A1200 is not steady on led screen

[Deano59]

Hi - I bought a 1200 on ebay and received it last week - I have the following problem:

1. When connected by rf the image is poor quality - snow like effect but the image is stable and text is easy to read.

2.I bought a rgb to scart on ebay - it arrived yesterday - it has been butchered at the serial end to fit the Amiga - seller says this won't effect its performance - however the screen 4:3 on widescrren tv is sliding ever so slightly from left to right - anyone had any experience with this? Is the Amiga broken?

3. I ordered a RGB to Scart from a different seller on ebay that should arrive in a day or two.

I am a total noob so any help greatly appreciated - should I wait for the second rgb to scart cable or should I just send the Amiga 1200 back - such a shame as it is in lovely white condition.

 

[ColourWheel64]

All I know is that putting the Amiga through a scart lead can result in a steady picture on a flat screen television.

I hope the replacement scart lead works.

TBH I'd return the original scart lead anyway.

Who wants an unsightly butchered lead connected to the telly? I wouldn't.

Sounds like an unscrupulous seller to me, so I'd go straight to the Resolution centre and let ebay handle your refund.

 

[Bryce]

It sounds like the TV isn't properly syncing to the Amigas output. What model TV / Monitor are you using?

Bryce.

 

[Sardine]

All I know is that putting the Amiga through a scart lead can result in a steady picture on a flat screen television.

I hope the replacement scart lead works.

TBH I'd return the original scart lead anyway.

Who wants an unsightly butchered lead connected to the telly? I wouldn't.

Sounds like an unscrupulous seller to me, so I'd go straight to the Resolution centre and let ebay handle your refund.

@ colourwheel64 I wouldn't jump in that quickly and start pointing fingers until the actual cause is identified. How can you judge on this case with such little information or proof ?

@Deano59
"Butchered" is quite a strong word, do you mean the last 2 pins cut off to allow a 25 pin connector to fit an amiga 23 socket ? (mine is like this) and has no issues.

3 possible reasons,

1:- the cable is missing the resistors that compinsate for a large amount of LCD tv's that dont like the vanilla ouput

2:- the Amiga is faulty

3:- the TV is just not up to the task of displaying such an old signal if the set is quite new.

I have this issue with 2 of my recent LCD TV's(one a sony less than a year) over RF, very poor, fuzzy and alternating colour then Black&White, but on my 3rd TV (a 10 yr old no name LCD) works great.

all those nice picture enhancements inside newer LCD's can over compensate and ruin the picture (my dragon 64 awful and painfull to look at on my Sony 50" but again on the old no name 32" perfect) as the old tv has no image enhancements whatsoever.

hope this helps.

 

[Snoozy]

I would have advised buying a proper scart lead from amigakit. Even amigakit have a "butchered" end connector to connect to the a1200 video port - as there is now a shortage of the proper plugs to connect to a1200 video port.

May be worth trying a different tv first - one that definitely supports rgb signal, the older the tv the better.

If you are going to use lcd tv, we have previously discussed on these boards that cheaper tv such as technika give a better picture with a1200 compared to expensive Samsung/Sony LED tv which tend to give highly pixelated pictures.

See this thread: https://www.amibay.com/showthread.p...built-in-flicker-fixer&highlight=technika+lcd

 

[ColourWheel64]

@ colourwheel64 I wouldn't jump in that quickly and start pointing fingers until the actual cause is identified. How can you judge on this case with such little information or proof ?

I don't point fingers thank you very much. Cheeky git. Especially cheeky since you might easily be mistaken to appear to have been jumping in and pointing fingers yourself

Advising that he do the cautious thing and return the scart lead (the one with the butchered end) via the resolution centre to beat the 30 day cut-off, which unscrupulous sellers can abuse is fair enough I think.

Jumping in pointing fingers indeed. What a thing to say. I'll tell you how I know though. Experience is how. I've had my run-ins with the types that think they can waste my time and press my buttons until the 30 days is over.

There are plenty of people out there that don't care just as long as their wallets are filling up. There are even more that do not and would never in their lives. It's certainly a case of the few that ruin it for the majority, but there are enough stinkers out there to warrant erring on the side of caution.

Allowing ebay to deal with it as soon as you can results in a clean and quibble-free resolution.

Why leave it to chance?

ADDITION:

It's also worth pointing out that the SCART lead I use is professionally finished. So, it's not like they don't exist.

Look at this for a quality job:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Amiga-RGB...pt=UK_VintageComputing_RL&hash=item1e8b65384a

Why on earth would anyone want to keep (let alone recommend to a 'help, I'm a noob' flag waving friend) a scart lead with a butchered end when nice ones are available?

