Alive and Kick[start]ing: eBay Amiga 1000 Revived?

This shipping-damaged Commodore Amiga deserves better. Let’s try and save it! (Part 2)
Part 1 - • Bruised and Broken: eB...
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00:00 Introduction
00:33 Disassembly and Testing Part 2
04:48 Vaporbrighting
07:18 ROMs and a Gotek Drive
12:11 3D Printing
15:23 Power Switch
18:55 Vaporbrighting Part 2
20:38 Final Reveal
21:55 Conclusion
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[@swisspeach67]

I think you need to rotate the on/off switch 180°.

[@fffUUUUUU]

Yep

[@superconductives88]

A restoration to be proud of! Glad to see this broken bruised Amiga went into the right hands to give it a second life.

[@TheSulross]

a restoration a museum could be proud to put on display!

[@simoneberrino5429]

hi, congratulations on the renovation of this wonderful amiga, you did a great job! I am also working to restore a first amiga 1000 NTSC to its magnificence and I thank you for sharing this well-made video. retrocomputing is wonderful

[@KatriceMetaluna]

The Denise chip was likely replaced because early revisions didn't support Extra Half-Bright mode.

[@retrobitstv]

Ah good call, it didn't occur to me that the previous owner may have upgraded it!

[@desiv1170]

Exactly. That was not an uncommon upgrade back then,,

[@fffUUUUUU]

Speaking of the plastic latches, I'd recommend baking soda+super glue

[@ScottLahteine]

This has me feeling really nostalgic for my long gone Amiga 1000. It was a great computer for the time and I did a lot of cool things with it. Always great to see one getting a new life.

[@stevethepocket]

I had no idea they got rid of the boot tone on later models. Just another way Commodore lost sight of what made the Amiga special as time went on. And it's a stereo pan! I didn't realize this until I started messing with WinUAE as an adult, with headphones on.

[@retrobitstv]

Yea it's really quiet on the real hardware, which is why I ended up overdubbing the video with a direct line capture of the sound!

[@buick1979]

Bought one new in late 1985. Sold it about 10 years later , should have kept it .....Was amazing piece of hardware when new . Still shines ...

[@MrLurchsThings]

I did a quick video on a tank mouse plug mod if you’re interested. And if you go full on, I can’t recommend the Parceiro enough. Your resto turned out great. No, it’s not 100% perfect, but given where you started and his machine will always have an epic story.

[@retrobitstv]

Cool I will check out your modification video, thanks! I had watched a few things in the Parceiro since there doesn't seem to be a lot of upgrade options for the 1000. I have a little more to do but happy with the progress so far!

[@user-wj9xq7ig2v]

You can go even bigger. There's an add on board that will give you more chip ram but it's pricey.😊

[@davidwright9166]

As an original Amiga (never say 1000) owner I say well done. Looking to see if any here have ideas on fixing front plate clips.

[@retrobitstv]

I'm thinking of three options right now: 3d printing a part I can glue on, using a 3d pen to directly reconstruct what's left of each tab, or using the super glue+baking soda mix to add back the missing bits. Not sure what I'm going to do yet though!

[@roartjrhom4932]

Great video by the way. So nice to see a healty Amiga 1000 running perfectly! Thanks for sharing!

[@deagt3388]

Wet dream of my childhood... ;-)

[@domramsey]

Really nice job! Impressed with the work you did on the plastics too.

[@Waccoon]

The earliest A1000's (like mine) had ceramic custom chips, so this is likely a mid-life model and may actually have its original Denise chip. I had my A1000 upgraded to the rev of Denise with Half-bright, which is a plastic chip. The last rev A1000's, and I believe the PAL versions, have the Commodore branding on the front, in addition to the Amiga logo.

[@GilbertoFerreira]

21:52 - need to flip over the on/off power switch to seats in the right position!

