FAULTY A500 Mini | Can I FIX It?

I picked this Retro Games Commodore Amiga A500 Mini from off eBay for £35..
It was sold as "no power", and it absolutely doesn't turn on... and it does something weird to my power-bank!
Let's try and fix it!
Hope you enjoy!
Steve
PS. I'm not an expert in repairs at all. I do this for fun, and it may not be the best or safest way to go about repairing broken stuff. I'm pretty good at melting plastic though. Please don't copy me - I'm an idiot.
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[@StezStixFix]

...and it was all yellow

[@paszTube]

They need some retrobritin’

[@sdHansy]

Dudududududu....

[@silentd76]

You need an esr meter to measure caps in circuit 🙌. Though that is small might be tricky 😂

[@woovs101]

Stupid burnt capacitor

[@nullbyt]

Should use a grain of white rice to show components size lol

[@Kaiman76]

@StezStixFix... see at 11:38... you disconnected the capacitor pad on the second amiga

[@mintpalmer]

Oh dang, he did too. At least he's got a spare now!

[@nilomyki]

Yeah I notice that as well (but wasn't 100% sure).

[@nilomyki]

@@mintpalmer Easy pad fix.

[@wisher21uk]

I saw that as well probably not connected, but I don’t think it will make a lot of difference

[@lazyhominid]

It's lifted, but it's still attached. Should be fine.

[@mrsiborg]

Oh the A500 was a gift from the gods for any computer nerd back in the day, including myself.

[@geografiainfinitului]

Came here for the repair stayed on for the music

[@logothaironsides2942]

WE had the blitz programming language for ours. My son who was about 5 or 6, could make it tell knock knock jokes and drove us all crazy. My daughter loved thomas the tank and played it all the time with that music that just repeated on and on. We survived to tell the tale and so did they. The A500 went as a trade in for an a1200 a few years further on. Happy days when you could still do programming with the kids.

[@rossandrews8218]

Bought mine when i was 12, cost me 500 quid, and a further 50 quid for the 256mb ram upgrade, still have it to this day, am 46 now.

[@a.j9645]

​@@rossandrews8218Same here, but I am 47😀 A shame that you cant get the kids to play the games because they are so spoiled with high tech computers etc🇸🇪

[@98.11Deet]

I can't wait for the day when you get so many patrons that you need to start doing a 20 minute prog rock epic with every video.

[@atmywitsend1984]

Don't encourage him😅

[@knightni73]

Gonna have a Patreon hip hop album. "In The Mix With Monkey Joe Tokyo."

[@meowjakx3]

It blows my mind how you can be so accurate with such insanely minuscule bits! You have some serious skill!

[@ItsMrRoppa]

Been a long time subscriber and must admit, I skipped the raps in the past. But now, I find myself appreciating the effort Steve puts in. Good on yer man! One of my fav channels this one 👍🏻

[@ApemanMonkey]

I still skip them. I love the videos, though.

[@pablos3388]

A big compliment i can give you, is that even though i know nothing about wiring, or capacitors, this was still very enjoyable to watch, and i will be watcing your channel again

[@AcornElectron]

My original A500 still works fine almost 40 years later. Different build quality back then.

[@PrinceXTC86]

That's freaking impressive! :)

[@MrTech800]

the 100nf is called a decoupling capacitor, you usually find them across the supply +vcc to 0V, near chips etc, smooths spikes in the supply line.😃

[@BlaecHrim]

PINBALL DREAMS! I have fond memories on that one!

[@christo930]

I posted in the main thread the best way to play Pinball Dreams is the GP32. It is so much more intuitive and fun in the handheld format. The flippers are the shoulder buttons, which feels much more natural to pinball. Your thumbs are right there to do English. Britain was one of the few places with an official GP32 release (it was a South Korean handheld). A ton of emulators and homebrews are out for it as well. But the PD game is native and not emulator.

