Posts by Jens

Quote from johnnybarker

If I press the reset button on the dismo when booting then I get 0. appear on the dismo screen.

That's not the full procedure to get to de-brick mode.

You press and hold the DisMo button until you see the "0_" blink, then you execute a keyboard reset (CTRL-A-A). The computer *should* come up as if no ACA500plus is connected. You can then run the ADF of the last update - that's not just a menu update, but also the de-brick disk.

If you're lucky, it's only flash contents that were garbled. If not, a Xilinx chip may have died.

We do make shipments to the UK, but UPS charges insane amounts for shipping, and then charges you the import VAT, plus handling fees on top. Let's see if you can get it back to work with the de-brick procedure. Think positive

Jens

What strikes me is that the chipset behaves as if some random values have been written, or the CPU is trying to execute code from the $dffxxx area. This means that a CPU code fetch from chip ram has gone wrong.

This may be possible to trigger from Lisa, as the chipset data lines are all connected, and even used by Indivision AGA MK3. What you could do is to run a chip ram test for an extended period of time - ATK is the right tool for that. If this fails with Indivision, but doesn't without, we have an indication that the data bus drivers of Indivision AGA MK3 have been damaged.

Jens

I found that the sensor has 400DPI, which isn't excessive. I know that 1000DPI mice are near-impossible to use on retro computers, unless you set the WB settings of the Amiga to be very un-sensitive. Unfortunately, you don't have that option on a C64.

Maybe it's just that particular game? Is the pointer at normal speed in Geos? If you've tried Arkanoid before, the mouse may be in paddle mode, which will make the mouse jump around like crazy. Please make sure that it's really in 1351 mode for "normal mouse operation".

Jens

Care to elaborate what makes this better

thanks,

Jens

Nice one, thanks!

Remove the whole RPi range from the compatibility list because a single distro removes caps LED support? This is clearly a software problem, not a hardware problem. Also, it should be possible to change that LED behaviour - it's non-standard and might cause trouble with more keyboards.

I'm currently downloading a RetroPie image, will try that on a spare RPi3B that I have here.

Jens

Thanks for the feedback - and next time, please let me know in advance that you're using an additional frame buffer in the middle, as I would have told you from the start that this may be interference between the two products. Indivision AGA MK3 has been on the market for a few years, and we didn't have any complaint about "added vertical lines".

My guess is that you've checked the settings of that other frame buffer?

Jens

Quote from JasonE

Are you able to setup a lower cost shipping method to Canada if we use that to pay you?

Yes, but at this point, I don't ahve a carrier that would offer a lower cost service. Again, if you have a suggestion, please let me know.

Quote from JasonE

The fees look reasonable compared to paypal.

The fees are way lower. Combined with the actual exchange rate (not the cash rate that PayPal charges), it's a steal.

Quote from JasonE

Postal works really well into Canada for rates and fees at this end.

Deutsche Post and DHL are one company now, and I won't work with them again. They don't care if a parcel is lost in transit or damaged, and I always have to start a lawsuit to get the insurance payment. Yes, I did win each and everyone of them, and they also had to pay my lawyer on top, but the time I have to spend on that won't ever be paid. Not an option.

Jens

What else is in the system? I'd like to eliminate other stuff first. I see a huge cooler near the floppy drive in the fraction of a second where it's in the picture. The system should be as lean as possible if you want to isolate a fault.

Jens

Thanks for using the support forum. Please note that I haven't been ignoring your eMails - you're a hotmail user, and Microsoft is blocking our eMails for no reason. I recommend to go with an eMail provider that doesn't randomly block you from legit eMails.

The error you're describing here sounds like some update process is attempting to add 64-bit support. If that's the case, you can just skip that update step, as the scsi.device provided by the ACA500plus already supports both flavours of 64-bit addressing: NSD64 and TD64.

Jens

This may be an artefact of the scaler. You could try a higher output resolution, or a mapping that will map an AMiga pixel to a whole-number multiple of output pixels.

I'd have to look at a screenshot of the same game from an emulator, so I can see if the blue background is really the same colour, or if it's a pattern that may confuse the scaler.

Jens

Contact problems are the #1 cause for things not working on 30-year old computers. Sometimes the observations are decieving:

A seemingly-clean gold contact may fail, because there's a tiny film of nicotine on it.

If you push the unit all the way in and it doesn't work, you then make it work by pulling it out, you probably can't replicate the "not working" status by pushing it all the way back in.

By pushing in the ACA500plus, you also flex the A500 board a bit, causing chips in their sockets to be moved a fraction of a mm (especially Agnus, the big square one). This may cause a chain reaction of errors that look like they're caused by the ACA500plus when in reality, the cause is all over the place. Finding and fixing this is part of the joy of retro computing

Jens

This may be a simple contact problem. Please try to shift the chips left&right while the sockets are closed (lever down), so they scratch away any oxides from the contacts.

Jens

Quote from ClaesB

Honestly, I do not know what Meanwell has done the last years.

They're good power supplies, but they are not suitable for the Amiga. They regulate 5V at their output, and they don't know that the load is "distant" on a cable. The cable is an inductor and a resistor, causing drop and a delay in current on transients. None of this is compensated for in a PSU chassis that doesn't know about the load being "distant". So no matter what grade they are, they can't possibly be up to the task, as they were built for a completely different scenario.

Quote from ClaesB

Still it does hang after a while and in some cases I have the graphic artifacts.

Again, please take pictures of these artefacts, so I can see if that's happening on the Amiga chipset side, or the flicker fixer's side.

