Bit of a tip for stubborn sticky glue residue, bicarb and coconut oil! Combine the two separately and apply as a paste, works amazingly well! I've used it lots for getting glue off Jars from labels etc.
We have a hero in our midst, great to see you here Chris. If you're ever interested in an interview to talk about the old times I'm sure the channel would love to hear from you, let me know.
A hero! Very kind of you to say so. Seems a whole universe away now - game production nowadays needs a cast of thousands. I was always a hired hand, the guys putting in the hard work were the coders and graphics designers...
Mr Glaister, this little piece of music of yours is timeless. I can't say how long it has been since I heard it last but it was immediately recognized. Never did manage to get back to base...
OMG. I was so disappointed to discover part 4 isn't out yet. Your chapter breaks are perfect. I watched all 3 parts with such anticipation. My wife was laughing at me as I'm talking back to the video...."did he even try to reseat the chips first?" LOL!
+David Bertsch hah sorry to put you through that David. There's an aweful lot of troubleshooting that went on filming this and I try to balance the entertainment with the techy bits without repeating things present in 100 other YT videos where possible. Part 4 was nearly finished when Mrs ManCave got me a lighting rig for my birthday so... to give you the final part in all it's glory I started filming again. Should be with you this week. Thanks for watching and sorry to your wife :)
Nice to see how other people are cleaning their computers. I usually use plastic polish, but baking soda sounds easy to rinse when going in to the ridges
My father got me a 500 when i was about 12 years old. he had already got an external 3.5 inch drive and the memory upgrade for it. Really didn't realise how lucky I was.
Awwww...damn! I have to wait to see?!?!?! I had two of these babies null modem'd together back in the '90's for earliest possible multiplayer(albeit head-to-head). I can't wait to see your results! Love the thoroughness of restoration!
Quick tip: When using spray paints its always best to try and use a sweeping motion with one continuous spray, as opposed to short, still bursts as you did on the RF shield. Start spraying just before you get to what you're painting and continue it off the other side. This prevents uneven build up of paint, stops spattering and gives a very smooth, even finish. You will also use less paint overall. Source: I'm a mechanical engineer/fabricator who often uses spray paint at work.
No worries. I'm a new subscriber (UA-cam's suggestions actually offered me something relevant for once!) and happy to offer advice at the (rare) times that I have some knowledge to share!
For the visible back section of the metal shield, I would have suggested a product called Autosol. An automotive metal polishing compound. (Comes in a tube like toothpaste) Use that and a dremal tool with the buff wheel, would have bought that metal up to a, better than new, polished mirror finished chrome effect. 👍
hoffmachine thanks, I did look into that as well as using Brasso, but wasn't confident the tin would take as well as nickel or orther metals, and its wafer thin so went with a spray. I have sourced a spare shield though for more experimenting
Thanks for this, I remember the A500 days, I still have a Amiga PSU and joysticks that my father left when he passed away, also a c64 1541 drive, c2n cassette decks etc. Looking forward to pt 4 of this project, well done, I wouldn't of had a clue where to start on reviving this iconic machine.
Thanks for the quick reply! Actually it is not that dirt, so may be I can go without the "scary" party of using the de-ionised water... 😉 I'll let you know how it went, thanks!
I just did my 500 a few months ago but went for a dual tube UV light. I fitted mounting brackets under the kitchen unit so I can use the kitchen bench when everyone`s asleep. I get up early and remove my work before the Mrs kicks off next morning. Brilliant results with 500, 600 and 1200 and even a tarnished Dreamcast. Not sure what the neighbours must think or potential burglars to a purple lit kitchen......great videos!
RetroManCave just search beamz uv fluorescent light on fleabay. They are popular at halloween and dj's apparently like the look lol. Under £20 and no more weather or marbling due to moving sun problems.
Retrobox Doesn't sound like the peroxide requires any scary UV wavelengths then. That's good. (So, it's not as if you need EPROM Eraser type tubes, which are quite hazardous. lol)
Standard UV strip light, amazon, ebay, don`t need dual. I used an old cardboard tray which had a large number of well known doughnuts in, covered its base and sides with foil for optimum side wall reflection. On Amazon i got 1000ml of Truzone Cream Peroxide 12%40 vol as a starter and have decided its fine, not too strong. Applied the cream with a 2" brush and covered in extra wide cling film. I went to bed and next day felt like the shoemaker after the elves had been, rinsed it off and smiled gleefully, science is great!
Retrobox Nice. ;) Did you see the "8-bit guy" vid on using liquid peroxide and heat too? Looks like a good way to get even coverage, and I don't even think it requires UV, just heat (and a bit of time)?
Just an excellent series. I wish I still had mine instead of the Mac Mini I'm using. Deluxe Paint did something that even today paint programs still cannot do. And I'm proud to say that I've still got all my old artwork. Cheers, RetroMan.
