Harrison's old A4KD has a new home @ Kin's pad

Some time ago, Harrison offered me his A4KD and with life's usual business, things got in the way for some time. Anyway, we agreed a price based on some repair work needing doing to her. Today, the motherboard & A3640 should be arriving at AmigaKit for Chris (FOL) to weild his Gas Axe at and re-cap the two items. We're also hoofing a coin battery mount in there too. However, it would appear the caps around the sound area have leaked considerably, so I have asked for particular attention to be paid in this area. I'm hoping she will clean up fine.

I'll drop some pics in here in the coming days as a bit of a pictorial guide if nothing else.

Thanks Dave & Good Luck Chris. :thumbs:

Awesome!!!

Gief some pr0n pics once you have them.

Can't wait to see the work carried out on her. It is great to know she is being cared for and lovely restored to (better than new) condition. :)

Great Stuff :) its great that Amigakit offer this service :thumbs:

Ok chaps. Chris Emailed me yesterday to say he had received the package & would be looking at it shortly. As soon As I hear any more, I'll be updating in here accordingly. Here are the pics so far:

Attachment 913

Attachment 914

Attachment 915

Attachment 916

Attachment 917

Overall look of the board is pretty good tbh, but upon closer inspection, you can see Cap leakage by the RTC chip.

Attachment 918

^^^^^^
However, this is my area of concern......

Hopefully, Chris can spin his magic and put some more magic smoke back into her. The board is fully functional as it is & installed OS3.9 prior to the strip for shipping.

Attachment 919

....and finally good old faithful above gets a set of New Caps. Chris is using his discretion RE reversal of the caps as per Anthony Hoffmans fix

Fingers crossed......

Great to see close ups if it out of the case. I never stripped it right down.

Would you mind me asking how much he is charging for the work?

I don't mind you asking at all Dave, but I don't know yet. :huh2:

Rather than dick around on AmigaKits site trying to purchase Cap Replacements etc, Chris said just send it in & we can Invoice you the total amount. I believe Chris is Photo'ing the event at his end too, so I best send him this link. :)

I have updated a ticket on our support system, you need to login and go to support.

Basically, your audio section has sustained alot of cap leakage, worst I have seen, its actually leaked over the Paula chip (never seen that before).
I have taken some Hi-Res pics, of all damage. There is cap leakage everywhere, frankly, Im suprised the board even works.

I could only find a fault on the sound, one channel low and other in-audible. This is to be expected due to damage to post AMP IC.

Oh dear. Hope it can be fixed. Feel a bit bad now selling it to you with that problem. But as said, it was working ok, so I had no idea anything was wrong. Just shows that our beloved Amiga's and other retro systems won't live forever without some occasional tlc.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

Thanks for the feedback FOL.

Chris uploaded some pics to me earlier this morning. They are taken with his Retina iPad. Click below pics for larger images.

http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/01.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/02.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/03.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/04.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/05.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/06.jpg
http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/07.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/08.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/09.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/10.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/11.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/12.jpg

The damage was more extensive than first thought. Having spoken to Chris on the phone this morning, he hopes to get this sorted in the coming fortnight. I'll update the pics as I get them with his progress. Good Luck Chris. :thumbs:

Hiya folks. Chris updated with some more pics recently. His words to me via Email were as follows.

Quote:

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Hi,

Some more pics of your board, I started working on sound section first.
Pics are of board before any clean and damaged components removed.
I want to get sound working first so, I know there are no major issues.

On side note, daughter board working fine, im still amazed.

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http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/01.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/02.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/03.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/04.jpg
http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/05.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/06.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/07.jpg

Chris updated with some more repair work. Again I include his words to me RE the progress.

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Hi,
Still working on Audio issue. Im hoping to have that sorted by end of today. After replacing Post amp, sound is better but not right.
I have also repaired around 6 pieces of damaged track. The main issue now, is the post amp is missing -12v. So it sounds horrid.

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Quote:

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Hi,
Got sound working right now, from first op amp and it sound really good.
However one issue left with second op amp, one channel seems to be getting carried away. The voltage is incorrect, so the final output is alot louder.
Getting there, :). Will send some pics, but please, dont pics as final. As I just tagged stuff on, to see if it worked. Will do a tidy up of board and components once its working perfect.

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Hi,
Not as easy as I had hoped, but getting there. Excuse the mess, as I said in ticket, just interested in getting it working, will do a nice tidy up on it later. I will try my best to make it, so no wire (used to repair track) is shown.

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Update on sound problem. I came back to it next day. Only to find the sound was popping.
So I need to hunt for more damaged track, :(. Ill be happy once I get the sound working perfectly.

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http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/01.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/02.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/03.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/04.jpg
http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/05.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/06.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/07.jpghttp://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/08.jpg

:ninja:

Still a fingers crossed! Which I'm sure will work out fine ;)

Probably, but it's looking like lots of tracks are damaged in the sound circuit and need replacing. :blink:

Another update.....