[@retrobitstv]

Yea, I will do that. I installed and wired it exactly as the original switch but my guess is the previous owner had rewired it to try and fix it.

[@rager1969]

Good job, I like the magnet solution

[@fffUUUUUU]

17:47 When working with plastic parts always use plastic pry tools. If an accident you will most likely sacrifice the tool, not the vintage part.

[@SnowHarp]

Amazing and thank you for making this video. I have an original Amiga 1000 which I bought in Bermuda while I was working there (expat) in the mid 80s. It went into long term storage in Canada from there and I literally just had it delivered to my home in Newfoundland two weeks ago. It is still packed in the original box along with an external (second) FDD and it has the original mouse and keyboard. I am hoping to get it going fairly soon and your video has been very informative for that process. Fingers crossed the A1000 will run well again - I had so much fun with the computer back then and I recall it cost about $3500 Bermuda dollars at the time. I also have the games I loved: Defender of the Crown, Golf and others I cannot name right now. Looking forward to opening the box and working on the machine.

[@retrobitstv]

Good luck with your A1000 and enjoy getting it going again!

[@kingforaday8725]

Great feeling to get something written off as dead working again!!!

[@GilbertoFerreira]

15:19 - wow better than the original one! Awesome! 🎉

[@proteque]

This turned out looking great! well done!

[@devMashcom]

I still own my Amiga 1000 that I got for Christmas in 1986. I love everything about the Amiga, but the 1000 will always hold a special significance for me. I try to keep my setup reasonably 'period' correct, so I am currently running a Commodore 1080 monitor and external A1010 disk drive, with an original MicroBotics Starboard memory expansion and realtime clock - along with the Stardrive SCSI module and a Xebec 9720 external hard disk (well, the hard disk is really a ZuluSCSI in the original Xebec case, but at least it looks retro!) - And I'm still loading Kickstart from floppy disk, the way God intended. :-) Ialso have a PerfectSound audio digitizer, a DigiView, and the Amiga Genlock; and to this day I have no idea where I got the DigiView or the genlock! - One thing I was missing, but just picked up, is a 5.25" 1020 floppy drive (I've wanted one for 35 years, why? I have no idea.) but I don't know if it works or not... I can't wait to take it apart, clean it up, and give it a try... Anyway, when I saw the condition of your poor A1000 it felt like a kick to the gut - but watching your restoration really made my day. CONGRATULATIONS on your 'NEW' Amiga!

[@retrobitstv]

Thanks! Nice setup; that is one loaded A1000! Those upgrades are pretty few and far between these days but I'm keeping an eye out!

[@ejstacey]

Well done! I hadn't seen vapourbrighting before, very cool!

[@retrobitstv]

Thanks! It seems to be rapidly gaining popularity within the retro scene and I can see why now that I've tried it.

[@ejstacey]

@@retrobitstv yeah no chance of making it worse with streaks or blotches makes it extremely attractive as an option. Glad it works! amazing people are still discovering new ways

[@JVHShack]

I like the overall result of this restoration. It's in a much better state than where it came from and it still has some visible scars to tell the story. Who or what doesn't have a few scars after 38 years of existence? Not many things or people do. As for the broken tabs on the faceplate, you could try the super glue gel and baking soda method to build up some maliable material to shape it correctly after the material is layered up enough. Tech Tangents (AkBkuku at the time, aka Shelby) did a video on this method a few years ago to repair the front flap on a Commodore 1702 monitor.

[@OffGridAussiePrepper]

u certainly have some good luck riding on ur side... congrats

[@kevincozens6837]

Good job on the fixing all the physical damage. It looks great. Nice to see the A1000 running again. My A1000 was a later edition that didn't use the WCS. At the end it seems you may have the switch around the wrong way or you were just flipping the switch for effect. You set the switch to what is supposed to be the OFF position.

[@JamesHalfHorse]

That was a really impressive job. I will have to give the vapor thing a try. One day I hope I can find a real Amiga I lost from my childhood but the emulators and watching content like this will do.