Nice. You got me to wondering if my A3000T still worked, so I hit the power switch for the first time in years and it powered right up. My LCD monitor wasn't too happy with it unfortunately. Last time I had it powered up I still had a CRT monitor.
Great videos and impeccable attention to detail. I've got an a500 and a1200 from my childhood that I started to refurbish many years ago but nowhere near as detailed, thanks for all the excellent instructions and techniques
Hi. Was just watching this and saw you had problems getting rid of a stubborn security sticker. My top tip for these and nearly all sticky labels and residues is Muck Off Bio Degreaser. You get it in a bike store for cleaning the chain etc... Best thing is it's biodegradable. I've used it so many times! Give it a go :)
I'm just as keen as you to get this finished so I can play some games, I'm looking into UV lights to help in future. On the plus side, you can have a whole episode to show it off rather than a montage at the end so hopefully you don't mind waiting a little longer
RetroManCave "8-bit keys" / "8 bit guy" recently did a vid where he tried all sorts of methods for retrobrighting. It turns out that peroxide works just as well with heat as it does with sunlight / UV. :o That was with the clear liquid "developer fluid" peroxide though, and you obviously need a container large enough for the case pieces, especially the A500. lol He also tried a lot of the alternative methods, but they didn't fair too well. I have heard a few horror stories about retrobrighting making plastics seriously brittle after a while, but I'm not sure if that happens often? It's supposedly because the emolients in the plastic (might) get leached out by the peroxide, so the plastic is no longer as flexible?
Hey, yes I saw that video, and I have had success using a heat lamp in small areas but it's not practical for something as big as a case. I conceded to the weather yesterday and got strip black light which gives off a little heat as well as light obviously. It does seem to be working well. When there is a bit of sunshine I'm a patient man and don't mind 3-4 sessions to get it done low and slow, but now winter is coming it's much harder to work with just peroxide and room temperature. Nearly there.
Bringing back memories. If you ever feel inclined, I have a Amiga 1200 (With HD and daughter board) and a CD 32 around in the loft somewhere (Not sure if in working condition as its been so long). I'm never likely going to use them again as Amiga Forever makes it much easier now-a-days ;-)
just a suggestion. I took a course on cleaning electronics and VCR's. They suggest not using q-tips, but using electronics cleaning swabs. also couldn't you have used a conductive metal spray paint? as the shielding serves a conductive grounding function?
Keep up the great series! a great idea i have used myself is when painting metallicpaints, prime using black vs grey to make the final product pop even more
Oh the tease! Will catch up with the finished product around July next year when there's been enough British sunshine to RetroBright ;-) BTW, when spraying that shield you just need to spray in light coats from side to side to get more even coverage - up and down not so good for finish (although it is only the RF shield after all so I forgive you!)
Wise choice - I assume you would unwrap and wash down the plastics if you have any more than a few hours delay to the process? I'm considering trying this on my VERY yellowed Dreamcast
Yeah I like to do several short stints rather than leaving it out in one go just to check on its progress and ensure it isn't marbling. Also give it a rub every 15 mins or so to spread the peroxide around and check it hasn't dried out. There's a vid on my channel which covers it a bit more
Really good series. I love the Amiga and your care and attention you have lavished on this one really shines through. Looking forward to the last part. If you could showcase It Came From The Desert that would be flippin' awesome!
Great choice I love those old Cinemaware titles. As I haven't had an Amiga for...25 years I'm limited to the games I bought with it. I did order a Gotek though to review. So I'll showcase it with what I've got to hand (Canon Fodder, Lotus, Body Blows etc) and I'll get some of those Cinemaware titles on an SD Card for the Gotek review for you
Oh that was great ”were looking at you mr CNC” and previous comments also. I was already thinking how much this plate would cost if i draw it and quote it from our supplier what we use. I just bought also A500 what i want to restore so good i can. Thank you for these videos!
I've had very good results from washing pcb in a mild solution of water and washing liquid and then fully rinsing in deionised water to remove and deposits from tap water. They come out sparkling. I remove and socketed chips first and then let the board to fully dry.
Sounds interesting, I might try that if I get a really filthy one but I'd probably go with using the car shampoo I use on the plastics so as not to add any of the dish washing salt to the board. I'm sure that's fine though with a good rinse afterwards, and a hell of a lot better than dirt!
Ah, fresh lemon juice. That shouldn't be too difficult, since I just have to walk outside and pick those lemons from the neighbours' trees that hang over the boundary wall. One of the advantages of living in the Mediterranean.
Just so you know that the RF shield was not made on an CNC milling machine. It is a thin sheet of plated steel if I'm not mistaken; which I am sure I am not. I have been in electronics manufacturing and repair. That part started out as a flat sheet of thin steel, next the cut outs for all the empty places ( Plug in port access openings and all other cuts) are made with a CNC punch press, and all the bends were made with a CNC break press ( or press break however you prefer to call it ). After all this it was plated and ready for installation.
