Early Amiga 500 Restoration & More Fixes

[@macdaddyns]

Not sure if this is applicable, back in the 80's and 90's I was an Apple support specialist and a common issue was people cleaning the drive heads improperly. They would bend the upper head back and fit a Q-Tip in between upper and lower heads to clean them. Problem was too much force and open the gap too much. Resulting in a bent upper head hinge assy. where the upper head would no longer ride close enough to the disk surface. It was easy to tell if this was the case by closing the disk mech without a disk in it and looking in to see if the heads touched. If gapped, the upper head hinge was damaged. Also people would blow compressed air into the drive at the heads, often the upper head, which rides on a fragile copper suspension spring, would get malformed by the high pressure air causing the head to not ride parallel to the disk surface.

[@niino4329]

This typically happens in drive mechs with leaf spring mounted heads. Amiga drives (at least those i know) aren't like that, but the commodore 1571 is. and yeah, the sony macintosh disk drives are fragile as hell

[@JanBeta]

I've seen a couple of Amiga disk drives where that could have been the cause of the faults. It's not so easy to wear the springs out on these drives than on some older 5.25 drives I've seen but it certainly might do enough to reduce the tension. I cleaned it with a Q-tip in the previous video but I took the utmost care to not bend the head up any more than necessary. :)

[@thebyteattic]

This is turning out to be one of the best jobs you've done. Thoughtful, careful, skilled and thorough; a delight to watch. If you're willing to try your hand on another museum piece (a rare Exidy Sorcerer), I'll send you one, as I'm having a hard time dealing with everything coming my way. I'd love to watch you work on it.

[@JanBeta]

Thanks! I poured a lot of love and patience into this restoration/repair (and I'm going to continue doing so until the "bitter" end). ;) Would be super interesting to look at the Sorcerer indeed! I have quite a few projects on the list so it would take me some time before I could start looking at that though but I would be honored to have a go and dig in sometime. :D

[@KraftyLive]

Excellent video on the restoration and repair. I have an old 500 with the red power light too, I find that if you lower the drive mechanism without a disc in the drive the heads will touch and you can then align the top head to the bottom one using the top head adjustment screws.

[@JanBeta]

Thanks! Good call about the r/w heads. I'm going to take a look at them without a disk in and see if they are aligned properly!

[@proteque]

one of my favorite series so far from you. I like how you have the deepest respect and stay safe with this gem!

[@JanBeta]

Hey, thanks! Lots of love and patience went into this special machine. :)

[@Geekzmo]

Amazing job, hard battles are the ones that teach us the most. Don't give up Jan!

[@JanBeta]

Thanks! Not giving up yet. :)

[@VincentGroenewold]

Such a lovely series, especially as this is such an early gem. Also looks like this original keyboard would feel better, nice.

[@JanBeta]

It actually doesn't feel vastly different from the later keyboards (except the plastic feels better). No clicky switches, just proper linear ones. It's way better made and heavier in general though. Commodore cost reduction strikes again with the newer versions (which were very likely significantly cheaper to make). :D

[@alanhaynes4576]

Very good series Jan. Thanks for your hard work in keeping this Amiga alive. I am looking forward to the next chapter.

[@muesli_mod]

when i am emperor of earth after the apocalypse, Jan will be chief of engineering, to restore our use of these priceless artifacts. amazing work and fascinating video series for me. amiga forever!

[@edmondomazzantini]

Very well done Jan, as ever! Greetings from Italy!!

[@JanBeta]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the vid! :D

[@al.d9592]

Nice video again. The JU 363 was also used in the A2000-A aka Braunschweiger, which came out at that exact same time. You can spot it by the missing front door. You could source one of these as a replacement. Sticker position looks fine. Let me check about the Philips screws, I would remember if mine had these. For the 4th video, I can provide you with further pics of my very early A500 if you like.

