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1. Embed this notice
   Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Tuesday, 03-Dec-2024 10:24:11 JST Bernie

   I've been working for a few days to restore an Amiga 3000 from 1990 which was owned by an art professor from Philadelphia.

   Part 1: https://mstdn.io/@codewiz/113561527808236797

   Part 2: https://mstdn.io/@codewiz/113562074864354876

   TL;DR: The Varta battery leaked concentrated potassium hydroxide over the vital region between the three chips which define the Amiga architecture: Denise (video), Paula (audio) and Agnus (blitter, copper and DMA).

   #commodore #amiga #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #electronics

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Tuesday, 03-Dec-2024 10:36:17 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Extracting Denise and Paula reveals some corrosion on the pins.

     Fat Agnus appears to have been spared, but I don't have a proper PLCC extractor tool and I'm not going to risk prying it out with kludgy methods.

     #amiga #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #electronics

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Tuesday, 03-Dec-2024 10:51:19 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Against best advice, I took the risk to power up the board in its present state.

     The power LED flashing 6 times means that the Kickstart's diag routines failed somewhere, and a red screen signals a ROM checksum failure:
     https://www.amigalove.com/viewtopic.php?t=324

     This is actually great news: the 68030 was able to execute some ROM code and even write into some of Denise's registers.

     The checksum error could also be caused by a fault on either the data bus or the address bus.

     #amiga #vintagecomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Ermanno (ermanno@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 04-Dec-2024 11:03:02 JST Ermanno

     in reply to

     @codewiz La Varta ti ha mangiato tutte le piste. Hai visto pure sotto gli zoccoli? Ma devi avere una buona stazione dissaldante ad aria altrimenti sfasci tutto specialmente se provi a dissaldare il chip Agnus(sono sicuro che questo lo sai gia')

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Wednesday, 04-Dec-2024 11:03:02 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • Ermanno

     @Ermanno Ermanno?! Wow, come stai?

     Domani vado all'Artisan's Asylum per usare i tools professionali e farmi dare una mano dagli esperti. Vedrai che ce la farò a salvare questo Amiga 3000.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Thursday, 05-Dec-2024 05:29:23 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Today I received the first batch of components for my A3000 board. Just a few DIP sockets, common logic IC, diods and capacitors.

     I couldn't find 48-pin DIP sockets for Denise and Paula, so instead I bought 24-pin sockets to be used in pairs.

     #amiga #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 09-Dec-2024 06:58:41 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     I scrubbed most of the green goo with a combination of sand paper and fiberglass pen.

     I frequently cleared the dust from the PCB with an ESD-safe brush, distilled water and isopropyl alcohol.

     I should probably also wash the entire board with soap water, but I'm not sure which soap is safe for PCBs, and which components need protection.

     #commodore #amiga #vintagecomputing #electronics

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 09-Dec-2024 07:16:47 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     And this is what was underneath all the corroded metal oxide.

     Most of the copper directly under the battery has been completely corroded, exposing a dark fiberglass layer.

     This was actually lucky: that big ground plane neutralized most of the leak, reducing the damage on the rest of the PCB.

     #amiga #vintagecomputing #electronics

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 09-Dec-2024 07:34:22 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     It's time to clear the corroded components, starting from the RTC circuitry south of the battery.

     I used a $30 electric vacuum pump iron on the back of the board to suck most of the solder from the pins.

     Then I pulled gently from the front while heating the area with a heat gun.

     Most solder would melt easily, but pins attached to GND or heavily corroded would need more heat.

     #amiga #vintagecomputing #electronics

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 09-Dec-2024 07:48:26 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Except for the Ricoh RTC, the components I pulled are cheap to replace and can be cut in place to minimize damage to the precious #Amiga 3000 board.

     I went to Microcenter and bought full assortments of resistors and capacitors, each for $9.99:

     https://www.microcenter.com/product/618896/inland-1-4-watt-1-resistors-610-pack

     https://www.microcenter.com/product/632685/inland-047uf-1000uf-electrolytic-capacitors-assortment-kit-13-values-200-pcs

     I had already ordered some DIP sockets and ICs at Mouser, but I forgot the common 14-pin sockets, which are on their way.

     #vintagecomputing #electronics

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 09-Dec-2024 08:09:50 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • penguin42

     @penguin42 This is the one I bought, but it's not great: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08V8PGJVJ

     The temperature is fixed, and the vacuum button is single-shot: when you release that button, it barfs molten solder back onto the board 😒

     The Amiga restoration videos I watched seem to use this better gun:
     https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07542D82F

   • Embed this notice
     penguin42 (penguin42@mastodon.org.uk)'s status on Monday, 09-Dec-2024 08:09:51 JST penguin42

     in reply to

     @codewiz If you're going to throw the component anyway, you can trim it off on both sides before trying to remove the leg, that normally makes it easier to desolder.
     Have you got a pointer to the cheap pump iron? The ones I've seen are silly money.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 09-Dec-2024 08:10:35 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • penguin42

     @penguin42 Acill Classics has a page with recommended tools for vintage Amiga repairs:
     https://acillclassics.wordpress.com/preferred-tools/

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 09-Dec-2024 08:19:57 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • GabeMoralesVR

     @GabeMoralesVR The A3000 RTC circuitry has a 4-bit data bus and 16 addressable registers. The CPU can directly read/write any of them, but there are no interrupts and no DMA.

     The official PCB schematics are here:
     https://www.amigawiki.org/doku.php?id=en:service:schematics

     I've been using KiCad to view the gerbers, but the schematic diagrams seem to have some mistakes so I don't trust them.

