User avatar
intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Tue Mar 06, 2018 11:46 pm

@leigh,

Now that you ask, I'll put it on my radar to investigate soon. But there is RAM on my GeForce CPU card, as well as an 8MB card inserted + 2MB Chip. I've never really sat down to figure out where it all comes from. I think it can do 8MB fast + 2 MB chip from an accelerator, plus (how much?) more from added card RAM.

Mine shows ~15 right now. I will have to research what's up with that.

User avatar
leighb2282

Posted Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:03 am

Dredging back in time since I last took a peek at your setup posts, is your accelerator in the CPU expansion slot or the 68k CPU socket?
I wonder if a part of this is the fact that your (Derringer right?) is actually in the CPU socket so the RAM is tied to the 68K CPU socket versus like on the CPU upgrade slot (GVP 30001 in my case) in the CPU slot.

User avatar
intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Wed Mar 07, 2018 9:47 am

It's not a Derringer. I have one of those but and used to use it (on the 68000 socket) but - in my experience - it just doesn't fit properly in the 2000 even though it was made for it. My Derringer just barely touched the bottom of the floppy/PSU tray and it would cause issues.

I run with a GeForce 030 in the CPU slot. It has the capacity for 16MB.

I'll SysInfo my 2000 soon and tap through the RAM stats. It's been so long I don't recall where it's all allocated. Workbench combines Chip and Fast in that number at the top of the screen. Off the top of my head, I bet mine is something like this:

1) 8MB RAM card
2) 2MB Chip
3) 8MB on the GeForce...

But then maybe it only counts 6 from the RAM board and eats some up on boot (I have DirOpus loading on boot)? Hm... I should understand that better.

User avatar
leighb2282

Posted Wed Mar 07, 2018 10:06 am

It looks like this is important, your card can support 16MB of RAM total on it via the SIMMs,

maximum 8 MB is autoconfigured in the 16 MB address space, the exact amount is set by jumper (on the board)
the remaining memory is configured as extended memory by the FaaastROM driver

so i'm guessing either

a) the 8MB board is the 8 meg autoconfiged and the 8MB on your accelerator is being handled via the FaaastROM driver
b) the 8MB board is the 8 meg autoconfiged and the 8MB on your accelerator is being handled via the CPU slot's (24 or 32 i can't remember precisely) bit memory bus (the zorro II is 16bit which is why the 8mb autoconfig limitation is there) (the card your using is a later model of GVP board which may actually take advantage of the increased memory addressing in the CPU slot)
c) your a wizard harry!

BTW, great bit of info on the particular memory addresses is here! shows the 8MB chunk for fast ram, 2mb for chip, etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga_Zorro_II

sorry for derailing the original thread!

User avatar
Zippy Zapp
CA, USA

Posted Wed Mar 07, 2018 11:39 am

Nice system, the motherboard looks clean. I wouldn't worry to much about the battery as long as you replace it every 5-6 years. There are still Amiga folks that replace the battery with an original type. Personally If I was doing that and I didn't want to use the coin cell method I would solder header connectors on to the motherboard and then solder wires with connectors on to the battery and then you could plug it in and place it someplace off the motherboard. Then it is just an easy swap every 5 years. Obviously the coin cell approach is probably easier but apparently some have found that their specific Amiga or clock chip did not like the lower voltage and especially when it dropped below after some time. 3.0 vs 3.6 in the original. I think that is rare though.

I share the same opinion on caps as the others, I have not seen one yet that had bad caps. It won't hurt but if it aint broke and all.

I would for sure remove the floppy drive top cover and clean the drive rails and the heads. You can also re-grease the drive screw mechanism that is attached to the motor and the heads. 30 year old grease likes to turn funky. For the stuff that is metal I use white lithium grease. For plastics and metal combo I have learned to use either Molykote EM-30L or Silicon based grease or 3 in 1 silicon based oil.

And while the caps don't need replacing on the motherboard do check the caps on the floppy drive as I have found a few that were leaking. It is usually the cap nearest the power and data connectors and you can usually see it without disassembling the drive.