+Paul Lang thanks Paul. It sounds like a pretty cheap process with the right machine and coordinates dialled in. Do you have any old contacts who might have access to help us create some new ones?
Looks good. I would suggest a rust converter such as ospho followed by a spraying the entire shield with a rust prevention primer (I think it would look good in black) If done right the shield will not rerust and should outlast the rest of the machine.
Interesting idea. I might pickup a beaten up shield on ebay and have a play with the entire respray idea. I wonder how much it would cost to send a CNC design to one of those online cutting services and get some made up.
That's not Moss's voice! I recently watched big engineers diverting a small river and building a deep weir. Fascinating. I know even less about computers - this was equally fascinating - maybe more. Such excellent camera work, commentary and explanations. Maybe up the pace? I'll be watching more.
Two things: The RF shield is completely pointless. It's just there so the machine passes conformance tests, verifying that it wont emit RF that would interfere with other devices in the vicinity. And if you intend to brush alcohol on circuits (which is fine), make sure to use a brush with conductive bristles, as otherwise you're building up a static charge which might damage ICs on the board. It's unlikely to do any damage to components on a PCB because the traces will help dissipate it somewhat, but there is a chance...
I don't understand why anyone would click dislike, any way, nice job! I have two of these machines, one that runs and could do with this type of clean up and one I purchased and never took out of it's box, even has the original T shirt that came in the box, bit worried about the onboard battery now that you mention it. I am actually more of an Atari! But do have most computers and consoles from around this period.
I'm sure I remember doing zinc electro-plating at home as part of an old chemistry set when I was a kid.... Was it zinc sulphate and an acid of some kind? Not sure now - but there's sure to be kits available online.
It's something I want to look into and experiment with for sure. I think the RF shielding on the Amiga is Tin plated, so I'm not sure how well Nickel or other options would take to it. Needs some research I think and a possible episode.
You could perhaps do a bodge tin plating by first plating with copper (which is very easy) and then coating the copper with solder. I think it would probably look terrible though :)
+retrocaveman, Thanks for these amazing videos. I'm prepping to clean an Amiga 500 motherboard. I'll follow your video here part.3... just to be sure as I'm totally newbie... any particular attention to the board and its components, processors, etc, before rinsing with de-ionised water? Anything I need to remove or do before? Thanks in advance
Hey thanks Pedro. Well it depends how dirty the board is. Most are fine with a brush down and then a clean with IPA. Only wash it down if it's really dirty and you can't clean it with other methods.
HI loved watching old amiga come back to life ,had a 500 plus back in the day ,btw you need some one who works in a stainless steel plant with a punch machine or lazer and bending machines to make new rf shielding ,hard part is making the cad drawing of a flat rf shield the rest is easy ,good luck :)
I was wondering. Can you put those "dirty" plastics (or even PCB) to a dishwasher? Some of them allow to bring temperature down to 45C so it won't be issue I guess?
Must dig mine out from the loft. Would DIY nickel electroplating be a way to restore the RF shield? Just in case mine is rusty too. Hope the memories expansion battery hasn't leaked 😱
You may be able to zinc plate that RF shield at home. Probably won't be as shiny as the original but will prevent it from rusting. Never tried it myself but you can get kits for about £60. Your method is a lot cheaper though!
This is something I want to explore, and perhaps make an episode on, I'm secretly hoping though that someone will watch this episode and go "I have a CNC machine, I love Amigas" and bash out lots of new ones for us all :) A man can dream huh
I understand the weather situation perfectly - in St Petesrburg, Russia the sun appears only on holidays too :) There is info that hydrogen peroxide does not need UF exposure to react, just heating. 8bitguy did successful retrobrighting in huge plastic black box heated by the sun, and even completely in darkness - in oven. May be you could go on with experimenting? Boiling water + liquid HP mixture could work, may be... Or something like that. At least someone must come up with something for this weather!
I like the idea of experimenting some more to find alternative techniques. I won't experiment with the Amiga but certainly in the future. Until then, Nostrovia!
Boiling stuff sounds harsh, even if the boiling heat did the trick for 8bitguy. Why not just try put the retrobrighting parts under a heat lamp? Heat can be controlled with distance from the lamp, and lamps like that are fairly cheap and readily available. I'm not sure if a hydrogen peroxide liquid bath is more efficient than the gel/cream in this application, but both could be tried. Can't see why it shouldn't work, and it should be easier to control than with the harsh treatment of boiling temperatures.
Nice video!...Consider using a cheap LED UV light for whitening. It's effective and the sun heat problem is avoided. I use it during 3-4 days with excellent results.
Do you have any plans or is it a matter of reverse engineering for that rusty shield? And It would not only involve CNC but also bending. CNC cut flat profile ( mill/waterjet or laser cut it including bending allowance ) and then bend it to final shape. Nothing fancy but need a brake press to finish it.
No, I discussed it with a few people but am leaving it. I now have a DF0 switcher to use a gotek externally and the height of that would touch the shield so I'm better of without it.
