Hello everybody,from a new cpcwiki user but a very old 8 bit fan.
I need your lights and advices desperately.
Here is the problem :
I have bought a cpc 6128 plus with disc drive from ebay.
I received the item,it is the french model(azerty),and bought the parados cartridge for the french edition as well as a tv to scart cable and a psu adapter from ebay also.
I insert the cartridge in the slot and press the power button.The green light lightts on and it seems to be powered up correctly but when i press teh AV button from the tv it displays a blue border with an orange screen and nothing happens.(Attached photos).
PLease can you guide me as to what might be the cause?
The seller had listed this item as working in great condition and insists hat it works.
Thank you in advance i am expecting any advice.
Dust on the cartridge slot or bad contact ?
In 1st, open your CPC and clean up inside.
When you press multi keys on the same time, do you hear "BIP"?
Two options:
- your Parados cartridge not working. ( Didn't you get the original basic one ?)
- One or more RAM chip is failing.
The second option is the most likely and replacement part are easily available (http://www.ebay.fr/itm/370592048270)
They can be replaced if you have required soldering skills.
francouai (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/profile/?u=1823) : beep is not heard after i press the buttons.Also i have cleaned the slot and cartridge with some cotton swabs.
Gerarld: i could not find original locomotive basic cartridge.
Did you see a screen shot of it working before purchase? If not open a dispute as item not as described as these do not normally come cheap.
Quote from: dimdim80 on 22:28, 10 November 16
Gerarld: i could not find original locomotive basic cartridge.
What do you think about buying a C4CPC (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/C4CPC) made by Gerald ?
i do not wish to spend any more money.i have bought those rams you told me and await for them to test them.i have nearly spent 220-250 euros so far and i have no clue of this going to work.
@dimdim80 (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=1947)
Put out a request to Borrow a standard Cartridge form some one in Greece.
Just to try and see if it works.
Also tell the forum the suburb where you live as there may be somebody near by.
Good luck Ray
Ok if someoe can help and lend me his cartridge...
Thessaloniki Greece ...if someone can help pls let me know and send full address.Thanks
I hate to be the one to bring bad news, but that looks like an ASIC failure, not a cartridge or RAM problem.
Bryce.
I would return it to the seller if I were you.
if it is an asic problem is there any way to fix it?
No, only subtitute the asic for other. But actually not exist spare parts. So the only is take a gx4000 asic donated. And it requite a very very very high solder/unsolder skills.
So in general asic dead=cpc dead forever.
This is the asic, imagine change it...
(http://www.grimware.org/lib/exe/fetch.php/documentations/devices/amstrad.plus.asic.jpg)
Swapping it isn't a problem if you have experience swapping parts like this. Finding a replacement is the bigger challenge.
Bryce.
Probably a GX4000 would be the best option in terms of price... but it would be necessary to butcher it, and removing the ASIC also requires some decent skills :-X .
today i have opened it just to have a alook inside.i am attavhing a photo if that helps.definetely someonen has tried to modify it before since the screws from the kyboard are missing.
Is there anything bizzare in the picture?
Thank you for your help anyway .
i have switched it on with the cover opened.i have noticed that the chips next to the disc drive,the ram chip after 10 secs are getting veryy hot.
I think i have read somewhere else in this forum in another thread that this means ram chip failure?
any advice or suggestions?
Thanks again so far your help is very valuable.
Quote from: dimdim80 on 19:37, 15 November 16
i have switched it on with the cover opened.i have noticed that the chips next to the disc drive,the ram chip after 10 secs are getting veryy hot.
I think i have read somewhere else in this forum in another thread that this means ram chip failure?
any advice or suggestions?
Thanks again so far your help is very valuable.
The usual sign of RAM failure is indeed the RAM IC getting very hot.
I hope too.i have already ordered the ram you have suggested me and expecting to receive in the following week.So i will try them and let you know.Just to ask are these ram socketed?i mean how can i remove the old and place the new?
Quote from: dimdim80 on 20:43, 15 November 16
I hope too.i have already ordered the ram you have suggested me and expecting to receive in the following week.So i will try them and let you know.Just to ask are these ram socketed?i mean how can i remove the old and place the new?
There are no socket, you need to unsolder them.
A method applicable to dead chip is described there : http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/IC_Repair
If you do not feel comfortable doing so, you better contact some local that can do it.
@dimdim80 (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=1947)
Have you measured the Power supply Voltage with the unit powered up.
Just in case the power supply is unwell.
Good luck
Ray
If you need to remove the RAM, it is a good time to put some sockets in place :). In any case, the easiest way to remove the ICs is to carefully cut the pins and remove the chip itself first. Then, you can desolder the pins quite easily grabbing them with a pair of tweezers :)
Quote from: dimdim80 on 19:13, 15 November 16
today i have opened it just to have a alook inside.i am attavhing a photo if that helps.definetely someonen has tried to modify it before since the screws from the kyboard are missing.
Is there anything bizzare in the picture?
Thank you for your help anyway .
The keyboard doesn't have any screws holding it down, it just sits there.
Bryce.
I received the following ram UPD41464C-12 64Kx4bit MOS DRAM DIP 18 1PC (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370592048270?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT) and took it to a local technician who installed it...
The problem with the orange border still remains as nothing has changed.
he told me that one ram chip was indeed problematic so we replaced it with the following UPD41464C-12 64Kx4bit MOS DRAM DIP 18 1PC (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370592048270?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT) but the problem persists.
Could it be because the ram i bougt was 64 kb while the replaced ram was i think 16kb?
Can you post a link to the RAM that you think is 16K? How many of the four RAMs have now been replaced?
Bryce.
Sorry for the late response,i attach the pictures of the chip i have replaced.(Anterior and posterior sides).
I have replaced only this chip with the one i posted in my previous post.
That's a 41464 = 4x 64Kbits ie: it holds half of every byte of the lower or upper 64K of RAM.
Bryce.
So it is the same with the one i bought?any idea what to do next?
As I said back on page 1, the screenshot you posted really does look like the ASIC is gone. Unless you can replace this, I doubt it will ever work again.
Bryce.
i had hoped you would not have sad that again :) ..never mind at least i tried.I will have it just for spare parts for my second cpc 6128 plus.
One last question..i have seen some upgrade kits for cpc 6128 plus,but i havent been able to fine a place to buy them.Do you have any suggestions where to look for?
Thanks Bruce and all the other members of this forum for their answers and help.
You mean to convert a 464+ into a 6128+ ? The required parts are all easy to find sources for, but I probably have all the parts here if you need.
Bryce.
No i mean t convert it to 4mb ram and install all thee cards that we can see on wikipedia(wifi,card for ram expansion to run future os etc)