M-Tec 1230 not working

[fitzsteve]

Hi All,

I purchased an M-Tec 1230 recently through these forums and it arrived today however it appears not to be working.

I could tell immediately something was wrong when I opened the box becuase it had a funny smell, like something that had burnt out.

I went ahead and tried it in my A1200 and all that happens it the power led flashes and I either get a yellow or red screen.

I've looked these up, yellow suggests CPU and red ROM. However my A1200 boots fine without the M-Tec and also with my Typhoon MK2.

Can anyone offer any advice? All the chips seem to be in place fine and I've tried another memory Simm.

I have a revision 2b motherboard & 3.1 rom if this makes any difference.

Thanks,

Steve.

 

[dougal]

A bit of an obvious question,

But did you try removing the ram completely, and also removing (if any) pcmcia card etc.. ?

 

[keropi]

are there vissible signs of defect on the board?

 

[fitzsteve]

A bit of an obvious question,

But did you try removing the ram completely, and also removing (if any) pcmcia card etc.. ?

No PCMCIA cards in, but I didn't try removing the Ram, i'll try that later.

are there vissible signs of defect on the board?

Not that I can see, it looks ok, just the funny smell.

 

[AndyLandy]

Could be worth posting hi-res photos of both sides of the board? One of our resident hardware experts might be able to identify a shonky capacitor that's to blame.

 

[fitzsteve]

Could be worth posting hi-res photos of both sides of the board? One of our resident hardware experts might be able to identify a shonky capacitor that's to blame.

Good idea Andy, i'll get my scanner out of the loft and scan both sides as that will be clearer than a photo. In fact i'll do both!

I'll do that when I get back from work.

Thanks.

Steve.

 

[Zetr0]

@fitzsteve

whom did you buy it from? did they note any problems with the card?

 

[fitzsteve]

@fitzsteve

whom did you buy it from? did they note any problems with the card?

This thread from Amiga-Digital, described as working. He has a good rep though so i'm not sure what to think.

It was packed superbly, i.e box box with lots of bubble wrap, no chance of getting damaged unless it was exposed to extream hot or cold temperature?

Steve.

 

[rkauer]

...Or X-ray in some airport/local customs postal area.

 

[fitzsteve]

Hi

Here are some photo's, not been able to get the scanner down yet.

Amiga-Digital has offered for me to send the card back and he'll try to fix the problem. I'm going to try it without the Ram after Arsenel have destroyed Porto...

Thanks for any help

 

[Merlin]

Daft question time; have you tried pressing on the socketed chips, to ensure that they are seated correctly?

It's possible that the Lattice or Motorola chips may have worked out of their seats in transit.

 

[xc8]

...Or X-ray in some airport/local customs postal area.

Really? I never heard that this can cause problems to systems, I am curious about this.

Chris

 

[fitzsteve]

Daft question time; have you tried pressing on the socketed chips, to ensure that they are seated correctly?

It's possible that the Lattice or Motorola chips may have worked out of their seats in transit.

Hi Merlin.

I did check the chips earlier and they seemed to be seated properly but I gave them a light press to be sure just now.

I inserted the card without ram and on boot I was presented with a red screen and a message that the expansion card was defective, then I hit continue and it booted into workbench showing 030 in the CWB menu...

I've put the ram back and now its booted into workbench fine with the ram showing up. Hmmm

Going to give it a little test run and see how I get on.

Steve.

---------- Post added at 21:59 ---------- Previous post was at 21:44 ----------

quick update, just played a few speccy games on ZXAMSpectrum to give the 030 a good work out, no crashing and was running ok.

Still worried I got the red defective screen, will leave it for a bit and try again.

Only thing I done different this time is the trap door is off, maybe this card does not like the pressure the trap door puts on the card?

Still dosen't explain the report if it being defective though.

Steve.

---------- Post added at 22:30 ---------- Previous post was at 21:59 ----------

Further update:

Well it still seems to be working ok now, given it a good workout on Doom

No more errors and I've got the trap door in place now so I guess i'll leave it in now and tuck my Typhoon MK2 away safe until I get my Tower

@Amiga-Digital, i'll drop you a PM.

Thanks guys for the help. Maybe it wasn't plugged in properly or maybe a chip wasn't seated properly, time will tell I guess.

Oh that reminds me, it dosent keep the time, but i'm guessing thats just a flat battery, are these easy to replace, i.e just swapping out with anouther 2032 or whatever it is?

Steve.

 

[rkauer]

For the non-working problem: the Amiga edge connector have some dirt or the accelerator connector may have a slightly bent pin. Bad contact in a sensitive pin can make the board report as defective (even if it is not).

Another possibility is the metal top shield contacting the accelerator connector, which will cause those problems, too.

Without testing out in live action, no way to tell.

For time problem: sure, just replace the CR2032 with a new one.

 

[Merlin]

@ Fitzsteve

I'm glad that you've managed to get it back into the land of the living, even if it is only a sort-of for the moment, until you can bottom out what's causing the red screen.

 

[fitzsteve]

Thanks a lot guys, i've not had any other red screens since so fingers crossed

 

[MZ3540]

I also have an Mtec 1230 and I experienced the same as you. I got a red/yellow screen but after a few removals/re-insertions it worked... its a 16 year old card, theres gonna be some corrosion on both the accelerator card AND the A1200.

The reason you got the defective report is because you removed the ram but left the jumpers set for 8mb. You have nothing to worry about.

Also, my Mtec 1230 smells funny too. I don't know why, but it does.

Hint, if you remove the "mem2" jumper (bottom jumper on the 6-jumper array) the card will only use 4mb (even with the same simm). It will still work and should allow you to use the pcmcia port. Just replace the jumper to return to 8mb.

 

[fitzsteve]

I also have an Mtec 1230 and I experienced the same as you. I got a red/yellow screen but after a few removals/re-insertions it worked... its a 16 year old card, theres gonna be some corrosion on both the accelerator card AND the A1200.

The reason you got the defective report is because you removed the ram but left the jumpers set for 8mb. You have nothing to worry about.

Also, my Mtec smells funny too. I don't know why, but it does.

Hint, if you remove the "mem2" jumper (bottom jumper on the 6-jumper array) the card will only use 4mb (even with the same simm). It will still work and should allow you to use the pcmcia port. Just replace the jumper to return to 8mb.

Thanks for the tip

Steve.

 

[Kin Hell]

Just to add Fitz;

I had the same problem fitting a Blizzy MKIV for the first time. Now I can fit the card evreytime without issue. A1200 trapdoor expansions can be tricky little buggers to fit. :nod:

Glad you sorted it.

Kin

 

[fitzsteve]

Thanks again people, all seems to be fine now

I'll grab a new battery next time i'm up the high street.

Will let you know how I get on.