   • Embed this notice
     GabeMoralesVR (gabemoralesvr@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 09-Dec-2024 08:19:58 JST GabeMoralesVR

     in reply to

     @codewiz can you socket the RTC on an Amiga 3000 to turn it into a clock port? On my Amiga 1200, the clockport it can be used as a port to do some incredibly cool things, almost like a mini zorro bus. I have a music/mp3 playback card attached to my clockport to let my Amiga basically have a soundcard.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 09-Dec-2024 08:46:23 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Luckily, I have with me a debug tool from the future: the Z3660 is an open hardware accelerator which can optionally emulate a full 68040 CPU with UAE's open-source JIT running on a modern ARM core:
     https://github.com/shanshe/Z3660

     I bought this baby at AmiWest for my A4000, but now it will come handy to probe the A3000 PCB from a working system.

     #commodore #amiga #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 09-Dec-2024 09:05:56 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     The Z3660 can load Kickstart files from an SD-card and map them to the ROM region, allowing me to use the awesome DiagROM to test RAM, I/O ports, audio and more:
     https://www.diagrom.com/

     Those vertical bars flash on and off. They're probably caused by a faulty data line between Denise and Fat Agnus, or perhaps between Fat Agnus and the Chip memory bank.

     The Chip RAM banks pass all memory tests, so we can exclude them.

     #commodore #amiga #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 09-Dec-2024 09:19:20 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     The Z3660 can also boot off an emulated SCSI controller, loading hard-disk images from the SD card.

     The OS image that came preloaded with my board throws a recoverable guru while booting, but then boots to Workbench.

     #amiga #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 09-Dec-2024 09:21:51 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     There are a couple of hardware diagnostic tools, including SysInfo and WhichAmiga.

     Overall, the system is really unstable, hanging every few minutes. Tapping on Denise is a reliable way to trigger a crash.

     #amiga #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 09-Dec-2024 09:27:16 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Also, rebooting with Ctrl+Amiga+Amiga results in a permanent black screen. I inspected the reset logic, and /CPURST remains low forever.

     I can't tell whether there's a problem with the A3000, but other Z3600 owners confirmed it shouldn't happen.

     Debugging all these quirks would be much easier with an oscilloscope. I should take this project to a shop with proper lab equipment...

     #commodore #amiga #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #electronics

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Thursday, 12-Dec-2024 07:15:29 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Tonight I'm going to the Artisans Asylum, a huge #hackerspace and workshop co-op in Boston:
     https://www.artisansasylum.com/

     Their electronics shop has all the tools I need for my #Amiga 3000 restoration project and several experts who can advise.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Thursday, 12-Dec-2024 07:19:40 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     One of the issues leading to instability seems to be the 4MB bank of on-board fast RAM.

     You can see it fail a memory test in this screenshot, and often it gets misdetected by DiagROM.

     #amiga #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #electronics

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Thursday, 12-Dec-2024 07:28:45 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     The #Amiga 3000 fast RAM uses the infamous Zig-zag In-line Package (ZIP).

     The pins were very easy to bend when installing the chips. Indeed, I found one with a bent pin! Was it like that from the factory? ...or did someone already try to fix this several years ago? 😱

     #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #electronics

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 13-Dec-2024 08:22:15 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Anyway, re-seating all the ZIP chips didn't improve stability, so I ended up removing all of them.

     The Z3660 uses the Z-Turn can map 128MB of its own RAM to the Amiga address space.

     #commodore #amiga #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #electronics

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 13-Dec-2024 08:23:06 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Using modern hardware to sidestep hardware issues on the A3000 board feels a bit like cheating, but ZIP RAM modules are rare, expensive, and... a stupid idea even back in 1990! 🙂

     #commodore
     #amiga
     #vintagecomputing
     #retrocomputing
     #electronics

   • Embed this notice
     AbleTheAbove (abletheabove@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 13-Dec-2024 08:31:18 JST AbleTheAbove

     in reply to

     @codewiz imo there is not such thing as cheating when it comes to usability.

     Zip ram doesn’t work and is rare? Just use modern ram!

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 13-Dec-2024 08:31:18 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • AbleTheAbove

     @abletheabove Yes, but I could keep going like this until the A3000 case contains only a Raspberry Pi running UAE.

     The Z-Turn mounted on top of the Z3660 is a hybrid approach where you keep using the original Amiga hardware for I/O.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 13-Dec-2024 08:40:36 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     With on-board Fast RAM disabled, the system is stable enough to run Lotus Turbo Challenge... up to a certain point!

     This crash is 100% reproducible. I don't know whether it's caused by a hardware problem with the ECS chipset or this game is simply incompatible with the 68040.

     #commodore #amiga #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #electronics

   • Embed this notice
     AbleTheAbove (abletheabove@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 13-Dec-2024 09:21:44 JST AbleTheAbove

     in reply to

     @codewiz Nah cause that destroys the spirit of retro computing.

     Replacing dead ram or dead capacitors with modern ones doesn't violate the spirit IMO.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 13-Dec-2024 09:21:44 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • AbleTheAbove

     @abletheabove I totally agree.

     Right now this A3000 can't even get to the Early Startup menu without the Z3660. Until last week, it used to flash the power LED 6 times, bring up a red screen and reboot. Now it won't even do that 😟

     Anyway, I bought a set of Kickstart 3.2.2 ROMs from a shop in Ireland and I'm waiting for them to arrive to see if the old ROMs were really bogus.