[@yesmate78]

Psp has portrait mode ​@@christo930

[@mdickens98]

Outstanding repair job, the logical approach you use for troubleshooting along with your consistent insistence that you're not a professional makes this seem so easy and accessible, yet I know it's not easy, so hats off to you!

[@Penfold8]

The Zero resistors are not fuses. They are more like jumpers. Since most boards today are populated by a pick and place machine and would cost more to have a person inserting jumpers zero resistors are used.

[@samuraidriver4x4]

Adding to that is the cost of a multilayer board with more then 2 layers is more expensive then a couple of zero ohm resistors placed by a pick and place machine. You do still see a bunch of stuff made in china with single layer construction and wire jumpers. Recent Chinese "boombox" teardown from EEVblog comes to mind.

[@Ra-zor]

And next time on StezStix Fix, how to repair the track damaged and now flapping around after removing the capacitor at 11:37 . Easily done, think most have at some point!.

[@Inugamiz]

If the power bank goes into safe mode, is totally a short somewhere. I don't even try multiple times anymore (burn a ram that way). I need a capacitor bible like yours.

[@mullerandy]

My like is for the Coldplay cover at the end. 10/10

[@ScottMadeAThing]

I'm glad I wasn't able to access KZbin the last few days, it means I get a StezStix Fix video on a Sunday, softening the blow of having work on Monday. Thanks for this Steve, great vid as always!

[@username_1985]

weekend, beer, steve video. life is good.

[@atomD21]

I just replaced three 0402 capacitors and one resistor on an Xbox One S. Those things are impossibly small! Good work!

[@cliffbone3430]

I had the original Amiga A500 years ago, I use to love the Backlash game great video and repair

[@rick5078]

You're going to need a new "days since" sign, this one for lifting pads. You definitely lifted the pad of that capacitor on your own a500.

[@Sidequestsexsploringwithpaul]

Hi Steve try the double soldering iron technique on capacitors work well 👍

[@nilomyki]

@StezStixFix A good practice is always to replace a Capacitor with one that is of equal or greater value, and never below.

[@JimBear]

Stez is a cute guy. I hope he is as kind and gentle as he seems. I love your work.

[@DanielAfonso-IT_Consultant]

That upper register suits you well for the karaoke sections. Good work finding the blown cap. In general, the tiny ones going from the plus rail to the ground rail are going to be decoupling caps and are nominally 100nF. And incredibly hard to not blow off the board, so good job on that.

[@christo930]

These things are simply not meant to be repaired. Paying a qualified repairman who would have a lot more overhead would be more expensive than just buying a new or used one. This drives ever smaller parts, since they ain't repairable anyway.

[@johnr3435]

Standard decoupling capacitor was always 100nF (0.1uF) Always a pretty safe bet - 100nF + tolerance -> 120nF so go for 100nF

[@rocdaddy225]

Yo bro, that blue lacoste fresh af! We call em Louisiana POLO down here😂

[@spas9001]

The three stages of watching StezStix Fix: Being annoyed by the rap Tolerating the rap Looking forward to the rap

[@TheUnitedView79]

Attempting my first fix tomorrow.. my blue yeti mic needs a new mini USB port and I’ve been watching these kinds of vids and they’ve inspired me to try… It’s only a backup mic as I now use an Elgato Wave 3 as my main…

[@foureyednerd]

I look so forward to your videos, I've been tinkering myself lately and you make it so clear how to troubleshot these issues and admit you don't know sometimes and it's awesome!

[@63801170]

I must have issues, as I find your humour and patreon-rap too good... and I like your fixing of things. 👍 Subscribed.

[@GreenSpeedo]

Hi , just an idea try repair an onkyo amplifier or sony or something fun. Would be fun to watch

[@BargainBarons]

Your dedication in taking the time to make a BRAND NEW RAP for EVERY VIDEO is incredibly commendable. I am impressed. It is likely the most difficult and time consuming part of at least some videos and most would have dropped it by now because it's a difficult thing to do so just thought I would mention that, we notice your dedication. 👍👍 KUTGW.

