Commission an H5 Build

[gebes]

I've been thinking about supporting the efforts shown in creating the H5 , but I'm the first to admit that I do not have anywhere close to the technical knowledge to do what it takes to assemble a board.

Therefore I was wondering if there is some kind soul , that if I purchased an H5 would be willing to turn it into an operational system please? I have an Atari 520 STFM that I would send to be used as a donor board.

If anyone would be willing to do this, I'd be really grateful if you could let me know how much it'd cost to make this happen. I'm in Edinburgh

I always say to those who have the skills and are willing to take such things on, I'm in NO rush whatsoever, I'm more grateful that someone is willing to assist than anything else

[PhilC]

I may be able to help with building you an H5.

No idea of cost yet as I'd have to think about how long it took to build mine.

Does the donor board work fully and will you be purchasing all the parts for the build yourself?

[gebes]

I just tested the donor board and the monitor detects the signal and gives this display only

atari.jpg (66.05 KiB) Viewed 558 times

I was told by the person that gave me this machine that it had not been used in a long time.

I would much prefer to send money in advance to allow the correct parts to be purchased if that would be acceptable ?

[rubber_jonnie]

Looks like a RAM problem, and although you use SIMMs in the H5 it would be nice to verify the donor first. Might be worth opening it up.

Might I also suggest that rather than sending the donor complete with case that you just send the mainboard in its metal shields to whoever ends up helping you.

That way the case doesn't need two trips there and back again, and you don't run the risk of getting the case smashed, as you'll probably want to put the H5 back in it.

[gebes]

Yes, with all the computers I've had restored / recapped, upgraded. I've always preferred to send the complete system. I feel that I've learnt that those who work magic in repairing can tell alot about a machine based on it's overall appeareance.

LOL I also send the complete system so I don't knacker something up and cause extra work in some way for those who kindly do repairs etc ( then they don't tell me off )

You're right again , the plan would be to put the H5 into the case

Also , I go to town on packaging and send overnight via a decent courier company like TNT or UPS on a weekday only so that the machine is not sitting around a cold , damp courier depot over a weekend , and so that it gets to the person the following day , not stuck in a courier system for days on end

[PhilC]

@gebes building an H5 is relatively easy compared to the previous versions.

Since your board is indicating that there is a ram problem then there's a good chance the other bits work BUT there are a couple of things you should know and decide on.

Removing the parts from the donor computer and then assembling the H5 is fairly labour intensive, with the chance of breaking ports etc whilst trying to remove them.

Then there's the fact that exxos doesn't have any H5s at the moment. Youll also have to decide exactly what you want done to this machine, ie recapping the PSU whilst at it, adding a blitter, S2 midi upgrade, how many 68000 sockets to be fitted etc.

In the end it will depend on what you want and how much money you want to spend to achieve this.

[gebes]

@PhilC I have no experience of soldering at all , but I do know there is a lot of labour to go into a request such as this. Which is why I knew this was a huge request to make in asking for someone to take valuable time to build a system.

However I'll look at for the moment getting this machine checked and overhauled to at least get it into working order

I did have my Atari 1040ste upgraded to an exxos PSU so would look to do that as it's a nice modern PSU, I am interested by the MIDI upgrade you refer to. Do you have a link about this please?

[PhilC]

@gebes so I think this is probably the best way to go.

As @rubber_jonnie has suggested, remove the case and package up just the motherboard. Someone such as I would have floppy drives power supplies etc to get you an H5 built. So its safer keeping those bits at home and reassembled yourself when you get an H5.

As@exxos has said he is going to order the next batch of H5 boards. That will give you time to get a few of the other bits together.you could order the 68pin cpu sockets and headers from his store at the same time perhaps and I can provide links for the other parts you'd need to buy from Farnell.

Then there's just the labour cost which we can talk about if you're happy for me to build your H5. Here's a photo of my H5 built and fully working except for the 3.3v bit as I need to order the regulator.

20201108_175323.jpg (257.99 KiB) Viewed 485 times

[gebes]

@PhilC Thank you so much for the guidance, it really is appreciated.

Any links to what I should buy would be great, and I can start getting together the items needed. It'll be great to have a new modern board for an Atari

I'm liking how the H5 looks in your picture alot

[DoG]

...I am interested by the MIDI upgrade you refer to. Do you have a link about this please?

S2 (or X2 but this hasn't been tested) can be bought here;

https://www.serdashop.com/waveblaster
https://www.serdashop.com/DreamBlasterX2