Amiga 500 Trash to Treasure Pt.2 | Fault Finding

[@CaptainSmegHead]

This is such a professionally produce video. The voice over is brilliant, the camera work is like watching a professional documentary and the music level works well going up and down in volume just at the right time to not be annoying or interfere with the voice over. And I love the music theme, it fits well with this classic Amiga. Long live Amiga!

[@enigma776]

I think I want an Amiga again. I got Amiga Forever and emulate it just fine but nothing beats original hardware.

[@asgerms]

Turn off the light, re-experience the glory of an old-school CRT with pitch-black blackness and thick saturated colors and you'll never use an emulator again. At least, that's how it went for me :)

[@RMCRetro]

The static aura of a phosphorescent screen and the smell of electron guns...some things can't be emulated

[@enigma776]

Use to have an Amiga 1200 as a kid, most of the family had either a 1200 or a 500 and well I kinda miss it hence the emulation.

[@Lucasrainford]

C64, C64+, A500, A500+, A600HD, A1200 for me. I'd love to be able to play games on the original hardware on CRTs, but unfortunatly I don't have the cash to buy them or the space to house them. So, emulation it is for me. I have Amiga forever and C64 forever and they are excellent! I boot em up on a daily basis after work and relax to all the old classics I loved in the 80's/90's. I know that the purists will say 'not the same though' but it's the next best thing and it keeps the retro scene going for people like me. Amiga Rulz! :)

[@asgerms]

Few of us have space/money/time to maintain an entire museum. Pick your favorite single system and stick with it. Commodores are cheap!

[@ClassicSteve]

Great video. I have recently got quite addicted to picking up old hardware and restoring it to health, I found this video really helpful and has taught me a lot. Keep up the good work :)

[@jamieh9351]

I never thought to put insulation over multimeter probes the way you did when you checked the old brick. Thanks!

[@ChantingInTheDark]

Flashback, YES! LOVED the music from that game, and the game itself was phenomenal

[@Frugy69]

Great fun! Makes me very nostalgic for my old A500. Looking forward to part 3.

[@PureAudioTones]

I love the way you diagnose the problems. Thanks for the great video 🙂👍

[@RMCRetro]

Thanks I appreciate it! Frustrating that we didn't get that keyboard fixed but you can't win them all, and I can't wait to clean it up and play some games

[@PureAudioTones]

RetroManCave That is a mechaninal damage. I guess very hard to fix it.

[@Magpie1701]

The problem solving process is so enjoyable and a key component in these sorts of hobbies.

[@DaveDoc1984]

Can't believe I have ONLY just found this channel! Great work with the A500 and keep up the awesome content!

[@16BitJay]

I'm enjoying this restoration, I had an Amiga when I was young. Looking forward to watching the rest.

[@CGQuarterly]

Poor Gary...

[@RMCRetro]

+Classic Gaming Quarterly R.I.P

[@carlkamuti]

Classic Gaming Quarterly You sir have another well earned subscriber. What an excellent video, took me back to when I was a lad, playing Prince of Persia on my friend's Amiga 500. Carefree days...

[@wexoni]

Classic Gaming Quarterly Thank you !!!

[@GaryKildall]

The Gate Array is strong in this one.

[@ShishakliAus]

Yeah Turrican baby!

[@RanFuRe]

Wonderful video! Showing the whole process is really useful and as always, very well done. I'm looking forward to seeing what your favorite games are!

[@80andybrown80]

Ohhh the memories !!! AMOS programming blew my mind back then. First ever sound sampler plugin device and seeing sound - wave forms .. epic

[@GadgetUK164]

Great progress! Interesting approach using hot air to remove that DIP chip! Regards the warped keyboard - chances are a break in a trace on it, you could remove the PCB from the metal part, then straighten out the metal, and finally find and bridge the broken trace(s). I've subbed btw! Nice channel! I wouldn't use hot air like that to remove DIP chips - notice how the old chip was warped up on one end after removal, if that chip wasn't faulty it might not work after bending it like that. But when all said and done you have some other great techniques there - wonderful idea using heat shrink on meter probes to stop them slipping off and shorting other pins - I love it!

