Hi all,
My name is Andy and I'm a long time gamer but relatively new to vintage computer repair. My soldering skills are basic, my repair and diagnostic skills are non-existent.
A few years ago I rescued an Amiga 4000 that was about to be skipped (I know right?). It was cosmetically in reasonable condition, but the PCB was suffering from corrosion around the battery. I removed the battery and sent the board to be cleaned and recapped. The company that recapped it didn't follow my instructions to try and remove the corrosion, so I've been left with a board that seems to work but is clearly going to continue degrading.
I really don't know what to do next. I've attached some pictures to give you an idea. I want to be able to use the Amiga 4000 regularly for the long term, I don't want to continually be tearing it apart and fixing the next broken trace. I also don't want to throw money at repairing a board that is ultimately doomed.
I know it's possible to transplant the chips into a new PCB, but this work (and associated diagnostics) are WAY beyond my current skill level.
So what should I do? I really want to save the machine, cost isn't too much of an issue, but I also don't want to waste money. I really just want to be able to hand this to someone and get a new board back, but not sure if that is realistic or the right thing to do.
Any recommendations or help appreciated!
Andy.
My name is Andy and I'm a long time gamer but relatively new to vintage computer repair. My soldering skills are basic, my repair and diagnostic skills are non-existent.
A few years ago I rescued an Amiga 4000 that was about to be skipped (I know right?). It was cosmetically in reasonable condition, but the PCB was suffering from corrosion around the battery. I removed the battery and sent the board to be cleaned and recapped. The company that recapped it didn't follow my instructions to try and remove the corrosion, so I've been left with a board that seems to work but is clearly going to continue degrading.
I really don't know what to do next. I've attached some pictures to give you an idea. I want to be able to use the Amiga 4000 regularly for the long term, I don't want to continually be tearing it apart and fixing the next broken trace. I also don't want to throw money at repairing a board that is ultimately doomed.
I know it's possible to transplant the chips into a new PCB, but this work (and associated diagnostics) are WAY beyond my current skill level.
So what should I do? I really want to save the machine, cost isn't too much of an issue, but I also don't want to waste money. I really just want to be able to hand this to someone and get a new board back, but not sure if that is realistic or the right thing to do.
Any recommendations or help appreciated!
Andy.
