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/  Forum Index
   /  Classic Amiga Hardware
      /  Keeping the classics running
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PosterThread
A1200 
Re: Keeping the classics running
Posted on 18-Dec-2016 21:07:51
#41 ]
Elite Member
Joined: 5-May-2003
Posts: 3087
From: Westhall, UK

Just bringing this thread back to life to say over the past few months I have done a few more recap jobs (for me, I don't/won't do it for others), and am finding more boards than when I started recapping are already in a bad way from leaking caps compared to just a year ago.

It could be bad luck but I say we are now moving into a state of common failure - whereas these things were starting to fail - its now becoming ever more prevalent. If you have an A600/A1200 get the capacitors replaced - don't wait until the damage is already done. These machines will be in very short supply to the community if we don't have a concerted effort to keep them going.

Not sure that the old A500/A2000/A3000 machines were fitted with such capacitors but the 600/1200 machines are being eaten away internally unless you take out those nasty caps and give the machine the gift of life in the form of new capacitors!

I have had to do 2 pad repairs on an A600 - 2! Its rock solid now and should provide years more use.

Thanks,

mike

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Amiga A1200, 3.1 ROMs, Blizzard 1230 MKIV 64MB & FPU, 4GB DoM SSD, Workbench 3.1

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SydneyBloom 
Re: Keeping the classics running
Posted on 18-Dec-2016 21:55:21
#42 ]
Member
Joined: 23-Sep-2008
Posts: 64
From: Norway

Yeah this is an important topic!

Just had a 600 die on me due to a cap blowing, resulting in a badly burnt resistor that damaged the pcb beyond repair.
This was also a machine that had been sitting on the shelf for a year or so.

Just recapped my A1200, and will do my other machines as well now, before they die to.

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scuzz 
Re: Keeping the classics running
Posted on 19-Dec-2016 22:28:09
#43 ]
Regular Member
Joined: 30-May-2004
Posts: 365
From: New Forest United Kingdom

@A1200

I generally resist replying to these threads given that if I were to recap everything I have then it would cost me a fortune and probably take me the rest of my life. I sit in a world filled with Amigas which all generally work just fine. Each day I fire up an A2000, A500 with GVP side car, 2x A4000D, and A1200 tower and then my beloved A1200 which has been working since November 1993. There has never been a day she hasn't been working.

Interestingly I started collecting Amigas because of the fear of my A1200 breaking. Thing is my only aim is to have an Amiga running the day that I die. Maybe even clock it whilst tapping at the keyboard. With so much kit happily working I'm seriously not bothered. I will chance it and see who outlives who. I doubt that the guys at Commodore ever thought life expectancy was going to be more than five years anyway, so in truth I think I got my moneys worth.

Saying that my ZX81 still works, and my various electronic gadgets from the seventies. I find if you use them and keep them warm by switching on they tend to keep going.

One comment regarding the emulator... Well done. Makes me worry less about having to pass the kit onto the next generation.

PS New stuff wont last anything like as long as the early kit. Not that it bothers me.

PPS I do admire your effort. A thing of beauty should be a joy forever.

scuzz

Try and cap this lot.... http://www.scuzzscink.com/amiga/a_amiga_inframe.htm

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klx300r 
Re: Keeping the classics running
Posted on 19-Dec-2016 22:38:05
#44 ]
Elite Member
Joined: 4-Mar-2008
Posts: 3833
From: Toronto, Canada

Quote:

A1200 wrote:

...Don't let the classic machines die! I have 2x A1000 machines which I keep up and running for historical purposes. Once this beautiful hardware has gone - we are consigned to looking back through an emulator on an x86 machine - which doesn't tell the whole story - you need the machine in front of you to really apreciate the Amiga.


can't believe I missed a thread here with this title but goes without saying that you're preaching to the converted here my friend & + infinity from me

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c64-2sids, A1000, A1200T-060@50(finally working!),A4000-CSMKIII
! My Master Miggies- Amiga 1000 & AmigaOne X1000 !
mancave-ramblings
X1000 I BELIEVE

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Beans 
Re: Keeping the classics running
Posted on 19-Dec-2016 23:39:01
#45 ]
Regular Member
Joined: 26-Aug-2016
Posts: 447
From: Bear Delaware USA

@klx300r

Although, has ANYONE ever had a problem with an A2000?
Yeah, you may have recapped it, but did you NEED to?

Capacitor degradation over time is directly related to the quality of the components originally used.
And they definitely skimped on later Amigas.

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Amiga! "Our appeal has become more selective"

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mbrantley 
Re: Keeping the classics running
Posted on 20-Dec-2016 5:01:50
#46 ]
Cult Member
Joined: 10-Jun-2010
Posts: 559
From: Mobile, Alabama, United States

I've had terrible problems with AGA-era motherboards from leaking caps. Have not had any such problems with OCS and ECS era Amigas. Battery problems all around, of course. I'm expecting my A2000 to outlive everything -- even if it can't remember what time it is.

Last edited by mbrantley on 20-Dec-2016 at 05:03 AM.

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iggy 
Re: Keeping the classics running
Posted on 20-Dec-2016 5:12:06
#47 ]
Super Member
Joined: 20-Oct-2010
Posts: 1175
From: Bear, Delaware USA

@mbrantley

That's the general impression I have.
That with the original battery removed, my A2000 is probably going to live longer than I am.
I've actually had one person, who does recapping talk me out of it for the 2000.

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A1200 
Re: Keeping the classics running
Posted on 20-Dec-2016 7:05:24
#48 ]
Elite Member
Joined: 5-May-2003
Posts: 3087
From: Westhall, UK

@scuzz

I understand your reluctance. As others said it seems the big box and A500 had better components but the breakdown of caps in the A600/A1200 is very real indeed. If left the symptoms are instability and sound issues and in one case a fishy smell coming from the machine.

