Flicker Fixer for Amiga 1200 and 4000T! Did not expect this!

Get clean crisp HDMI or VGA output from your Amiga!
Forum with a written account of what I experienced on install.
forum.icomp.de...
Docs and Download (Rescue Disk and Config Tool)
wiki.icomp.de/w...
Chris Edwards Restoration (Thanks for help trouble shooting once again!)
/ chrisedwardsrestoration
Where to buy
icomp.de/shop-...
retroami.com.p...

[@schibulski]

oh yes! Funny language. We germans are well known for our humor and funny sounding language :-D Schönen Abend noch!

[@avongil]

Same exact issue here. 2b with Apollo 1230 mk3. Looking into timing fixes.

[@HoldandModify]

Sorry to hear, but hey, if you do find a better fix, please share! Thank you!

[@chrisatye]

I’ve just install the MK3 - it’s an amazing piece of kit, but incredibly complicated to set up - I’m grateful for the rescue disk because I messed it up once! But now it’s running Super Hi-Res on a widescreen, with no flicker - looks fantastic!

[@ChrisEdwardsRestoration]

that trapdoor i gave you was gifted to me from Luke Albanese - i didnt have my printer at that time. and since you have a 060 you could benefit from it more. pay it forward

[@HoldandModify]

Ohhh! Well it’s totally awesome and a MUST for anyone running hot add-ons in their a1200! Thank you both!

[@ceebee23]

I loved my Amiga back in the day .... but for the life of me I never understood why Commodore did not provide a flicker free hi-res video mode...even in grey scale at the time ....

[@Waccoon]

My Mk III doesn't suffer from this blackout problem, but I have had this weird issue where I can ONLY run the config tool from floppy. If I copy the executable to the HD, RAM disk, or whatever, it consumes memory but never opens the UI. All in all, it's a mixed bag. The Indivision does work and looks great, but sometimes the scaling quality is iffy, the config tool is very confusing, and the OSD really needs to have an on/off hotkey rather than linger on the screen for a fixed time period after each resolution change. Most of the time, I still prefer to use my old CRT, and I bought the Indivision just in case my trusty 1080 blows up. 8)

[@HoldandModify]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Helps to hear what others go through. Yeah a CRT would be nice but so hard to keep running lately. They’re all aging out.

[@BigLebowski1337]

I stopped using iComps crap.

[@HoldandModify]

I’m beginning to understand.

[@daskarman]

last item i purchased from them nuked my beloved a1200 - Never again !!!

[@HoldandModify]

@@daskarman ah geez! Sorry to hear that. :(

[@daskarman]

@@HoldandModify one blown hard to get Gale chip but it's repaired , that flicker fixer is a ticking bomb reverse sockets are dangerous especially if mounted without any standoffs . if i were you i would remove that thing , your RCA or the VGA far safer for no longer manufactured precious custom chips and already 30 year old computer !

[@drphilxr]

"3D printed dingus?" - this is Edwardian English! (like Dr Chris speak) LOL

[@HoldandModify]

I think a lot of Amigans are afflicted with this auditory syndrome. :)

[@philiprowney]

Lovely pin-sharp picture. I didn't have any problems with my Indivision on my A600, but, it is a whole different ball game on AGA. [ also VGA, I have so many old LCDs's ] At the end of the month I get the Pistorm for my A1200. So much power! The HDMI audio switch appears to work better than Ubuntu 22.04 on an Intel NUC11. [ Ubi blame the Kernel, yet the same kernel works fine on other flavors of Linux!

[@HoldandModify]

Nice! Thanks for sharing your experience. Stuff like this is important.

[@ChristopherNelson2k]

This 100% matches my experience with the MK3.

[@NiekkieNick]

I still have a MK2 which I still haven't installed on my A1200, but is it worth it to upgrade to the MK3?

[@HoldandModify]

Don’t know. Not sure what the differences are. As I never had a Mk2. Maybe there’s more info in their forums? From what I can see, HDMI with audio seems to be a big change.

