Retro Commodore Q&A - Recent questions and answers

What is the list of capacitors needed for A600 Rev B

Thu, 20 Jun 2019 16:03:58 +0000

What is the list of capacitors needed for A600 Rev B

Answered: Remove epoxy from C= bricks

Thu, 17 Jan 2019 20:48:58 +0000

This video explains it very well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fej_3XbufRA

Answered: What is the color of the A2000 keyboard

Thu, 20 Sep 2018 21:21:11 +0000

The Question was answered by Miss Boemann.

Thank you very much.

S 2005-Y40R in NCS

https://ncscolour.com/product/s-2005-y40r/

Answered: Nibling using ZoomFloppy (XUM1541 / XU1541) on 1571 drive fails

Thu, 29 Mar 2018 15:47:05 +0000

This can be a bug or an error in the 6526 chip (U20) which is socketed.

You can try with a new 6526 chip or MOS 8520(A) from the Amiga.

Answered: How is the Subway USB controller connected?

Sat, 14 May 2016 09:31:51 +0000

The Subway USB controller needs to be connected with the red wire of the flatcable as pointed out in the image below. The same goes for the USB connectors.

Answered: What is the list of capacitors needed for A1200 2B

Sat, 14 May 2016 09:07:39 +0000

Cap ID	Value	Voltage	Type	Amount	Height	Width

1	1000u	10	Through hole	2	17	7
2	470	10	Through hole	2	21	7
3	100	6v3	SMD	4	5	6
4	22	35	SMD	5	5	6
5	47	16	SMD	2	5	6
6	10	35	SMD	2	5	4

Answered: How do I disable or change ID of a Commodore drive

Mon, 07 Dec 2015 16:20:40 +0000

To disable ID 8 - Change the 8 in open 1,8,15 to an other device ID to make the effect on this drive.

10 rem disable ID8 drive
20 open1,8,15,"m-w"+chr$(119)+chr$(0)+chr$(2)+chr$(0)+chr$(0):close1

Change ID 8 to ID 9

10 REM Change drive ID from 8 to 9
20 open1,8,15,"u0>"+chr$(9):close1

Change ID 9 to ID 8

10 REM Change drive ID from 9 to 8
20 open1,9,15,"u0>"+chr$(8):close1

To change other device numbers change the underlined-bold numbers accordingly

20 open1,9,15,"u0>"+chr$(8):close1

Answered: How do I connect the USB-Seriel cable to the GOTEK drive

Sun, 15 Nov 2015 10:49:36 +0000

As on the pic below.
Red goes to the 5v on the power connector.
Black goes to GND on the power connector.
White goes to TX.
Green goes to RX.
Boot0 is jumpered to 3.3v (set to high).

If the Flash-Demo software says unrecognized, short the reset for a sec, and then try again.

More info here:

https://cortexamigafloppydrive.wordpress.com/

Answered: What is the list of capacitors needed for A600 1.5

Sun, 26 Jul 2015 11:36:55 +0000

Cap ID	Value	Voltage	Type	Amount	Height	Width

1	1000u	10	Through hole	2	14	10
2	470	16	Through hole	2	11,5	6,5
3	100	6v3	SMD	4	5	6
4	22	25	SMD	5	5	6
5	47	16	SMD	2	5	6
6	10	25	SMD	4	5	4

Answered: What is the list of capacitors needed for A1200 1D4

Sun, 26 Jul 2015 10:58:10 +0000

Cap ID	Value	Voltage	Type	Amount	Height	Width

1	1000u	10	Through hole	2	17	7
2	470	10	Through hole	2	21	7
3	100	6v3	SMD	4	5	6
4	22	35	SMD	5	5	6
5	47	16	SMD	2	5	6
6	10	35	SMD	3	5	4

Answered: Will an Amiga 1200 psu work in a C128 computer?

Sun, 12 Jul 2015 19:50:34 +0000

No the C128 has 2 x 9v AC

And the A1200 has +12v and -12v DC as different voltages.

See the image for the differences

Answered: How to change default quit key in whdload

Wed, 15 Apr 2015 11:46:47 +0000

1. edit Sys:s/WHDLoad.prefs with i.e. ED
2. Find Quitkey in the list, remove semikolon, change to =$5D for the *-key on the numeric keyboard. Save the file
3. A restart of the Amiga might be required.