+Jonathan Pearce thanks for the tip. I wanted to be careful with the tin shield as even fingerprints from a previous owner had tarnished it. I read somewhere that phospheric acid can turn the tin black. In the long term I'd like to source or create a replacement part that isn't tin. I'm talking to an automotive designer friend about possible options.
Yes, it might turn the plating black, but it will stabilise exposed rusty steel. It's best used as a pre-undercoat stage for painting. Good luck with that.
we build a PC inside one of these cases and used the RF shied even, just sand blasted it with a sandblaster from harbor freight, Also a great cleaner is homemade silly putty(water wwhite glue and borax) works amazing!!!
Sounds like fun, do you have a link to the sandblaster? It seems very thin to sandblast I'm assuming you put something behind it to reinforce it and stop it bending?
www.harborfreight.com/21-oz-hopper-gravity-feed-spot-blaster-gun-95793.html and, not a big deal, we actually used walnut shells because he had a bag of that for another project and it would do the job(ground wallnut shells are a great abrasive) you dont gotta hit it with much to remove the rust in my exp, one trick to prevent rust on them that works pretty well is heating the metal with a heat gun and applying wax then wipe off with cotton cloth quicky, trick i learned at a job i had, we did it to several parts to stop corrosion because the geese we used was not 100% effective.. another option is finding somebody with a lazer de-ruster( look it up on here, i think it could do the trick to remove the rust as well, hell if you got the coin, you could buy a chinese model and rent out your services, and reinvest in more cool stuff, perhaps one of the last amigas they made, i really wish they would just crowed fund bringing amiga's back, even if it was just an amiga os for the pc platform and they sold a platform they guaranteed to work.... and with an emulator that would let people play and use ole amiga software/games perhaps even a usb amiga branded floppy disk drive... so people could read their old games/apps....(bet you there would even be a small trade in old games like that, and even new stuff that fit on that format...)
+petti78 indeed that's what the quote was for I mention. Too expensive for me I'm afraid. It would need to adhere to tin whatever the solution. I think a batch of new stainless steel ones would work out cheaper if enough people were interested
Sure, a chinese fab should punch out new ones almost for free as long as you can make a large enough series to justify the design cost I imagine. Electroplating should be a DIY thing though. Just some DC and cheap chemicals and a suitable donor material if you find the right metals to use.
I was wondering if some UV leds setup, wouldn;t do better job than sun .. You can have them set up more evenly from each side, and you don't have to depend on weather. Of course, this is just a theory .
It's a good one, and heat plays as much a part as anything. I bought a UV strip light this week and the Amiga is very nearly finished. The weather is still overcast so I gave up on the natural method. Hopefully I can get it filmed and finished this weekend to show you.
Now I remember you! I follow you for years now but then you stopped posting for years 😀 glad you're back
Hey thanks! Glad you're still with me :D
Bit of a tip for stubborn sticky glue residue, bicarb and coconut oil! Combine the two separately and apply as a paste, works amazingly well! I've used it lots for getting glue off Jars from labels etc.
+Slush O'Saur thats going in the tip book thank you
Every time I see someone spraying any liquids on a PCB I get shivers down my spine. Even when it's safe. And then you pour a glass of water onto it!
You're like a electronics taxidermist. Excellent work bringing that dead machine back to life!
This series has made me salvage two Amiga 500's. Love watching this channel.
Always fun to hear my old tune crop up on a restoration vid. :) 6:29
We have a hero in our midst, great to see you here Chris. If you're ever interested in an interview to talk about the old times I'm sure the channel would love to hear from you, let me know.
A hero! Very kind of you to say so. Seems a whole universe away now - game production nowadays needs a cast of thousands. I was always a hired hand, the guys putting in the hard work were the coders and graphics designers...
Mr Glaister, this little piece of music of yours is timeless. I can't say how long it has been since I heard it last but it was immediately recognized.
Never did manage to get back to base...
Resting frequently was the key, apparently. I never did get a copy of the game at the time.
Chris Glaister what game is it from? I too recognise it but no one has said what it was....
Excellent footage, editing and timing. The voice over and complementary music is spot-on! Great work!
OMG. I was so disappointed to discover part 4 isn't out yet. Your chapter breaks are perfect. I watched all 3 parts with such anticipation. My wife was laughing at me as I'm talking back to the video...."did he even try to reseat the chips first?" LOL!
+David Bertsch hah sorry to put you through that David. There's an aweful lot of troubleshooting that went on filming this and I try to balance the entertainment with the techy bits without repeating things present in 100 other YT videos where possible. Part 4 was nearly finished when Mrs ManCave got me a lighting rig for my birthday so... to give you the final part in all it's glory I started filming again. Should be with you this week. Thanks for watching and sorry to your wife :)
Nice to see how other people are cleaning their computers. I usually use plastic polish, but baking soda sounds easy to rinse when going in to the ridges
"Am i the last romantic millennial?" I LOLed hard at that bit :-)
Cool! I didn’t know that old yellowed plastic cases could be whitened. That's a great restoration job you did on that Amiga.