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Sorted crackling and popping, now hunting for secong op amp issue.
Could be related to non level -12v rail. Have to I have never seen damage like this, not even on the worst boards I have seen. Its physically eaten into the board itself.

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http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/01.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/02.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/03.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/04.jpg

....more carnage. :(

Wow. Does he have any idea why there was so much damage? Mad considering it was still working fine. It was always really well cared for too. Always in a dry warm environment, and setup and in regular use all the time I owned it. Very strange.

Does show that all our beloved retro hardware is at that age when it is all going to start breaking down and need some TLC and restoration.

Yeah Dave. Anything this age should have it's Capacitors & any other leakable component replaced with new. I have seen boards far worse than this, 2 of which I acquired from Ireland in a bum deal via Amibench, probably about 10 years ago now. The entire battery side of the board from the Simm slots to the sound area were discoloured with Cap leakage & battery corrosion. :(

Anyway, it appears Chris has made some serious progress....

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Good news, :).
I found last issue with sound. It was a pig to find. I had to check each individual component and check each one was going to the correct places.
Tur ns out the feedback resistor wasn\'t connecting the output of 2nd op/amp to input of 2nd op/amp.

Sound is now absolutely perfect, :). I will send some pics.

Also I have managed to repair tracks without having unsightly wires showing, :). I have tried to keep it as tidy as possible.
I will now move on to the last caps to be replaced. Both are by the clock, which doesn\'t look to good either, the simm sockets for the last simm are corroded quite bad.

Dont worry though, we are almost there, :).
I also tested your clock and that holds time perfectly with battery attached. This board just amazes me, lol. I still cant believe it was working to the extent it was, :).

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I believe the first four pics below are of the repair work to the tracks & components around the OP/AMP section....


http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/01.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/02.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/03.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/04.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/05.jpg


Looking good Chris & thanks. :thumbs:

- - - Updated - - -

Didn't expect another update quite so soon....

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Yes all caps will be replaced. Still changing them. Just changed he last 47mf caps, 2 just fell off with out effort taking the track with them, :(.
All sorted though, ;). The simm socket is perfect. I have cleaned the area where leakage was. All working fine.

Just testing it some more before changing last caps on main board, then I will sort the CPU card.

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http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/01.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/02.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/03.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/04.jpg

The above pics are before the repair work is done. Just the offending items removed. - I'll try & liaise with Chris so we have a set of before & after photos in conclusion of this thread.

Looks like the Old Girl is going to survive after all. :)

http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi...r/Survivor.jpg

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Originally Posted by Kin Hell

I believe the first four pics below are of the repair work to the tracks & components around the OP/AMP section....


http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/01.jpg

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You can actually see the fault. 4th pad down on left. Its hard to see unless your looking for it.
The track that connects to the pad is eaten away and makes it look like they were never connected.
Right pain in the **** to find.

On the final stretch now.

Here are the final pics for now. Just waiting for a glitch on the Shopping cart/checkout routine & then I can pay for the repairs & her journey to her new home in Cornwall.

http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/01.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/02.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/03.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/04.jpg
http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/05.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/06.jpghttp://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/07.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/08.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/09.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/10.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/11.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/12.jpg

Chris has had her running for a week on & off to test. Apparently, she is functioning flawlesly. :thumbs:

That's brilliant news and great to see the final repaired boards. I don't think I could have sold it to a better person. It is great to know she is fully restored (probably to better than new now) and being cared for and enjoyed.

Was the final repair bill quite high?

Good news indeed :thumbs: Think I'll need to look at getting mine serviced at some point just to be on the safe side ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Harrison

That's brilliant news and great to see the final repaired boards. I don't think I could have sold it to a better person. It is great to know she is fully restored (probably to better than new now) and being cared for and enjoyed.

Was the final repair bill quite high?

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Thank Dave. That's a really nice comment. :)

She cost more than I originally discussed allowance for on my offer to you. Still waiting for Chris to comment before I go stating costs. It's not to be awkward, it's just as a matter of respect to Chris & AmigaKit. ;)

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Originally Posted by DonAmiga

Good news indeed :thumbs: Think I'll need to look at getting mine serviced at some point just to be on the safe side ;)

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Aye Steve, you really should get yours done & most certainly sooner than later. I would advise anyone with any Amiga to have their Caps replaced if not already done. These machines are beyond their expiry date really. I can not see any original Amiga being healthy if they haven't been re-capped & the electrolyte leakage is nothing short of Acid eating into the PCB.

Two more pics from Chris this morning, & a youtube Link for a video.

http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/13.jpg http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi.../Thumbs/14.jpg


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3C9-xzPMCg

RE the Costs for the repairs, here's a break down for you all to consider.


http://www.kinhell.amibay.com/Kin/Pi...ut Invoice.jpg

The Technical services are based on extra re-work for the sound issues beyond the normal sound fix charge. Paula had to be removed too & then Chris spent some time trying to find the cause of pops & bangs which he remarked about on post #18

Obviously I will trying her when she lands home, but I really should be looking inside the PSU to see what carnage might be lurking in there. After that, I need to consider getting the case front panel looking a little less dis-coloured & get my External SCSI box de-dusted. Still loads more to do yet......

