**WARNING: RetroRepair seems to have vanished, so proceed with caution f you decide to send him stuff for repair! :)**
Hi everyone,
I´m new here, so be patience with me! ;D
I´m establishing a Amstrad Support-Repair Center. I can repair CPC Series, PCW Series, and others Amstrad´s on demand.
If you have an Amstrad that needs to be serviced, please send PM to me. I´ll try to answer ASAP.
Thanks in advance.
Miguel
UPDATE:
- I can repair all CPC, PCW and other Amstrad Computers/Console.
- I can repair memory, processor, asic, gate array, logic ttl's, disc drives, datacorders, and other problems.
- I have all the necessary equipment (DVM, Oscilloscope, Z80 ICT, Signal Tracer, Signal Generator, Frequency Meter, etc...).
- I have spares for all Amstrad Computer Series.
- I don't sell spares, so don't ask me for that.
- 90% of the spares that i have came from Amstrad PLC Fr where my uncle used to work till mid nineteen's.
- All the repairs have 6 month's warranty.
- If i cannot repair a equipment, i will return it to the owner. The owner only paid for the P&P, i'll not charge any fee if there is no repair.
- Fee's depends on the type of problem, but i'll will charge a minimum of 30€+P&P on 90% of the repairs i made. This includes spares and my work.
- I'll accept trades to support the repair fee, in a case by case analisys.
P.S: i can repair other computers, such as Sinclair, Timex, Apple, Commodore, Radio Shack, MSX computers, Atari, BBC Micro, Dragon, Jupiter ACE, and others...
P.S2: I can also repair addons, such as memory's expansion, rs232 controller's, external drive's, monitors, power supply's, etc...
UPDATE2:
- The fee that i charge (30€+P&P) does not include parts (case, fdd, keyboard).
- I can also do some mod's (reset button, swap 3'' FDD with 3,5''FDD, change ROM'S, etc..) if you want.
- I also do "special" cables (RGB cable+audio with 12V "spider", joystick splitter cable, tape cables, etc...).
Hello mate, and welcome here.
If you could put together a more detailed 'brochure' (what it is you can do in details, maybe pricing etc) I could pin your post or even make an announcement on the Wiki's front page...
Quote from: Gryzor on 08:55, 29 November 10
Hello mate, and welcome here.
If you could put together a more detailed 'brochure' (what it is you can do in details, maybe pricing etc) I could pin your post or even make an announcement on the Wiki's front page...
Hello Gryzor and thanks for the welcome.
I´ll update the first post with all the information that i think relevant.
Cheers
You don't mention the country. But I assume it is France?
I worked this out from the currency and because your uncle worked for Amstrad France.
Quote from: arnoldemu on 21:36, 30 November 10
You don't mention the country. But I assume it is France?
I worked this out from the currency and because your uncle worked for Amstrad France.
Hello,
I'm from Portugal, near Lisbon.
I think you can see the flag below my nick.
Cheers
Quote from: retrorepair on 22:17, 30 November 10
Hello,
I'm from Portugal, near Lisbon.
I think you can see the flag below my nick.
Cheers
I am sorry I didn't look at the flag. Thank you for the info.
Great stuff. Post stickied and posted on the wiki's main page.
Hey, can you fix a QL that's having trouble on half its keyboard?
Quote from: Gryzor on 11:17, 01 December 10
Great stuff. Post stickied and posted on the wiki's main page.
Hey, can you fix a QL that's having trouble on half its keyboard?
Hi Gryzor,
When you say "half", is related with left or right half of the keyboard?
If that's the case, and assuming that membrane is ok, i can fix it quickly.
If the QL needs a new membrane, then i have to order it.
P.S: Thanks for the sticky
I think it was the right part that didn't work. I had opened it, connectors and membrane seemed fine - couldn't diagnose it with my limited (=about zero) QL knowledge...
I think I'll send it to you once I get around to getting it out of the box :)
How much do you charge YOUR service (excluding pieces) ?
Quote from: Gryzor on 09:34, 02 December 10
I think it was the right part that didn't work. I had opened it, connectors and membrane seemed fine - couldn't diagnose it with my limited (=about zero) QL knowledge...