See here for the full list of the keyboard layout with their hex values

ref: http://wiki.amigaos.net/wiki/Keymap_Library#Keyboard_Layout

Credits to TroelsDK

Answered: How do I load a program from tape?

Mon, 13 Apr 2015 18:30:37 +0000

Make sure your cassette player is attached to your Commodore computer, rewind the tape.

Most tapes have the same program on both sides of the tape, but some don't, instead the might have several levels and/or additional contents, so if you're unsure start using Side A.

For originals

now it's time to load the program,

either hold the SHIFT key while hitting RUN/STOP
or type in LOAD and hit the ENTER key

the computer will ask you to PRESS PLAY ON TAPE, do so now. After a while you'll see the text

FOUND <name-of-game>

You can press the SPACE or Commodore key (C=) or wait a few more seconds, the tape will continue to load. When the program is done loading it will auto start if you pressed the SHIFT / RUN/STOP, if you typed in LOAD <enter> a cursor waiting for your next command will be waiting for you. Type in RUN and hit the ENTER key.

Usually this information is written on the cassette cover.

For turbo tapes

Usually the turbo program is located as the first program on the cassette tape, load this using the above information.

After running the program all you need to do is to repeat the procedure of LOADing again without rewinding.

One of the most wellknown turbo's is the ABC Turbo which shows a new screen in dark and light gray and black text.

If you make a soft-reset if the computer you can go back to the turbo program by entering SYS288 followed by hitting ENTER.

Answered: How do I install OS 1.3 on an Amiga 500 HD

Mon, 30 Mar 2015 07:59:12 +0000

OS 1.x doesn't come with a harddisk installer, but if you aquire a harddrive there's software there to help you install.

Easy info

Fx. GVP HD8(+) have the FaaastPrep diskette which helps you to partition and format the harddrive, and install the Amiga OS.

If you already have a formatted harddrive which is accessible to the system, all you have to do is do a filecopy from the Workbench diskette to the Harddrive.

You can copy files using the CLI copy command

copy df0: hd0:

Advanced info

Some things you might need to be aware of is that the harddrive needs to be bootable. which requires a firmware from a controller or in the kickstart rom, and the harddrive's bootable flag is set.

Answered: What is a GOTEK drive

Wed, 25 Mar 2015 08:37:02 +0000

A GOTEK drive is a floppy drive emulator. They are usually sold as drives for Yamaha keyboards/samplers, sewing machines etc. They also come with software for Windows.

It uses a USB drive to store floppy images.

With the GOTEK drive you no long need diskettes.

What the GOTEK drive is NOT: it's not a usb port where you can connect keyboard, mice or other usb peripherals.

With a simple operation of firmware upgrade you can flash the drive to be used for the Amiga.

After a firmware update, It can replace the internal floppydrive of your amiga, or be used in an external enclosure.

The drive can be aquired for around $20 on ebay including free shipping, and a programming cable costs around $2.

There are plenty of people selling pre-prgrammed drives, but they are usually atleast the double price, and the original Author of the fimware doesn't get any money of these sales, though he was the one spending a long time developing it. I don't recommend that you support the sellers who sell the pre-programmed GOTEK drives.

Below is a drive in an external enclosure.

You can flip through multiple adf files (disks) on the USB drive by pressing one of the 2 buttons.

You "program" a position for an adf file by booting on disk 000 on your Amiga, this position is the only position that cannot be changed. This is the Selector disk -selector.adf- which can be found in the firmware zip package.

The main author's blog site can be found on the link below, and the download link for the firmware package with the selector disk is located in the bottom of the blog post.

https://cortexamigafloppydrive.wordpress.com/

Answered: Is Kipper2k's A600 ram expansion compatible with an angled CF adapter?

Sun, 15 Mar 2015 09:46:33 +0000

Yes and no.

The RAM board cannot be pressed all the way down, but it can be enough to stick.

Moving the Amiga can make the ram card pop out.

I don't recommend that you do it. You can judge by yourself

Answered: What can I use to dump Commodore 16 / plus4 tapes?