[@NightSprinter]

I actually want to see some graffiti stuff running, since apparently the Indivision stuff has support for it.

[@RockTo11]

I have the Indivision Mk. 2 - with my A1200, it has a Blizzard 1230 Mk. 4 (50MHz 68030 and 68882). I installed (and highly recommend) HighGFX and FBlit. It allows k a nice and fast 1024x768 workbench, with a copper gradient background. It looks and works so well.

[@HoldandModify]

Yeah I wanted to check those out but was worried about chip ram usage. If that’s a thing?

[@vittekantilles4178]

Good video.. I have a mkII and mkIII and never had any issues like that, but I am using the HDMI. (on the Mk3). Did clean the pins and had to press really hard down on it though.

[@HoldandModify]

Yeah I IPA’d it and tried HDMI and VGA. Still have to run that command at startup though .

[@milow-cl9kt]

That CIA add-on is exactly how I broke the retaining clip for my keyboard interface (fortunately my A1200 is towered so I just inserted the card Elbox provided), but if I ever want to go back to the wedge case that's obviously problematic and in need of fixing.

[@HoldandModify]

YIKES! Yes I was very glad I wasn’t my normal bull in a China shop self putting this together. Took my time and was like…uhhhhh uh oh. :)

[@MrClump]

Very odd. My MK3 does not do that, works absolutely perfectly every time. I'm sure you've already done this but I noticed you did not clean around the contacts with IPA before installing as suggested in the manual. Could there be a slightly dodgy connection.

[@HoldandModify]

I did do that in later desperate attempts

[@LeftoverBeefcake]

THANK YOU for this video. I am in the exact same boat, I had installed the MkIII in my NTSC A1200 (Commodore production and not ESCOM, not sure the revision of board I have) and got no video output from VGA or HDMI. After hours of fiddling around and reading forum posts I took the (quite expensive) device out of the Amiga and it's been sitting in its box ever since. Now I can go back and try again, armed with more knowledge thanks to your experience you documented here.

[@HoldandModify]

Glad to be of service! Good luck. Let us know how it goes!

[@LeftoverBeefcake]

@@HoldandModify Finally got the Indivision installed, since I wanted to wait for the PiStorm32-lite to become available in order to install everything together. And yup, I have the same problem that you were having with the MkIII not starting itself. I noticed there was an update on the Individual Computers website but unfortunately it doesn't look like it addresses this issue. Once I get everything situated I'll give it a try anyways. For what it's worth, the display (from what little I've seen so far) is definitely much improved over the GBS-8220 and other solutions I've used in the past...

[@HoldandModify]

Ah sorry to hear. Well, at least we have the work around. Look forward to any thing you find.

[@MisterMsk]

I have the MK II. One of the best things I found on one of the Amiga forums is a firmware, i believe, that flashes the and removes the on-screen info. I don't mind seeing the logo and all once on bootup or anything. However, when doing ANYTHING that changes the screen mode, it kept on coming up. Made it so nice after that.

[@HoldandModify]

Ooo need to hunt that down. I’d need it for MKIII. If it exists.

[@Toby_Q]

I have the exact same problem with my Indivision MK3. I found that if I turn the power on, get a black screen, then turn the power off and on again real fast, sometimes I get an image. It's definitely a timing issue or something. I noticed one similarity to yours - 1D4. I ended up buying a different amiga 1200 (I couple now) and they are all NOT 1D4's and they all work fine with the MK3. It's just my 1D4 that doesn't work with the MK3 reliably. I posted a forum message and Jens tried to help with some basic stuff, but I think the problem is more advanced. And to clarify - same power supply works fine with the MK3 on a NON 1D4 board. But my 1D4 board won't work properly with this MK3.

[@HoldandModify]

Well issuing that command at start up is the best easy fix for now, for me.

[@Toby_Q]

@@HoldandModify Yeah if that works, great. I noticed the floppy would work for me too. Didn't try using that command - maybe I'll try it if I have time. I'm just glad I'm not the only one with the problem. Seems like to me it might be a 1D4 board problem... at least that's one commonality we have.

