Hi everyone,

I received my micro A1-C board from Sotrware Hut yesterday, and I have installed it in this
case. The brandname is Casetronic on Logic Supply's website, but the box it came in
was marked Travla C-138 (same product number, different brandname) .

Symptoms:

I apply power, and power leds come on, HD and DVD spin up, ethernet port lights up
amber if ethernet cable is connected, CPU fan and case fan spin. Mouse has power
(it's an optical, so easy to tell), keyboard does not show any indication that it is initalized
(It is a Microsoft Natural Keyboard, and pressing the caps lock or num lock keys does
not cause the indicators to light). And of course, no video output from UBoot (Viewsonic
flat panel monitor, if that matters).

I have nothing in the PCI slot, power and hdd LEDs are hooked up, case fan to JP6 , and front
panel audio jacks connected to audio headers (shouldn't matter, since these dead-end into
empty jacks). Nothing is connected to USB headers. By the way, I'm sure there hasn't been
static electricity damage because I assembled the parts carefully, kept myself grounded
to the case, wore cotton clothes, it was a humid day, etc.

Things I have already tried: with and without HD and DVD connected, keyboard mouse
and monitor connected through a KVM (Tripp-Lite 4 port) or directly, different video cable.
None of these made any difference.

Things I have doublechecked: I have a 750GX CPU. processor speed and voltage settings
are correct according to the Teron Mini manual.

It looks like the next step is to fabricate a serial port connecter for the serial header
so that I can see if UBoot puts out anything on the serial port as it is supposed to.

Does anyone know if the included power supply is somehow incompatible with the
micro A1-C? Is there any kind of installation FAQ for the micro A1?

Thanks!

Stuart Anderson

@mr_homm

two things are real common with the current micro's uboot not programmed or dead clock battery. either way the serial connector will tell the tale.

nothing out of the serial port bad uboot ROM.
output on serial port stops after checksum error then you need a new battery 3.00 at the local radio shack . seems like the latest batch of micro's all had bad batteries.

kgrach

@kgrach

Where I can check what batch my micro is? I haven't had any trouble installing micro other than Linux.

_________________
A1200T, A4000 Mirage pro, mAmigaOne C, LAN.

@mr_homm

I would think it unlikely that your UBOOT is not programmed. This problem happened for me and the solution was simple - remove the RAM and put it back in! The RAM often becomes dislodged during transit.

Hope this solves your problem,

GiGa

_________________
Owner of uA1-C with OS4.0

Hi Stuart,

I'm sorry to say that the Travla/Casetronic DC-DC boards/power supplies are incompatible with the microA1. I do have a Travla 138 myself too and went through the same problems. What I did was to order a Morex 60W DC-DC board+PSU and installed that in a bit hackish way into the Travla. It doesn't have the same size DC-DC board, so you need to fiddle a lot with it to get it all in there.
See here: http://www.audio-evolution.com/pics/Travla/

Btw, I even sent it back to Eyetech at first to have it checked out and it worked there, so the board itself was fine.

Good luck,

Davy

Last edited by DaveAE on 25-Feb-2005 at 09:14 AM.

_________________
Audio Evolution
http://www.audio-evolution.com

@DaveAE

Thanks! This information relieves my mind greatly, since now
I don't have the fear that I've killed my board.

I saw some info on Logic Supply's website about an incompatibility
with this PSU and some standard X86 motherboards. There was a
fix that allowed it to work, and only involved attaching a resistor to
one of the PSU outputs (it was a signalling issue, where the board
was not fast enough to pick up a signal from the PSU and so it
didn't boot up). I will try that first (less soldering than putting in
a Morex PSU), and if it doesn't work, I will go the same route as
you have done.

@ all

Wouldn't it be nice if resellers would let us know that CaseTronic == Travla?
I had heard vaguely about problems with Travla PSUs, but of course
I didn't think I was getting one! Another thing about this case is that
I bought it because it accepted full size HDs. What they don't tell you
on the website is that the position in which the 3.5 inch HD is mounted
interferes with the PCI riser card. The 2.5 inch HD position doesn't.

I suppose I could stick in a PCI to CF adapter without the riser, leave a
1 Gig CF card (I happen to have) in there, and boot from it like the A1-I is
supposed to. But I can't see any benefit from that except to see if it works.
So it looks like I need to buy a notebook size harddrive if I want to use the
PCI slot for anything. Maybe later. This really IS a nice case though, apart
from the problems.

Thanks for your suggestions. I think the PSU is the most likely culprit.

@kgrach

Quote:

two things are real common with the current micro's uboot not programmed or dead clock battery.

You know, I keep hearing this, and I'm still as astonished now as the first time I heard it... How the heck are brand new motherboards being shipped with dead batteries??? Is there NO Q/C on these at all? I've got PC mobo's that have run for 5 or more years and never had a problem with dead batteries... This is just not normal.