It's not like you're helping to keep the Amiga alive by supporting shoddy workmanship. No, it means that when you had the opportunity to support the decent workers, you chose to squander it on some shoddy noddy who's business relies on that you don't make a fuss.

Keeping the wires contained can only aid signal quality and lengthen the life of the lead if looking smart isn't enough for you.

It doesn't surprise me that Amigakit supply rough scart leads too. The SCSi faceplate I bought from them is fashioned from a terrible piece of metal. The sort of work that makes you especially grateful for tetanus jabs. At least it can face the wall until I find an alternative.

Another great piece of advice is to keep your chin up. There are plenty of folks out there that try to cut you down, and there are times that they can get through and really cut to your core. Yet, if you can lay claim to a roof over your head, a warm fire, a full tummy and an Amiga to play with then you can believe with confidence that you're doing very well indeed.

 

[Deano59]

Hi - okay - not that I know that even Amiga kit cut part of the serial I will retract the word "butchered@ - I am a total Amiga noob and have never received a cable that had part of the metal shielding at the very top cut off - so excuse my blunt statement. Nevertheless, I have decided to return said cable and have already bought one from a different cable supplier on ebay that I have successfully used in the past.

The HDTV monitor is over 3 years old - its a 27" Samsung - I am going to try the composite to scart block option once I can lay my hands on a composite lead - I don't need a perfect picture but I do need one that isn't fuzzy and isn't shaking on the screen.

Thanks for all your help guys

 

[roy_bates]

i think bryce is the closest to the problem.


we would have to see the wiring in the connectors to understand the problem...
there are a couple of voltages needed to switch the tv to rgb mode some sets have slightly different tolerances resulting in an odd display if the resistors are slightly out resistance wise in the scart plug.these voltages are taken from the rgb socket on the amigas 12 and 5 volt rail
this can among other things, result in a jumping picture or it dont switch to rgb mode properly etc...

if the new rgb lead you get does the same thing,please dont blame the seller this does happen on some sets every now and then,ive seen it myself.
and well...its easy to fix.
if,you know what you doing.

 

[Sardine]

@ColourWheel64
I'm a cheeky git for asking you not to instantly blame the seller of the cable ? It could be a fault with the ops modern LCD tv or the Amiga.

Sounds like an unscrupulous seller to me, so I'd go straight to the Resolution centre and let ebay handle your refund

What ?? not even contact the seller for support or a refund but go straight to the resolution centre ?

just because you may have had an unpleasant trade does not mean everyone else is out "to get my cash".

oh and btw, the link you provided to the "professional" cable is a 25 pin cut down to 23 pin like 99.9% of all cables available due the limited supply remaining of genuine 23 pin connectors.

 

[ColourWheel64]

I don't instantly blame the seller. The resolution centre is just easy for all involved: the buyer, the seller and the ebay decision makers.

The resolution centre is set up so that you can communicate with the seller initially to resolve your case, but if all goes sour then its easy for ebay to jump in and sort everything out, because it's all nicely organised in one place. Assuming the seller isn't trying to fleece you then you click the, 'everything's resolved' button and life can go on peacefully and without a scene.

Why complicate things by going off the record?

Also, I'm well aware what the cable that I recommended is, but you don't know any more than that the cable is butchered at one end. You fabricated the rest for some reason and stuck to it like glue.

You obviously didn't even attempt to understand my last post, so why don't you cool off and make more of an effort in future to be more understanding.

I am a total Amiga noob and have never received a cable that had part of the metal shielding at the very top cut off - so excuse my blunt statement.

You have nothing to apologise for. I think it must be Sardine's time of the month lol

Bryce and Roy were in the middle of helping and they need to be saved from drowning.

It sounds like the TV isn't properly syncing to the Amigas output. What model TV / Monitor are you using?

Bryce.

i think bryce is the closest to the problem.


we would have to see the wiring in the connectors to understand the problem...
there are a couple of voltages needed to switch the tv to rgb mode some sets have slightly different tolerances resulting in an odd display if the resistors are slightly out resistance wise in the scart plug.these voltages are taken from the rgb socket on the amigas 12 and 5 volt rail
this can among other things, result in a jumping picture or it dont switch to rgb mode properly etc...

if the new rgb lead you get does the same thing,please dont blame the seller this does happen on some sets every now and then,ive seen it myself.
and well...its easy to fix.
if,you know what you doing.

@deano59 Are you able to supply us with a photo or two of the RGB end of the cable and also the cable as a whole?​

 

[Deano59]

Tried Composite to scart and that worked a treat - bigger worries now however:

1. When I turn it on the power light does not come on straight away and only stays on intermittently - is this a problem - remember - noob here.
2. I copied lemmings ADF from CF through PCMCIA to floppy - I then ran relokick 1.4a and it fails to work.
3. I copied The Great Giana Sisters ADF to Floppy and it worked after I ran relokick 1.4a. However, it hasn't worked since - instead I get a message saying - "Software failure. Press left mouse button to continue. Guru Meditation - does this mean the CPU is broken?