[@tufacker]

Interesting - I've had one of these since they came out and haven't had an issue like this. Maybe yours is some sort of chip shortage hardware revision? Not sure if Jens has done anything like that yet, but I think I remember hearing some of the products were getting updated with different chips.

[@HoldandModify]

That’s possible but don’t know.

[@hamrdeye8927]

I have the MK3 as well and it works from Cold boot from the day I got it. No rescue disk or special commands needed.

[@HoldandModify]

@@hamrdeye8927 then my curse continues

[@300BaudStudios]

Very nice review of the Mk III. I am a huge fan of Individual Computers products; absolutely love the Indivision ECS for my A2000 and my C64 Reloaded. I would really like to see the A1200 Reloaded but that might not happen. I have looking for a solution for my A4000T but the Indivision AGA doesn't fit without a slight modification to the mother board; which I don't want to do. Keeping my eye out for a good external solution which would allow me to move it to any of my Amigas.

[@HoldandModify]

Thank you! Yes, I really do like this product and suggest it for all who ask. Even with some of the hiccups I've had.

[@Typewriter71]

Odd experience - I use one of these and it’s without question the best solution for video quality. Never seen the problems you had - it’s not at all normal behavior - I’d contact iComp and get some help.

[@HoldandModify]

I will. I started a dialog but I’m extremely busy and the required testing required to troubleshoot is extensive.

[@cullmaster7361]

Great Vid “Q”! 👍🏻 Just watched Chris Edwards fix up your A4K 👍🏻 I own 3 of the MKIII, 2 MKII and 1 MK1 of these cards. Sounds like a Firmware issue with your card? Also to note I’ve had the MK3 Lisa connector not fit properly due to the SMD resistor at the bottom left of the Lisa chip getting in the way and not having a small cut out in the Lisa adapter socket. I know with the mk2 config software if you changed a setting it would re-program the flash cores of the card. I can’t remember but doesn’t the mk3 software do something similar? If you right click on the settings window? The keyboard live change is nice, but it’s not permanent and doesn’t change the settings on the card for next time 😉

[@HoldandModify]

Yes I do save settings using the actual software. And it’s running the latest firmware as far as I know from the downloaded rescue disk. It works great, I just have to run that command at startup. My A4000 video seen in Chris’s amazing restoration video will be up this weekend!

[@RichardTroupe]

That's really odd behaviour. I have the MK3 scandoubler from Indivision and it just worked first time. I got it maybe about 2 years ago, so I wonder if a firmware update broke it for a few users...

[@HoldandModify]

It’s been said there’s a timings issue with certain NTSC a1200s.

[@DavePoo2]

Pretty cool. I love that there is a way to get crisp digital output from an Amiga in this day and age (however you decided to go with VGA, which is fine, we won't judge you for it).

[@HoldandModify]

I know, I’m nutty. :)

[@DavePoo2]

@@HoldandModify still it's hard to tell on camera, but is the VGA output much better than the standard Amiga RGB output?

[@HoldandModify]

@@DavePoo2 it’s better in that it does not have any interlace flickering. Because I am using a VGA 4:3 monitor instead of a PAL or NTSC CRT, there is some scaling issues. To “fit” the Amiga screen. For the cleanest image possible, you’d want to use a 16:9 screen over HDMI. Then the full aspect of the Amiga native screen could “lay in” the 16:9 space. This is what I do for RGB2HDMI equipped Amigas. I may do this for these too. Finally saying good bye to my 4:3 VGA panels.

[@DavePoo2]

@@HoldandModify back in the day (and now) I never used interlaced modes. The eyes can only take so much abuse.

[@HoldandModify]

@@DavePoo2 yup, that’s why these flicker fixers are SO NICE. All the resolution and none of the flicker.

[@marc-tellvolkmann5833]

I've never been able to set this card up while scrolling without stuttering. The screen always twitched briefly every few seconds and I tried a lot of things for a long time.