   • Embed this notice
     slyborg (slyborg@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 13-Dec-2024 11:48:41 JST slyborg

     in reply to

     @codewiz The forbidden monoliths ... the capacitor fence was a warning...

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 13-Dec-2024 13:22:23 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • slyborg

     @slyborg 😂

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 13-Dec-2024 13:26:10 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     @kwramm Do you know if the A3000 ROM could boot with no Fast RAM at all, like an A2000 would?

     I'm trying to understand why I don't see any activity when I power up the board without the Z3660. Before, it would red screen and reboot, which was at least a sign of CPU activity.

   • Embed this notice
     Robert Kist 🇦🇹 🇸🇬 (kwramm@mastodon.gamedev.place)'s status on Friday, 13-Dec-2024 13:26:12 JST Robert Kist 🇦🇹 🇸🇬

     in reply to

     @codewiz yep. rare and expensive. It took me forever to fully populate my A3000 with those guys...and that was 20 years ago

   • Embed this notice
     trebroNdotnet (trebrondotnet@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 06:16:01 JST trebroNdotnet

     in reply to

     @codewiz I had problems in these places. Even further away, where you wouldn't have expected it.

     Every dark pattern is a suspect. And it hides well under the components.

     If I get a battery damage to my desk - usually I do not even bother to power it on. But good to see your amiga half to life in this state allready!

     ...and if you invest in lab equipment: A microscope has changed a lot for me 😉

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 06:16:01 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • trebroNdotnet

     @trebroNdotnet Two traces on the bottom left are indeed open, but they're just the raw audio L/R signals going to the video slot. I won't bother reconstructing them for now.

     The ICs above the battery belong to the Amber subsystem, which works for me. I don't believe they're causing the vertical lines every 16 pixels. Those must be a short of some kind on the Denise data bus.

     The Denise socket has some corrosion and should be replaced, but I'm waiting to get a better desoldering gun for that.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 06:21:11 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • trebroNdotnet

     @trebroNdotnet The potX / potY lines to Paula also seem corroded, but I don't need paddles.

     Surprisingly, both audio channels work, even before recapping.

     Chip RAM test passing 100% tells me that the address and data lines to the CPU are still healthy.

     Right now I'm looking for damage on the local signals between Agnus, Denise and Paula.

     I also suspect the bridge logic between the CPU and Fast RAM and ROMs, but it's far away from the battery.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 06:31:23 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • BatteMan

     @batteman One of the Z3660 devs suggested uncommenting NoCache in the tool types, but it didn't help.

     They also provided a newer Z-turn beta firmware, which I'll test tonight.

   • Embed this notice
     BatteMan (batteman@mastodon.world)'s status on Saturday, 14-Dec-2024 06:31:24 JST BatteMan

     in reply to

     @codewiz
     With WHDLoad, it must be compatible with the 68040. It was one of the purpose for developing WHDLoad 😉

     Hope you'll find the problem! 🤞

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Tuesday, 17-Dec-2024 03:46:36 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Last friday I started debugging the ZIP RAM bank.

     Someone on the Acill Classics repair chat suggested running ziptest, an awesome tool probes each ZIP slot to debug issues like mine:
     https://aminet.net/package/util/misc/ZIPTest-1.1

     I populated the first 4MB of ZIP slots populated, and booted OS 3.2.2, which didn't recognize any Fast RAM in the expected range, $07000000-$07FFFFFF.

     The output of ziptest makes me think that the entire bus is busted. Perhaps I have a broken Ramsey?

     #commodore #amiga #vintagecomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Tuesday, 17-Dec-2024 04:03:07 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Meanwhile, I also checked the reset logic, which I suspect to be quirky.

     The A3000 uses a PST518, a small 3-legged IC which looks like an ordinary transistor, but monitors the +5V power line to assert a _FAIL signal when it's too low.

     This capture shows what happens when the power supply is switched off: _FAIL (above) drops sharply when +5V (below) falls below 4.4V. Looks good.

     #electronics #vintagecomputing #amiga

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Tuesday, 17-Dec-2024 04:20:47 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     On power up, +5V (still below) raises quickly to its stable level, while /FAIL (above) looks like the typical capacitor charging curve.

     Am I seeing the effect of R112 (3.3kohm) C112 (47uF)?

     Ugh, I need to refresh my high-school electronics on RC circuits:
     https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/rc/rc_1.html

     So the time constant (τ) is 3.3 * 10^3 * 47 * 10^-6 = 152 ms

     The scope captured only 350 ms of the curve, which grows to ~4.2V. Looks about right.

     #amiga #electronics #vintagecomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Tuesday, 17-Dec-2024 04:53:57 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     But is this what a good reset signal looks like? I expected it to be driven sharply between 0 and 1 logical states.

     I found the PST518 datasheet here:
     https://www.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/view/87726/MITSUMI/PST518B.html

     My understanding is that the PST518 output is meant to be fed into a Schmitt-trigger to get the sharp power up reset signal that I'm looking for.

     But on the A3000 PCB, /FAIL rruns to Gary's and Ramsey's POWERUP pins.

     Perhaps they have an internal comparator for this purpose.

     #amiga #vintagecomputing #electronics

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Tuesday, 17-Dec-2024 04:56:41 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     @globalc So far I haven't found any Amiga users here in Boston.

     Even a broken A500+ would have a lot of chips in common with the A3000, and they're much more common.