[@JanBeta]

Yes, in the retrofriends video I linked the JU-363 is from an A2000. Probably the first batches of both A500 and A2000 got these when they were released. I am watching some auctions on eBay for those drives currently, maybe I get lucky. ;) More photos are always welcome, I'm going to talk about some of the peculiarities of different early models in the next episode. Please send them via email (thejanbeta at gmail dot com) if you like. :)

[@0toleranz]

These keys of the early A500s are called space invaders and were made by Hi-Tek in the 80s until in the 90s I think. Chyrosran22 made a video on all the different switch types many moons ago. Nice videos, as always Jan!

[@mark12358]

Hi, the Hi-Tek keyboards were made only during 1987 A500 I guess, as the 1988 A500 were (generally) already with the Samsung or Mitsumi keyboard, although with red/green leds. In 1989 Commodore released the rev6a board, ECS Agnus and green/amber leds.

[@JanBeta]

Thanks! I also put a link in the video description with more in-depth info about the key mechanisms now. :)

[@KieronWray]

impressive, fixing the alignment of al bits of the drive! :) great vid, thanks

[@JanBeta]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! I only hope I can re-re-align the drive to fix it permanently. :D

[@ninline2000]

Dude, you are relentless. Fun to watch video.

[@MartinSteed]

Thats the type of keyboard my A500 had, I remember it being tricky to get those key tops back on if you removed them, I bent a few of those copper progs myself over the years! Loved the feel of that keyboard though.

[@JanBeta]

Yes, it's pretty easy to bend those switches unfortunately. The keyboard is amazing compared to the newer versions indeed. :)

[@kepanoid]

My/our original A500 Rev 5 has Phillips screws on the outside, and Torx in the inside. I have and have had several later revision A500s. Some are all Torx, some still have/had the Phillipses on the outside. Every A500 I've seen has/had Torxes holding the shield(s) and motherboard, though. Maybe it was a semi-random mix, as was any thing with Commodore.

[@JanBeta]

Yes, that's my guess, too. My original A500 from only a couple of months later (August 1987) had Philips on the outside and Torx inside, I've seen all variants of screws in A500s basically. Very typically Commodore, I'd say. ;)

[@catriona_drummond]

Awesome video, you went above and beyond this time.

[@JanBeta]

Hey, thanks Cat! I poured a lot of love and patience into this Amiga. :)

[@FernandoelChachi]

Great work. Yep, the keyboard looks and works like new. Congrats.

[@StefanBambach]

Nice job. Old floppy needs a bit more time. I would solder cables to test points and connect both heads simultaneously to scope. Easier to have both hands to turn motor... Good luck for further restoration! cu

[@JanBeta]

Yeah, I'm definitely going to have to connect the probes better to be able to work on it more carefully. Hope I can somehow permanently fix the drive, it was really disheartening to see it work fine and then break again... :D

[@JendaLinda]

Very nice restoration. Hopefully the floppy drive can be fixed. The case looks great even with the slight yellowing, it's like patina.

[@JanBeta]

Thanks! Yeah, the case isn't too bad. And I really don't want to hurt it. I'm going to take another look at the disk drive soon, I was just really annoyed that it refused to work again in the end after I had put quite some hours into aligning it... :D

[@tikkisaha]

Great job with the Amiga restoration. By the way, I found a service manual for JU-363. Can be found with those search words. It has several check and alignment instructions. Some tests require special tools that are probably only available at the factory. I have one JU-363 which lower head reads the inner tracks weakly. By lightly pressing the reading head, the Test Kit gives 11/11 result. Very similar symptoms to what you had. Maybe I'll investigate this further with an oscilloscope and two probes to see what the results look like.

[@JanBeta]

Oh, thanks for the tip with the service manual! Just downloaded it and it will be very helpful (even if it seems like you indeed need some specialized tools to do all the procedures laid out). :)

[@DavoidJohnson]

Coil springs can be tensioned by tying two coils together, if that helps. Flat springs are tensioned by stroking asymmetrically top and bottom.

