New a1200, how are the caps looking?

Tool suggestions, soldering tips, general useful electronics knowhow.
Post Reply
Steve
Posts: 2570
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2017 11:49 am

New a1200, how are the caps looking?

Post by Steve »

Hey guys,

As you know I'm an Atari man - but I recently snagged an a1200 for a bargain. Very much looking forward to learning about this machine.
Anyways, it's all working great. I decided to just open it up to check for leaky caps etc, but they look pristine:









I'm not familiar with Amiga re-cap kits, I don't think this has been re-capped. I'm impressed with how good everything looks :)

What do you guys think? Stock factory caps?

Cheers,

Steve
User avatar
IngoQ
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 1066
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 8:38 am
Location: Germany

Re: New a1200, how are the caps looking?

Post by IngoQ »

Hiya,

yup, these are factory caps. I recommend swapping them in any case, there are a lot kits available for this. Buy from a reputable source, and replace the SMD caps for ceramic ones. When desolderding, take your time, some of these are a bit tricky. I recommend watching some of the youtube instructional videos first.

In addition, check the the caps in the power supply as well, if you want to stick with the original PSU.
Ingo :geek:

| Atari 1040STE@32MHz | Amiga 1200 (ACA1220) | Atari 800XL (U1MB, SIDE2) | Atari 130XL (Sophia DVI) | C64 (1541 Ultimate II, Rev3 RFMod Replacement) | TI 99/4A (F18A, 32k, FlashROM 99) | Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128 (Stereo, DivMMC) | Amstrad CPC664 (512k, M4 Wifi) | ... |
Steve
Posts: 2570
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2017 11:49 am

Re: New a1200, how are the caps looking?

Post by Steve »

I was recommended this guide:

http://wordpress.hertell.nu/?p=464

This guy seems to really know his stuff. I bought exactly the parts he recommended, cost me about 28 quid tho, not cheap parts.
IMG_20190412_202101.jpg
IMG_20190412_202101.jpg (370.54 KiB) Viewed 4072 times
I managed the recap ok, was a bit touch and go though as I almost lost two pads. I'll have to buy some PCB epoxy to make sure they're protected.

As for the PSU, I wanted to recap it but the problem is it stinks really bad of tobacco. I tried washing the case and scrubbing the parts with contact cleaner but it made no difference.
Steve
Posts: 2570
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2017 11:49 am

Re: New a1200, how are the caps looking?

Post by Steve »

On a side note, luckily this Amiga came with a CF fully installed with hundreds of games. But I've got no idea how to run programs or add new programs, Amiga seems so foreign. There doesn't seem to be executables like on an Atari. So I wouldn't know how to download for instance tracker software and add it to the HDD etc. Do you have any advice? Thx
Steve
Posts: 2570
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2017 11:49 am

Re: New a1200, how are the caps looking?

Post by Steve »

IngoQ wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 11:16 am IngoQ
User avatar
IngoQ
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 1066
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 8:38 am
Location: Germany

Re: New a1200, how are the caps looking?

Post by IngoQ »

Steve wrote: Tue Apr 16, 2019 1:08 pm On a side note, luckily this Amiga came with a CF fully installed with hundreds of games. But I've got no idea how to run programs or add new programs, Amiga seems so foreign. There doesn't seem to be executables like on an Atari. So I wouldn't know how to download for instance tracker software and add it to the HDD etc. Do you have any advice? Thx
That's actually quite ease, just copy the folder and execute the binary. Amiga does not use name extensions to identify file types (like .exe or .tos), every file has a header instead, called Hunk. In addition, there are .info - Files (normally hidden), where additional metadata is stored, like the icon for example. You usually recognize the executable file because it has a distinct icon.
Ingo :geek:

| Atari 1040STE@32MHz | Amiga 1200 (ACA1220) | Atari 800XL (U1MB, SIDE2) | Atari 130XL (Sophia DVI) | C64 (1541 Ultimate II, Rev3 RFMod Replacement) | TI 99/4A (F18A, 32k, FlashROM 99) | Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128 (Stereo, DivMMC) | Amstrad CPC664 (512k, M4 Wifi) | ... |
Steve
Posts: 2570
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2017 11:49 am

Re: New a1200, how are the caps looking?

Post by Steve »

Cheers!
Post Reply

Return to “ELECTRONICS”