[@HoldandModify]

I had to install it into a completely different a1200 to get it working 100%.

[@bradallen8909]

Looks terrible to be perfectly honest. The scaling isn't uniform, all the text looks funny.

[@HoldandModify]

I’ve been told this can be corrected using his software tool. Or, another way is to use a 16:9 monitor, as I do for the A2500 and it’s RGB2HDMI. Then you get a nice 1:1 mapping within that screen space

[@jimmay8627]

5:40 to 5:50 Was I the only one fascinatedly watching that electrical tape curl open, thinking it was foreshadowing?

[@HoldandModify]

Lol!

[@JarlSX]

interesting it has hdmi with audio now, my mk ii only had dvi. thanks for the video

[@HoldandModify]

Glad it was of some help! Thanks for watching.

[@brostenen]

I have had one for a couple of months. People dont seem to believe me, when I say the MK3 is the best. I always get told back, that IndivisionAGA is crap.

[@HoldandModify]

It is a very clean image. I just wish mine worked better. Having to run that startup command to initialize it is a bit annoying.

[@brostenen]

@@HoldandModify I never had any issue with mine. Installed it and it worked straight from get go.

[@MrLukealbanese]

Strange, my MK2 self initializes automatically. I love that cover as well 💖💖👍👍

[@HoldandModify]

This is a Mk3. It’s jealous brother. :) yup the trap door is super wicked!

[@MrLukealbanese]

@@HoldandModify you're welcome 😁😁 (I gave Chris it)

[@HoldandModify]

Gorgeous!!!

[@wmrosju]

Hmm. Never had any problems with mk2 or mk3. My buddahs also works perfectly.

[@HoldandModify]

I’m jealous.

[@geoffplus1254]

hi, I got one of these for Christmas 2022 having nothing but problems as in Cant get the indivision software to work just crashes the system, Ive formated, gone back to 3.1.4 roms still not working stripped the Amiga down to just a HD and 2MB still no joy have you ever come across this??

[@HoldandModify]

Have you been able to make a rescue disk for it? Then boot from it? I had lots of problems as I highlighted in my two videos for this thing. Ultimately it seems some Amigas timings are just slightly different than what it’s expecting and it won’t work. :/ I was happy to get it mostly working.

[@geoffplus1254]

@@HoldandModify as the software would not work i did not get a chance to make my own rescue disk, and i put in the rescue disk with a blank screen thinking this would make it kick in, but i just flashed it after only giving you 7 seconds before it reset it, I dont know if i cound type flashtool 1280x1024 and it would flash it to the screen mode as there is not real info on it.

[@HoldandModify]

You can try their forums. But they’ll most likely ask you to test your 1200 apart and test each system one at a time. Might be better to try and get it replaced. You can detail all the issues you’ve had.

[@geoffplus1254]

@@HoldandModify Already done that they want me to send it back along with my power supply and pay a repair fee!

[@MrClump]

Seems a bit unreasonable that you've got this video up grumbling about the product, but have made no attempt to engage in their offer to troubleshoot on the forum post linked to from this video IMO.

[@HoldandModify]

I have a very busy schedule and about a dozen other things to do. I’ve also gotten “used to it” so it’s priority is very low. It’s still valuable information to highlight for others that may run in to a similar situation. If you’ve watched my videos I’m always quite fair in my coverage. I may not always go 100% but it’s all out there for people to form their own opinions. I’ve never made a claim as expert or definitive reporter of all things Amiga. I’m a hobbyist at best. Without a lot of technical skill. I’ve been rather clear about that. Also my expectations for support are low based on the experience I had with the Buddha. Further shoving it down in priority.

[@Storm_.]

When you ran that recovery disc it would have flashed the latest firmware on to your device, then after that it should initialise by itself every time. Or maybe you also need to flash it once you're in the OS. Either way, you shouldn't need to add that flashtool reference to user startup.