[@JanBeta]

Thanks! The trouble is that I'm not sure how to get the spring out of the mechanism without dismantling it completely and risking to permanently break it. I guess I'll give that a go if everything else fails though.

[@DavoidJohnson]

Gadget UK went a similar route some time ago. First messing with the heads finally adjusting the stepper motor for track 1.

[@JanBeta]

Yep, I watched quite a few of his disk drive repair videos and learned a lot (as I usually do when I watch Gadget videos). :D

[@VasileiosPsomiadis]

Thanks for another great Amiga video! I noticed that you are using Amiga Test Kit v1.18. I don't know if you are aware that the latest version (1.20) supports checking the drive alignment in all positions instead of just at track 0, 40 and 79. Perhaps it would be handy in your quest to repair this old drive!

[@JanBeta]

Oh, THAT is going to be helpful indeed. I wasn't aware of that new feature. Handy! :D

[@jameslewis2635]

Nice restoration. I think these early model A500's had the better keyboards to type on where the more common/later models fell afowl to Commodore's cost cutting efforts as they tried to balance the books.

[@JanBeta]

Yes, the newer keyboards were definitely much less expensive to make than these! They actually don't feel all that different to type on (this one has linear switches, not the clicky kind) but the quality differences are incredible. I guess Commodore did their usual cost cutting and got away with it.

[@root42]

The upper head can be aligned separately right? I guess you perhaps knocked it out of alignment while reassembling the machine.

[@JanBeta]

Yes, I think that must be what happened. Probably while I had it uspide down briefly when I put the screws into the case. I really hope I manage to fix it more permanently! :D

[@michaeltandrup3059]

That’s technically not a keycap puller. It’s a switch puller. Anyways, great video as always. Love the content. I have a keyboard with similar switches. They are commonly known as space invader switches, because that’s kind of what they look like. I really like them. The stabilizers can be a bit of a pain. My spacebar is also insanely heavy, so swapped the spring with the escape key. That made more sense to me.

[@AmartharDrakestone]

Nope. That is a keycap puller. A switch puller has different prongs, more similar to an IC puller.

[@JanBeta]

I think it is indeed a variant of a switch puller (for Cherry style switches) but very similarly shaped pullers are available as keycap pullers, too. Worked well anyway, no scratches on the keycaps. The space bar on this keyboard actually feels very similar to the rest of the keys with the original stiffer spring. Maybe yours was a bit stuck or something, should be well balanced with the rest I guess.

[@HenrikG1963]

Nice video. Nice to see it start working. I saw anothe video. Not with you. A guy trying to fix hes Amiga 500. He used the testkit as well but the keyboard had some problem with some of the keys. He rebooted the amiga and the problem was still there. The testkit didn't fix hes keyboard. Then he found a newer testkit and hoped that would fix hes keyboard. But no the newest testkit didn't fix hes keyboard, so hes conclution was the keyboard was dead and could not be fixed 😀

[@JanBeta]

Ha! The Test Kit is for testing, not for fixing, I guess. ;)

[@mrjsv4935]

Very nice restoration :) I wonder if replacing capacitors or other components, like resistors in the disk drive would help? It kind of looks like it improved it's operation during long use while adjusting the heads and the motor, but lost it's abilities when the power was off and probably caps discharged.

[@JanBeta]

Yes, that may very well play a role. Capacitors of the (very small) size that fit the drive are not too easy to source though, especially since half of them are bipolar electrolytics. I could try polyester film caps as replacements or something like that but I'm kind of worried to damage the drive and make it unfixable in the end. Definitely going to have another look at it soon. :)

[@BerndFelsche]

In the same era as the 500, an HP tech informed me that they clean computers from mine sites with running water. Including the circuit boards. Drying and flushing with board cleaner ensured that mineral deposits and trapped water would not be an issue.

[@JanBeta]

Yes, I've cleaned circuits board like that before. Usually works very well. Some peeps even use dishwashers with great success for that but I don't have one. ;)

[@MrPGT]

Stick a small metal shim (copper washer or similar) under where the spring contacts the head. This will provide a bit of extra weight and a small increase in the spring tension. Preferably a non-magnetic material. If that improves things, a careful dot of epoxy will make it permanent.