I think I'll send it to you once I get around to getting it out of the box :)
As soon as you send it, as soon you will be "playing" with it! :)
Quote from: norecess on 20:54, 02 December 10
How much do you charge YOUR service (excluding pieces) ?
Hi and thanks for visiting my thread.
I cannot tell you a exact value for that, depends how much work the machine needs.
But if you have all the pieces that needs to be replaced, i'll take that in consideration at the time of presenting to you the final value.
I updated the first post with more information.
After only 16 Days, this is the most viewed post!
Merry christmas everyone!
Seriously, almost 30000 views for this thread alone, with the second (Dead on Time) at a bit over 12000... I guess this shows how important such a service is. Although I suspect that people come to this thread also expecting to find info on how to do it themselves...
To be honest (and not wanting to take any potential business away from Retro Repair) many problems with the CPC or any retro computer are very easy to do yourself. Obviously when it's something more tricky involving component replacement / fault diagnosis / soldering skills, it's probably best to hand your beloved CPC to somebody who knows what they are doing and won't break it further, and it's really good that Retro Repair offers this option.
On the other hand, there's a real lack of repair guides in the Wiki, for simple things that anyone could do for themselves. Some have been added, but there are many more which could be added and would enhance the Wiki
and maybe bring a few damaged CPCs back to life.
Bryce.
You're right about that to some extend... people usually rush in here and offer excellent advice, sometimes very detailed, but it's another thing to make a comprehensive and well thought-out standalone guide... :(
Quote from: Bryce on 10:47, 12 January 11
To be honest (and not wanting to take any potential business away from Retro Repair) many problems with the CPC or any retro computer are very easy to do yourself. Obviously when it's something more tricky involving component replacement / fault diagnosis / soldering skills, it's probably best to hand your beloved CPC to somebody who knows what they are doing and won't break it further, and it's really good that Retro Repair offers this option.
On the other hand, there's a real lack of repair guides in the Wiki, for simple things that anyone could do for themselves. Some have been added, but there are many more which could be added and would enhance the Wiki
and maybe bring a few damaged CPCs back to life.
Bryce.
Hi,
You are absolutely right. I do not intend to be rich with this service. As long as i can make people happy to bring back to life theirs belove computer, for me that´s enough.
I compromise to make step-by-step repair guides for the computers that i repair here in CPCWIKI, so that in future people can at least try to diagnose the problem from his beloved computer.
Regards
Don't worry mate, I don't think anyone's against commercial ventures here as long as the supplier is not trying to rip people off - like, maybe, by charging 100 euros for a belt replacement or the likes. If you could make some guides, all the better, and they'd really be appreciated, but it's not a prerequisite for the promotion of your services. And I think that's what Bryce himself meant, too.
Btw, has it brought you any business?
I have had "Diagnosis / Repair Guides" on my to-do list since 1985 :) I just never get around to doing it. So many issues are caused by dirty power switches, dirty expansion port contacts, dirt in the keyboard. These are things the user should try themselves before they send you them, I mean you aim to offer a repair service, not a cleaning service :D . But many people are nervous about opening their CPC or even worse opening the power switch. A good fault diagnosis Guide (tree) with Yes/No branches, where some end with "Try cleaning the power switch" (link to detailed instructions) and some end with "Send it for repair to: (Link to RetroRepair)" would be ideal. I did a short Joystick repair guide a while back, but only because I decided to fix my own joysticks and had a camera handy http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Joystick_Repair (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Joystick_Repair) . A guide like this for other parts would probably help many decide whether they can do something for themselves or whether they need the help of someone with your experience.
Bryce.
Edit: I know from personal experience, that you don't get rich from building / repairing 8-bit hardware :D Like me, you probably do it because you also have a passion for these machines. It's great that someone offers this service at all and has the time to do it.
An ueber-guide then. That would be fantastic... but so much work, eh? Still, it would be unique!!!
That's why I've never got around to doing it. Well not exactly correct, I started doing it and after I realised that the section that just covered the power supply was 12 pages long I stopped. Admittedly, my version was very detailed with three levels depending on the users knowledge / skills / equipment:
A) I haven't the faintest clue what I'm doing and I used a knife to open the case screws
B) I own my own screwdriver and a multimeter, but I don't know how to use them
C) I own an oscilloscope and a have decent understanding of electronics
Depending on the level you chose, it described how to find the fault and repair / replace the components according to your level of understanding and using the equipment you have available.