[@RMCRetro]

+GadgetUK164 - Retro Gaming Repairs & Mods hey thanks for the feedback, good points about the chip warping, it has to be done very patiently to avoid that, and as you saw I had less patience with the one I wasn't going to use hence the warping. I do intend to investigate the keyboard further, but for the sake of finishing up the series I have another to use.

[@clyder5502]

i don't know how amiga keyboards work but, maybe you could try "Silvering Pens" basically makes old membrane keyboards useable again by (i dont know how to describe this but..) making a conductive layer so that the pads short the circuit when it needs to

[@ryancallaghan3888]

If it's anything like my early model A2000 keyboard (and it does appear to be) then it uses individual mechanical keyswitches, very similar to modern cherry keyboards, though they aren't clicky ones. The Mitsumi keyboards use conductive rubber contact feet on the keys against a membrane for the consumer machines, or a PCB with contact pads for the big box keyboards, but in my experience the rubber feet fail before the contact pads. I would assume, like GadgetUK164 that it's a broken trace somewhere, though you would usually expect parts of the matrix to work were that the case, I guess it depends on where the break is or how many there are. I think the board only has 1 layer, otherwise I'd be pointing the finger at the desoldering technique damaging some through plating.

[@AtariFitness]

Looking forward to part 3. I own a fully workable Amiga 1200 + boxed Amiga 600.

[@iamgort70]

I had the Amiga 1200 with a nice 1942 multisync monitor...ah the memories.

[@igotes]

I love the rows of ceramic capacitors on the I/O ports!

[@angroidgames]

That Turrican 2 Theme coming out of nowhere gave me goosebumps! Great production! Finished restoring an A500 after watching your series! Keep em coming :)

[@mUbase]

Well DAYUM!! Excellent work though. Very nicely detailed descriptions of your fault finding. :) Some people just go too fast.

[@ripspeed6685]

High quality, well presented and edited. Really enjoyed these couple of episodes and now subscribed. Keep up the good work ⭐️

[@RMCRetro]

Thank you!

[@myquestlog733]

Easily your best video yet! Enough detail to keep it interesting but not too much so it'd get boring for the majority of viewers. One question though: Why do you use hot air to desolder those through hole components? I personally perfer a desoldering gun since it's fast and precise and leaves a free through hole to easily put a replacement part in.

[@RMCRetro]

Good question and thank you for the feedback. I like to gradually bring the heat up across the whole chip until it's just at the point of popping out multiple pins at a time. When I desolder one pin at a time I often bend the pins, this is more a reflection of my own clumsiness rather than it being a better technique for everyone, it just seems to suit me better. Once out the solder is usually easy enough to blow the hole through with the hot air gun (if you have a small attachment and enough air flow) so you end up with usable holes.

[@myquestlog733]

Ok, I get that. Thanks for the reply! :-)

[@justsomecommentchannel8602]

"The keyboard desperatly wants to be a banana" I died

[@rosstee]

Excellent video, and I love the Amiga music soundtrack. I actually recognise almost every track but struggle to remember which titles they came from - I need to get back to playing more Amiga games!

[@reggiep75]

That keyboard looks like it's taken a beating many moons ago. I'm saying a SensiSoccer or Pinball Dreams frustration fit.

[@CP200S]

I'd never seen an Amiga keyboard with a large board like yours! By the layout of the soldering dots under the keys it seems like it has switches instead of that pesky, degrading membrane! Maybe this is an Amiga with buckling springs keyboard? That would be soooo cool! Please don't trash that banana, it deserves to be fixed!

[@RMCRetro]

CP200S it is indeed a mechanical keyboard. I'm keeping it to hopefully find another I can merge/fix it with

[@JeanKatana]

I was happy to hear also Turrican II music!!! XD Thanks for that! Good videos, keep goin!

[@simonwrcarter2999]

Such an enjoyable, brilliant video..subbed.. thanks !!

[@Redskies453]

When that kickscreen came up😁😁😁 Gary you bloody legend!