My father got me a 500 when i was about 12 years old. he had already got an external 3.5 inch drive and the memory upgrade for it. Really didn't realise how lucky I was.
Awwww...damn! I have to wait to see?!?!?! I had two of these babies null modem'd together back in the '90's for earliest possible multiplayer(albeit head-to-head). I can't wait to see your results! Love the thoroughness of restoration!
"I don't have grime, just a beautiful chassis". Buy the all new 2-in-1 'Case and Shoulders', available from your local chemist.
Found you a few weeks ago and have already been hooked up. Love your calm way of showing your love for old hardware.
Thanks Marcel, great to have you on board
Quick tip:
When using spray paints its always best to try and use a sweeping motion with one continuous spray, as opposed to short, still bursts as you did on the RF shield. Start spraying just before you get to what you're painting and continue it off the other side.
This prevents uneven build up of paint, stops spattering and gives a very smooth, even finish. You will also use less paint overall.
Source: I'm a mechanical engineer/fabricator who often uses spray paint at work.
+Dan Xepha nice tip thank you sir
No worries. I'm a new subscriber (UA-cam's suggestions actually offered me something relevant for once!) and happy to offer advice at the (rare) times that I have some knowledge to share!
restoring an amiga , and having "The Lost Patrol" soundtrack playing sometime in the back , ahhhh What else !
great videos man. tks
For the visible back section of the metal shield, I would have suggested a product called Autosol. An automotive metal polishing compound. (Comes in a tube like toothpaste)
Use that and a dremal tool with the buff wheel, would have bought that metal up to a, better than new, polished mirror finished chrome effect. 👍
hoffmachine thanks, I did look into that as well as using Brasso, but wasn't confident the tin would take as well as nickel or orther metals, and its wafer thin so went with a spray. I have sourced a spare shield though for more experimenting
Gotta love the British weather ;)
Nice video! Contrary to what you said, not boring at all.
Thanks for this, I remember the A500 days, I still have a Amiga PSU and joysticks that my father left when he passed away, also a c64 1541 drive, c2n cassette decks etc. Looking forward to pt 4 of this project, well done, I wouldn't of had a clue where to start on reviving this iconic machine.
I'm late to the party, just wanted to say I love the Amiga Trash to Treasure series. =)
Good job!
Thanks! She's still going strong and providing hours of fun. Glad you enjoyed the series. You might also enjoy my CD32 and Amiga 1500 restorations
Ah, really liked the Lost Patrol-musi at 6:20, brings back memories…
I had the same emotion. I spend hours and hours with that music.
Thanks for the quick reply! Actually it is not that dirt, so may be I can go without the "scary" party of using the de-ionised water... 😉 I'll let you know how it went, thanks!
Sounds sensible. Good luck!
Baby oil can be pretty effective at removing sticky stuff too, also try applying sparingly to black plastics etc.
Amazing work here. I enjoyed every second of the series. Thank you very much! instant subscription.
+Hans Giebenrath very kind thank you Hans
I just did my 500 a few months ago but went for a dual tube UV light. I fitted mounting brackets under the kitchen unit so I can use the kitchen bench when everyone`s asleep. I get up early and remove my work before the Mrs kicks off next morning.
Brilliant results with 500, 600 and 1200 and even a tarnished Dreamcast. Not sure what the neighbours must think or potential
burglars to a purple lit kitchen......great videos!
+Retrobox love that idea. Where did you get your uv tubes?
RetroManCave just search beamz uv fluorescent light on fleabay. They are popular at halloween and dj's apparently like the look lol. Under £20 and no more weather or marbling due to moving sun problems.
Retrobox
Doesn't sound like the peroxide requires any scary UV wavelengths then. That's good.
(So, it's not as if you need EPROM Eraser type tubes, which are quite hazardous. lol)
Standard UV strip light, amazon, ebay, don`t need dual. I used an old cardboard tray which had a large number of well known doughnuts in, covered its base and sides with foil for optimum side wall reflection. On Amazon i got 1000ml of Truzone Cream Peroxide 12%40 vol as a starter and have decided its fine, not too strong. Applied the cream with a 2" brush and covered in extra wide cling film. I went to bed and next day felt like the shoemaker after the elves had been, rinsed it off and smiled gleefully, science is great!
Retrobox
Nice. ;)
Did you see the "8-bit guy" vid on using liquid peroxide and heat too?
Looks like a good way to get even coverage, and I don't even think it requires UV, just heat (and a bit of time)?
So relaxing watching these clean up montages. Helps when it's rescuing a lovely Amiga too!
Just an excellent series. I wish I still had mine instead of the Mac Mini I'm using. Deluxe Paint did something that even today paint programs still cannot do. And I'm proud to say that I've still got all my old artwork. Cheers, RetroMan.