[@HoldandModify]

I agree. I did update its firmware. That’s been confirmed. The only thing we can think of is that North American 1200s might have subtle variances in timings that’s causing the issue. To this day I must still use my work around.

[@ifoo]

Wow man. I'm about to try mine. Hope it works!

[@HoldandModify]

I hope so too!

[@ifoo]

@@HoldandModify worked like a charm! I need to wait for some floppies to arrive before testing all the modes. But it looks beautiful

[@HoldandModify]

@@ifoo No tricks at startup needed? That's great if so. It only seems to affect mostly USA 1200s.

[@ifoo]

@@HoldandModify Yeah! Worked OOTB and didn't install any software yet. The screens are off right now, but the hi-res laced modes look good. I'll fine tune when I can make a rescue floppy

[@HoldandModify]

@@ifoo Yup, get that floppy made. Make it simple to UNDO any issues.

[@plattcriceta1719]

I wonder if you actually have read the english manual or readme file?

[@HoldandModify]

In short… The manual says, plug it in. Turn it on. No software needed. That’s what I did. Long version… I read the install part. I then hit the forums and that took over my focus as instantly I found others were having the same issue I was and the dev was responding. So I assumed that was the correct path. So much activity there I didn’t think to look further in to the included manual. Although I don’t recall anything about this issue when I looked it over.

[@johnseamons7455]

Hi I was looking at this flicker fixer, for the 1200, but put off by the cold boot problem. Also going to upgrade to the 3.2.1. Has your issue been resolved tks

[@HoldandModify]

I’ve not had the chance to do what was requested of me to begin the trouble shooting process. iComp wants me to do a rather, I feel, time consuming and extensive step by step examination of my a1200. Listing all chip types and revisions, what things are connected and how, along with other requests. This is far too much “debugging” to be expected of an end user. It would make more sense to send my machine to them. Have them figure out why my a1200 has this issue. This is not really possible for me. Or practical. I’m not technically inclined at all. I think this is obvious from my videos. I don’t even know if I could do what is being asked, correctly. Let alone have the time. HAVING SAID THIS. Many users have purchased this product and NOT had this issue. I’d say give it a go. You most likely won’t have this problem. If you do, you can return it. Or sell to another who may not mind.

[@johnseamons7455]

@@HoldandModify Thanks for taking the time to reply. Its on the wish list at the moment as I haven't made up my mind if I need it or not. Waiting on a RGB to VGA adapter that supposedly eliminates the vertical line. Whilst it won't do interlaced screen it maybe all I need. Cheers John

[@perihelion7445]

Too bad you can't buy them anymore.

[@HoldandModify]

I bought mine from iComp. They were in stock end of June ‘22.

[@mjmonjure]

Hi, did you ever get this to work right? Did you try an HDMI TV/Monitor to see if that works? I want want of these, but it's a little pricey if it doesn't work right.

[@HoldandModify]

Was never able to get HDMI to work. VGA works but I have to still use my hack at boot up.

[@mjmonjure]

@@HoldandModify Well, I ordered it anyway. My 1200 is PAL, which seems to do OK on posts I've read. Fingers crossed 🙂

[@mjmonjure]

@@HoldandModify well I received it, put it in, connected to a Dell u2410f and to my utter amazement, the individual Computer logo popped up! Now all I have to do is figure out how to load software on this thing 😂

[@HoldandModify]

@@mjmonjure congrats! Is yours a PAL 1200?

[@mjmonjure]

@@HoldandModify Yes, it is. I haven't tried VGA, but I could check to see if it pops us there well. I'll do that and also I'll check the motherboard rev. I know it's 1D, but can't remember anything past that.

[@fmlazar]

Where do you get this hardware and can it work on a stock Amiga 4000/030 (non-tower)?

[@HoldandModify]

iComp.de is the website. It’s hard to tell if it works in non tower 4000. The website and instructions aren’t clear.

[@fmlazar]

@@HoldandModify The site eventually responded. Something to note for once I confirm the machine's condition.