   • Embed this notice
     Christian Horn (globalc@chaos.social)'s status on Tuesday, 17-Dec-2024 04:56:43 JST Christian Horn

     in reply to

     @codewiz My idea to debug this would be to swap parts with a known good A3000 - but that needs of course a box to donor/test with..

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 20-Dec-2024 08:04:40 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • trebroNdotnet

     @trebroNdotnet I tried blowing hot air on the board, and I can get it to crash when I warm up Agnus and Denise. The rest seems stable.

     I'd have some big updates on the A3000 repair, but no time to blog about them... hang on 😉

   • Embed this notice
     trebroNdotnet (trebrondotnet@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 20-Dec-2024 08:04:41 JST trebroNdotnet

     in reply to

     @codewiz ...measuring pin 3 on U112. Looks like the same. I doubt, that reset is your problem as the amiga basically runs...

     What happens if your amiga is running and you "bend" the board slightly?

     We can do a videocall if you wish. But that would be a lot of camera handling involved:-)

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 20-Dec-2024 08:17:28 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     The Kickstart 3.2.2 roms arrived today, and I swapped them on the board.

     Oddly, these EPROMs are 1 pin too long for the A3000 sockets. The seller clipped pins 1 and 42 to suggest the correct alignment.

     Now I can tell the Z3660 to use the on-board ROMs and... IT BOOTS!

     This confirms that the original ROMs had indeed gone bad, while Gary and other bus logic still works... which is very lucky 😅

     #commodore #amiga #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 21-Dec-2024 05:53:00 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     With the new #AmigaOS 3.2.2 ROMs in place, I can even pull out the Z3660 and use the on-board 68030 and its companion 68882 FPU, both running at 25 MHz.

     Since there's hard-drive, I'm welcomed by the #Amiga bootscreen, except the familiar Amiga "rainbow checkmark" logo has been replaced by the Escom-era "boing ball" :amiga:

     #commodore #amiga #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 21-Dec-2024 06:11:40 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     But I forgot to cover how I fixed the stability issues.

     Testing the corroded traces around the battery, I found that DRD9 was open between pin 46 of Denise and pin 5 of Agnus.

     That's one of the data bus lines; it's surprising anything worked at all! Restoring DRD9 (white alligators) fixed the vertical lines as well as the frequent crashes. Woot! 🎉

     #amiga #electronics #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 21-Dec-2024 06:26:50 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     The yellow alligators reconnect Paula's INT6 to Even CIA.

     The trace was badly corroded around U190, the Ricoh realtime clock, and my clumsy attempts to clear those pads finally killed INT6 for good, causing AmigaOS to hang at boot 😢

     Since I couldn't find a suitable pad beyond the Varta blast area, I'll re-route INT6 all the way across the motherboard to CIA.

     #amiga #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #electronics

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 21-Dec-2024 06:37:36 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     As a side note, the test clips I got from Amazon for $6.89 a dozen won't attach firmly to DIP pins, and the tiny copper hooks keep bending and breaking.

     I was told I should have bought these fancy Tektronix IC grabbers, but they cost a whopping $29 for a bag of 10:
     https://www.ebay.com/itm/274793389279

     I wonder which alloy they used for the hooks?

     #electronics

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 21-Dec-2024 06:47:20 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Anyway, this is my first attempt at repairing traces with thin rigid wire.

     I used polyimide tape (aka Kapton tape) to hold it down while soldering, but I should probably glue it firmly to the PCB.

     I'm not sure which glue is safe to use on a vintage board, but I can ask the experts on Acill Classics.

     #electronics #amiga #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 21-Dec-2024 06:58:12 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Yesterday I also started pulling out the corroded passive components right above the battery.

     These are part of the Amber scan doubler, which works just fine now, but would eventually start malfunctioning as the corrosion progressed through the solder joints.

     Clearing the pads from the hardened metal oxides was extremely difficult and fatally damaged a couple of traces which were half corroded anyway.

     But you gotta do what you gotta do...

     #electronics #amiga #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 21-Dec-2024 07:05:30 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     And here are the new components: the blue resistors, the two diodes and some the yellow ceramic capacitors are mine.

     You might notice that solder joints look bad around some of the pads. That's mostly because there's no longer a pad for solder to firmly attach to.

     Connections will have to be restored with fly wires on the bottom side...

     #electronics #amiga #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 21-Dec-2024 07:22:29 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     I'm not too proud of my first ever attempt to repair a trace with magnet wire, but that thing is *tiny* and even with magnifying glasses I had a hard time seeing what I was doing.

     The disaster are is a corroded ground pin. It looks bad, but it will hold just fine for now.

     More worryingly, several vias look badly corroded, but I have no idea how to reconstruct them. I can't simply suck the dark goo from the hole, so perhaps I should drill through?

     #electronics #amiga #vintagecomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Sunday, 22-Dec-2024 06:07:10 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Last week I soldered back the Ricoh RP5C01 and the D flip-flops which latch the 4-bit address bus.

     I decided to power up the board halfway through, before reconnecting the RTC to its 32768 Hz quartz oscillator and the power supply circuit.

     Surprisingly, the CPU was still able to write the date/time registers and read them back. Of course, the seconds wouldn't increment without a clock source!

     #commodore #amiga #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Sunday, 22-Dec-2024 06:10:38 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     After populating the various resistors, capacitors and diodes, the RTC is finally ticking, and holds the time across soft reboots! 👌

     Considering that this was the most damaged subsystem on the motherboard, I wasn't hoping to see it work again.