I really need your help guys as if it is broken I need to return it to ebay seller asap and invest in a new one.

Kind Regards

Dan

 

[Snoozy]

It sounds like the a1200 is ok and you are facing simple failing magnetic media - 3.5" floppy disks. Some software designed for a500 is incompatible with a1200. Relokick can help but it doesn't solve all problems.

Most people playing amiga software these days are using CF or perferably proper HD, with whdload. Gotek floppy emulator drive is also far more reliable than the real 3.5" disks.

 

[Bryce]

Bryce and Roy were in the middle of helping and they need to be saved from drowning.

No worries, I'm a strong swimmer

Bryce.

 

[Deano59]

I bought the 8GB CF WHDload but haven't installed it as I don't have an accelerator card with memory yet - I don't want to invest in one if the machine is broken. I have a gotek that I bought for an A500 but I haven't opened the 1200 in case it is faulty.

Any ideas why the power light doesn't always come on when I power up the machine?

Why did the Giana floppy work once and then not at all?

Sorry - I am just so afraid I have wasted my money on a bad machine

I am a complete noob so I thank you all for your patience with my questions.

 

[Snoozy]

the a1200 power light comes on gradually in 2 or 3 phases as it switches on - this is normal. Otherwise it may need a new led - its only an led. If you are seeing the purple workbench screen on start-up your a1200 motherboard is likely ok. There may be some diagnostic checks you can perform by holding the 2 mouse buttons together as the a1200 boots up - this is normally used for peripheral attachments though. In this menu you can disable cpu caches and choose original chipset to try and get some games to work - its hit and miss.

As I said, floppies (and floppy drives) are now 20 years old and contuining to use them may result in random errors.

 

[roy_bates]

the intermittent power light could be just a simple case of a bad solder joint...although i am guessing here

software for the 500 does sometimes cause crashes and gurus(especially in non dos games that have there own bootblock for instance) ,but not always frontier is an example of a game that works on most amigas straight from floppy.it also loads from workbench

as for a floppy not working,it could either be the media(floppy disks itself) or the drive needs cleaning,or its developing a fault..

you didnt waist your money getting the 1200,but...you need to realize that these are getting older by the day,machines that never get serviced do eventually fail in one way or another even then its still repairable if indeed it is faulty.

to be honest,if the machine has an intermittent problem your best off sending it to someone capable of doing something about the problem.
not many people if any will be able to tell you what the problem is just from text in a thread,pictures wont really help.as far as the 1200 goes.

 

[Deano59]

Who do you think I should send it to - I don't know anyone who knows anything about fixing Amigas - do Amigakit service them?

 

[ColourWheel64]

The power and drive access lights do flash during a guru meditation.

A video of it would help if you could make one on your phone if you have one and upload it to youtube.

A guru meditation is just a crash and is caused by illegal code. Since we all know that Great Giana Sisters should work without crashing, we can suggest that the data is corrupted in some way. Since it worked once, it probably points to the drive corrupting the media. This might be caused by dirty heads on your floppy drive preventing your discs to be written/read correctly.

Try this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Floppy-di...uting_FloppyDiskDrives_SM&hash=item2c77f15928

They can be used multiple times. I tend to clean my drives once every couple of years.

I'm not surprised that you're experiencing issues, as many people tend to sell their equipment after it develops some problem or other. However, I must stress that the A1200 (along with other Amigas) are very robust machines and can survive a lot of punishment. They run cool and the chips are surface mounted.

Personally, I've never come across an Amiga that couldn't be fixed. That's not to say they're indestructible, but if it hasn't been through too arduous a torture, there's a strong chance it should be salvageable.

Especially if you managed to achieve to load and play a game for at least a small length of time.

 

[Deano59]

Thanks for the link - I bought it - if it doesn't work what are my options?

 

[roy_bates]

for the drive?
if so,they are replaceable mate...or they can be got for not alot in working condition(only get internal drives for the 1200 and 600 other models wont physically fit the bay there easy enough to fit,its just two cables and a few screws(three to be exact after taking the top off))


im sure amigakit do a repair and or cap replacement service,people on here also do a repair /cap replacement service in the services area
the machine should be serviced anyway,if it hasnt been used alot or for years

i would suggest getting the aluminum electrolytic smd capacitors replaced they are prone to leaking/drying up(if its been in storage for long periods) if you get this machine and it hadn't been used for years before hand,just a thought there bud
machine should be power cycled at least once a week.or used regular...