Amstrad CPC 6128 - Part 1 - Restoration, repair and recapping, replacing drive belt

[@HanJammer]

I was just servicing my CPC6128 and this small pin fell out of the floppy drive seconds before you mentioned it ;D Your video saved my a lot of googling I guess, so thanks! :D

[@desertorenparo]

A bit rough with the keyboard's disassembling, I have suffer a bit :D, but it's fantastic watch uncut video with errors and problems, not only success results. Thanks for share all your experience.

[@NoelsRetroLab]

Great video. Nice to see you work on some Amstrads! 😃 What you're seeing at the end is most likely a bad AY chip. It happens a fair amount. I would start looking there. Also, I have yet to see an Amstrad CPC that needed recapping for any reason, so I never really bother with that (unlike ZX Spectrums, which is one of the first things I look at). Looking forward to part 2!

[@Arcticretro]

Thanks a lot Noel :)

[@Arcticretro]

I want to learn more about the amstrads. Even if Commodore is "my" computer, I really like the Amstrads as well

[@rastislavzima]

@@Arcticretro I do not like Commodore color pallette and I like better 3" disks than 5.25", but C has superior scrolling and better sound chip. If Commodore has got Amstrad pallette or Amstrad has got at least better hardware support for graphics it would be killer 8-bit machine.

[@jamesrizzo295]

Fantastic video! Just missed out on buying a CPC6128 which was my 1st computer. Can't wait to get my hands on one and will definitely come back to your videos for reference. Now onto part 2 to see what the problem is with that keyboard! 😀

[@neuro-chip80schanel48]

Great!!! I love this video! I have 464 , 472 and 6128 Good explanation

[@Arcticretro]

Thanks a lot :)

[@Breakfast_of_Champions]

Mr.Ovesen building up homecomputer karma!

[@Arcticretro]

Thanks. I try ;)

[@terosaarela4555]

Nice work with the 6128!

[@Arcticretro]

Thanks!

[@DariuszMika]

I just love watching videos about old computers. I noticed that this one has both enter and return key, never seen anything like that. Why does it need both?

[@Arcticretro]

This is what I found in the manual: "Under normal circumstances (by default), this key has the same effect as [RETURN] and can be used as such. However, like the function keys on the numeric keypad, the [ENTER] key may be re-defined for other uses."

[@williefleete]

I have a feeling those 3 inch drives use the same/similar signalling and pinout as a 3.5 inch drive. Theoretically one of those floppy emulators would work with this probably with some custom firmware and a casing to fit

[@roasthunter]

Yes you can fit a 3.5" drive or a gotek with a modified cable, no firmware or software changes are required, the original drive has fewer pins that's about it.

[@MichaelEhling]

0:22 The Sun is staying up a bit longer in Bodø.

[@Arcticretro]

Yes, but the videos can be recorded 2 - 3 weeks before publishing time :)

[@neuro-chip80schanel48]

Hi from Madrid, Spain🇪🇸

[@Arcticretro]

Hi there :)

[@rastislavzima]

I see first time retrobrighting in owen. But its logical that Ovesen uses owen. ;-)

[@HAGSLAB]

Nice video again Tommy! Have a nice weekend! :)

[@Arcticretro]

Thanks a lot. Same to you :)

[@jolletxavier7036]

I think the missing spring is because you put 3 springs under the space bar instead of the 2 smaller ones...

[@Arcticretro]

Oh really? I will check :)

[@aussie_retro_dude9253]

Will the drive work without the pin ? ( Asking for a friend that may have lost it ) :/

[@Arcticretro]

I don't know. I did not test it :)

[@wimwiddershins]

The keyboard looked a tiny bit bent?

[@terosaarela4555]

Yeah, the back plate was bent slightly.

[@Arcticretro]

Yes it was, and I actually straightened it, but I did not film that :)

[@solidhit2]

Hello, were you also able to source the non polarized electrolytic near the sound chip?

[@Arcticretro]

Yes :-)

[@solidhit2]

That's nice, I cannot find such caps in a normal electronics shop in my country, so I had to buy from a shop which specializes in high fidelity audio components. They have audio rated caps which are very expensive and of insane quality. Apparently, non-polarized electrolytics, are still used on some audio circuits! I bought three Nichicons with copper legs for four euros!

[@Arcticretro]

@@solidhit2 I think I got it from DigiKey

[@solidhit2]

Yes, to buy from Digikey, I'd have to import from Italy and patience is not a virtue I possess, when I want something I want it fast, so I pay more! By the way, with all the messages about that cap, I forgot to mention that I find your videos educational but in a relaxing way. You don't try to prove anything, you are yourself and I find that very appropriate for our retro "hobby", well done!

[@Arcticretro]

@@solidhit2 Thanks a lot :)

[@robbiew73]

I think you upset more C64 fans than Amstrad fans with the spring swap!

[@Arcticretro]

Maybe, but they might not watch this video anyway:)

[@davidevans643]

Hi just got one of these computers But when i go and type something it just comes up with weird symbols Have you any idea how to fix

[@Arcticretro]

No, I need to see screenshot of it. Can be rom chip is faulty

[@RyeOnHam]

Would love if you could lower the volume of your music compared to your voice. I have to lower the volume every time it goes to the music.

[@neuro-chip80schanel48]

Best regards

[@tetecko81sk]

the same unlucky solution for KB as it is for ZX Spectrum

[@AndrewTubbiolo]

That keyboard was YUMMY! I can just imagine the wealth of information archaeologists will learn about us from the crap in our keyboards. Will you ever eat your mashed potatoes the same way again after cleaning those keys in in your sauce pan? Will they ever taste the same again? :)

[@Arcticretro]

Hehe. I never use gloves, but I wash my hands afterwards:) Potatoes are still good.

[@starsk13]

Amazing work ! Too bad for the keyboard :/

[@roasthunter]

Recap is / was not required. You took working mainboard and replaced goods caps, absolute waste of time, money and unnessary. There are no leaky early generation smd caps on this board, Amstrad used high quality caps and unless you have an issue with them they don't need replacing. People should stop unnessary recap please, there are some machines that need doing like the amiga 1200 but not these.

[@Arcticretro]

Well, that is your opinion, but the fact is that 40 yrs old caps can behave bad, thus it is a good idea to replace them

[@OvelarFotografia]

@@Arcticretro In fact I opened my beloved 6128 because of your videos to find out one capacitor with corrosion. Thanks a lot, I think that could have saved my motherboard on the long run. So I decided to replace all capacitors. Could you share the capacitor list?. That would save me a lot of research time!. Thanks!