[@AshtonSnapp]

“I believe Gary is dead” “u wot” - Some guy named Gary also “This keyboard desperately wants to be a banana”

[@KhainesKorner]

Good old amiga 500. I had one exactly the same model as a kid (dad bought it in 1988) but no idea where it is now. These days, my amiga needs are sated by the A4000/030 under the TV. :)

[@RMCRetro]

Khaines Korner oh to get my hands on an a4000. One day I hope

[@KhainesKorner]

I liberated it from my Dad's garage. He said he hated it just sitting there and doing nothing. Thankfully all the capacitors and battery are ok. :)

[@RaisingAwesome]

Most excellent. Subbed and liked. Where did you get info on what to expect from Gary and other chips?

[@aphexteknol]

The CPU probably wasn’t ever replaced, its just a Signetics part, which was an official second-source manufacturer of Motorola 68K CPUs.

[@AntonyTCurtis]

The old PCB type keyboards are repairable: It's just a matter of straightening the metal plate and then finding all the hairline cracks in the copper traces.

[@RMCRetro]

Hi Anthony, thanks for this you're not the first to suggest it and I will indeed go on to look into the traces in more detail and post an update if I find a fix. In the meantime I'll be pushing on with the refurb using a newer working keyboard, and we can always swap it back out at a later date. It will be reunited with its C= keyboard one day I promise :)

[@brainndamage]

The red tantalum caps on the keyboard are a type notorious for failing short-circuit in old electronics like this, perhaps you've already checked or replaced them, if not it's worth taking a look.

[@stompingfreak8980]

Loving the turns on these videos. Rob Hubbered was one of the best composers back in the day.

[@RMCRetro]

+Stomping Freak the Last V8 on a SID is pure gold

[@ItsDoctorAmatic]

I've never before seen someone using an oscilloscope for fault finding - very cool! I don't have one single clue about electronics itself, but it's exciting to watch it. :)

[@RMCRetro]

Oscilloscopes are really simple, they just look scary. It's basically the same as a multimeter but with a time axis. If you want more of that kind of thing check out EEVBlog he's great kzbin.info/www/bejne/f6KXgp-cfZKip80

[@Smartphonekanalen]

Nice videos and great inspiration. Like your voice and easy ways to describe things.

[@JesusisJesus]

As interesting as this series of videos is, I'm really digging some of the music you have playing. It's awesome hearing instruments playing bends, trills and even just notes that were impossible on the original instrument they were sampled from. Fond memories of MOD files from my 1990's teenage years... :)

[@rwestvang]

Awesome series man... respect! This brings me right back when me and my friends all had these machines.. Entry into A500 could not prepare me for what was comming... I later upgrated to the A1200, and I guess you all can relate to that unboxing feeling:-D

[@mikefellows3901]

What a blast from the past :o) Brilliant analysis and info ... Im off amiga hunting on e bay now for sure !!!!

[@ThePressurizer]

Alas, Gary, you were a jolly good chap.

[@RMCRetro]

Gone but not forgotten

[@patrickp.1998]

Man ,i have an Amiga 500+ still in my cellar ,and i will Take it right now back to live ,nice Soundtrack at your Video 😆

[@RMCRetro]

+Patrick P. Thanks Patrick, be sure to check for leaky batteries in the expansion bay before you fire her up!

[@patrickp.1998]

RetroManCave ,i've alredy checked the hardware ,nobody want his precious hardware going up in smoke ,thanks for the Tip ,sorry for my Bad english ,i'm from Germany

[@alessandrocernuzzi]

Turrican music!! One of the best games of all time!

[@izzie31]

Best thing i ever owned so many memories and nostalgia...brings a tear to the eye

[@WomblingFreely]

That burning pattern is actually due to plasticisers leaching out of the cables and damaging the plastic while the cables were wrapped around the unit during its long years in storage.

[@cowbutt6]

I was thinking I'd seen the same thing on my brick PSU - which was never anywhere near a radiator.

[@ryancor]

Nooooooo, Gary! Great video as always. You make it seem all so simple!!

[@GaryKildall]

Gate ARraY 😋

[@MarkyShaw]

Well done! You're good at the cliff hanger ;-) Looking forward to part 3.

[@i-am-ber]

Dude your music choices are spot on

[@iamgort70]

Gary's flat-lining!!! ...replacement stat! :) SUBBED! Looking forward to more stuff like this!