Those charges and service prices are actually surprisingly reasonable IMO. Especially for the amount of work he put into it too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Harrison

Those charges and service prices are actually surprisingly reasonable IMO. Especially for the amount of work he put into it too.

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Your proberly right. I did spend alot of time on it.
The problem is, these days people dont realise how difficult is can be to work on stuff like this. Plus the fact we are all spoiled with "throw away society".

Kin queried the dullness of the solder on some of the components. Where I can I will try and remove / cleanup.
However it would be a mammoth task to completely remove it all. You would have to remove each and every dull looking component, then clean it up, then clean the pads up and resolder.
That would be very time intensive and expensive for something that (in my opinion) isnt needed. Due to the fact, we have removed the cause of the main issue, so it will no longer effect the rest anymore.

@ Harrison

I must confess, I was expecting a slightly larger Invoice that I actually checked out with, so I can't grumble in any Instance.

@ thread

I sincerely tip my hat to Amigakit & want to personally thank FOL (Chris) on this thread for his splendid effort cleaning the board as he has, let alone the time & dedication he has spent in repairing the acid eaten tracks without a mess of wires all over the place. Simply fantastic old chap & thank you. :thumbs:

Hoping to have some play time this coming weekend, so I'll update here accordingly.

Any chance of some video showing her running once she's fully reassembled?

What setup are you planning on installing? 3.1, 3.9? Vanilla or an install pack such as ClassicWB?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Harrison

Any chance of some video showing her running once she's fully reassembled?

What setup are you planning on installing? 3.1, 3.9? Vanilla or an install pack such as ClassicWB?

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WB 3.9 is already installed. Prior to the strip down, we had a sesh one fishy smelling evening. ;)

Pics are one thing but can I ask why you want to see a video of her running?

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Originally Posted by Kin Hell

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Harrison

Any chance of some video showing her running once she's fully reassembled?

What setup are you planning on installing? 3.1, 3.9? Vanilla or an install pack such as ClassicWB?

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WB 3.9 is already installed. Prior to the strip down, we had a sesh one fishy smelling evening. ;)

Pics are one thing but can I ask why you want to see a video of her running?

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You could post link to vid, I done before shipping back to you.
It does go sidewise, but shows it working. (Stupid Apple, it should detect I want to film in landscape).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FOL

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kin Hell

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Harrison

Any chance of some video showing her running once she's fully reassembled?

What setup are you planning on installing? 3.1, 3.9? Vanilla or an install pack such as ClassicWB?

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WB 3.9 is already installed. Prior to the strip down, we had a sesh one fishy smelling evening. ;)

Pics are one thing but can I ask why you want to see a video of her running?

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You could post link to vid, I done before shipping back to you.
It does go sidewise, but shows it working. (Stupid Apple, it should detect I want to film in landscape).

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I already did back on Post #23. :lol:

I only edited it just now as I spelt it "you tube" instead of "youtube". ;)

Edit video link so it's now embedded in the thread. :)

Cool. :cool:

Wow excellent work chris :)

I have another dedication to make for this thread. We got serious with the A4KD last week & Arnljot was kind enough to surrender his CSMKII to me. Goodness me at the system speed now. :o

I'd forgotten just how much quicker the 060 is over an 040 & of course the on-board Ram makes a huge difference too, virtually zer0-ing the memory wait-states that normally happen though the Mobo Ram. She's @ stock 50Mhz for now but Arnljot was kind enough to include faster X-Tals for some overclocking action. As soon as I get chance to play, I'll post some pics.

I am compelled to say yet again, "Thank You Arnljot". :thumbs:

Benchmarks?

I always wanted to add an 060 to the A4000, but could never really justify the expense of the upgrade.

There are several things worth considering buying an 060 card.

1) It's significantly quicker than an 040 in terms of MIPS
2) It's more backward compatible than the 040
3) It's memory is far faster to access than on-board ram.
4) Get an 060 card with SCSI if you can. SCSI rapes IDE but being on the CPU card is faster to access.

When I get chance to play H, I'll pop some pics up, promise. ;)

Shes coming along nicely now. When do get her back to have a play with:)

My Clock has disappeared according to SysInfo. :( The date always goes back to October 14th 2013 for a power off. Tried another battery & no go there.

I'm also getting a Light Green Screen on some three finger salutes, but not every time. Looks like the mobo is going to be having another trip to Cardiff.... :ninja:

That's annoying. Could be a broken trace somewhere, or some solder touching and bridging a point from the recent repairs.

That's the only problem with retro computing. They can be a bit unpredictable.

It has always fascinated me how computers all have their little quirks and individual traits. You could run 2 identical computers next to each other and still guarantee there would be differences.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

It's probably nothing less than further corrosion taking place. FOL did say the area around the SIMM sockets was looking worse for wear & that it cleaned up okay. This is probably where the issue lies & only further inspection will prove one way or another. I'll be calling AmigaKit this morning to discuss our options.

*edit*

Sold here on 23rd Nov 2015