Check out AROS.
Amazing video, you have an awesome channel and fantastic production value. You have a new sub!
Swapping the CPU? I love it! Subscribed.
Phil Rodgers welcome to the cave!
Great stuff! Used to own one of these babies, early adopter in Belgium. Moved from C-64 to A-500 back in the old days.
Nice. You got me to wondering if my A3000T still worked, so I hit the power switch for the first time in years and it powered right up. My LCD monitor wasn't too happy with it unfortunately. Last time I had it powered up I still had a CRT monitor.
I had no idea about the baking soda and peroxide...I have been using fantastic to remove yellowing in the past...cheers.
Great videos and impeccable attention to detail. I've got an a500 and a1200 from my childhood that I started to refurbish many years ago but nowhere near as detailed, thanks for all the excellent instructions and techniques
Hi. Was just watching this and saw you had problems getting rid of a stubborn security sticker. My top tip for these and nearly all sticky labels and residues is Muck Off Bio Degreaser. You get it in a bike store for cleaning the chain etc... Best thing is it's biodegradable. I've used it so many times! Give it a go :)
All that water going over the system board was the scariest thing I've seen all week and that includes netflix
Alien breed soundtrack
Got giddy watching this series, great vids mate
The Last Romantic Millenial - directed by Rian Johnson
I was so looking forward to a view of the finished machine! Never mind, next time! Don't you just love our British weather?
I'm just as keen as you to get this finished so I can play some games, I'm looking into UV lights to help in future. On the plus side, you can have a whole episode to show it off rather than a montage at the end so hopefully you don't mind waiting a little longer
I've always thought it'd be cool to spend some time working in Britain. The weather would get me though. :-(
RetroManCave
"8-bit keys" / "8 bit guy" recently did a vid where he tried all sorts of methods for retrobrighting.
It turns out that peroxide works just as well with heat as it does with sunlight / UV. :o
That was with the clear liquid "developer fluid" peroxide though, and you obviously need a container large enough for the case pieces, especially the A500. lol
He also tried a lot of the alternative methods, but they didn't fair too well.
I have heard a few horror stories about retrobrighting making plastics seriously brittle after a while, but I'm not sure if that happens often?
It's supposedly because the emolients in the plastic (might) get leached out by the peroxide, so the plastic is no longer as flexible?
Hey, yes I saw that video, and I have had success using a heat lamp in small areas but it's not practical for something as big as a case. I conceded to the weather yesterday and got strip black light which gives off a little heat as well as light obviously. It does seem to be working well. When there is a bit of sunshine I'm a patient man and don't mind 3-4 sessions to get it done low and slow, but now winter is coming it's much harder to work with just peroxide and room temperature. Nearly there.
I thought it rather comedic that around the 2:26 mark when it gets into the shower, you see the warranty sticker floating by... :)
Nice videos. Always nice to see older items brought to live. I never was an Amiga fan. It is a fantastic machine. Looking forward to other videos.
Bringing back memories. If you ever feel inclined, I have a Amiga 1200 (With HD and daughter board) and a CD 32 around in the loft somewhere (Not sure if in working condition as its been so long). I'm never likely going to use them again as Amiga Forever makes it much easier now-a-days ;-)
Hi Jason, I'd certainly be interested in restoring a CD32 if it needs a good home :D
just a suggestion. I took a course on cleaning electronics and VCR's. They suggest not using q-tips, but using electronics cleaning swabs. also couldn't you have used a conductive metal spray paint? as the shielding serves a conductive grounding function?
Keep up the great series! a great idea i have used myself is when painting metallicpaints, prime using black vs grey to make the final product pop even more
Great series of videos thank you for posting them!! Love the background Amiga music mix too.
Oh the tease! Will catch up with the finished product around July next year when there's been enough British sunshine to RetroBright ;-) BTW, when spraying that shield you just need to spray in light coats from side to side to get more even coverage - up and down not so good for finish (although it is only the RF shield after all so I forgive you!)
I bought a UV light :) I'm working on the same assumption that we'll now have no sunshine until July.
Wise choice - I assume you would unwrap and wash down the plastics if you have any more than a few hours delay to the process? I'm considering trying this on my VERY yellowed Dreamcast
Yeah I like to do several short stints rather than leaving it out in one go just to check on its progress and ensure it isn't marbling. Also give it a rub every 15 mins or so to spread the peroxide around and check it hasn't dried out. There's a vid on my channel which covers it a bit more
Really good series. I love the Amiga and your care and attention you have lavished on this one really shines through. Looking forward to the last part. If you could showcase It Came From The Desert that would be flippin' awesome!
