Sourcing Amiga 1200 NOS custom chips

[jenrg]

Hi,

I'm looking to build a new A1200 from scratch, based on the ReAmiga 1200 board. The passive components are pretty well available but the A1200 custom chips obviously not. Does anyone know places where to source them? Preferably NOS. Or is the easiest way just to try and find a working rev 1D.4 donor board? I already did a forum search and sent an inquiry to Jens S. at Individual Computers but he only sells parts for repairs.

 

[Xanxi]

Indeed, Jens was selling them until 6 months before now. Then he removed them from his website listing, including those for A4000. I think he was selling for a very affordable price, and he understood it was too affordable. And probably he has some project involving those chips, so they are gone for the customers.

Other sources are Analogic Computers from Ebay or screemo and tbtorro from Amibay.

 

[Boing-ball]

At the moment it’s Analogic in the U.K:

New Amiga A1200 Chipset (Please Read Description)

Amiga A1200 Chipset1 x New Budgie 391425-02 Chip1 x New Gayle 391424-01 Chip1 x New Lisa 391227-01 Chip1 x New Paula 391077-01 Chip1 x Used Working Alice 391010-01 Chip2 x New CIA 391078-02 Chips

www.analogic.co.uk

Unless someone on here will sell them in the form of sale section.

 

[qz3fwd]

Indeed, Jens was selling them until 6 months before now. Then he removed them from his website listing, including those for A4000. I think he was selling for a very affordable price, and he understood it was too affordable. And probably he has some project involving those chips, so they are gone for the customers.

Other sources are Analogic Computers from Ebay or screemo and tbtorro from Amibay.

No apparently he got pissed that there were builders buying chipsets and building replica boards and/or repairing boards and supposedly their work were of poor quality for builds/repairs and he claimed users would come into his forums with the (warranty) problems and decided to keep his stock to himself. I know of several very high quality builders he basically told to go piss off.

This is really sad since I am a new Amiga users as of 2020, and I don’t have the skills to build a new replica 3000/4000 motherboard and have relied on builders to allow me to be part of the community and experience the Amiga for the first time. I personally think the community need new users to flourish.

 

[qz3fwd]

Now Analogic has a virtual monopoly and just look at what has happened to prices over the last couple years.

 

[jenrg]

I have a poor condition original A1200 myself and given the market situation, instead of doing a build with NOS components I decided to a) build a ReAmiga 1200 by getting new passive components, connectors etc. and transfer the rest from my old one hoping the chipset is OK and b) get another original good condition A1200 (recapped etc.) and keep that one pretty much stock.

 

[kyro]

No apparently he got pissed that there were builders buying chipsets and building replica boards and/or repairing boards and supposedly their work were of poor quality for builds/repairs and he claimed users would come into his forums with the (warranty) problems and decided to keep his stock to himself. I know of several very high quality builders he basically told to go piss off.

This is really sad since I am a new Amiga users as of 2020, and I don’t have the skills to build a new replica 3000/4000 motherboard and have relied on builders to allow me to be part of the community and experience the Amiga for the first time. I personally think the community need new users to flourish.

One time he answered me somewhat not ok... I was surprised, maybe because of the others... allmoust call me "stupid", when the problem I fixed after. I was just asking ... his answer looked like "superior" dude... well I am inferior. hahaha but I got the chips working allright... I built 2 reamiga for me, saved a dead amiga with the originals chips for someone else, not work to make money just help people.. and I do not feal superior. well maybe a little.. something like there was not suppose to do like that, but I didn't... like he must have a real bad discussion to someone, and that got spilled to me.

this chips are old, oxide builds up, even well soldered sometimes there is no connection I saw that... even with toons of flux... just resoldering resoldering until it works.
the oxide makes a layer that do not makes electrical connection even if well soldered. that might be the most problems he got... reamigas are not EASY to make... it's the worst case scenario... 30-40 years chips... to solder...

there is a reason why mouser and digiket sent some chips in a vacuum... with silica to absorb humidity. btw I live in france, not french... portuguese.

 

[kyro]

I have a poor condition original A1200 myself and given the market situation, instead of doing a build with NOS components I decided to a) build a ReAmiga 1200 by getting new passive components, connectors etc. and transfer the rest from my old one hoping the chipset is OK and b) get another original good condition A1200 (recapped etc.) and keep that one pretty much stock.

that is actually EASIER... because the "legs" are soldered, and protected... doing an reamiga with NOS chips is harder... Because of the oxide

 

[YouKnowWho]

@jenrg, I was just about to suggest that in EU it is easy to find a 1200 still, but just to be sure I had a look at a search and boy does it ever look dry out there. Have things changed so much on the supply side of things of original 1200s? WOW.