     #amiga #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #electronics

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Sunday, 22-Dec-2024 06:23:10 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     To finish the job, I ordered this little kit which adapts a "coin battery" to fit onto the pads originally occupied by the nasty Varta:
     https://www.ebay.com/itm/355497835640

     The PCB uses a MOSFET to prevent current from flowing into the non-rechargeable lithium battery when the system is powered.

     Older designs used a diode, but the ~0.6V drop across it would bring VCC too close to the lower limit for the Ricoh.

     #amiga #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #electronics

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Sunday, 22-Dec-2024 06:41:43 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Perhaps it would just be simpler to disable the original charging circuitry by removing D190 and D191.

     This way, the Ricoh would be powered by the battery through R192, even while the system is running. And perhaps, replacing R192 with a wire would source less current from the lithium battery, extending its life.

     Since my knowledge of #electronics is limited, to play it safe I might end up using the CR2032 adapter as designed. Suggestions welcome.

     #electronics #amiga #vintagecomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Sunday, 22-Dec-2024 07:43:02 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • Christian Horn

     @globalc Thank you for asking around. I think I'm pulling it off on my own! See my updates from yesterday and today.

   • Embed this notice
     Christian Horn (globalc@chaos.social)'s status on Sunday, 22-Dec-2024 07:43:04 JST Christian Horn

     in reply to

     @codewiz FWIW, I was asking in our company retro lounge if someone around Boston owns an A3000. Not that, but I was hinted at this: there is a place called "Amiga of Rochester" that does repairs and troubleshooting.

   • Embed this notice
     trebroNdotnet (trebrondotnet@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 22-Dec-2024 17:00:11 JST trebroNdotnet

     in reply to

     @codewiz I simulated the part of the schematics with falstad.com:
     https://www.falstad.com/circuit/circuitjs.html?ctz=CQAgjCAMB0l3BWEAOM0CcAmSAWMA2SAdn3xLCQUhEuoQFMBaMMAKABMQBmL-cLEHj5gBmcADk8OZB269+Ynn0w5qYsJLDTWAJznDMyfQqiCikXcZXUlIQ0eo5zrAG7HeR211ynHN6HzUQdAIrADu7j629lCsAOZ2qtzIOImOXGJBrABKggQmQuCGvoJ0JTChubZgxbb4qUGlReUhrNjo4IR2CMJdXAhiDbDwuEQ0sAhcNciYXETmkPhgYzBwEDAQbADGdirdynv9g+BMYwgTU4az83BLK8Pr4Z1qPbupmK8WEQQ2A2-cfy+aWS70OgKemD2Hz40SSQK8+CM1hBsT0LDE0PANQBmXAIye6P2zyJQMJR2J5IsQA

     If you remove D191, you rob U190 the voltage while the A3000 ist powered on.

     What is D190 for? I have no idea...

     If you want to disable the charging, I would suggest to just replace R192 with a blocking diode.

     #amiga #electronics #a3000 #battery #charging

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Sunday, 22-Dec-2024 17:00:11 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • trebroNdotnet

     @trebroNdotnet I had the same question about D190 last night on Discord, and cdhooper enlightened me:

     "That is a bit confusing at first. What is happening here is that the diode, at the input to D191, is generating about 5.6V (assuming a vdrop of 0.6V due to the 1N4148 at D190). Then, D191 drops that 5.6V by 0.6V to feed 5V into RP5C01 pin 18. So it's a clever trick to avoid the voltage drop that sourcing voltage through a diode normally incurs."

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 28-Dec-2024 05:06:27 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     While my last retrobrighting experiment proceeds quietly at home (*), I went to the asylum to finish restoring the #Amiga 3000 battery-backed clock.

     My kit requires a P-channel MOSFET. Instead of the recommended IRLML6401TRPBF, I found a similar part with higher current (fine) but higher drive voltage (2.5V):
     https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/infineon-technologies/IRLML6402TRPBF/811437

     To confirm it will work, I taped the mosfet to its tiny terminals and measured +3V on the output pins.

     (*) https://mstdn.io/@codewiz/113710433519948326

     #retrocomputing #electronics

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 28-Dec-2024 06:00:28 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Since it's my first attempt at SMD soldering, I watched a couple of video tutorials and then tried to solder the same component on this practice board.

     The result doesn't look great, but it will suffice for this easy job: as long all 3 pins are connected to their pads and not shorted together, the CR2032 will deliver its +3V output to the RTC clock.

     #electronics #retrocomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 28-Dec-2024 08:07:42 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     And that's it... phew! 😌

     Now I just need to solder the battery holder on top of it and the 3 legs underneath...

     #electronics #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #amiga

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 28-Dec-2024 08:12:19 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     And voilà! The RTCPWR pin is receiving 3.3V and the oscilloscope confirms that the little quartz is ticking! 🎉

     #commodore #amiga #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #electronics

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 28-Dec-2024 10:47:28 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Today I also did a quick 3D-printing test for a pass-through bracket to bring HDMI and Ethernet ports of the Z3660 to one of the Zorro slots behind the A3000 case.

     Since I suck both at CADs and 3D printing, I downloaded an STL file for a dual-HDMI bracket as a starting point.

     I didn't expect the first try to be perfect, but I was surprised to find that someone had designed and shared a bracket skewed the wrong way! 😂

     Or... do Zorro and PCI have opposite chirality? 😲

     #amiga #retrocomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Guillaume Rossolini (guillaumerossolini@infosec.exchange)'s status on Saturday, 28-Dec-2024 11:14:43 JST Guillaume Rossolini

     in reply to

     @codewiz ohhhh it looks like in just under 1 month you went WELL beyond my own little project
     https://infosec.exchange/@GuillaumeRossolini/113675368243834641

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 28-Dec-2024 11:14:43 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • Guillaume Rossolini

     @GuillaumeRossolini Sounds like a fun and very useful project!