Great choice I love those old Cinemaware titles. As I haven't had an Amiga for...25 years I'm limited to the games I bought with it. I did order a Gotek though to review. So I'll showcase it with what I've got to hand (Canon Fodder, Lotus, Body Blows etc) and I'll get some of those Cinemaware titles on an SD Card for the Gotek review for you
What an incredible process thanks for sharing your skills
Q Restorations thank you for watching
Great stuff!! Looking forward to seeing the Amiga 500 up and running 💪🙂👍
Oh that was great ”were looking at you mr CNC” and previous comments also. I was already thinking how much this plate would cost if i draw it and quote it from our supplier what we use. I just bought also A500 what i want to restore so good i can. Thank you for these videos!
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoy them
I've had very good results from washing pcb in a mild solution of water and washing liquid and then fully rinsing in deionised water to remove and deposits from tap water. They come out sparkling. I remove and socketed chips first and then let the board to fully dry.
Sounds interesting, I might try that if I get a really filthy one but I'd probably go with using the car shampoo I use on the plastics so as not to add any of the dish washing salt to the board. I'm sure that's fine though with a good rinse afterwards, and a hell of a lot better than dirt!
Looking forward to the "Final Part"! The Amiga 500 is such a wonderful piece of Hardware :)
Loved the video please post part 4 asap :)
+Spirit76 part 4 is coming. I am refilming it as I finally have a lighting rig, so you'll get to see it in all its glory
That gratuitous shower scene was absolute filth. Subbed!
Use a UV light in a dark room/cupboard for retrobrighting. Don't have to rely on our weather which has gone a bit wonky lately!
Ah, fresh lemon juice. That shouldn't be too difficult, since I just have to walk outside and pick those lemons from the neighbours' trees that hang over the boundary wall. One of the advantages of living in the Mediterranean.
And unlimited sunshine for retrobriting, you're a lucky man indeed
Just so you know that the RF shield was not made on an CNC milling machine. It is a thin sheet of plated steel if I'm not mistaken; which I am sure I am not. I have been in electronics manufacturing and repair. That part started out as a flat sheet of thin steel, next the cut outs for all the empty places ( Plug in port access openings and all other cuts) are made with a CNC punch press, and all the bends were made with a CNC break press ( or press break however you prefer to call it ). After all this it was plated and ready for installation.
+Paul Lang thanks Paul. It sounds like a pretty cheap process with the right machine and coordinates dialled in. Do you have any old contacts who might have access to help us create some new ones?
You sir are very thorough! looking forward to the next part.
Looks good. I would suggest a rust converter such as ospho followed by a spraying the entire shield with a rust prevention primer (I think it would look good in black) If done right the shield will not rerust and should outlast the rest of the machine.
Interesting idea. I might pickup a beaten up shield on ebay and have a play with the entire respray idea. I wonder how much it would cost to send a CNC design to one of those online cutting services and get some made up.
RetroManCave if I had to guess. A lot. Though small run prototyping is getting cheaper all the time so maybe not as much as i think.
Fantastic video series. Inspiring me to get an old amiga and fix it up
So cool... and Lost Patrol music was really a nice touch :)
You Sir have just got yourself a new subscriber. Looks like I have 4 Amigas to be getting on with, good times!
+LennyG2006 4!?? Good man, give them what they deserve
I just love your British sense of humor. :)
Great work and video production! p.s your commentary reminds me of the River Cottage series (that's a good thing ;))
I must be channelling my inner Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall without realising. Thanks for the positive comments :)
Will Williams ésHollywoodlegjobbz.
A shower with an AMIGA 500, rrrrrrr :D
A cold shower for you sir
Lovely work
mate, I'm on the look out for one for myself. Used to own an Amiga 2000B and regret selling it :(
I've never had the pleasure of a big box Amiga, although I got a 1200 recently to play with. Would love to poke around a 4000
I had the Lightwave board with it (I think that was the name) I got it from a rendering farm
That's not Moss's voice! I recently watched big engineers diverting a small river and building a deep weir. Fascinating. I know even less about computers - this was equally fascinating - maybe more. Such excellent camera work, commentary and explanations. Maybe up the pace? I'll be watching more.
This is great archive for later generations
A couple of months ago I saw a dude on youtube cleaning his old macs with some chemicals of some sort. It whitened the outside perfectly.
Holy guacamole, this Lost Patrol score still gives me chills :D
+MrNuggin if you browse the comments you'll find the original composer of that score is among us
++Kudos to Chris Glaister :)
Back in the days I had it even copied to my cassette walkman :P
Two things: The RF shield is completely pointless. It's just there so the machine passes conformance tests, verifying that it wont emit RF that would interfere with other devices in the vicinity. And if you intend to brush alcohol on circuits (which is fine), make sure to use a brush with conductive bristles, as otherwise you're building up a static charge which might damage ICs on the board. It's unlikely to do any damage to components on a PCB because the traces will help dissipate it somewhat, but there is a chance...
This makes very comfy viewing.
NevrDull works nicely on those rust spots as well
What's the music that starts at the 6m20s mark?? It's soooo familiar but I can't place it..
Saw the answer below. It's from The Lost Patrol by Ocean.
