Posts by Ironclaw

Caution: Non registered users only see threads and messages in the currently selected language, which is determined by their browser. Please create an account and log in to see all content by default. This is a limitation of the forum software.


Also users that are not logged in can not create new threads. This is a, unfortunately needed, counter measure against spam. Please create an account and log in to start new threads.

Don't Panic. Please wash hands.

    Really? The law requires us to publish that in the "Impressum" :-)


    Anyway, hints for sending stuff back to us are summarized here:


    If you need to return something to iComp for service...

    Hi. Sorry, don't know what "Impressum" is. I took a look at the page you linked, seems quite complicated to send something back. I've literally never sent a package, so this will be my first one. I just hope I do it right :)


    Btw, when I looked through the threads for potential help/info on what I was seeking, I didn't see the one you linked to, but notice now it was at the bottom of the page on my screen, which I thought was just the latest comments, didn't noticed it had your thread pinned. My bad.

    Hi. Been inserting and removing cards many many times ever since I got the ACA500+ about a year ago now, but today when I tried to insert a card in the right slot, pins got bent :(. When this happened, the computer reset, and all that happens now when I boot the Amiga is it only shows an aqua colored picture, and the DisMo says "20". If I remove the ACA500+, the Amiga works properly (whew).


    I tried to bend the right pin back, but the area was too small/narrow, but when I brought out the camera to take the picture, I noticed the pins in the middle was bent as well.


    Couldn't find any contact info on the site, so don't know how to go on about potentially sending it back for repairs. So seems this forum is the only way to communicate with the makers of this fantastic product.

    You could check if the ESC key works at all by shorting the two pins, for example with an unfolded paper clip (non-insulated one of course), or some other wire you may have access to. Only if that works, you have a chance for proper operation with a new membrane.


    That said, some A500 keyboards don't even use a membrane. The early ones have individual switches, and the ESC key could just have a cold solder joint.

    Been too lazy and busy to have a look at my keyboard until now. The keyboard I use at the moment only had one key not registering. It's nr 9 (under the F keys). And the problem was the rubber thingy inside the key.


    9 didn't work, no matter how hard I pressed, so I thought maybe the membrane had a broken connection somewhere, but used some tweezers (while wearing a rubber glove ofc, just in case) and noticed there's nothing wrong with the membrane as 9 registers when the tweezers touches them. So, I looked at the rubber thingy inside/under the key and cleaned its tips on the side gently with some IPA and it still wouldn't work. I pushed it against other keys and none would register with nr 9's rubber thingy. So I took out a rubber thingy from another key and used it on nr 9 on the membrane and it worked. So, there's something wrong with 9's rubber thingy.


    Only difference I can see between key 9's rubber thingy and other other keys is it's faded in color. I see no breakage or anything else. The tips might be a bit worn out maybe.


    So, if they are faded they don't work?


    Attached some images.


    9 is more important than the key to the left (see image), so swapped the rubber thingy with that one. So 9 works now, but ofc not that other key, which is OK.


    Edit: OK, seems the "plunger", as they are called, has a conductive coating on them and key 9 has it completely worn off and needs to be recoated or replaced. So no IPA should be used on it of course, which I did, but it was already coatless. Still wonder why only that key is like that, and the color is faded, while the others are not.


    Edit 2: Ordered 3 new plastic bits with plungers on them from ebay. One for the broken key, one for F3 which works but have to press really hard, and one more in case I might need it in the future.

    Mine's one of the newer ones I think, as it doesn't have the imprinted logo into the plastic or the C= key. It's a Rev 6 mobo and the front and back look like this: Pic A, Pic B.


    From my research once when trying to decide what Amiga 500 to buy as many were on sale, the first version was the imprinted logo with the C= key. Next was imprinted logo but a normal A instead of the C=. Next was The C= sticker instead of the imprinted one, and the final version was the one I have where it says "A-500" instead of the imprinted or sticker C= logo.


    Will take apart the keyboard soon and see if I can do something.

    "The "mapping idea" probably came to you because we're already mapping DF0: to DF1:"


    Nah, was just something I thought might be possible anyway considering what it can already do. Didn't even think of the DF0 to DF1.


    "you might just solder two wires and a button to the keyboard controller chip (pins #36 and #3)"


    I don't own a soldering kit nor do I have any skill using one. Probably not TOO hard to learn, but if I have to buy it to fix the keyboard, I might as well buy a new membrane for it instead, as I fear I will just break something if I try to solder.

    Yeah, saw videos on keyboard repair on YouTube, most seem to just give up and get a new membrane. I rather we get key remapper added to the ACA500+ as these membranes are 30 euros or more + shipping. And clumsy as I am, I might break something else while trying to fix the keyboard :/


    But, if it's about a lot of keys not working, then trying to fix it is of course better. But just 1-3 keys broken like many have doesn't make it worth it, IMO.

    It's very common that keys or the whole keyboard has failed on these old Amigas. Two Amiga 500s I've tried now have 2-3 keys dead. Would be nice to be able to remap them to other keys, as they can sometimes be quite important. Like the ESC key, if it's not working anymore, one could remap it to a much less used key.


    Hope this is something that can be added, and is hopefully easy enough so it might be in an update in the near future. I could really use it, and I'm sure many others as well.


    Thanks,.

    Apparently called "motion blur" https://blurbusters.com/faq/motion-blur-reduction/, and some monitors have motion blur reduction, but not TVs apparently. I read on English Amiga Board somewhere that this is impossible get rid of with an LCD TV using an Amiga. But there's is like 2-3 LCD TVs that are old and support 15kHz (super rare, hard to get and mega expensive if found) which makes it better, or something.


    So, from what I've read, pretty much all LCD TVs have motion blur. So just wondered if using this Indivision ECS v2 and thus also use VGA instead would change the signal enough so Hz and all that stuff makes things look smoother.