[@arranmacgabhann4472]

I am always going on about how ridiculous small the repairs you do on this channel are. My friends think I'm like a broken record, I'm so glad i can finally show them a GRAIN OF SALT next to one of the capacitors for scale.

[@MoonFox_5989]

Pinball Dreams is my Favourite Amiga game, Steve! Still have working(?) Disks for it even

[@zKaltern]

Ahh the best computer ever made. I had the A500, A600 and A1200 and I loved them to bits. Good times. Wish I had my old ones now... Spent too many hours with Pinball Dreams, Illusions and Fantasies. Oh, Stupid Autofocus!

[@StezStixFix]

Yeah, agree on all counts. I still have my OG A500 somewhere. I should really dust that off and see if it still works! And yes, the autofocus let me down again! I think I need to fiddle with the settings... 😁

[@zKaltern]

@@StezStixFix Maybe with your KZbin success revenue you can just hire a cameraman. Called Dave.

[@StezStixFix]

😂

[@clauscombat418]

C64 is the best computer ever made!

[@michaelthompson7637]

It would be awesome if you could make the little keyboard actually work. I'll bet you can do it! Give it a shot. That would be a really cool video. Speaking of which, all your videos are great. I've watched the one where you put Alexa on that old clock radio at least 5 times. Thanks for the fun videos.

[@robbiejmsn1]

Wouldn't it be handy if there was an online database where you could add resistor values of consoles as you find them for the repair community‽

[@ianhelsbyservices]

Hi, Interesting the cap and resistor in series. With the cap shorted won't that resistor have seen some heat? 5v 0.15a gives 0.75W across that resistor.

[@billcarson9565]

Great vid!, quick question, where do you get a mix of caps and resistors etc but not have to buy a reel of 5000?

[@TheMrRatzz]

Ste. Please change your camera from AUTOFOCUS to FIXED and focus yourself in.

[@janwiersma1449]

hmmm. looks like those capacitors go bad within about two years LOL (incidentally i guess) means all of my original Amigas have lasted longer. but I think it's about time those get recapped one day soon by now. love those little A500, but I cant wait for a full size from RETRO GAMES LTD to get released. hey @Steve i guess you aminimiga runneng on yours to? yes! no? or pandora500

[@MizzVader66]

Hey Steve! I've recently hit the jackpot and found your videos. I love your content and it reminds me how much I love to open electronics to see how they tick, been an interest of mine since I was a kid. Keep up the awesome job! Also since I'm new to your channel, can you or someone tell me who is the little fella that pops up in most of your videos? he makes me laugh 😂 I've also seen Minions and Beaker make an appearance.

[@scouse1967]

Out bloody standing repair job, Steve.

[@MrOmiez]

Hello Steve. Would be nice If you buy that solder tweezers to desolder an solder small SMD parts. I think they would be Very Handy for you. Great Videos.

[@Wales_Til_I_Die]

It's a good thing that you are well versed in handling small things with tweezers

[@electronicengineer]

Ha, ha, I see what you did there...

[@haxorflakes]

looking into buying a digital microscope for myself, and was curious about your custom stand you use for your microscope. it looks better than the stands that come default with it. was wondering if you could do an update video of your whole setup?

[@tonyburnitt]

Just found your channel Loving it Good to see the old things coming back to life

[@KristofferSandin]

Thanks for a great channel with great videos! You inspired me to learn and repair my own and others stuff. These SMD capacitors are a pain though with no markings. I have done some research and I believe that the exact value is mostly needed in clockcircuits and motors. In most usercases a higher farad capacitor will still work but lower may be insufficient. In some cases it is still better with lower than original if not exact. I feel that it leaves some room for trial and error if you don't have a complete working unit to measure, or am I wrong? /Much love from Sweden

[@GrumpyDave1]

Great, great videos, I have nothing to do with fixing 'stuff' and yet I find myself gravitating to your videos many a time. Just one question for the time being. In at least one of your videos I noted you using a small low-profile vice for holding PCB's but I just cannot find anything online similar (I have an Andostar so low profile is important). DO you have a model no or brand for that?