[@JafarCalley]

The finger is a great tool! If I had a problem with mine, or even my C64 before, I'd open it up, press the chips in and it would usually work! :)

[@kennysandhoj]

Oooh! Love the music from Flashback in the beginning of the video!

[@judgegroovyman]

Hey Gary, Was the "banana pcb" cracked or what? I know it was bent but ... Anyway nice find and great video!

[@emilakre4636]

Amiga

[@oliwan666]

Behold.......THE FINGER! :-D Great Video btw!

[@zelderan]

Loving this series so far! Keep them up!

[@catinabox2878]

Yay! Canon Fodder music. One of my favourite games for the Amiga. Never did complete it, sadly.

[@ollieb9875]

Roger Haywood \o/ yeee I noticed this too 😁😁

[@alessandrocernuzzi]

One of my fav too!

[@RDJ134]

Thank you for this video, realy enjoying watching this serie. I use to have a Amgia 500 and then a 1200 who i both sold way back in the 90's :( This kind of video's got my interest back in the system and i am thinking of buying one, and fully upgrade and expand it. So this video is a good learning for me in case i ever buy one and run in to some problems. Looking forward to the next video.

[@RMCRetro]

RDJ 134 you're welcome and thank you for watching, I hope you find a good one and enjoy revisiting it

[@Dorelaxen]

Just found your channel. Good stuff, man! Subbed and can't wait for part 3.

[@tolgaakyay]

Nice music from Last Ninja :) Brings back memories...

[@colmiga]

The CPU is most likely original, just second sourced from Signetics (a Motorola licensee). In fact, I have the exact same Signetics 68000 in my early version A500. Easy way to tell is from the date code on the CPU, it's usually 4 digits - "XX87" where the "XX" is the week in the year of manufacture and "87" is the year of manufacture, which would mean its from 1987 and original. A higher year would mean the CPU has been replaced. While not all manufacturers used this date code standard, it should be the case on the chips in this A500. The curve in the metal on the keyboard can be easily straightened out, its caused by years of pressure on the keyboard from things such as typing. It could be the membrane of the keyboard or the coating on the rubber buttons under the key caps have lost their conductivity and are no longer registering key presses. Or it may be just dirty inside. I'm sure your next step will be to disassemble the keyboard anyway, if only to clean it. You can then probe things like the membrane to see if keypresses are registering. Being it's an early keyboard it would be a shame to replace it (unless you get another one of course), hopefully it can be fixed.

[@RMCRetro]

Thanks Mark, I'll check the date out on the CPU, I also have a spare Motorolla branded one, so I'll see which is closer to the date of the system board and pair it up. Thanks for your insights

[@williamhoodtn]

If memory serves, I don't think they ever shipped with the Motorola branded CPU but with the Signetics CPU - it was a bit cheaper to buy for Commodore at the time.

[@RMCRetro]

From the Big Book of Amiga Hardware - "The MC68000 was cloned by several manufacturers and these clones can often be found in Amiga's. Processor clones were even installed at the factory. Hitachi and Signetics processors in particular were used instead of Motorola, but Rockwell clones may also have been used."

[@sfurta]

The left Amiga key is Commodore key, very nice.

[@patrickp.1998]

Yesss,it's alive ,but i have to check all my floppydiscs ,if they'll work , thank you for make this Video ,Amiga FOREVER ,LOL

[@jonasvalfridsson]

"The banana keyboard" - a symptom that often occurs from frustration with gameplay. I guess the keyboard got bent after a good whack from the fist in gaming rage. :)

[@cowbutt6]

Or, after GARY failed again (perhaps the original reason for the work by Computer Care South).

[@wisteela]

Great repair and information.

[@Saphykitten]

I really enjoy your content and format. Please continue to produce content!

[@mark12358]

I would give it a try removing the bent metal plate and trying to spot any broken trace on the board itself. It seems you are so close to fix it. Cheers, M

[@RMCRetro]

I was fortunate enough to come across another mechanical a500 keyboard recently so there will be a part 5 soon!

[@mark12358]

that's good ! lucky you, was it pricey a lot?