Bryce.
Sounds good enough for the Wiki. :)
I think the basic maintenance and cleaning is a good idea.
Cleaning the power switch fixed 2 of my cpcs.
And cleaning the membrane fixed the keys on another.
Quote from: Gryzor on 14:36, 13 January 11
Don't worry mate, I don't think anyone's against commercial ventures here as long as the supplier is not trying to rip people off - like, maybe, by charging 100 euros for a belt replacement or the likes. If you could make some guides, all the better, and they'd really be appreciated, but it's not a prerequisite for the promotion of your services. And I think that's what Bryce himself meant, too.
Btw, has it brought you any business?
In the first post there is all the info that i think is relevant, including the fee. I'm not here to rip anyone off, and like you i don't think that Bryce was telling that.
Till this moment, no one contacted me for any service. You know, past christmas.... LOL
Regards
Quote from: arnoldemu on 16:59, 13 January 11
Cleaning the power switch fixed 2 of my cpcs.
Please can you tell me how you did this?
Had a search and couldn't find anything.
Quote from: redbox on 17:40, 13 January 11
Please can you tell me how you did this?
Had a search and couldn't find anything.
This is for a CPC (6128 in my case):
1. I turned over computer and removed all screws
2. turned it back over, lifted the case carefully and carefully removed the keyboard connector (cpcs).
3. then locate the power switch. On cpc464 it is screwed in. On 6128 it is just held in place by tabs in the plastic case.
In both cases there are 2 wires and a connector to the main board. Once removed the mainboard has a connector with 2 pins on it. Clean this gently with sandpaper, you could also check it is held in the pcb by wiggling it a bit, and if it's not, turn the board over and re-solder it's connections.
You could also try resoldering the wires onto the back of the switch.
3. Remove connector from main board (unscrew switch on cpc464) and lift the switch out.
4. looking at the switch you will see it has a black metal bracket which goes around the sliding part, and over the back. it has 2 clips on each side that bend over and grip onto the body of the switch.
using a flat head screw driver (thin head), gently insert and twist between the tab and the body of the switch so that the tabs bend outwards enough to not hold onto the switch.
5. you should then be able to use the screw driver to prise it away from the front of the switch. by putting the screwdriver between the front flat piece (where the slider is) and the body of the switch.
Watch out because some bits will fall out ;)
6. when you remove this part you will now have:
a. the metal bracket thing you just removed.
b. the slider (has a plastic peg on one end, some grease and a small spring).
c. the body of the switch (has the wires comming from it)
there is a thin metal piece inside the switch, it has two "notches" near the middle on both sides of it. This positions it within one of the contacts.
after removal there will be 2 contacts inside the switch itself. one is circular, the other stands up. the metal piece you removed just sits on these and the plastic peg on the sliding part moves over it to make and break the connection.
7. using some sandpaper clean both connectors inside the switch (folding the sandpaper to make two rough sides worked well). gently clean the connectors by rubbing them with sandpaper. it is important to make these shiny and clean. you may need to use wd40 to clean them up. (or other thin spray based penetrating oil).
8. then clean the underside of the metal piece (with the notches), you may see where it actually makes contact with the parts inside the switch, so clean these bits.
9. once done carefully drop this back into the switch body, making sure it sits correctly on the contacts.
10. Now put the sliding part back in and hold it gently against the metal part and put the bracket over the top.
11. the tabs can be squeezed back to make them hold again, using some pliers or similar.
12. once done connect it back up to the pcb and test it.
It is possible cleaning it will not make a difference; I found this with one switch and after replacing it (with a spare I had), it then worked great.
generally the switch needs cleaning if the cpc just doesn't switch on (led is off), or it doesn't always switch on when you try it, or perhaps touching or knocking the switch while it is on will cause it to turn off or crash.
The other things to check are the power connectors, here it's not so easy to clean.
you could try some sandpaper in the case where the connector has a pin in the centre, or perhaps use some wd40 and some cotton buds, but getting into it is not easy.
you could also resolder it's connections.
If you find the power cable is loose and the computer will turn on/off or crash if you wiggle it, then look at this.