User avatar
Tectron
Indiana

Posted Wed Mar 07, 2018 3:06 pm

leighb2282 wrote:
intric8 wrote:FWIW. I consider my own 2000 near-mint. And both of my floppies are slightly different colors. One is the original drive, and the other was a secondary put in after it was originally purchased - by the original owner. The drives are a slight beige, more like the metal part of the case and not the hot chocolate color. Honestly they are closer to the plastic housing for the power/activity lights.
I will also add that if you are looking for a matching CD-ROM drive that is a massive non-starter, I have NEVER seen an optical drive that matches - most you will find are either PC beige, Black or Grey like mine :(
Rustoleum kahki matte paint matches the front a2000 bezel almost perfectly, I used it to paint my custom gotek enclosure.

User avatar
tastemakerChuck

Posted Thu Mar 08, 2018 8:43 pm

Hey all,

thanks again for all the suggestions and info, there is a lot to immerse myself in here... I ordered a good amiga video to VGA cable and also have a LCD that will (hopefully) do 15kHz on the way... both will likely take some time to arrive so I'll focus on other parts and research now... I went over everything with Krudkutter and also took apart the keyboard and gave it a fairly thorough cleaning, I should have take a picture of the inside before I cleaned it but it was pretty nasty in there so I decided not to record it ... no offense to the previous owner, it's just you can imagine the detris you might find in a 25 year old keyboard that was actually used a fair bit back in the day. Anyway... it cleaned up pretty nicely... their isn't much difference in tone/color between the inside and out so I think if there is any discoloration it is very mild. This isn't a super early Amiga 2000 keyboard so no cherry mx switches but rather Hi-Tek Series 725... they feel OK, old school and better than run of the mill modern keyboards, though not better than a high end modern mechanical like a DAS keyboard. Anyway, a couple of the keys need new springs and I wondered if any of you had any suggestions for finding something that obscure... I need some of the spring on the end in this picture:
450px-NMB_Springs_-_Tactile,_Clicky,_Spacebar.jpg
Here is case and keyboard after cleaning:
a2000_kb_w.jpg
<3

User avatar
intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Thu Mar 08, 2018 10:23 pm

Hi tastemakerChuck - first off, thanks for joining and jumping in here!

I'm a huge 2000 fan, personally. I have 2 keyboards: one that I use daily which is mint, and a second one which I keep in storage which is near-mint, but has that same cut in the cord near the plug like yours. For some reason, I see this cut and tape on so many 2000 keyboards, and I have no clue as to the history or reason behind that.

Your observation and question about the springs is a really great one, and frankly it probably spreads across the 1000 and other models, too. I know one of my 1000's keys don't bounce as tightly as my daily driver 1000 keyboard. And I'd love to fully restore the weaker ones.

Frankly, in the past I've source old busted keyboards for parts. But now that you bring it up, I wonder if new springs can be found at the right length and tension? That would be so cool (just like new motherboard parts, sockets, pins, etc. can).

Is the long spring a good one, and the other two the worn out ones?

User avatar
tastemakerChuck

Posted Thu Mar 08, 2018 10:39 pm

no, those are all valid springs from different type switches, the long one is just the spring type used in my keyboard.

This site: https://deskthority.net/wiki/Hi-Tek_Series_725 is where the info is coming from.

User avatar
intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Fri Mar 09, 2018 9:34 am

Someone recommended to try aliexpress.com, like this.

But I don't see the exact match compared to your picture.
if the ones you buy are to long you can cut them...
That advice right there sounds fraught with peril. It it isn't a 1:1 swap, it's going to be a headache.

The baffling part (about that site) is the springs are offered by Length, which makes sense. Except the unit of measurement is "g" which looks like grams, and makes absolutely no sense to me.

(entering rabbit hole)

Looking at it deeper I think it's referred to as a "gradient of compression force". That doesn't really help, though, with matching the length.

There's a whole education here in simply sourcing the parts... one I'm definitely ignorant (but would like to learn).





Return to “Hardware”