[@JanBeta]

I experimented with taping a Euro cent coin to the head briefly actually. Didn’t give me any improvement so I scrapped the idea. I am going to reinvestigate what happens if I place it under the spring, good idea! Might be the little push it needs to work more reliably.

[@MrPGT]

@@JanBeta Be aware that most modern copper coins have a steel slug in the middle, so if you use one as a permanent solution, it may be magnetic. Be wary of this.

[@KrautRockt]

hey jan...danke für den upload..PS: weil ich gerade die ramerweiterung sehe, muß man wenn die lauge weg gekratzt ist, die platine neu beschichten mit lack?...was denkst du ist das unbedingt sofort nötig oder rostet das nach paar monaten zusammen ? wenn ja, was benutzt du so als lack?.lg und danke für deine clips...lg und alles gute dir...weitersooo! ...(so, jetzt das ganze video anschauen..🙂)

[@JanBeta]

Es gibt so "UV-curable solder mask", die habe ich schon ein paar Mal erfolgreich benutzt. Eine andere Möglichkeit ist Platinenschutzlack, den gibt's in Sprühdosen. Nagellack tut's im Notfall auch. Würde ich bei einer RAM-Erweiterung aber eher nicht für zwingend notwendig halten, das zu versiegeln. Zumal der Teil der Platine, der beschädigt ist, in diesem Fall nur die Uhr beinhaltet. Kupfer korrodiert zwar an der Luft auch langsam, vor allem wenn es feucht wird, aber der Prozess ist normalerweise sehr langsam.

[@KrautRockt]

@@JanBeta hey, jan danke für den tipp! ...ich werds beherzigen...lg und schönen abend dir..! und danke für deine arbeit...

[@fu1r4]

55:40 You have twisted the anti-static wristband and it looks like the metal won't touch your skin ... I have never used an anti-static wristband. The only thing i know about Amiga is that you need to power them off when you connect/disconnect any peripherals. Even if it is a simple null modem cable.

[@JanBeta]

Oh, well spotted, didn't notice that. I think the ESD conditions should still be good, as the whole work surface is grounded.

[@kjellmesch8060]

I managed to buy a Rev 3 A500 last week, my has serial 24505, but it is in very close to mint condition. Even the plastic is in its original color. Quite pleased with that :-) But I'm missing the bottom cover for the expansion slot. I'm probably stealing it from my other A500.

[@AllensTrains]

Hi Jan, I had that problem with the Disk Drive, and like you I thought the problem was mechanical. But I traced the fault to a power supply issue. Have you cleaned the pins on the connector to the machine? You might order a replacement eBay PSU from Poland.Thanks for uploading.

[@SidneyCritic]

I guess the trick with the floppy is get the lower 11/11, because it's directly connected to the motor adjust, and THEN adjust the upper, because it's separately adjustable. The upper head pivot could be loose/worn, ie, allow side to side movement.

[@JanBeta]

Yes, that's pretty much how I ended up doing it. Adjust both heads with the stepper motor to a proper track 0 position, then align the upper head to match the lower head. I think the upper head got misaligned again while I held the drive upside down when I screwed it into the Amiga case. I'm going to have another go at it soon.

[@sammy61187]

Hey Jan how do you get such a good image on your lcd?? Scart to hdmi converter or something else??

[@JanBeta]

I use a cheapo Flylink SCART to HDMI upscaler as my test setup. Won't recommend it for anything apart from quick functional test though as it has significant lag. For "proper" gaming and such I use an OSSC upscaler which works beautifully (and the output quality is even better than on the cheap upscaler).

[@DotArve]

@JanBeta That second thing you're using is _NOT_ a keycap puller. It's a switch puller for Cherry-type switches, and it's inevitably going to damage keycaps you try to pull with it. That said, I don't think there are many modern tools that can safely pull these caps without getting in the way.