     Don't make my mistake of trying to get all the tools you need to build it at home: go to your local hackerspace and buy only the tools and parts they don't already have. You'll save time and benefit from the experience of others.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Sunday, 29-Dec-2024 02:36:29 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • RockyBoulder

     @RockyBoulder It was a fun learning experience for me.

     I didn't credit them enough, but I got lots of guidance and advice from the awesome people on Acill Classics and a very knowledgeable guy from Tokyo Hackerspace.

   • Embed this notice
     RockyBoulder (rockyboulder@bonn.social)'s status on Sunday, 29-Dec-2024 02:36:30 JST RockyBoulder

     in reply to

     @codewiz

     Thanks for sharing the repair process with us. Very interesting!

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Tuesday, 31-Dec-2024 06:54:08 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     I tried learning #Blender to model the HDMI + Ethernet bracket from scratch, but after a while I realized that a 3D modeler used modtly by animators doesn't make a good #CAD for mechanical design.

     Now I'm following a bunch of beginner's tutorials for #FreeCAD. Typically, you'd start by drawing a flat XY sketch and later extrude it along the Z axis.

     Parametric CADs let you specify constraints on the sizes, distances and angles between certain lines, which can be adjusted at any time.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Jan-2025 07:08:43 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Parametric #CADs let you specify constraints on the sizes, distances and angles between certain lines, which can be adjusted at any time.

     After drawing the outlines of the HDMI and ETH connectors on the front face in the Sketch workbench, I wanted #FreeCAD to punch them as holes through the bracket's thickness.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Jan-2025 07:33:27 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     The "Pocket" tool in the "Part Design" workspace does exactly what I needed, but took me a while to find it among countless of unfamiliar tools offered by #FreeCAD.

     However, most of the jargon and the concepts I'm learning to make this simple bracket should port across all modern #CAD packages.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Jan-2025 07:52:02 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     For instance, even with the early #Amiga ray-tracing packages such as Imagine and Lightwave, I'd start by drawing a 2D shape and then make a solid by "extruding" this flat silhouette along its normal. #cad

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Jan-2025 08:04:21 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     You could extrude a profile around an axis to make radial shapes such as a vase, or along a curvy path to make a pipe. And you could even scale the section along the way to make a snake.

     Over 30 years later, extrusion remains a fundamental construction technique provided by all modern #CAD software.

     #Amiga #retrocomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Jan-2025 08:35:25 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Real 3D, one of the first solid modelers featuring constructive geometry, boolean operations and smooth surfaces, also debuted on the #Amiga.

     Real 3D was very advanced for its time, but also harder to learn. I never went beyond modeling simple shapes with it, but I had an older friend who was using Real 3D for architecture.

     Lots of great 3D modelers and ray tracers originated on #AmigaOS:
     https://sites.google.com/site/3dtimeline

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Jan-2025 10:48:40 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • Metnix
     • Patrick Georgi

     @metnix @patrick This was a good one to learn about object construction: draw a 2D sketch, add constraints, then extrude:
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh5aN_Di8J0

   • Embed this notice
     Metnix (metnix@mastodon.xyz)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Jan-2025 10:48:41 JST Metnix

     in reply to

     • Patrick Georgi

     For doing the thing @codewiz describes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy9amRGcCCA

     Once you're somewhat familiar with "Part Design" and Sketcher, I recommend getting familiar with the "Part"-workbench and boolean operations (can't remember which tutorials I found useful for this atm).

     If the goal is to 3D-print your model, you also need the tool "convert shape to mesh" from the mesh workbench.

     @patrick

   • Embed this notice
     Patrick Georgi (patrick@retro.social)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Jan-2025 10:48:42 JST Patrick Georgi

     in reply to

     @codewiz Any tutorials to recommend?

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Jan-2025 10:52:24 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • Metnix
     • Patrick Georgi

     @metnix @patrick This more recent tutorial specifically covers the current version of #FreeCAD, but I'm still not done watching it:
     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E14m5hf6Pvo

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Jan-2025 13:09:45 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     But I digress. I went to the Artisans Asylum with this rough #FreeCAD design to print it with one of the three Prusa MK3 available in the Digifab shop.

     A couple of nice people helped me setup various slicer parameters and the printer itself.

     A 0.10 mm fine print with common PLA filament takes about 40 minutes, and I had to iterate a couple of times to adjust the position of the screws, add scaffolding for the mounting screw hole on top, etc.

     #3dprint #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Jan-2025 13:44:30 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Everything fits together, but I couldn't find suitable self-tapping screws to attach the HDMI pass-through.

     Aside for the color, I'd say it's a passable surrogate for a proper metal bracket. 👍

     #amiga #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Wednesday, 01-Jan-2025 13:45:23 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     I noticed now for the first time that the top Zorro slot of the #Amiga 3000 is slightly wider than the other three. This is also the position of the A2000-compatible video expansion slot; perhaps the extra clearance was needed to accommodate preexisting cards? 🤔

     #commodore #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Jope (jope@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 02-Jan-2025 09:21:37 JST Jope

     in reply to

     @codewiz yes, A3000s were supplied with an a2000 video slot adapter bracket that you could screw onto the old video slot card before inserting it into the computer.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Thursday, 02-Jan-2025 09:21:37 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • Jope

     @jope Ah! Forgot that I had one of these A2000 video slot adapters in the box of lose parts.

