[comp.sys.amiga] my A500 buys the farm

jetson@sag1.ssl.berkeley.edu (Greg Fruth) (08/01/89)

Has anyone out there had problems with their Microbotics H501 1meg/clock
expander for the Amiga 500?  I suspect that it is causing my computer to
crash and reboot.  I'll be happily computing along and come to a time when
I've done quite a lot but just before I think about saving my work (you
always think about saving right AFTER a crash!) and I'll hear a 'pop' from
the speaker, an 'eerrk' from the drive and watch in horror as the screen
returns to the Workbench prompt.  Because this happens infrequently I always
dismissed it as a power spike problem (despite the fact that I have a
spike/surge suppressor).  But a friend with a regulation A501 expander
in his 500 said he'd never had such a problem, so I began to suspect
the Microbotics unit.
	The H501 is slightly too large depthwise for the bomb bay
expansion port (because of the RF shielding) so the cover hatch bulges
outwards a bit. When I was putting it in I noticed that you have to
use ten elephants, a battering ram and five thousand slaves to get it to
connect properly.  I seem to recall that if you disturb the expander in
its seat it will cause a crash.  Is this the problem?
	I've removed the RF shielding and installed the bare board
and I've also tried leaving the shielding on but omitting the hatch, but since
the bombs occur at long intervals, I can't tell what's working.
Anybody have ideas? Solutions? Anybody from Microbotics out there to
vehemently deny my theory?

	Replies welcome via any means.

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#    Greg Fruth			#  "I just work here, folks! #
#    jetson@ssl.berkeley.edu	#  Only the secretaries know #
#    Space Sciences Lackey	#  what's _really_ going on!"#
#    UC Berkeley		#			     #
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Doug_B_Erdely@cup.portal.com (08/03/89)

Greg, Have your power supply checked out. Sounds like a problem in your
power supply is the culprit.

	- Doug -

Doug_B_Erdely@Cup.Portal.Com