[@JanBeta]

Yep, it's a switch remover. There are keycap pullers of the same shape available made from plastic (but I don't have one of those). Worked very well though (and it didn't scratch the keycaps at all, the plastic is super rugged on these).

[@deanswallia2409]

Great series

[@JanBeta]

Thank you! To be continued soon! :D

[@alanbailey867]

Hi Jan, do you recommend any references for amiga 500 cap replacements.

[@JanBeta]

There's some excellent capacitor lists on ikod-se for several Amiga models, including order numbers you can copy and paste: www.ikod.se/repairs/capacitor-lists/ Or did you mean a tutorial about how to do it in general?

[@Breakfast_of_Champions]

Interesting drive repair. Back then my A500 started destroying disks which was probably the heads aligned too tightly. Of course there were no documents or even videos on how to repair it. edit, interesting even with your kind of experience the drive still refuses help. Diskettes can be so finicky...😉

[@JanBeta]

Thanks! Yeah, back in the day there was barely any information available about this stuff. Probably in some service manuals. I guess most of the times, the disk drives would just be replaced in that era instead of fixed as they were no longer hilariously expensive as in former times. Quite a shame that the drive refused to work again in the end (after spending hours to get it to read again!). I'm going to give it another go soon!

[@meh3247]

You should teach the 8 bit guy (Howdy Arabia) something... the poor boy's clueless!

[@JanBeta]

Oh, he knows lots of things I don't know, I'm sure. Especially regarding programming software (which I suck at). :D

[@flymario8046]

Lemmings is a better test game than any other!

[@JanBeta]

One of the best! :D

[@stephanerieppi]

@@JanBeta A must for the tank mouse restoration episode/section. ;)

[@greypatch8855]

PCBWAY is the way!

[@Geomanb]

A real buckling spring keyboard! Like the IBM model M

[@JanBeta]

Yes, it's a very similar mechanism. I put a link in the video description with more info about these particular switches.

[@alex1520]

You could try one last ditch effort to replace the caps in the drive to see if it helps, but it may turn out to be a waste of time, still, all you have to lose is an hour and a couple of caps.

[@JanBeta]

Yep, I talked about that in the previous episode. The tiny caps are not easy to source (and half of them are bipolar electrolytics that are even more difficult to find these days). I'm still going to look into that.

[@DavidFilskov]

CLICKY keys and C= key! - now *that's* the perfect Amiga! ❤

[@stephanerieppi]

With the cosmetic restoration now complete, I am increasingly convinced that this machine should be professionally photographed (as well as filmed, but that's what those videos are about) and that its picture should be part of the Amiga 500 Wikipedia page, with the caption "The original Amiga 500".

[@JanBeta]

That is a nice idea. :)

[@srfrg9707]

The read head look not quite parallel to the hole of the disk. As if the entire arm was bent at some point.

[@JanBeta]

Yes, I also suspected something like that when I started working on the drive. The whole metal chassis seems to be a bit warped, too. I am going to look into that again.

[@ralfr.5974]

The Rev3 has the Best Keyboard of All Amigas! 👍🏻But for disassemble you have to desolder all Switches from the PCB😝

[@JanBeta]

Yep, that's what I figured. I didn't do it because it looked relatively clean underneath and I didn't want to risk causing any damage. It's an excellent keyboard indeed!

[@al.d9592]

It’s excellent for sure. But the A2000-A and A1000 keyboards are super good, too. All 3 have individual switches. Btw there is a space invaders variant keyboard for the 2000-B as well. I never had that

[@ralfr.5974]

​​@@al.d9592That's true! I have a A2000 B Rev 4.4 and the Keyboard has also Hi-Tek Switches👍🏻

[@twocvbloke]

It's annoying how some disk drives have a way to change the tension on the heads by moving the spring between notches on where they locate, others, nope, only way to adjust those is with cafreful brute force by bending the spring itself, which can be very fiddly, especially on an FDD where one slip and you've got instant spare parts... :\

[@JanBeta]

Yeah, working on those drives is definitely not an easy task. This one seems reasonable to work on though, definitely going to give it a bit more attention soon and hopefully I manage to fix it more permanently.