With Jens, I lost patience waiting for that A1200 Reloaded I saw on his page and just got a spare Commodore 1200 and then an FPGA. But now that the situation is so dry out there, perhaps the time for him to do this thing has arrived? He has the chips. Original 1200 supply is thin. New cases are being made. Keyboard solutions are here. If the thing lives up to the features, promises and price point noted, I think even I would be tempted by a well built new A1200 board.

 

[jenrg]

Eventually I managed to find a cheapish dead A1200 motherboard for spares and my original A1200 chipset turned out to be ok, just the motherboard was gone. I managed to build myself a ReAmiga 1200 from my original parts and now I have left a dead MB with a chipset in unknown condition which I might try to salvage into another ReAmiga but it's a lot of work and there's a big questionmark on the condition of the chipset. I would seriously consider the A1200 reloaded if it ever comes to market.

 

[YouKnowWho]

@jenrg - oh man! You officially have to rename yourself immediately to Amiga Saint! St.Amiga will also be accepted.

I don't know why, but it makes me so damn happy when someone with your skills rescues non-working Amiga and gives them a new life with that lovely work done by others, which makes it all possible. ReAmiga1200 ideal use is how your are using it. And that you are using your fine abilities to rescue these 1200s is just amazing. For some strange reason when I see ReAmiga1200s I suspect that a nice working or easily fixable 1200 died to make it possible, so seeing you do what you do just gives me joy.

Hopefully you feel it to take on the 2nd one and resurrect that other non-working 1200. Cheers!

As for that ReLoaded...it is high time that those custom chips Jens has in the vault start doing what they were meant to do. And a brand new proper custom chipset 1200 MoBo in this day and age...that would really be difficult to look away from. I just hope that there isn't pay-to-unlock gimicks on-board.

 

[jenrg]

If you look at the first post, initially I also thought about getting a NOS chipset for this, basically because I thought some of mine could be dead and it would really suck to solder one to the new MB just to find out you have to take it off again. But then I read Chucky saying the chips don't really break that easily and it's usually just the MB thats dead and decided to try it out with my original chipset which turned out good.

I have another still salvageable A1200 MB which I for a moment thought about turning into a ReAmiga. So much for the saint part But then I thought again. It would make no sense, for me at least, to break apart a perfectly working or easily repairable machine just to make a bit more money selling it. I'll just put that one into ultrasonic cleaner, recap and test thoroughly and probably put it up for sale here.

 

[Buzzfuzz]

The key word here is replicas and we know that is already been done, the original chips will eventually be gone

 

[YouKnowWho]

@Buzzfuzz, Yup. Some of these upgrades in Reloaded by replacing Budgie and Gayle with (likely?) FPGA are understandable. But original is original, and always will be and indeed as you say, this is something different. Replica with some original parts.

Even in this chat I've gone back and forth in my mind about the Reloaded. Emotionally? Sure I want it. Logically when I think about it I can't get over details like...as you note, it's a replica, re-invention, something new and different. Probably FPGA chips in a few places, which in my mind once you start going FPGA, why not just go all-the-way-FPGA?

You can see how excited people appear about the new Commodore 64s, and that's all FPGA based. Clearly that is the future as, as you noted again, original chips will eventually be gone. FPGA is the future of this hobby due to the custom chip challanges.

FPGA is a lovely technology and we're lucky to have it. I'm quite impressed of how far the community has taken FPGA so far...but REAL original period hardware is...well...REAL.

 

[sbrentson]

I like to take 1 chip each from seven different working a1200 boards and combine those to make 1 working ReAmiga 1200. Then I throw out the non working 1200s.

Sometimes I just smash random ICs with a ball peen hammer when I’m bored.

If that rubs you the wrong way, you won’t want to hear how I assembled the chipset for my AA3000+ project…

 

[kyro]

I did a reamiga on a dead Amiga 1200 for free To a new friend.
But I am actually have problems now to put another one with the chips I bought mostly NOS... Start to think there is guys that sell it broken
Or it's me... That needs to pump up my solder skills on oxidizes legs.