[@TonyHamlyn]

I like your sense of humour 👌 well done with the fix, good cheap price and a quick fix!

[@dodgydruid]

I've been using a brush on flux called RF800, grabbed it when my Amtech tube ran out and actually found it extremely good producing good results on solder jobs so am kinda stuck on that brand if you ever want to try it out.

[@BrenTravisMusician]

You're ace. Love this channel I found only today.

[@chuckbenedict7235]

Did you rip a pad putting the cap back on your good unit? If so, I doubt it is connected to the trace anymore. The salt was a great illustration how small these components actually are.

[@ChurchyUK78]

Your videos are always great, have you ever considered ceramic tweezers? They don't wick the heat from the component your desoldering.

[@beogeek]

Good work Stevo. But why didn't you just inject 1v 1a into the main power rail and use your thermal cam to see which cap it was, why go the random route? Also, you can not replace that cap and it would still probably work just fine. 90% of ceramic capacitors are there for to comply with EMF standards and the board can run just fine without most caps. All in all good job mate.

[@tommythetoe]

Couldn't you test those capacitors for a short in place? Good video thank you.

[@fartking2845]

When you were measuring that capacitor on the one side, it was still in circuit. Wouldn't that mess with the values on the multimeter?

[@NowInAus]

Back of the net! Good job Steve with a ridiculously small cap

[@ollieduracell]

Pinball dreams. The music on the nightmare table was epic!

[@Clutch275]

Invest Soldering Iron TWEEZERS. Makes removing surface mount parts VERY EASY

[@mikecro1111]

until you squeeze too hard and they still ping.

[@CapitalNick]

Double check that you didn't rip a pad on yours when testing the CAP. When putting it back on, the bottom pad looked funky.

[@wisher21uk]

Brilliant repair Steve turn the cap over you took off of your board you broke the bottom of the lower side of the cap 😊

[@A1BASE]

I remember how chuffed I was when I got my A500. It was a big deal! Wild to see it on such a tiny board X)

[@netwolfx]

@StezStixFix love the videos. I'm curious, what do you do with the consoles and such that you fix? Do you put them back up on eBay or hang on to them?

[@sonicunleashedfan124]

I will never get sick of the A500 Mini startup music at 15:19

[@logothaironsides2942]

We had the a500 in the 1990s , it had a 3 1/4" floppy drive which was quite new back then. Im guessing this mini has its own hard drive of some sort.

[@kcharles1149]

MAN... your rhymes and beats are FRESH !!!

[@rubberduck4966]

why not apply some power via the bench supply on the usb-c and use the thermal camera to look what chip/resistor/cap warms up?

[@Pandor25]

I have to ask, where do you purchase those capacitor? And what do you need if you want to start soldering to fix component?

[@pcroom34]

Total respect to you sir, great diagnostics and it's fixed great job!!!

[@pedromimoso8804]

You Sing very well anddrepaiir very well. Nice One, Steve! ,👍

[@martindey5974]

I know its not the most elgant solution but puttinf two 220nF in series by tilting them up in an "A" shape to make them fit the pads will give you 110nF wich will do the job ...

[@jamesb9578]

what is that measurement tool you used? is there a link? please and thank you?

[@LtdResources]

Stez i have two questions for you. 1. When dealing with these tiny bits, could you stick kaftan tape on the top of itbut not fully stick down on the board, just the tiny piece, and then blow heat under the tape? Im just wondering if that withh allow you to secure any small piece and the surrounds small bits and allow yoy to heat and remove. 2. Do you know of anyone who has been described as a MELF or a MicroMELF?