[@bhhenry]

"Whoa, man, this Amiga 500 video is next level. I just blasted off into the cosmos with some DMT, and let me tell you, I saw some crazy stuff. This German dude, he's not just restoring an old computer, he's tapping into a deeper, universal energy. I saw these glowing, pulsating circuits, like they were alive, and this guy was like a wizard, conjuring up some ancient technology that's been lost to time. And the colors, man, the colors were so vibrant and alive, like they were speaking to me in some kind of alien language. It was like the machine itself was alive, and this guy was the conduit, channeling its power and wisdom. I know it sounds crazy, but trust me, when you're on DMT, anything is possible. And this video, it's not just about restoring a computer, it's about unlocking the secrets of the universe, about tapping into our ancient knowledge and wisdom. So, if you're looking for a trip, a real journey into the unknown, check out this video. But be warned, you might not come back the same person. You might see things that will change you forever."

[@JanBeta]

That is nearly exactly what I felt while making this video! 😅

[@NoobixCube]

Recapping the board is the right call. It's an _early_ Amiga, but it's not like you've got a prototype, or serial number 1, or anything like that. Function should be preserved before form, in this case. Not with no mind to form at all, but just considered _before_ form. That means no modern upgrades, just... "sidegrades". Like for like in function. Replacing a few capacitors doesn't diminish its value any more than, say, replacing a broken pin header, or replacing that PLCC socket. It's not like a modern case replacement. That would change the appearance and feel, and even the _smell_ of the machine, and any case defects should be worked with where possible.

[@DavePoo2]

It's funny, making a floppy disk drive is basically a forgotten art now. It would be nice to get it fixed, every one that dies doesn't get replaced.

[@JanBeta]

Indeed. I'll try my best to get this one to work (again). And of course I'm also trying to learn some new skills in the process to maybe fix some more disk drives in the future. ;)

[@tenminutetokyo2643]

Of course jam in all new small ceramic caps since they are tiny compared to the old ones.

[@JanBeta]

Noooo! :D

[@km3481]

The case looks newer in that original 500 cases didn't have the sticker for the chicken lips it was injected.

[@stephanerieppi]

It's a common misconception that has been discussed to death in the comments of the previous videos on the series (and talked about in the videos themselves): the first thousands A500 produced had a badge (with a slightly different font for the logo). There's now hard evidence of it. The embossed logo came later, for a few other thousands of Rev.3 machines.

[@roheinz5007]

Nice 😍

[@meh3247]

Personally, I would whip that old drive out and replace it. Patience only lasts so long fella!

[@JanBeta]

That's plan b. I'm definitely going to take another look at the drive soon. It was so close to being fully fixed! :D

[@giuseppelavecchia775]

Video fantastico

[@Cyklonus]

👍👍

[@PixelMaker04]

That might be what's wrong with my drives for my Amiga 500.

[@AndyDavis007]

A bit far fetched but imagine in a world where you get to interview a retiree who's job was at the fabrication station where these floppy disk drives where QA'd to tell us what's wrong with this drive. Engagement challenge?

[@AndyDavis007]

Being so far removed from this question, I'd have to seek out a Commodore engineer who worked in Japan

[@AndyDavis007]

I submitted the question in a website email form

[@thompi8]

caps look must be the most uneserary button in a keyboard you always press it by mistakes and its so easy to just press shift for big letters so thats why i say its uneserery

[@JanBeta]

I guess it makes sense for some use cases but I barely ever use caps lock myself, too. :)

[@ig33ku]

Pretty small shower you got there :P

[@JanBeta]

It's a small apartment!

[@ig33ku]

@@JanBeta Didnt know you live in japan. LOL. No no no i can tell from the fixtures of the bathroom you are not.