I would say if you have a number of A1200 machines why not get one done? Then you won't kick yourself if the rest of the collection suffers from capacitor issues.

_________________
Amiga A1200, 3.1 ROMs, Blizzard 1230 MKIV 64MB & FPU, 4GB DoM SSD, Workbench 3.1

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Daedalus 
Re: Keeping the classics running
Posted on 20-Dec-2016 9:07:31
#49 ]
Super Member
Joined: 14-Jul-2003
Posts: 1680
From: Glasgow - UK, Irish born

@scuzz

Indeed, having multiple machines as a backup is all well and good in theory, but in practice you could easily find that, when your main A1200 from 1993 stops working (and it will), all the spare motherboards you've stockpiled will have succumbed to the same fate. It's not wear that kills them (the opposite in fact - regular use will extend the life of these capacitors, but not indefinitely), so storing them does precisely zero to future-proof your collection.

As others have said, your older stuff will most likely be fine for many years to come, it's the "newer" SMT-based Amigas that have the problem capacitors - A600, A1200, A4000 and CD32. If you have too many to do, at least get the important ones done, like the original 1200. When you start getting symptoms, chances are damage has already been done.

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scuzz 
Re: Keeping the classics running
Posted on 22-Dec-2016 16:49:39
#50 ]
Regular Member
Joined: 30-May-2004
Posts: 365
From: New Forest United Kingdom

@Daedalus

Quote:

Daedalus wrote:
@scuzz

Indeed, having multiple machines as a backup is all well and good in theory, but in practice you could easily find that, when your main A1200 from 1993 stops working (and it will), all the spare motherboards you've stockpiled will have succumbed to the same fate. It's not wear that kills them (the opposite in fact - regular use will extend the life of these capacitors, but not indefinitely), so storing them does precisely zero to future-proof your collection.

As others have said, your older stuff will most likely be fine for many years to come, it's the "newer" SMT-based Amigas that have the problem capacitors - A600, A1200, A4000 and CD32. If you have too many to do, at least get the important ones done, like the original 1200. When you start getting symptoms, chances are damage has already been done.


I am not future proofing the collection. I have my machines running in working order and use them daily. Yesterday I opened an A2000HD which I had had some issues with booting and simply pressed home the 68000 chip and she fired up first time. Working no problem. My A1200s of which I have close on 30 I have sitting on shelves and regularly rotate them out. The bigger problem has been the 2.5" hard drives. The kit itself works without fault. I have three 1200s sitting in a circle here.. the first is my games machine for Settlers, Sensi and Arcade Snooker for the most, the second has a Squirrel and two hard drives, ZIP and CD running a Blizzard and works without fault. The drive inside is a 3.5" and my third beloved 1200 is the power horse and has worked every day since 1993. She is networked to several machines and runs SCSI from the KIT off the Blizzard.

I have 500's and 600's and the Checkmate plus the 1200 tower and 4000ds all operational at the flick of a switch. The 500 with the GVP sidecar gets rotated out when I am in the mood. I have a 2000 in the lounge that I do file management on and another 4000d for entertainment. My issues with the machines have been anything but a problem with capacitors. Until I came here and read the eternal posts about capacitors I wasn't even aware there was a problem. I have maintained my kit and it generally gets used which is the best solution for me. The proof is in the kit I have. Even the 1000s work along with my Commodore machines. I switched on the PET the other day and like magic the screen flicked on and all was fine.

So I hear what you say.. but I'll take a rain check. Maybe one day when I have gone to Amiga heaven someone may want to reactivate the old kit.... by all means have a blast. This gear is going to outlive me. Trust me. And like I say... I have had my moneys worth. If it dies it dies. Nothing lasts forever.

In a line on a desk here is my Win95 machine and original monitor... My Win98 machine and original monitor.. another two Win98 machines and an XP machine. All were used and abused and three gifts from heavy work each day in the office. Each day I switch them all on to see that they are working fine and check the dates on the clocks for battery degrading. They all work just as they did the day I had them. All my kit does...... Cus I use them. I love computers I really do.

The three 1200s I use run on original Microvitec monitors.

You know.. I have an original boxed Dark Tower game which I guess was one of the very first computer games ever, dating from 1981 and it still works. Maybe I've just been lucky. I've never thrown anything away.... so all else fails I can revert back to my sliderule or better my well worn log tables for working out the bills. Always a way.

scuzz
http://www.scuzzscink.com/amiga/a_amiga_inframe.htm

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uponthevoid 
Re: Keeping the classics running
Posted on 22-Dec-2016 17:15:14
#51 ]
Member
Joined: 22-Dec-2015
Posts: 15
From: Unknown

@scuzz

each to their own!

I own an A1200, it was also operating perfectly but based on what I'd read on these forums I thought i'd get it recapped just in case. I just hate the thought of the board slowly being eaten away. Turns out some had already started leaking by the time they were replaced.


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A1200 
Re: Keeping the classics running
Posted on 30-Dec-2016 8:46:21
#52 ]
Elite Member
Joined: 5-May-2003
Posts: 3087
From: Westhall, UK

@uponthevoid

I gotta say that with a few boards that didn't make it plus the intensity and pressure on me for getting them through the process as well as the ones that did make it, if I never do another recap in this lifetime it will be fine with me.

It's nice when the job looks professional and should last another 20-30 years but the responsibility for keeping classic Amiga machines alive not to mention the cost of buying them did create some anxiety.

Still, the couple of scrap boards I have already used for parts for the restoration of the other machines. All in all I am very happy.

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Amiga A1200, 3.1 ROMs, Blizzard 1230 MKIV 64MB & FPU, 4GB DoM SSD, Workbench 3.1

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