One thing I did find is that the expansion and disc drive connectors get dirty and any plugged in expansions will be unreliable (crashing when connected, roms startup message not appearing)
cleaning the connection with an eraser or similar worked ok if the connector was a little dirty, but using cotton wool buds and some baby wipes, then drying it and using an eraser worked a lot if the connections were really dirty/dusty. (e.g. from storing the computer in an attic room ;) ).
Thank you for such a comprehensive explanation.
Can't wait to get inside and clean mine up!
Quote from: redbox on 18:48, 13 January 11
Thank you for such a comprehensive explanation.
Can't wait to get inside and clean mine up!
np. I did make some photos, but they just ended up being far too blurry to be useful.
When you're taking pictures of PCBs and bits of computers you should:
1) Always use a tripod - Avoids blurred pictures.
2) Turn off the flash and use very bright room lights - Avoids over exposure and nasty reflections.
3) Don't take the picture up close, place the camera further away and zoom in on the object - Avoids shadows.
4) Always take the pictures at a slight angle - Also reduces reflections.
If you are taking a picture of a CRT, spray it with hairspray first to avoid reflections, but don't do this on an LCD / TFT because you'll never get it off again. Only glass screens should be coated like this.
I usually take 2 or 3 pictures of ever bit, because you'll always get bad pictures in between.
Bryce.
1. Not everyone has one :) Plus, we usually shoot hardware from above, with the subject lying on the floor/bed/desk/toilet seat/whatever. So it's not always possible to use it even if you have it!
2. If you go for ambient light then you should check your colour temperatures. But yes, flash looks awful on everything, unless you use a diffuser (easy to make by yourself with some rice paper maybe)
3. You're right about the shadows, but there's another problem with close shots - and far shots with zoom, as well: distortion of geometry. The best thing is to use a high-megapixel camera from a certain distance and then crop it. This minimizes both shadows and geometry problems.
4.Right on!
I used to take photos on sunny afternoons, placing the piece of hardware right next to my balcony door, then shooting from above. No shadows, plenty of natural, smooth light, neutral temperature, good geometry.
Quote from: Bryce on 11:10, 14 January 11
When you're taking pictures of PCBs and bits of computers you should:
1) Always use a tripod - Avoids blurred pictures.
2) Turn off the flash and use very bright room lights - Avoids over exposure and nasty reflections.
3) Don't take the picture up close, place the camera further away and zoom in on the object - Avoids shadows.
4) Always take the pictures at a slight angle - Also reduces reflections.
If you are taking a picture of a CRT, spray it with hairspray first to avoid reflections, but don't do this on an LCD / TFT because you'll never get it off again. Only glass screens should be coated like this.
I usually take 2 or 3 pictures of ever bit, because you'll always get bad pictures in between.
Bryce.
thanks. I did everything wrong! that explains it. I hold it and take loads of pictures and pick the best. So I am lucky I get some results.
Quote from: Gryzor on 12:03, 14 January 11
I used to take photos on sunny afternoons, placing the piece of hardware right next to my balcony door, then shooting from above. No shadows, plenty of natural, smooth light, neutral temperature, good geometry.
Works well in Greece. Not so well in Northern Europe... ;)
Hahaha :D You got a point there!
@retrorepair, while I would be reluctant to send my computer abroad for repair (if it was broken), I might be tempted if you could upgrade a 464plus to a 6128plus by adding 64k ram and floppy disk controller components, even better would be if you offered a kit of parts so I could do it myself.
Thanks.
I have a CPC 464 with a broken 1 key, so I am thinking of stripping it down and selling it as spare parts, so if you need any part send me a PM and I will see if I can help.
I do not intend to remove any chips except the rom (maybe), so the circuit board will be sold as a complete and working board.
Either I sell the keyboard whole with one broken key or I sell the keyswitches, tops and membrane separately.
The cassette mechanism and its circuit board may be sold as a complete unit, or I may sell the operating buttons separately.
The upper and lower sections of the case will be available separately, with or without cassette lid is undecided.
I won't know about prices until I know what people want from it.
So if you need any bits for your CPC 464 let me know please, and we can discuss it.
Why would you bother removing the ROM? It probably won't survive the "operation" and the image is available online, so you can burn it to a new EPROM anytime you like.
Bryce.
The rom is in a socket and someone might want it.