     It's been there since the beginning of this restoration project, and now I know its real purpose.

     #commodore #amiga #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 03-Jan-2025 06:36:42 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     To complete my #Amiga 3000 restoration, I still need to solve a small mechanical issue: there is barely enough clearance under the drive bay for a Z3660 with a Z-Turn board on top.

     My Z3660 card is also slightly tilted upwards when plugged into the CPU slot, and the RJ45 connector of the Z-Turn contacrs the bottom of the frame, putting stress on the connector.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 03-Jan-2025 06:53:15 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     I could just cut an opening right over the RJ45 connector. So I took some measurements and marked the area to cut off in orange.

     Luckily, there is already a hole in the frame from which I can start cutting around with a hack saw.

     How hard could it possibly be?

     #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #diy

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 03-Jan-2025 07:10:55 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Ugh. Cutting square holes with a hack saw isn't as easy as it seems 😰

     I guess that's the original meaning of the term "hacking":
     http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/H/hacker.html

     #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 03-Jan-2025 07:13:36 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     After some filing, that hole looks a little smoother 😅

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 03-Jan-2025 07:23:54 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     With tape covering the rough edges, the result is almost presentable 😌

     #amiga #vintagecomputing #diy

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 03-Jan-2025 07:39:41 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     To be honest, #Commodore designed a terrible drive bay for the #Amiga 3000.

     It's so bad that someone felt the need to design a new split frame with much improved ergonomics:
     https://www.amibay.com/threads/amiga-3000-drive-bay-frame-split.2444489/

     I should probably get in line to obtain one of these when the next batch of production happens.

     #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #mechanics #cad

   • Embed this notice
     Games That I Missed (gamesmissed@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 03-Jan-2025 07:47:56 JST Games That I Missed

     in reply to

     @codewiz I've taken two classes at Artisans Asylum over the years, the lessons have been extremely helpful. It's a good place. I haven't been to the new location since they moved, though. I need to check it out.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 03-Jan-2025 07:47:56 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • Games That I Missed

     @GamesMissed I'm leaving from Boston in a couple of weeks, but when I'm back there are several classes I'd be interested in taking here at the Asylum!

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 03-Jan-2025 08:44:23 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • penguin42
     • marcusb

     @marcusb @penguin42 I should have taken the machine shop's intro class *before* attempting to do this! 😓

   • Embed this notice
     penguin42 (penguin42@mastodon.org.uk)'s status on Friday, 03-Jan-2025 08:44:24 JST penguin42

     in reply to

     @codewiz Drilling a hole I think is a good way to mark/stop the corners of the cut; else get a file!

   • Embed this notice
     marcusb (marcusb@mastodon.sdf.org)'s status on Friday, 03-Jan-2025 08:44:24 JST marcusb

     in reply to

     • penguin42

     @penguin42 @codewiz my preferred technique for something like this in thin sheet metal is to drill a hole with a bit the same size as the length of the finished square, then use a file to finish the corners.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 03-Jan-2025 13:03:05 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • Robert Kist 🇦🇹 🇸🇬

     @kwramm Haha yes, I had to work the whole time with the power supply hanging over the motherboard, worrying it would tip and smash it! 😂

   • Embed this notice
     Robert Kist 🇦🇹 🇸🇬 (kwramm@mastodon.gamedev.place)'s status on Friday, 03-Jan-2025 13:03:06 JST Robert Kist 🇦🇹 🇸🇬

     in reply to

     @codewiz "terrible" is putting it nicely. This thing is the worst design choice of the A3000.

     Need to test your RAM? Or the jumper config? or anything? yeah, need to unscrew everything and then somehow precariously balance the power supply with its slightly too short cable. Not to mention the abysmal airflow (although upgrading to a 060 solved that for me)

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 04-Jan-2025 05:54:15 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     The hole in the drive bay is almost a perfect fit for the RJ45 connector of the Z3660.

     I can start reassembling the A3000 chassis...

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Saturday, 04-Jan-2025 08:16:10 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     I carefully stored all the screws and other loose parts, but I didn't track where each type came from.

     There are 6 longer hex spacers and 6 shorter ones. Which connectors get the longer type... and why?

     #commodore #amiga #retrpcomputing #vintagecomputing

   • Embed this notice
     trebroNdotnet (trebrondotnet@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 06-Jan-2025 03:56:10 JST trebroNdotnet

     in reply to

     @codewiz I had the same problem. There is no direct mechanical necessaty for longer/shorter screws for the terminals. So I made my on decision.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Monday, 06-Jan-2025 03:56:10 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • trebroNdotnet

     @trebroNdotnet I asked on the Acill Classics discord, and they confirmed that the longer hex screws go on the VGA connector and the two stacked connectors... for no apparent reason.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Tuesday, 07-Jan-2025 15:52:02 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Epilogue: the #Amiga 3000 is back in one piece, fully restored including the battclock (Amiga parlance for RTC).

     After #retrobrighting and some cleaning, the case looks new. Actually, one of the 4 external screws is now missing, d'oh!

     After some testing, the Workbench partition became corrupt: the Tools directory was still shown in dir output, but you couldn't read its contents. A DiskSalv 4 didn't find any issues.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Tuesday, 07-Jan-2025 16:10:13 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Since I couldn't figure out what happened and how to repair the FFS directory structure, and re-transferred the #AmigaOS 3.2 system I normally use in UAE.

