ACA1232/33 Installation

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aZtOcKdOg

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AmiBayer
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G'day all!

I received my package from the awesome guys at www.amigakit.com last Friday (man it was an exciting wait and took a little bit to get to me here in Australia!)

I grabbed a few odds and ends including: Rear port hex and case screws, capacitor pack, 300w PSU and the ACA1232/33! (with the RTC module)


I thought I would share my little journey with you guys, it's very exciting for me!

I bought a Petro A1200 Magic Pack out of the second batch which I received back in Feb:

petroa1200theunwrapping.jpg


Last Friday the package from www_amigakit_com arrived.. YAY!:
(The packaging was immaculate, $*#t was packed like Tetris- snug and safe!- Awesome job AmigaKit! ..BTW I ripped it all open very excitedly so this is an 'AFTER' shot)

packageopened.jpg


After trying to follow the included installation instructions I realised very quickly that I probably need to open the Amiga up to get the ACA1232 card installed .. a quick visit to http://www.fitzstevesamigaworld.co.uk/ confirmed this!

So today, I got out the trusty screwdriver and got to work:

removerfsheild.jpg


It gave me a chance to check out the actual condition of this NOS Amiga 1200 .. and it looks pristine as:

nicenewmobo.jpg


nicecleanchips.jpg


After removing the RF sheild and mobo screws etc. I was able to install the ACA card with ease:

aca1232installed.jpg


Putting everything back together and turning it on, I found myself staring at a black screen, then a multi coloured screen and some LED flashes etc. I quickly turned the 'miggy off and took another look at the instructions!

The lines "Bear in mind that the A1200 is an old computer: It is very likely that the connector has acquired dirt over the years...." stood out to me and I decided to double check the condition of the connector (I assumed it would be sweet 'coz it was a NOS unit... sometimes I am bit naive obviously haha)

The connector indeed looked a bit rough:

expansionportconnector.jpg


Using the advice given in the instructions I found myself a pencil eraser and cleaned the gold contacts of the connector:

magicpencileraser.jpg

Winnie the Pooh is awesome BTW! :lol:

I put the Amiga back together again and turned it on- black screen AGAIN.. D'oh!

So I continued to follow the instructions and moved the card back a couple of millimetres. Turned it on and ... SUCCESS!

petroa1200.jpg


She booted up no worries at all off the CF card supplied by fitzsteve: https://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?t=36321

cdhddinstalled.jpg


So, I quickly had a squiz using SysInfo and the card is detected properly, cool:

sysinfoscreen.jpg


I then began to test out the setup crossing my fingers that my mobo works OK without the timing fixes that is needed for some. I tried many demos, games etc:

demoscreen.jpg


So far so good, I'm not sure how quickly these timing issues rear it's ugly head?

Here is a demo from Australian demo group Cydonia (which I joined in 1995 as a musician... I think I sent them about 50 odd .mods but the only one that I know of that got used was for the demo CraptroII) This is a screenshot of the end credits of 'Capricorn One':

cydoniacapricornonecred.jpg


And ofcourse some TBL (The Black Lotus) action:

tbldemoscreen.jpg


Unfortunately my CRT TV had hissy fit a few weeks ago and made a bit of a zap noise when I turned it on and now looks like this:

faultytvscreen.jpg


I'm not sure if something like that is repairable??? But man was it a good screen for old school gaming (I only got a couple of weeks light-medium use out of it) ... on the hunt for a modern TV that will do a good job.

Anyway, I am stoked everything seems to be running well and fingers crossed I don't need timing fixes!

I would like to thank AmigaKit for their wonderful service, fitzsteve for his awesome service and ofcourse everyone behind AmiBay for providing this wicked resource and site that keeps me in touch with like minded enthusiasts!

Cheers for reading! peace.love
 

That tv looks like a philips clone. Deguass thermister normally blows.
So when you switch on, the screen is not deguassed.

If you had a deguass wand, you could temp fix until you move it.
Other than that, you would need to check the deguass circuit.
 
Really nice pics, thanks for sharing :thumbsup:

Enjoy your A1200 :)
 
Amiga and accelerator card seem to be running nicely! :thumbsup:

Be careful with the TV set though, there's the anode and possibly some caps in those you don't want to come into direct contact with, discharge properly first.
 
@FOL Thanks for the info, I hope to get it fixed soon! I wondered if it was degause issues but no wand unfortunately.

@fitzsteve Cheers mate, will do :)

@Retrograde Thanks for the advice mate, I have seen someone get blasted before so I will get professional service me thinks!

.aZtOcKdOg | .Key-J FReeLY
 
As FOL said, the TV needs the PTC replaced.
These are quite universal parts, you can remove them from nearly any CRT TV (except Sony) or monitor and use as replacement.
I recently replaced it in my 29" TV, took the part from an old 17" PC monitor.

They have either 2 or 3 legs, you need to find a matching unit.
Even if buying new, they are dirt cheap :)
 
Now you have the hallowed A1200,why not go for jens indivision MK11 for a great add on and ouput to a nice big TV, one of my best purchases for my A1200 and I am not sure but I swear I heard the little fella go AAhhh when I placed it snuggly over Lisa !:D
And I want your winnie the poo rubber aswell :)
 
Yeah I am definitely keeping my eyes peeled for a modern solution! Fingers crossed a new batch starts shipping soon!

.aZtOcKdOg | .Key-J FReeLY
 
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