Also, I might need the rom to put in my Nascom when I get it working again, to make it CPC compatible.
Oh, ok, the ROMs in mine are all soldered in except in one, where I replaced it with a socket myself.
Bryce.
Hey people,
I have found my old amstrad cpc464 and wanted to check if it is working properly and also have a bit of the rivival with the Barbarian game that I found (I haven't played it since I was about 6 - I'm 25 now! lol). Everything was fine until I found that the play button no longer works. The rewind and forward buttons work fine as does the eject/stop button but nothing happens when I press play. Has anyone got any ideas on how this can be fixed? Does anyone know a DIY way at all?
Cheers
Hi Sara,
If I remember correctly the tape motor won't start until you type RUN" and then press a key (I think, it's been a few years).
Have a look at the guide below to see if it helps:
http://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/A_guide_to_running_software_on_a_real_Amstrad_CPC/CPC%2B_computer (http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/../index.php/A_guide_to_running_software_on_a_real_Amstrad_CPC/CPC%2B_computer)
welcome Sara!
Please follow the instructions for loading from the link.
What you should see:
RUN"
Press PLAY then any key
After pressing a key you will hear a click which is the tape motor switching on. The tape should turn.
If you turn the volume to maximum (on the cpc464) you then should be able to hear the loading sound.
It should give a response like "Loading xxxx block 1".
If there is a problem, it may give "Read error a" or "Read error b" or show nothing.
Please update us with your progress and then we can help you more if there are problems.
Hi Sara and Welcome.
The others have it pretty much covered and hopefully that's all it is, sadly if your doing that and the thing still isn't working finding a replacement part maybe tricky. Back in it's day we had to get one of the main components replaced cause the tape wasn't winding through properly and back then it was a costly exercise! :( (We could tell it wasn't working like it should cause the tape was speeding up and slowing down). Fortunately though Tape Decks are funny things and read errors can mean any number of things.
Other options available are:
1. buying and fitting a replacement tape belt (available on ebay uk)
2. cleaning the heads and adjusting the azimuth screw (simple job)
3. giving up on the tape, and soldering your own connector on, and somehow getting the sound into it (either via a pc's sound card or another way).
The disc - drive from my CPC 6128 doesn't work anymore. I changed the drive belt and after a few hours it simply stopped reading discs, right in the middle of loading "Hanse" (original disc).
I guess that could be a calibration error or something with the read/write head, so without the right equippment one won't be able to fix it (got the repair manual, and I don't even know some of the devices required).
On the other hand: instead of sending the drive around the world I can also buy a few 664s or 6128s and hope there are working drives in them. But in the long shot (ok, it is quite long already considering the release date of the 6128, but I guess it will get even longer :D) there will be people needed who can make failing parts work again, in order to keep the machines alive.
Have you inspected the drive-belt since it failed? Sometimes they fall off after a while if they are slightly off line, or if the wheels weren't cleaned completely.
Bryce.
I guess I'll look into that. Probably should have gotten to this idea myself, thank you :)
Quote from: arnoldemu on 11:43, 19 May 11
Other options available are:
1. buying and fitting a replacement tape belt (available on ebay uk)
2. cleaning the heads and adjusting the azimuth screw (simple job)
3. giving up on the tape, and soldering your own connector on, and somehow getting the sound into it (either via a pc's sound card or another way).
Please can you tell me what is the azimuth screw and where are the heads?? I'm a novice
Thanks :)
If you press play on the tape deck with the lid open, you'll see the tape head move forward. Left and right of the head are two small screws. The left one is the Azimuth screw. Turning this adjusts the height of the head. Don't touch it if your deck is loading tapes ok.
Bryce.
@Lynwen, the trade-in post, if they are still trading, also list 464 head alignment kits.
Actually the machine case has a very handy hole through which you can use a small screwdriver to adjust it. Not for the faint of heart, though; back in the day I had learned to align the tape by the sound of it (and I had to realign it depending on the game I was runnin - Capcom games were the most difficult to get right!), but there are also great azimuth kits appearing every now and then on eBay.
Quote from: steve on 21:00, 02 February 13
@Lynwen, the trade-in post, if they are still trading, also list 464 head alignment kits.
I'll give them a call tomorrow thanks!