[@mark12358]

@@RMCRetro Hi, still looking forward for the 5th part with the "chicken lips" keyboard! Cheers, M

[@kencreppin2146]

LOL, that keyboard reminds me of my A2088 XT Bridgeboard. I had an expansion box on the side of my 1000 in which I had a memory card and a Bridgeboard. The Bridgeboard warped so bad it popped itself right out of the slot. A friend's 286 board in a 2000 did the same thing, but it took the slot socket with it. Split it badly. Seemd to be a common problem on Commodore pcb's....

[@JKERRI1]

Flashback theme brings back so many memories

[@ProjectGeek1]

Awesome! Good to see that scope working! Did you remove the resistors and other components from the board before testing? That is an an must as leaving them in and testing means you're testing the entire circuit and not just the component.

[@RMCRetro]

Project Geek I sure did...it took bloody ages!

[@ProjectGeek1]

RetroManCave it's a pain for sure, I never did like desoldering.

[@wexoni]

Very good video and narration. I watch other Amiga repair channels and I must say you are better. However, you need more videos. Go for it. We are watching :)

[@RMCRetro]

wexoni Thank you for your feedback, I'm pretty new here but I'm making new videos weekly so hope to have a nice big selection soon

[@prehistoricBanana]

Brilliant video as always, what' oscilloscope did you use in this video?

[@RMCRetro]

Thank you! It's a Hantek IDS1070A, 70mhz with 2 channels and a 250MSa/s sample rate

[@Tetrakan]

RetroManCave what sort of tablet are you using the hantek with? Is that an iPad?

[@stt2854]

Awesome soundtrack - been a while since I heard Last Ninja level 1!!

[@GS-fd2pf]

Excellent vid, brings back 10 tonne of memories even though I still have mine boxed in pristine condition with a 1084S monitor (leaking batteries is a concern) also mine is a V1.3 and my mate Barry always claimed that there was something better about the V1.2 but according to Barry someone had deliberately put a Virus through it (possibly called a lama or lammer virus???) and it was never repairable (apparently) and at this stage the V1.2 was no longer available therefore having to get the V1.3 and just to throw it out there Barry went on to be the DJ of hip hop group Hilltop Hoods, DJ Debris.

[@RMCRetro]

I enjoyed every word of that comment. God bless Barry and his DJ skills. The 1.2 and 1.3 are pretty much the same except 1.3 supports hard drives. You're probably talking about the Lamer Exterminator virus, which would stay resident after a reset and infect boot blocks on disks before overwriting all the data. Kickstart ROMS are just that "Read Only" so changing from 1.2 to 1.3 shouldn't have made a difference, throwing out all your disks would have helped! I blame Barry for everything.

[@elmerfudge1891]

Well filmed and great soundtrack!

[@RMCRetro]

+James 007 Thank you, glad you're enjoying it.

[@leon111333]

Great video! Thank you! I will get my Amiga 500 these days and have to fix some keys on the keyboard! (not working numbers 4-9) Think a whole cleanup of the keypad interiors will help, or what do you think?

[@RMCRetro]

It certainly won't do it any harm to have a good clean up. I'd suggest you start with cleaning the membrane if you have a Mitsumi keyboard with de-ionised water as opposed to alcohol just to give it a gentle clean and go from there

[@Lemonidas75]

So, which CPU has replaced the classic 68000 there ? Is it any better in some way ? Thanks again for the video ... exciting stuff!

[@RMCRetro]

It's a Signetics brand processor. The part number says it's 8mhz but it's operating at the normal speed for the Amiga, it's fully 68000 compatible, much like dropping a Cyrix in to an Intel PC way back when. I do have a genuine Motorolla CPU for the Amiga which I'll likely drop in episode 3 just because it will bug me if I don't :D

[@RobinDivine777]

lol - Loved it with the Cannon Fodder tune at 10:16 :)

[@RMCRetro]

You could get really attached to those little guys!

[@jimmyeklund9306]

I loved amiga 500 so much! Remeber that you could make a serial connector to play 2 player racing games on seperate amigas. Hi tech stuff :)

[@hobbified]

4:14 Look around you. Look around you. Just, look around you. Have you found what we're looking for yet? That's right, it's the finger.