     The problem never reappeared, so perhaps it was just FFS being prone to corruption when writes are interrupted by a crash. And this #Amiga was rebooted numerous times while I was chasing the remaining hardware and software stability issues.

     Anyway, these are some of the joys and sorrows of #vintagecomputing ❤️

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Wednesday, 08-Jan-2025 08:01:56 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • BatteMan
     • Jope

     I also had three SFS partitions on my hard drives: Work, Store and BBS.

     However, my RDB still contained the original SmartFilesystem 1.84, which couldn't mount the partitions and was likely the root cause of mysterious crashes of the "UAEDH0" task.

     Many of my favorite #Amiga system tools are still in active development today: SFS, P96, DOpus5, ViNCEd, MCP, AmiSSL, MMULib...

     @batteman @jope #retrocomputing

   • Embed this notice
     Jope (jope@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 08-Jan-2025 08:01:58 JST Jope

     in reply to

     • BatteMan

     @batteman @codewiz it's too common for ffs to corrupt itself after a crash in a way that its disk-validator can no longer fix it on its own. 3.2 ships with a rewritten diskdoctor, which might be useful. I've been a pfs believer since pfs2, but it is not perfect either. I guess keeping backups is the universal solution. :-)

   • Embed this notice
     BatteMan (batteman@mastodon.world)'s status on Wednesday, 08-Jan-2025 08:01:58 JST BatteMan

     in reply to

     • Jope

     @jope @codewiz You're totally right. I don't use SFS on my classic Amiga, but PFS3 AIO (all in one) !
     I use SFS under MorphOS ;-)
     I can't remember what filesystem I use on my A1200 Pistorm with AmigaOS 3.2.2.1 (but it seems Emu68-Imager uses PFS too ^^).

   • Embed this notice
     BatteMan (batteman@mastodon.world)'s status on Wednesday, 08-Jan-2025 08:01:59 JST BatteMan

     in reply to

     @codewiz This A3000 is gorgeous and your repair is unbelievable. Just, I'm not adept of retrobright (cause it doesn't last in time) but the result is lovely.

     For filesystem, FFS is invalidating his structure if you reboot/crash during a write operation. Maybe it's not your problem here, but FFS is really a mess for that. I prefer to use SFS on my HD, even on my A1000 ;-)

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Wednesday, 08-Jan-2025 08:05:11 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • BatteMan
     • Jope

     Plus, #AmigaOS 3.2 integrates and obsoletes many other hacks I installed decades ago.

     I still use TinyMeter and MagicMenu. Are there any actively developed alternatives for these?

     I'm slowly catching up on 30 years of #Amiga development :amiga:

     @batteman @jope

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Wednesday, 08-Jan-2025 12:50:25 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • ij
     • BatteMan
     • Jope

     @ij @jope @batteman I did not think of scanning the corrupt partition the new diskdoctor bundled with OS 3.2 to see if it would at least report a problem with the Tools directory.

   • Embed this notice
     ij (ij@nerdculture.de)'s status on Wednesday, 08-Jan-2025 12:50:26 JST ij

     in reply to

     • BatteMan
     • Jope

     @jope @batteman @codewiz Uhm, never had good luck wie AFS/SFS/whatever... with FFS repair is sometimes quite easy, if you are brave enough to do it:
     1) quick format the partition
     2) run "Unformat" from like qbtools or similar
     3) be done.

     DiskSalv and other "repair" operations resulted in my issues, sometimes. Quick Format & unformat worked fairly well. Not always, but in >90% of the cases.

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 10-Jan-2025 13:16:27 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • ij
     • BatteMan
     • Jope

     @ij @jope @batteman I just recalled that some SCSI controllers implemented the TD64 device interface to handle large drives.

     My HD images were all below 4GB though, so my WB partition got corrupted for a different reason.

   • Embed this notice
     ij (ij@nerdculture.de)'s status on Friday, 10-Jan-2025 13:16:28 JST ij

     in reply to

     • BatteMan
     • Jope

     @jope @batteman @codewiz Ah, yes, that 4G barrier... I avoid partitions >4G for important stuff like programs and such. For mass data I use larger partitions with SFS or so, but also doing backups do a second partition. Having a 500 GB SSD in my A3000 is giving you plenty of storage for backups... ;)

   • Embed this notice
     Jope (jope@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 10-Jan-2025 13:16:29 JST Jope

     in reply to

     • ij
     • BatteMan

     @ij @batteman @codewiz the lack of +4GB compatible ffs repair tools was a problem back in the day. ABTools might have been the only one?

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     Jope (jope@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 10-Jan-2025 13:18:08 JST Jope

     in reply to

     • BatteMan

     @codewiz @batteman those are still the ones to have. I believe 3.3 will support floating menus natively, but let's see once it is out. :-)

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     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 10-Jan-2025 13:18:08 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • BatteMan
     • Jope

     @jope @batteman Yes, I have actually seen the new floating menus of OS 3.3 long ago! I might even have photos to prove it!

   • Embed this notice
     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Friday, 10-Jan-2025 13:21:37 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     • BatteMan
     • Jope

     @jope @batteman AHA! It was in the release notes of intuition.library 48.3.

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     Bernie (codewiz@mstdn.io)'s status on Sunday, 12-Jan-2025 12:22:36 JST Bernie

     in reply to

     Found the perfect companion for my #Amiga 3000: this beautiful NEC MultiSync with a horizontal range of 31-110 kHz!

     I pulled it from the basement of my house and tested it briefly: it still works, and the picture quality is perfect after degaussing the CRT and adjusting a few display controls ❤️