@mr_homm

I do have to say that I still have the following problem with both my A1 and mA1, which is rather similar: if I disconnect either machine from power, chances are that it will get stuck on initing VGA after I connect power again and switch it on. My microA1 then needs to be connected (but not on) to a power supply for 15 minutes or so, before it will boot properly. My A1 just needs several voodoo tricks by unplugging the PSU and plugging it in again and switching it on and off several times. In short, these boards are really picky when it comes to power.

_________________
Audio Evolution
http://www.audio-evolution.com

@DaveAE

I don't want to sound like a bad omen. but the list grows.

1. Picky on memory
2. Picky on PSU
3. Picky on ........

I hope no more comes. It's bad as it is.
I do hope it's just small flukes and that all that whants/thinks about to buy a A1 do so.

@DaveAE

Geez Dave,,, what the hell you got that plugged into.?

A tree.?

@Mechanic

Hehe.. Well, I'm not the only one with those troubles. My microA1 is a mk2 dev board, but I don't think anything changed after that regarding power.

_________________
Audio Evolution
http://www.audio-evolution.com

@DaveAE

again a weak battery will exhibit those same symtoms.
I am not sure how eyetech wound up with a bad batch or cr2032's but really check you battery if is less than three volts it will tend to hang just before booting the video.
tested and proved this multiple times.

I am talking 2.89 volt on a battery will result in a hang on video start.

End result I just buy new batteries and stick them in new machines not worth having a customer scream about no video on a new board for $2

yea some pc psu's tend to get upset becuase the micro or the A1 doesn't draw enough current to properly load the psu.

The psu problem is really not eyetech's or mai's fault
or even the psu's manufacturer's fault. switching PSu's become more eficient if tuned for the load it is designed for . making a switching psu stay stable at all loads tends to make it less efficient at the higher loads.

just get a small wattage PSU and all will be fine

kgrach

@mr_homm

I was talking with Russ Norby at MR. Hardware. He stated the entire batch he received
last week had weak batteries as well as some other issues. Mine is SUPPOSED TO BE READY NEXT WEEK.

But then only TImeWillTell

@kgrach

{troll} Maybe AInc wore all the batteries out during their strict Quality Assurance Test? {/troll}

Seriously now....if you guys are catching things like this, replacing batteries and doing all the work...kudos to you all, this is excellent customer support! If I can ever afford an A1, it's nice to know there are some good dealers around.

Steve

Last edited by JKD on 25-Feb-2005 at 11:20 PM.

@Herewegoagain

For the record, ALL of the machines shipped has been thoroughly tested, and that means they will work when they arrive. The (few) units that don't are either down to carrier mishandling or unfortunate accidents. I haven't heard of a single system "shipped to customer" with a dead battery. What kind of a dealer would ship a motherboard without atleast TEST it first?

I'm as surprised as you are, and I scratch this one down to the PSU rather than anything else. I know alot of dealers are really, really small, and operate from their homes. I appreciate that, and I also acknowledge mistakes. But this makes it sound like it 'happens all the time'. I find that one hard to believe.

Last edited by GuruMeditation on 25-Feb-2005 at 11:40 PM.

_________________
It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena." Theodore Roosevelt, speech in Paris, 1910

@kgrach

Quote:

I am talking 2.89 volt on a battery will result in a hang on video start.

I just checked my battery, and it appears to be 2.9v. I say appears, because
I have a cheap Radio Shack pocket multimeter, and it shows +2.895, but if
I reverse the polarity of the test leads, it says -2.905, so it is not too reliable.

@DaveAE

I tried out that capacitor fix mentioned here, but no luck.
I am sure you are right and I should get a Morex power supply,
but I want to check out all the easy fixes first, of course. New battery next.

Thanks to all who replied.

Stuart Anderson

@GuruMeditation

That's good to know. I didn't mean to sound like it's an epidemic... but I've heard this about dead or weak batteries so much recently, and while I agree with Kgrach that it's an easy $2 fix, you just don't expect to have to start repairing (for any reason) an $899 mobo before you can even use it.

@Mr_homm

I think that is a good idea, since others have had success with replacing the battery, and it's a very cheap part to install.

@Herewegoagain

Maybe if the uA1's started LEAKING their batteries the blue trolls couldn't say they weren't REAL Amigas!

@all

I went out and bought a slightly larger case than I
wanted because it was working for other people. I was
also willing to accept a little more hassle because
I did not buy a complete setup from my dealer.

Aside from any experience I have in assembling computers
and maintaining aging Amigas I also have access to an
Amiga tech who used to have his own store and a betatester
with some small experience with Amigas as well.

I'm very happy with my µA1 "c" so far as it is much
faster than any of my other Amigas. I have lost some
software but that was to be expected and I don't have
access to all the abilities of this new generation
Amiga because the OS is still "PRE-RELEASE". Having
said that, it is new hardware, not ten years old or
fifteen years old and possibly nearing end of life.

Let me re-iterate what I did once again:

http://amigairc.amigarevolution.com/kinder.html