Hi there,
I might need your help here,
I have CPC 464 mother board MC0044A
I was using it lastnight and it froze on me. I turned the unit on/off. Now everytime i turn the unit on, a grey box appears on screen instead of the normal boot screen. I ordered a new Z80 chip in the hope this fixs the problem? any help would be grateful.
Noooo! Not another "spontaneous" CPC death!
I'm wondering if this is because people are using unregulated power bricks instead of regulated ones. I guess there might be a market to make a regulated adaptor that takes a random cheap 9V supply, shoves it through a diode and 7805 and plugs into the CPC!
Almost all "power bricks" are regulated these days. I'd be suprised if anyone still uses and old unregulated one. Or do you mean those cheap and nasty multi-voltage ones? I definitely would recommend using one of those on a CPC. Unlike other 8-bit computers, the regulator was in the monitor and not the computer, so you've no idea exactly how much voltage your CPC is really getting.
Bryce.
Quote from: Bryce on 11:15, 07 February 13
Or do you mean those cheap and nasty multi-voltage ones? I definitely would recommend using one of those on a CPC.
Oh? Well I guess if it's the best thing for it then I should...
[attach=2]
Fine for a spectrum or even your SG-1000, but keep it away from your CPCs.
Bryce.
I hundreds of Amstrad components to sell. All of them have from the official Amstrad Service centre run by COMPASS in the uk in the 1980s.
I note you do not sell the parts ...are you interested in the bulk purchase ?
Good morning mate, sent you a PM... :)
Hi,
Been a while since i don't come over here...
Well now i'm back! No, no Arnold "The Terminator" :)
Last Friday, i received an GX4000 to repair from UK.
User as told me that the problem is that there is no picture throught SCART.
Later i'll update with the development of the repair, and with some pictures.
Greetings,
Retrorepair
Quote from: Gryzor on 08:25, 06 March 13
Good morning mate, sent you a PM... :)
Hi Gryzor,
I didn't received any PM from you...
Greetings,
Retrorepair
Hi all,
Another GX4000 saved from the dead....
When i have the time, i'll update this post!
Greetings,
Retrorepair
Looking forward to when it arrives, thank you.
Hello the GX4000 PCB still has not arrived back to me yet, can you give me time when it will be sent or when it was sent and by which courier?
Still waiting for the PCB back from this person, I have sent the money and it was collected I can only assume something bad has happened in their life as they have not responded to the PMs.
Still no reply and still waiting
Dear Amstrad Repair I am still waiting for the GX4000 PCB to be sent back, it has been over 3 months now and I received confirmation that you did pick up the money from Western Union.
I am writing this message here because you have not replied to any of my PMS.
Please let me now what has happened.
The last time retrorepair logged in here was: 2013-05-31, 20:26:27
Well, IMHO you should try email / telephone or something else. He probably is just very busy.
Just sent another PM , I do not have the telephone number nor the email address.
PM me, I can give you his email since he disappeared... though you should probably have established email communication before sending him anything, and have gotten his details.
I did all that.
Ah damn.
Written it off now got enough Pluses and a GX4000 so on that front now worries, bit sore about losing 70 euros but lessons learnt.
It's a real shame when things like this happen, on the whole most people I've come across on the retro scene are very trustworthy and incredibly helpful.
If that's the case, then we should lock this thread and "un-sticky" it, with a warning to others not to send anything to him.
Bryce.
well it could be some personal tragedy has overtaken him who knows.
Of course it could, but that's also a reason not to send anything to him.
Bryce.
Kudos to 1000 Liked.... Bryce is right, get that sticky off!
Ooh missed the 1000th Like! Yeah man! :D
Also, you could unsticky it yourself (should retract one Like, but you'd still have 1000 by now).
Ok, removing sticky and inserting warning in first post.
I didn't want to unsticky it without at least a few others confirming that they also think it should be done.
Thanks. TFM actually gave me the 1000th :)
Bryce.
[ot]Now imagine, if you decided to pick up FPGA design you would get to 1500 within a day or so :D[/ot]
Quote from: Gryzor on 18:35, 10 November 13
[ot]Now imagine, if you decided to pick up FPGA design you would get to 1500 within a day or so :D [/ot]
My FPGA programming skills aren't all that good. I'll leave those type of projects to people like Ralferoo who knows what he's doing :)
Bryce.