subrata@ra.src.umd.edu (Subrata Kumar Dutta) (09/14/90)
I would like to thank everyone who took the time to reply to my request for information regarding Amiga 1000 memory expansion; the response was tremendous! I purchased the Starboard II principally for its ease of installation and for the considerable praise given to it by owners of the board. It seems that more people own the Starboard than any of the internal boards, although these internals have several ardent supporters. The reason that I am writing is that my 1000 does not work with the Starboard; it sometimes locks up and other times sends me back to the Kickstart screen. The board itself is appears to be o.k. because it works fine on a friend's machine. I called Microbotics and they told me that the problem might be due to improperly grounded PALs in the amiga. Has this problem happened to anyone else? Is there a way to fix this? Will using an internal board avoid this defect? The local dealer wants $75 just to look at the machine, on top of repair charges - which I think is a bit much if I can repair it myself. I was told that Amazing Computing vol. 3 num. 3, 1988 ran an article on how to increase the reliability of the bus with "do-it-yourself" modifications. Does anyone have this issue and could they send me a photocopy of this article? I have sent away for the entire magazine from A.C. but it will take 4 to 6 weeks to arrive; if I need to return it, the mail order company probably will not take it back after more than two weeks. Please E-mail your responses to save space on the network. Once again, thanks. -subrata
Classic_-_Concepts@cup.portal.com (09/17/90)
Subrata (and others doing the PAL grounding themselves). It is
written up in Amazing Computing, as you were told, but BEWARE, there is
one trace on the wrong side. You don't want to fry anything. If you
understand electronics, you'll recognize the error (I believe it's in
the photo, but as I recall, the text is correct). I didn't have any
trouble with doing it from the article, even with the error, since it
was obvious, but if you DON'T know electronics, GET THE PATCH, which
was mentioned a couple of issues later. Good luck!
By the way. The fix worked for my 1000. I have 2 different brands
of memory boards installed, now. One internal, one external, and they
boot up fine.
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__ _________________________________________ \_-//' / //<'
/// Julie Petersen (LadyHawke@cup.portal.com \ /// <//'
/// Classic_-_Concepts@cup.portal.com) / >> \\\`
__ /// "TimeLords aren't supposed to interfere. /,)-^>> _\`
\\\ /// This one calls himself 'Doctor' (/ \\ / \\\
\\/// and interferes all the time." // //\\\
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rick@tmiuv0.uucp (09/17/90)
In article <1990Sep14.144410.27859@ra.src.umd.edu>, subrata@ra.src.umd.edu (Subrata Kumar Dutta) writes: [...] > I purchased the Starboard II principally for its ease of > installation and for the considerable praise given to it by owners of the > board. It seems that more people own the Starboard than any of > the internal boards, although these internals have several ardent supporters. Yes, the StarBoard II is the most popular external memory expansion for A1000s made. We sold lotsa them! > The reason that I am writing is that my 1000 does not work with the > Starboard; it sometimes locks up and other times sends me back to the Kickstart > screen. The board itself is appears to be o.k. because it works fine on a > friend's machine. > > I called Microbotics and they told me that the problem might be due > to improperly grounded PALs in the amiga. Has this problem happened to anyone > else? Is there a way to fix this? Will using an internal board avoid this > defect? The local dealer wants $75 just to look at the machine, on top of > repair charges - which I think is a bit much if I can repair it myself. On early (and some later) A1000s, the PALs were not grounded adequately and that caused LOTS of problems. Not just with the StarBoard, but with lots of other external expansion stuff. Also, some early A1000s had PALs which simply didn't have the drive current that the expansion port spec said they did. CBM offered new PALs to those people. Grounding the PALs is not something for the faint of heart. I can't remember exactly what it entails (this goes back a few years), but I do remember that it requires a bit of skill with the soldering iron. I guess you could open up both machines and look at your friend's to see what it takes to do it. Better yet, take the system to your dealer and pony up the $75. If you're not used to playing with static-sensitive stuff, this is the best bet. [...] > Please E-mail your responses to save space on the network. > > Once again, thanks. > -subrata I posted because there may be others that need this info. and I haven't seen it fly by the net recently. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [- O] Rick Stevens, MicroBotics, Inc. (sort of) ? EMail: uunet!zardoz!tmiuv0!rick -or- uunet!zardoz!xyclone!sysop V CIS: 75006,1355 (75006.1355@compuserve.com from Internet) (Opinions are mine. No one listens to me here anyway.) "Lead, follow, or get the h*ll out of the way!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------