Jens

You may need to disable all handshaking on the receiving side.

Jens

Quote from ljmarent

1) You have a link to where PayPal states that the total shipping time 'must' be seven days or less ?

Sigh. I've explained it a number of times, even in this thread. THe short form is: It's not written in their terms, but it is executed. I've lost good, fees and an additional 14,- EUR "conflict fee" numerous times when people open a dispute the minute they get hold of the tracking number. PayPal give me seven days to prove that the goods have reached the person that has opened the dispute, and with low-cost shipping services, I can't do that. That means that I'll be losing the good, money, additional fees and my time. I'm not going to do that again.

Quote from ljmarent

2) "A delayed shipping chargeback is when a customer files a chargeback with their bank or credit card

company because their order arrived later than expected or hadn't arrived yet."

Not sure what you're asking for here, but I can't do anything from this side if the customer claims that my action is fraud or whatever else people claim in order not to pay. The general assumption is that the seller is the bad guy, and the person that has paid is about to lose money to a criminal. This is essentially reversing the "benefit of the doubt" principle that the western legal system, which is normally "only guilty if proven", but PayPal makes that "guilty as charged, unless proven to be innocent".

I can only prove that I'm innocent if I get the goods to the customer within seven days.

Quote from ljmarent

Arriving a day later than the courier service standard can mean free shipping and a negotiated product discount.

What people have done is not not negotiate, but get a >100% discount (=causing more loss than the goods they have stolen). This needs to be paid for at some point, and ultimately, it will be the honest, paying customers.

Quote from ljmarent

Will they gift you the ability to fix a problem,

Will they gift you co-operation in troubleshooting,

Will they gift you additional time when you need it,

That's three times "no" for PayPal. Once they have closed a dispute by taking the money away from the seller, there is no way to re-open the dispute, even if tracking "now" says that the goods have arrived. It's not even clear whom I'd have to sue - PayPal or the customer - and both parties are outside Germany, so legal fees are over-proportionally high. The loss is on iComp, and ultimately, all honest customers.

Quote from ljmarent

but the customers mood...

I know that it's a minority making a majority suffer. I've thought about doxxing the people who have done that, but it would be too easy for them to turn that around on me, just by saying "come pick the stuff up!" - knowing that I won't risk sending UPS their way and getting a box full of stones, or even sending money their way that will never be used for shipping my property.

So essentially, we're talking about a problem of our society where some people think it's OK to rip someone off if they can remain anonymous, or they believe they have deserved the goods for free for some reason. I'm not even attempting to fix that, but focus on making good products that are worth the shipping cost.

Quote from ljmarent

That seems like a place where the retailer could have significant leverage, if they are perceptive.

Absolutely. It's just that resellers have a history of raking in the profits, and re-directing support work my way, while at the same time pressuring me to send out low quantities of goods "same day", so their customers don't wait too long. In other words: They have used me as their external stock, minimizing their capital expenses. The low initial order requirement has put off every single reseller request that I've had in the past years, indicating that noe of them were really serious: Quick and "safe" money yes, but work and risk? No.

Jens

It doesn't really matter what payment service you choose - if the ultimate payment form is a credit card, then people can claim back the money if huge delays are happening. I've had this too many times, and the only way to stop losing money and time for communicating with customers, service companies and my lawyer was to stop using low-cost shipping services.

I'm happy to work with local resellers and/or support group buys. Resellers have really low hurdles to cross, as I have lowered the minimum stock requirement to 5000,- EUR many years ago.

Jens

First of all, the flickerfixer is installed in Lisa, not on Alice - you'll break it if you put it on Alice.

The flicker fixer is not connected to any part of the CPU/RAM subsystem of the computer, so technically, it does not have any means of making the CPU crash. We therefore need to dig deeper to find the root cause of your problem.

If the computer crashes, it may *seemingly* be caused by the flickerfixer, but it may still be a power problem. Even if you have the same problem with different power supplies, you still cannot say if it's the PSUs or the flicker fixer, as there are practically only non-suitable PSUs on the market as of late - at least for expanded Amiga computers. They all work fine with light loads, but they start to fail if loads are getting higher.

Indivision AGA MK3 is a lot more powerful than any other flickerfixer for the Amiga has ever been, and that takes it's toll in terms of power consumption. We've had numerous cases where a bad power supply was the root cause of the problem (mainly Meanwell-based PSUs like A-Power and the Polish "Elektroware" units, but also practically everything offered on Amazon/eBay).

Most Lab PSUs that are in the hobby price range have a ripple problem: They are built to react quickly to an over-current situation (as you can usually set a current limit and a voltage limit on such a PSU), so they can't work with high-capacity, low-ESR output caps. This is a common problem due to the intended use of a lab PSU, so that's not a good comparison either.

If the original re-capped unit is a 4.5A type from an A500, that would be great. However, before we jump to conclusions, it may be better if you post a picture of the gfx corruptions -I may be able to tell where things go wrong and solve this remotely, without any cost involved.

Jens

Quote from ljmarent

(Even though the UPS option currently offered does not strictly meet those)

The requirement for PayPal is "tracked, arriving in 7 days or less" - UPS is fulfilling that easily. Care to specify what you're talking about?

Jens

Quote from rommelfs

What would you suggest to do once I entered de-brick mode?

Just see if it comes up. De-Brick mode uses the on-board Kickstart ROM, and you could even use the Boot CF card, as that is fully software-compatible with the IDE port of an A600.

Quote from rommelfs

I am not getting any logs via serial on either Amiga,

You need to enable that in the menu first. It's off by default.

Jens