Faulty A600 Help Needed Please - Newbie

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HamStar50

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Hi all,

I'm a bit of a newbie here and until today wasn't even aware that there's this great forum. I'm wondering if anyone is knowledgable to assist me with me problem.

Last Sunday I switched my Commodore monitor on (to the usual dark grey screen when there's no image signal) and then the A600. The A600 floppy drive clicked as it usually does but I got no picture at all. I got a split second flick but no colour change or image of the disk going in.

I observed that the Power light came on fine but the Caps lock came on and stayed on (can't be turned off). My floppy drive used to click every few seconds previously as the image of the disk went into the drive - now i only hear it immediately to power the PSU on and never again. Holding down the reset keys make no difference. I took the RAM upgrade out and opened her up for the first time ever...everything looks ok inside - no burn marks of anything. The unit's a mint example so not really sure what's going on. Never opened previously..all warranty seals were intact.

Any help is mucho appreciated. Thanks very much.

Is the 'caps' problem? If so, anyone good a good easy to follow guide on how to resolve this please? Thank you.
 
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First thing to check would be the capacitors on the motherboard. They are prone to leaking and causing problems. Give the motherboard a close visual inspection and see if any of the capacitors look tarnished or if there's evidence of leaking on the motherboard. If all else fails, can you take a hi-res photo of the motherboard and upload it here so our hardware gurus can take a look?

Fortunately, with a modest amount of soldering skill, it's quite possible to replace the caps on a faulty A600 and bring the old girl back to life. If you're not up to the job, there are probably people on here who can help you out, too.

Good luck!

:thumbsup:
 
I am sure you will get lot's of ideas, but It won't hurt to reseat the rom chip first:) If you do not have a tool to lift it be carefull

Look at the caps for leakage while you are at it. I had quite a few "fat" caps on a600 not looking natural.

---------- Post added at 18:29 ---------- Previous post was at 18:28 ----------

Double thinking! Andy:)
 
Also, bad capacitors usually have a subtle discolouration on the solder pads: normal pads have a shiny solder.

Leaked capacitors have a darker solder or even tarnish over it. Worst cases have green stuff over the solder.

If you have a multimeter, check the voltages on the PSU with it hooked to the Amiga and turned on. The +5V must read above 4.85V and less than 5.1V.

+12V & -12V must be around nominal values (11.5 to 12.3V, normally).
 
Thank for all your helpful posts chaps.

So I separated out the motherboard...I have it in my hand as I type. I can see a few capacitors near top left and few others. I'm not 100% sure what EXACTLY and WHERE exactly I'm looking for it. Are there any images/diagrams that anyone's aware of. Worst cast, I'll upload a pic of mine.

Checked to make sure ROM is seated..looks good. What are solder pads?

I'm thinking my ability to do this might be lacking. I just read somewhere that it's not just what I thought we're capacitors...(colourful tall towers) but also something called surface mount capacitors...shiney silver ones which I won't be able to solder with a iron I got knocking around a draw. I'm going to have a good look around them all now. Thanks guys
 
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The shiny metal blobs on surrounding components. Is where the solder goes to connect the devices to the board traces.
 
Right folks, I had to get a magnification glass out. I *think* there the solder pads are a little duller than other shiney silver pads. I've added a bunch of pics. Sorry my cameras not the best.

Any opinions folks?
 

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it is tough to tell from those piccies, but there look like a few suspect ones in the 1st pic, the ones near the power/video modulator section
 
Hmmm :-(

What's the next step guys? I presume I need to buy all the caps to replace them right? Can I get them from Maplins? anyone have a list of which ones I need? Sorry about this...feel like bit of a baby having to be told every last bit..

Thanks again guys
 
Cosmos here on Amibay can sell you a complete set of caps to replace the ones on your A600. If you PM him the revision of your board, he can tell you what you need.

