photo. Check that the machine still boots normally with the wire attached, and that tapping the free end against the RF shield causes the machine to reset. After that, power off and fit/hook up the Romulator. This should rule out any problems with the reset connection. If the Romulator can't control reset then you will definitely have boot issues like you describe.

Mike

Honey Badger · 14 June 2020, 22:06

Thanks for the tips, Mike. Sadly, doesn't work...

The wire does indeed reset the machine when tapping the RF, but nothing ever displays on the screen.

For what it's worth, this Amiga 600 is a little bit wonky - the PCMCIA slot barely functions -- at best, the Amiga will see the existence of a card, but I can't ever get it to actually use it, format it or anything ... and that's only with some cards, even ones that really should work. But, other than that, this is only malfunction I've had. I've installed various RAM upgrades & Furia card & USB interface for a wireless keyboard ... all fine & dandy ..... and just to eliminate those as potential factors, even tried using the romulator w/o any of those, same thing happens

DigitalKeeper · 14 June 2020, 22:54

Use the "_RST" Line instead of the "KB_RESET" Line

14 June 2020, 04:30	#1
Honey Badger Registered User Join Date: Dec 2018 Location: Des Moines, IA Age: 58 Posts: 88	Romulator - Amiga 600 I received a Romulator for my Amiga 600 today. Really looking forward to using it, but can't quite figure out how to connect the wire jumper onto the motherboard...

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14 June 2020, 10:33	#2
indigolemon Bit Copying Bard Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Kelty, Fife, Scotland Age: 41 Posts: 1,294	It needs to tap the reset signal. From memory you need to solder it next to a transistor? I'll see if I can find the picture (was a while ago)

14 June 2020, 14:32	#3
Honey Badger Registered User Join Date: Dec 2018 Location: Des Moines, IA Age: 58 Posts: 88	yeah, seems I need to revisit my decades-ago soldering skills ... unless there's a means to clamp it on somehow

14 June 2020, 15:42	#4
indigolemon Bit Copying Bard Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Kelty, Fife, Scotland Age: 41 Posts: 1,294	I think you're looking at soldering I'm afraid, but with the cable end tinned it should be a quick touch to get this connected (still haven't found the image, sorry)

14 June 2020, 16:38	#6
Honey Badger Registered User Join Date: Dec 2018 Location: Des Moines, IA Age: 58 Posts: 88	think I might have ruined it -- the Amiga doesn't boot at all, turns on to a completely black screen & the caps lock light flickers - and attempting to reboot via the amiga keys doesn't do anything I took out the Romulator and the Amiga works --- well, suppose I can try 'soft rom' techniques

14 June 2020, 17:22	#7
indigolemon Bit Copying Bard Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Kelty, Fife, Scotland Age: 41 Posts: 1,294	Oh no Was the Romulator in the socket the right way round?

14 June 2020, 17:37	#8
cmorley Registered User Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 66	$80 and it doesn't come with instructions?!

14 June 2020, 18:07	#11
indigolemon Bit Copying Bard Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Kelty, Fife, Scotland Age: 41 Posts: 1,294	Yeah- AOTL could really do with printing the instructions and including them in the package. Wouldn't take much effort for them at all! Regarding your issue I'm not sure what else to suggest sadly. The picture I remembered is on the AOTL site at least:

14 June 2020, 18:15	#12
Honey Badger Registered User Join Date: Dec 2018 Location: Des Moines, IA Age: 58 Posts: 88	What’s interesting is ... the pin looks like what you’d plug into the keyboard connector of the Amiga 500 version

14 June 2020, 18:42	#13
indigolemon Bit Copying Bard Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Kelty, Fife, Scotland Age: 41 Posts: 1,294	Yes, with the 500 version you can tap the signal at the keyboard connector, by pressing that pin into the top of the lead from the keyboard itself. The keyboard on the 600 is a different setup, hence the need to solder to get the same signal.

14 June 2020, 18:49	#14
Honey Badger Registered User Join Date: Dec 2018 Location: Des Moines, IA Age: 58 Posts: 88	guessing they sent the wrong wire - would have to cut the pin & strip the wire first

14 June 2020, 19:20	#15
Honey Badger Registered User Join Date: Dec 2018 Location: Des Moines, IA Age: 58 Posts: 88	Well ... bad romulator and/or I screwed something up Soldered in the cable & still get blank screen, but caps lock light permanently on Putting the ROM back in gets the Amiga working again So .... this little project is kaput Will try my luck with soft rom, have plenty of expanded RAM for that

14 June 2020, 19:46	#16
cmorley Registered User Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 66	Shameless plug: https://www.exxoshost.co.uk/forum/vi...hp?f=44&t=2018

14 June 2020, 20:46	#18
mkstr Registered User Join Date: May 2018 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 64	The 600 is a bit awkward because there is no convenient place to pick up the reset signal. I would suggest you ensure the reset is definitely working properly before fitting the Romulator. Leave the original ROM installed and get the wire hooked up as shown in the photo. Check that the machine still boots normally with the wire attached, and that tapping the free end against the RF shield causes the machine to reset. After that, power off and fit/hook up the Romulator. This should rule out any problems with the reset connection. If the Romulator can't control reset then you will definitely have boot issues like you describe. Mike

14 June 2020, 22:06	#19
Honey Badger Registered User Join Date: Dec 2018 Location: Des Moines, IA Age: 58 Posts: 88	Thanks for the tips, Mike. Sadly, doesn't work... The wire does indeed reset the machine when tapping the RF, but nothing ever displays on the screen. For what it's worth, this Amiga 600 is a little bit wonky - the PCMCIA slot barely functions -- at best, the Amiga will see the existence of a card, but I can't ever get it to actually use it, format it or anything ... and that's only with some cards, even ones that really should work. But, other than that, this is only malfunction I've had. I've installed various RAM upgrades & Furia card & USB interface for a wireless keyboard ... all fine & dandy ..... and just to eliminate those as potential factors, even tried using the romulator w/o any of those, same thing happens

14 June 2020, 22:54	#20
DigitalKeeper _Repair_Nerd_ Join Date: Jun 2020 Location: Germany Posts: 71	Use the "_RST" Line instead of the "KB_RESET" Line

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