[@Mrflash222006]

I haven't heard that cannon fodder music in 20+ years, strange how I still remember it

[@zuhulthethief]

Tank you for the great video and amazing music!

[@mjmonjure]

Great video! Question - What is the ipad app used for the o-scope and how is it receiving the signal from the Hantek unit since it does not appear to be physically connected to the iPad?

[@JETJOOBOY]

Did you give the Moth a drink of water and somewhere to recover?

[@eltrash]

great video, how is your oscilloscope connected to the ipad?

[@RMCRetro]

eltrash The scope unit acts as a WAP. Ipad connects to its wifi and the rest is dealt with in the App. Pretty simple to setup

[@waylander751]

Last Ninja soundtrack gotta love it!

[@SianaGearz]

Perhaps you should get one of these desoldering irons, at least ZD-211. These come in 30W and 40W varieties under local brands and distributors, willing to bet Festool and Velleman have them. Don't buy the Shenzhen knockoffs which have an earth clip, get a proper branded one which has the correct cable - plastics are less brittle too on the real thing, although the design is slightly flawed regardless, so neither lasts really long. It should cost less than 10€, and the knockoff costs barely less. You can hot wiggle the pins and free them right up until the chip falls right out, no prying and heating up the whole thing.

[@werewolf74]

Gary,, What can I say about him.... Our noble Gate aray ... he was a good processor, he provided glue logic for bus control and always housed support functions for the Mr. floppy disk drive. Gary was all about being efficient, while working discretely, quietly in the background weaving and integrating many functions we may not have ever really appreciated in full. A moment of silence for our friend, Gary. I feel bad you did all that work to fabricate a daughter board only to discover that was not the issue, but I guess now it would be easier to fix in the future...

[@alex_swe2432]

I looked at the 4 500s i have, i have working mothers board but some have sort of bad sounds. this gives me a idea how it works thanks for the video.

[@RMCRetro]

+alex_Swe thanks for watching. This is quite a common one and is often related to Paula or dirt. Give Paula a clean and resest her, and maybe give the board a clean if it's messy

[@alex_swe2432]

thanks, i will and i have one more 500 next week don't know if it works but as parts.

[@alex_swe2432]

What kickstart is it on your amiga 500?

[@RMCRetro]

+alex_Swe 1.2 - so no hard disk for me without an upgrade

[@psyolent.]

awesome video. great music. what hantek are you using?

[@MsMarciax]

RIP good old trusty Gary :'-( And well... hello! To the new shiny Gary, may he live long and prosper with far many binary happyness to come. Hail Gary. Yaaaay! :-)

[@wlanman99]

Great video series thank you! Now I want to dig out my 2 A500s out of storage (No, the keyboard isn't for sale :)

[@Plan-C]

Very nice. Last Ninja music too.

[@thebmk45]

@ 1:31 Oh i have the same exact multimeter/voltmeter but not in blue casing , mine is orange ;)

[@gavdanby-cooper9085]

Loving these videos. Thank you.

[@JETJOOBOY]

What is that Soldering Gadget Station? How Much😁 Can you do (or have you done) a video about Soldering? I recently bought a replacement sub board for my Oukitel phone but to install it required soldering NO computer or phone shop would touch... So I superglued the old one back together... FIXED! I would truly love to be able to accurately and safely solder Boards....

[@sarreqteryx]

Dammit GARY!! It's always bloody Gary!! I say replicate the original keyboard PCB and replace it.

[@maxsessini619]

Great channel! And great video too! Subbed

[@banjoguyollie]

very cool series of vids. nice job

[@Chris-tx9ou]

How are you using the Ipad as an oscilloscope? Please make a video or advise on this. Long Live the Amiga

[@RMCRetro]

That's a Hantek IDSO1070A wireless scope. The app on the ipad is connected to it over wifi.

[@johnsamu]

Gary...Gary.... Gary.............Gaaaaaryyyyy!!!!! Probably this computer powered the Vault 13 waterchip? 😁

[@chazwozza67]

Great video i was totally wrong about the power being an issue heheh

[@JenniferinIllinois]

R. I. P. Old Gary