:)
 
always remember there aren't any stupid questions, the stupid bit is not asking the question in the 1st place:)

Cosmos is your man, Hikey can help as well, both top guys:thumbsup:


HamStar50 said:
Hmmm :-(

What's the next step guys? I presume I need to buy all the caps to replace them right? Can I get them from Maplins? anyone have a list of which ones I need? Sorry about this...feel like bit of a baby having to be told every last bit..

Thanks again guys
Click to expand...
 
I know what you mean but I've owned this Amiga since I was 10 years old and I feel like I know nothing about it :D

Taking a step back for a minute chaps - I'm no expert with electronics and can just about solder stuff (I've got a soldering iron with 1 standard tip lol) but I wouldn't be able to de-solder, clean-up anything that needs sorting and solder new caps successfully.

A helpful chap in one of my other posts pointed me to AmigaKit.co.uk (are these guys reputable/any good?) offer the service for £31 - is it better I do this or just buy another A600 from eBay for around £40.

Or are there other alternatives?


On a side note, I'm so thrilled with this forum that I've just bought a standard A1200 which I'm looking to learn lots about and do upgrades to as I learn (once I've saved a bit more cash). It hasn't arrived yet but unfortunately it's very yellow - is there a way of cleaning her up a bit and restore her holy white glory (my bust A600 is immaculate!)
 
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The problem with an eBay A600 is that it's just as likely to die of capacitor failure, if not now, then in the near future. If you get yours repaired, you know it'll be good for a long while yet. Besides, if it's been yours for so long, surely you'd want to keep it? :-)
 
cleaning yellowed machines, do a search for Retrobrite:thumbsup:

as for the A1200, well done, i think the 1200 is a great machine (you'll still need to do the caps though, it's the age of the machines i'm afriad:()

AmigaKit are great:thumbsup:

but then so is Hikey, drop him a PM (he did my A3640 for me and it was a top notch job)


HamStar50 said:
I know what you mean but I've owned this Amiga since I was 10 years old and I feel like I know nothing about it :D

Taking a step back for a minute chaps - I'm no expert with electronics and can just about solder stuff (I've got a soldering iron with 1 standard tip lol) but I wouldn't be able to de-solder, clean-up anything that needs sorting and solder new caps successfully.

A helpful chap in one of my other posts pointed me to AmigaKit.co.uk (are these guys reputable/any good?) offer the service for £31 - is it better I do this or just buy another A600 from eBay for around £40.

Or are there other alternatives?


On a side note, I'm so thrilled with this forum that I've just bought a standard A1200 which I'm looking to learn lots about and do upgrades to as I learn (once I've saved a bit more cash). It hasn't arrived yet but unfortunately it's very yellow - is there a way of cleaning her up a bit and restore her holy white glory (my bust A600 is immaculate!)
Click to expand...
 
AndyLandy said:
The problem with an eBay A600 is that it's just as likely to die of capacitor failure, if not now, then in the near future. If you get yours repaired, you know it'll be good for a long while yet. Besides, if it's been yours for so long, surely you'd want to keep it? :-)
Click to expand...

Of course it is - need more coffee, I'm not thinking properly! :nuts:

I prefer mine to be repaired - wish I never threw bits out when I was about 11/12 years (like the box and manuals etc.). It's a really weird relationship I have with it - I've not played with it in forever but can bear to part with it.

So that's settled - repairing is the way to go.
 
JuvUK said:
cleaning yellowed machines, do a search for Retrobrite:thumbsup:

as for the A1200, well done, i think the 1200 is a great machine (you'll still need to do the caps though, it's the age of the machines i'm afriad:()

AmigaKit are great:thumbsup:

but then so is Hikey, drop him a PM (he did my A3640 for me and it was a top notch job)
Click to expand...

I think I'll check with Hikey first before the shop. Thanks for the tip.

I'm so glad Merlin and crew were able to figure out Retr0bright...I'll take the time and effort to do this.
*edit* = woaw...this stuff looks deadly!
 
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