[@no1leader135]

Amazing Job! Looks almost new.

[@LeftoverBeefcake]

Wow, I gotta get me a roll of that Jessie PLA filament... the price is right, and this is the second channel where I've seen it used, and it matches the case color really nicely. Another option instead of using the magnets on the replacement expansion cover would have been to design a piece that slips over the connector on the mainboard, but your solution works just as well. :) Excellent work, and another Amiga saved!

[@retrobitstv]

I almost went and printed a new cover using a different model that had larger tabs but I had already sanded my part so I decided to keep it and make it work!

[@christopherbaar4498]

I wish I knew about Acetone when I had to repair my X68000 XVI case after it fell from the back of my SUV. I didn't do a horrible job with the super glue, but there is excess that I'm not sure how to remove.

[@bradhansen2065]

Great job, wonderful video!

[@shadowcaster02]

Thanks for saving an icon

[@noahater5785]

Now you all you need is 3D printed and color matched port covers that go into the joystick and mouse ports on the machine to protect them from moisture exposure when not in use and hopefully prevent future problems down the road from moisture getting into those parts and shorting them out

[@retroandgaming]

Nice job! I'm a bit envious of your Commodore monitor...

[@charlesdorval394]

That magnet trick, nice! :)

[@retrobitstv]

It was actually my partner's idea! It worked out real well with a bit of dremeling and a file 😊

[@Tommi1981]

Well done! 😊

[@PromoVisionNZ]

Just be careful with vapourbrighting. Condensation is collecting on inside of the lid and if it drops on plastic you will get white spot in size of droplet, which will be whiter than rest of the plastic, it does not matter for how much longer you will be vapourbrighting it to even it out.

[@retrobitstv]

Great tip, thanks for sharing!

[@matthewmartin238]

nice restore!!

[@JyskMaker]

Looks nice, but you need to turn the power switch 180 deg. 🙂

[@michaelcarey]

I noticed that too 🙂

[@jaxk4912]

I had to trouble shoot half a dozen or so BBC Masters many years ago. Pressing down on each end of every IC seated in a socket fixed almost every one. And produced a satisfying crunch as the corrosion gave way. LOL 😋 Not completely original; the power switch is wired wrong. You switched it off to turn it on. 🙃

[@paulmacknight]

great job!

[@swk38]

lemon amiga has forums on this kind of stuff

[@paulward2076]

Ive heard you can use a propagator and/or some uv lighting if you can rely on the weather or need to vapourbright indoors for some other reason. Keep up the good work. Ive been enjoying your videos a lot since i found your channel 🙂

[@retrobitstv]

Glad to hear it, thanks!

[@paulward2076]

@@retrobitstv youre welcome

[@lifooz2955]

And now, the most important question of them all remains! Did the seller got a photo of the machine working or the links to these 2 videos? /L

[@retrobitstv]

Someone read the eBay description I see! I did send him a link to the videos :)

[@infinitecanadian]

I think that you can take switches apart if they don't work.

[@rubberduck4966]

Have you installed the power switch exactly inversed?

[@rtid7538]

Superb!

[@rHinosYth]

impressive

[@kethdredd]

A had an early A1000. I don not remember that boot tone at all.

[@El_Guapo74]

mine does it, its not loud. You can barely hear it if volume turned low. Did not know until I saw it mentioned in a different youtube video

[@retrobitstv]

Yea it's very quiet. In the video I said "did you hear that?" because it's so low, but then I overdubbed it with a direct line in recording 😛

[@Laurie_H]

Id be a little leery using magnets near mechanical magnetic media drives.

[@tetsujin_144]

It's not that close. Inverse square law being what it is, the influence of the magnets on the floppy disk media is probably way below the threshold of coercivity.