[@TheSudsy]

You missed installing something on your hard drive? like a driver?

[@HoldandModify]

There’s no driver that I can see. There’s the config tool only. And an emergency boot disk. Which is where I found that tool to run at startup. To “wake up” the card.

[@TheSudsy]

@@HoldandModify it is wierd as its picking a native signal from Lisa..... odd

[@davidwright9166]

just received my Buddha Ide card today which I am going to try to use with my Checkmate A500 which has big box type connector Zorro slot inside. What were your issues? Lot of love and hate on this card which I boldly disregarded.

[@HoldandModify]

You can watch my video for all the hells I went through. Keep in mind, it’s not a common experience. It has that going for it. :)

[@paulklasmann1218]

Do you plan to use it with a CD/DVD ROM drive? I have a similar setup but not got the CD being recognized yet. I think I need to try the new software update for Buddha.

[@davidwright9166]

@@paulklasmann1218 never got it to work, jens doesn’t recommend using it with my setup.

[@chrisearl2217]

I had one for a while but get screen corruption if I try to use interlaced modes.

[@HoldandModify]

Interesting. That’s exactly what it should be fixing. Making them clean. I at least get that. Have you updated its firmware? Tried the latest emergency disk?

[@chrisearl2217]

@@HoldandModify no but it's the first thing I'm gonna do today after watching you vid, didn't know there was a disk. Cheers.

[@Yeet.]

that's odd. I have a MK3 in my 1200 also pal and it works just fine. but I never tried to use vga so maybe the vga is bugged

[@HoldandModify]

HDMI had the same result. No card initialize. Not until I ran that command.

[@Yeet.]

@@HoldandModify that's so weird. I glued mine down (the main board that plugs Lisa) to the motherboard so maybe a bad connection?

[@HoldandModify]

@@Yeet. nope it’s nice and tight. And it works great. I just had to add that start up command.

[@neilpurvey8625]

My mk3 didn’t need anything done to it, boots perfectly from hdmi at least. I did reflash it at some point though. The one problem I had was when I tried to take the kb control socket off, it totally broke. In run it without the other socket now totally fine, it’s optional.

[@HoldandModify]

Mine wouldn’t boot HDMI or VGA before pre after update. Not until I finally did what I did. I am cursed though.

[@dkier81]

Mine worked right out of the gate, but I’m using the hdmi

[@HoldandModify]

@@dkier81 I tried both and the result is the same. Only works once that commands is issued.

[@hessex1899]

I just noticed the email from RP about this being in stock... from three weeks ago. :(

[@HoldandModify]

Pretty sure they’re still available? Not many are willing to spend that much nowadays. :)

[@hessex1899]

@@HoldandModify I just checked and they are showing as out of stock. I'll reach out to him and see. There are going to be a lot of Amiga whales showing up in the next year or two, I think, because retro is evidently a thing now. :)

[@HoldandModify]

@@hessex1899 I got mine directly from iComp. If that helps.

[@hessex1899]

@@HoldandModify Oh. I'll have to navigate their nearly unnavigable site, then.

[@HoldandModify]

@@hessex1899 it took me a year to register with that site and be able to browse and buy.

[@10MARC]

Interesting - I have none of those issues with the MK II - Works with every game and program I try it with. Seems like it may just be on a few cards that have the initialization issue?

[@HoldandModify]

Maybe. The forums do have others having this issue and they all went down long complicated paths trying to address. But none seem to try the simpler solution we came up with.

[@10MARC]

@@HoldandModify I love the stuff Jens creates, but so many times there are issues with the products that he just blames on "something else". It can be off-putting at times.

[@neilpurvey8625]

@@10MARC “hey, it’s totally to do with your power supply!” 😅

[@one_b]

​@@10MARC This! My IndivisionECS V2 is now just providing full ECS Denise support to my secondary A500, on top of an RGB2HDMI no less. The issues with it were never properly addressed over years on the forums of many users begging for solutions to the image smearing / ghosting.