Wed, 04 Mar 2015 22:33:49 +0000

The 1541-Ultimate II and the Tapuino have been used to dump C16 / plus/4 to tap files.

Though these devices write a C64 header of the files, the tap files can still be loaded into the Yape emulator.

Other methods are using Markus Brenner's mtap, dos pc with parallelport, x (a/m/e) 1541 cable, and a C64 with tape recorder.

Answered: What can I do to fix my Amiga - I'm no technician

Wed, 04 Mar 2015 22:09:55 +0000

The Amiga's IC's (the black thingies with many legs) that are inserted into sockets can be re-seated.

This means that you pull them up and insert them again, you don't need to pull them all the way out of the socket, a few millimeters are enough. This reassures a good connection with the socket again. The disconnection can be due to oxidation. If you want you can take them out of the socket, and give them a good cleaning with a rubber (as in pencil) and after that Isopropylic alcohol using i.e. a cottonstick.

It could be that you can't replace components yourself but read on as the following sections are very important. Get someone with soldering skills to help you if required.

You should examine the capacitors, those are the tall round ones shown in the image below. If they bulge on top, they need replacing.

SMD capacitors don't last as long as the through-hole electrolytes shown above. Generally they should be replaced now if they haven't been already. You can find SMD capacitors in A600/A1200, CD32 and A4000 computers. And they look like this:

Notice the solder pads in the above image, they aren't shiny but rather matte. This is a sign of the capacitor has leaked capacitor acid. This acid can damage the pcb and nearby components. It should be replaced as fast as possible to prevent further damage. Also a good neutralization using water and cottonstick, and/or isopropylic alcohol.

A2000, A500+, A500 ramexpansions, A3000 and A4000 have batteries mounted. These batteries leak as well as the SMD capacitors mentioned above, but they do far worse damage, Batteries should be removed at once. They can be desoldered or cut. A neutralization of the acid damage is neccessary! For this you should use either vinegar or lemon juice -the "acid" in these batteries are actually base, so a gentle acid should be used-. Clean after wards with water and then iso propylic alcohol.

Answered: My Amiga doesn't start up and shows X color

Wed, 04 Mar 2015 21:40:40 +0000

The bootup screen colors mean something for each color. If you don't end up seeing the bootscreen, you might see these colors.

For black screen the system doesn't work and doesn't even start the initial selftest.

Quoting the Amiga 4000 User's Guide (Chapter 7-3) below (ED: The Passed test colours have been modified to fit the actual screen, it says Light Gray for all 3 in the manual, but the screen changes colors)

Test Status	Color	Description
Passed Test	Dark Gray	Initial hardware configuration tests passed
	Light Gray	Initial system software tests passed
	White	Final initialization test passed
Failed Test	Red	ROM error
	Green	Chip RAM error
	Blue	Custom chips error
	Yellow	680x0 detected error before software trapped it (GURU)

Here's something you might want to try to help fix your Amiga.

http://qa.retro-commodore.eu/index.php?qa=9&qa_1=what-can-i-do-to-fix-my-amiga-im-no-technician

Answered: What is the list of capacitors needed for CD32

Mon, 02 Mar 2015 18:02:15 +0000

For a Rev 3 CD32 board

Cap ID	Value	Voltage	Type	Amount	Height	Width

1	1000u(*)	10	Through hole	2	14	10
2	470	10	Through hole	1	11,5	6,5
3	100	6v3	SMD	9	5	6
4	22	35	SMD	6	5	6
5	47	16	SMD	5	5	6
6	10	35	SMD	4	5	4
7	4u7	35	SMD	4	5	4

(*) The PCB silkscreen shows wrong polarity, make sure you check continuity on + on the silkscreen and GND for verification.

Answered: Which games does not work with the GOTEK drive fw v1.05

Tue, 24 Feb 2015 20:13:30 +0000

Goal! Disc 2 is very difficult to get to work. Has managed a few times by removing the USB stick and plugging it back in, when disk 2 is requested. Unfortunately, the success rate is very low using this method.

I have been using:

Goal! (1993)(Virgin)(M5)(Disk 1 of 2)[cr SR]

Goal! (1993)(Virgin)(M5)(Disk 2 of 2)