User avatar
cc3d

Posted Tue Jun 02, 2020 6:03 pm

So I have three Amigas, original owner of all 3. An Amiga 1000 I bought right when they came out. An Amiga 2000 I bought later and an Amiga 4000 with a Video Toaster 4000 in it. All of my Amigas paid for themselves with graphic/video work I did in the 80s and 90s.

I used to be an Amiga guru and now I am like a 2 year old trying to write assembly code.

It was probably 1997 the last time I used these machines. I let the studio I work for keep the 2000 and 4000 for a bit. I got them back in 2001. I let them keep the monitors at the time. A good gesture I now regret.

I purchased an Amiga 1080 monitor. I have verified it works with the amiga 1000 in both RGB and composite modes.

I am trying to boot up the Amiga 2000. It has 2 hard drives and a GVP HD controller. When I turn it on, the hard drives spin up and all sounds well (a very distinctive set of sounds I remember). I have pulled the other boards out. An Emplant Mac emulator card and an Opalvision card.

I get no video signal. I have tried the composite and the RGB out with no luck.

I did inspect the motherboard carefully and all the caps are in good shape. The battery area looks great as well. Any tips on what to do next?

I appreciate the help. I really want to get into both machines and recall what I had on these drives.

User avatar
intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Tue Jun 02, 2020 6:43 pm

First off - welcome!

I have seen behavior like this before. Unfortunately, it can be symptomatic of lots of things.

If you've pulled all of the cards and still have no video, I would first:

1) I've seen this exact same issue once where a machine had been told to look for a (no longer attached) drive as the boot drive in its startup sequence. For example, maybe a CD ROM player, or secondary floppy drive. Usually it's floppy first (DF0:) then hard drives, then "next drives" like a Syquest or whatever, if you've got something in the big lower bay below the floppies.

2) With the power off, I'd manually press each of the main socketed chips down to make sure they were fully seated. Sometimes during shipping or moving from place to place, something can get ever so slightly out of alignment and need a firmer connection. A solid firm press will occasionally create some popping noises, meaning a tiny chip's pin might have had a poor contact. Personally (and there are a LOT of hardware gurus here that know way more than I) I'd start with the Agnus, 68000 CPU and Kickstart ROMs. A 68000 that is dislodged will give you a black screen every time.

Do you have any DIY hack-y switches on this machine anywhere that might have gotten flipped? Are there any hardware mods (mega-chip, etc.)? Finally - is there battery damage where the batteries were soldered to the motherboard (and are they still there)?

P.S.
Where are you located? Can you take and attach pics of your sick machine(s) to post here for closer inspection?

User avatar
McTrinsic

Posted Wed Jun 03, 2020 2:42 am

Hi,

if you do not get even a video signal, there is a very fundamental issue with your machine.

Especially if the machine was actually running in this setup before.

If I had such a machine, I would remove every expansion.
Only "expansion" for me would be Floppy Disk Drive.
Next, check every IC and press gently or wiggle a bit.
You may hear / feel small cracking.

Then check signal again.

If that doesnt help you may have a severe problem.

Please make DOUBLE sure the battery doesn't leak. !

Cheers,
McT

User avatar
cc3d

Posted Wed Jun 03, 2020 5:25 am

thank you both for your replies.

I am going to go back in and remove the motherboard and give it a close inspection. I may post pictures as well.

I will get back to you with an update.

On a second note. What's the most economical way for me to get the Amiga 4000 viewable. I only have an Amiga 1080 monitor. How can I view it on a 1080 or what is the best way for me to get it viewable on a modern monitor?

TIA

User avatar
McTrinsic

Posted Wed Jun 03, 2020 12:53 pm

A4000 Display options?

I could think of a cheap RTG card from eBay.


Or an Indivision AGA.
https://icomp.de/shop-icomp/en/shop/pro ... ubler.html
Unfortunately you may have to look also at the second hand market.

There are also external devices but the seem to be costly.

Or a monitor that’s able to work with the native resolutions of the Amiga.

User avatar
cc3d

Posted Wed Jun 03, 2020 5:40 pm

@cc3d

I removed the battery. Does not appear to be any major problems in that area.

Image

I did notice that the resistor/capacitor combo is no longer attached at the resistor side. This appears to be a clean break at the resistor. I measured this at about 70 ohms? I can replace it.

Image

User avatar
McTrinsic

Posted Thu Jun 04, 2020 11:31 am

Indeed this seems to require fixing.
One thing that would irk me - why is it broken??

User avatar
cc3d

Posted Thu Jun 04, 2020 12:02 pm

Good question, looks like a fatigue crack and break. Just got old and broke. It's not the wire, it's the actual resistor that broke.

User avatar
blindguy

Posted Thu Jun 04, 2020 12:31 pm

Additionally, I think you have to get those batteries out of there !!
They can leak and cause damage you can't see.
Also, there are 15hz montiors out there you can connect the Amiga directly.
Not trying to break a rule or advertise anything but I would suggest you watch some of Doug's videos as he has VERY recently done a review of various ways to get your Amiga video onto modern displays.
He also has MANY other very interesting videos to help with software as well as hardware.
His videos on upgrading to WB 3.1.4 and BestWB and all kinds of of other interesting videos.
And not one of them is 10 mins!!! :)
10Marc Video on LCD Monitors

Good Luck and welcome back!

User avatar
cc3d

Posted Thu Jun 04, 2020 1:09 pm

intric8 wrote:
Tue Jun 02, 2020 6:43 pm
First off - welcome!

I have seen behavior like this before. Unfortunately, it can be symptomatic of lots of things.

If you've pulled all of the cards and still have no video, I would first:

1) I've seen this exact same issue once where a machine had been told to look for a (no longer attached) drive as the boot drive in its startup sequence. For example, maybe a CD ROM player, or secondary floppy drive. Usually it's floppy first (DF0:) then hard drives, then "next drives" like a Syquest or whatever, if you've got something in the big lower bay below the floppies.

2) With the power off, I'd manually press each of the main socketed chips down to make sure they were fully seated. Sometimes during shipping or moving from place to place, something can get ever so slightly out of alignment and need a firmer connection. A solid firm press will occasionally create some popping noises, meaning a tiny chip's pin might have had a poor contact. Personally (and there are a LOT of hardware gurus here that know way more than I) I'd start with the Agnus, 68000 CPU and Kickstart ROMs. A 68000 that is dislodged will give you a black screen every time.

Do you have any DIY hack-y switches on this machine anywhere that might have gotten flipped? Are there any hardware mods (mega-chip, etc.)? Finally - is there battery damage where the batteries were soldered to the motherboard (and are they still there)?

P.S.
Where are you located? Can you take and attach pics of your sick machine(s) to post here for closer inspection?
I am just outside of Atlanta, GA. How about you?





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