[@deborahberi3249]

Really great Video! Did you mention another possible option for a replacement keyboard that doesn't require sacrificing an A2000/A3000 Keyboard? I have an Amiga 1000 and it works but alas no keyboard for it. -Mark.

[@retrobitstv]

Thanks! There are several options to connect PC keyboards to the A1000 but since I already had the 3000 I went with that instead.

[@deborahberi3249]

Any chance you could list one or two of those options? Thanks.-Mark.

[@retrobitstv]

@@deborahberi3249 on eBay there's one called "Amiga 1000 PS2 Keyboard Adapter". There's also a USB keyboard adapter at this site: www.amiga-shop.net/en/Amiga-Hardware/Amiga-classic-hardware/SUM-A1000-2000-4000-USB-Keyboard-adapter-for-big-box-Amiga::1157.html I have not used either of these so I cannot vouch for them.

[@deagt3388]

Sue shipping company! ;-)

[@joshpayne4015]

It looks like you installed the replacement power switch backward? You turned it towards OFF to turn the machine ON.

[@MattiasGnew]

Nice job. Power button is in backwards though =) kzbin.info/www/bejne/g32bfXqwoa9mbtE

[@retrobitstv]

Thanks! Yeah, I installed and wired it exactly as the original was so it's possible that someone had already messed with the switch in the past hoping to fix it by using the other terminal. I will correct the wiring.

[@kingforaday8725]

So was it the corroded pin, pin socket, or one of the chips/sockets that needed reseated/cleaning?

[@retrobitstv]

To be honest, I was expecting to find someone really broken like cracked traces or broken solder joints, so I did all the chip removal and contact cleaner spraying all at once and off camera. Because of that, I have no way of knowing exactly which specific part was bad :( I was pretty surprise when it came right up after that.

[@watchmakerful]

[21:53] Is the switch soldered upside down?

[@stephenkennedy6358]

Did you put the power switch in backwards?

[@roartjrhom4932]

I am most surprised that Lotus 2 can run on a 512kb machine? I was 100% certain that was a 1MB game? :-P 😂😂👌👌

[@retrobitstv]

I was surprised too! I probably tested out 20 different OCS demos to find even ONE that would run on a 512k system. Even more impressed with Lotus 2 now! It constantly loads from floppy as different parts of the intro play, a lot like a good demo. It's something I never noticed before using only WHDload.

[@roartjrhom4932]

@@retrobitstv i totally agree! It was very impressive, now its even more! 👌👌👌

[@dmc716]

It runs on 512K but doesnt have some sounds.. I rember also running it on A500 OCS 1.2 with only 512K and all specs pointed that it should require 1mB, but notice the sounds - speech is missign when playing on 1MB,

[@dmc716]

@@retrobitstv As i replied above - It runs on 512K but doesnt have some sounds.. I rember also running it on A500 OCS 1.2 with only 512K and all specs pointed that it should require 1mB, but notice the sounds - speech is missing when playing on 1MB, i remember later when i bought 1MB expansion i was surprised to hear sound samples :)

[@jk180]

Did it have a RAM expansion module in it?

[@retrobitstv]

Yep, it came with the additional 256k expansion installed. With all the broken tabs on the front cover, it's actually the ram expansion that holds it all together! I still plan to fix the tabs though...

[@infinitecanadian]

If that Amiga had suffered catastrophic damage, it would be unrepairable.

[@kevin34ct]

Why don't Atari ST's and 8-bits get any love?

[@retrobitstv]

I did a similar case restoration on a 1040 STf a year or so ago and also check out my 2 part series on the Ultimate 1MB and Side3 upgrades for the Atari 8-bits!

[@tetsujin_144]

Asking Amiga fans to show the ST some love can be hazardous! (At least, you know, the ones still mired in 38 year old rivalries...) They'll bare their teeth and rip your arm off!

[@AmigaWolf]

Great to see a Amiga Computer working again. How would everything be if commodore never went bankrupt, mostly because of Mehdi Ali.