[@Eric_G65]

Of course, it's always the last component you test but that was literally the last component it could be. Nice job!

[@DeathMetalDerf]

I had a similar issue with a C64 Mini I got from a friend who became so frustrated with the thing he just gave it to me. I had to replace the USB port and a few of the capacitors around it. It works fine now, but I'm always wondering in the back of my mind if it's gonna happen again.

[@JASPACB750RR]

They make a tip for a soldering iron that is a set of heated tweezers. They make help you with these capacitors and fuses.

[@sandroace]

13:14 sound makes me wanna play T2 The Arcade Game LOL. Love your channel BTW so glad I came across it!!

[@Synthematix]

You need a milliohm meter to check which is the faulty capacitor, theyre mostly connected in parallel here, meaning they will all show as shorted.

[@funkybuttloving]

16:09 gotta say, half expected a 10cc song for the closing after the flux hypodermic injection discussion earlier in the video

[@2Toadz]

How many nano ferrets is a grain of salt? Actually, we can count ourselves lucky that StezStix didn't try to solder it to the board... 😀

[@richardpund]

Ceramic capacitors sometimes only have 20% tolerance, especially as they get smaller. Since the good one measured 120nF then replacing the bad one with 100nF was the right thing to do!

[@wryyyy]

Wouldn't a 200nF been just as good choice if not better? Excess capacitance isn't after all too huge deal in most applications. Would think a smaller cap could possibly be too weak to supply whatever component that its feeding. Or have I understood this wrong?

[@georgeprout42]

@@wryyyy Remember there were 3 capacitors in parallel, hence Steve had to check each one in turn to find the shorted one. The large one is for smoothing (tens or even hundreds of μF) , the smaller ones are for high frequency noise filtering and are pretty much always 100nF.

[@martynrollinson]

Sensible Soccer on the Amiga... my misspent youth..😂

[@boredoftherings2438]

Great video, also amusing and entertaining. I didn't even know there was an a500 mini. I only ever had a500+ and a1200 back I the day.

[@zKaltern]

It's one of those cheap Retro Tribute console things, just running an emulator. They're good, but the selection of games is usually a bit low. Most can usually be hacked to add your own ROMS tho, which makes them useful. Sadly, the controllers that come with such tribute machines are utterly awful and almost always use a proprietary connection so you can't use your own. And the descaler is usually pretty junk too.

[@scottbraithwaite83]

Is blurry Steve better at repairs?

[@Sheepy007]

Steve, one day you have to show us, how you produce your tracks.

[@edz]

I was literally just rubbing some Himalayan rock salt onto my roast pork joint as you was comparing the size hehe. Talk about minuscule!

[@markyh444]

Hours and hours of my life were spent playing Pinball Dreams and Pinball Fantasies. Happy days!

[@ThePhoenixTail]

Love Pinball Dreams (Nightmare table)! Might by a mini now just to play that and Fantasies!

[@summerlaverdure]

that rap was the best of them so far! great fix too

[@shinigami146]

I'm at 5:15 in the video... I always find it odd when there is solder on pads that do not have components present. What's up with that?

[@WinnerWinnerEmmaDinner]

Nice! Can we have a full version of Yellow please?

[@xXtelepatheticXx]

Do you resell all the stuff you fix? Always wondered.

[@MrDvneil]

no way!! paintball dreams!! that was my fav game when kid!

[@kimmotuomi7272]

Why always using the hot-air when clearly risking to blow the component away? Why not use regular soldering iron, or maybe better yet: something like "hot-tweezers" as your friend does in NorthridgeFix?

[@flippy9133]

Did you rip the pad off when resoldering the second cap?

[@stefanschneider3681]

Fun to follow you along as always, thx for sharing 😊

[@onkelhiphop]

Every time I fix something and it works I say get in there😂 I can’t help it😊

[@wallysprint]

GET IN THERE!!!

[@spiders-tours]

Excellent fix Bodge. Those stupid small components.