You'll also find the original composer is in the comments :) All other music is listed in the description.
I don't understand why anyone would click dislike, any way, nice job! I have two of these machines, one that runs and could do with this type of clean up and one I purchased and never took out of it's box, even has the original T shirt that came in the box, bit worried about the onboard battery now that you mention it. I am actually more of an Atari! But do have most computers and consoles from around this period.
Very satisfying to watch all 3 parts of this video series :) Subbed :)
That's The Lost Patrol music during the RF shield cleaning section.
I'm sure I remember doing zinc electro-plating at home as part of an old chemistry set when I was a kid.... Was it zinc sulphate and an acid of some kind? Not sure now - but there's sure to be kits available online.
It's something I want to look into and experiment with for sure. I think the RF shielding on the Amiga is Tin plated, so I'm not sure how well Nickel or other options would take to it. Needs some research I think and a possible episode.
You could perhaps do a bodge tin plating by first plating with copper (which is very easy) and then coating the copper with solder. I think it would probably look terrible though :)
+retrocaveman, Thanks for these amazing videos. I'm prepping to clean an Amiga 500 motherboard. I'll follow your video here part.3... just to be sure as I'm totally newbie... any particular attention to the board and its components, processors, etc, before rinsing with de-ionised water? Anything I need to remove or do before? Thanks in advance
Hey thanks Pedro. Well it depends how dirty the board is. Most are fine with a brush down and then a clean with IPA. Only wash it down if it's really dirty and you can't clean it with other methods.
HI loved watching old amiga come back to life ,had a 500 plus back in the day ,btw you need some one who works in a stainless steel plant with a punch machine or lazer and bending machines to make new rf shielding ,hard part is making the cad drawing of a flat rf shield the rest is easy ,good luck :)
absolutely love the amiga music .......
I have an Atari 512STFM and Commodore 64 + 1541 drive to clean at some point. Picked them up from Fleabay a few years ago.
a little tip to try for scratches and possibly rust is the magic eraser
I was wondering. Can you put those "dirty" plastics (or even PCB) to a dishwasher? Some of them allow to bring temperature down to 45C so it won't be issue I guess?
Must dig mine out from the loft.
Would DIY nickel electroplating be a way to restore the RF shield? Just in case mine is rusty too.
Hope the memories expansion battery hasn't leaked 😱
Omg hearing the old game music!! Cannon Fodder, Space Hulk! the memories lol
You may be able to zinc plate that RF shield at home. Probably won't be as shiny as the original but will prevent it from rusting. Never tried it myself but you can get kits for about £60. Your method is a lot cheaper though!
This is something I want to explore, and perhaps make an episode on, I'm secretly hoping though that someone will watch this episode and go "I have a CNC machine, I love Amigas" and bash out lots of new ones for us all :) A man can dream huh
I understand the weather situation perfectly - in St Petesrburg, Russia the sun appears only on holidays too :) There is info that hydrogen peroxide does not need UF exposure to react, just heating. 8bitguy did successful retrobrighting in huge plastic black box heated by the sun, and even completely in darkness - in oven. May be you could go on with experimenting? Boiling water + liquid HP mixture could work, may be... Or something like that. At least someone must come up with something for this weather!
I like the idea of experimenting some more to find alternative techniques. I won't experiment with the Amiga but certainly in the future. Until then, Nostrovia!
Boiling stuff sounds harsh, even if the boiling heat did the trick for 8bitguy.
Why not just try put the retrobrighting parts under a heat lamp? Heat can be controlled with distance from the lamp, and lamps like that are fairly cheap and readily available. I'm not sure if a hydrogen peroxide liquid bath is more efficient than the gel/cream in this application, but both could be tried. Can't see why it shouldn't work, and it should be easier to control than with the harsh treatment of boiling temperatures.
Hi for the rust on the RF shielding maybe use automotive rust converter?
Is there a drawing of this shield plate?... i know were the CNC machine lives ;)
+Peter de Man you are the hero we need! Let me see what I can find. Are you able to email me on my channel name at gmail.com?
Let me know what you find out!
Interested!
Nice video!...Consider using a cheap LED UV light for whitening. It's effective and the sun heat problem is avoided. I use it during 3-4 days with excellent results.
Santiago Telemach thank you. In my more recent videos you'll find some fun experiments in indpor retrobriting
Nice! thanks for your answer!
Do you have any plans or is it a matter of reverse engineering for that rusty shield? And It would not only involve CNC but also bending. CNC cut flat profile ( mill/waterjet or laser cut it including bending allowance ) and then bend it to final shape. Nothing fancy but need a brake press to finish it.
No, I discussed it with a few people but am leaving it. I now have a DF0 switcher to use a gotek externally and the height of that would touch the shield so I'm better of without it.
Phosphoric acid will convert rust to a stable inert material that can be painted over and last indefinitely. Most hardware stores stock it.
+Jonathan Pearce thanks for the tip. I wanted to be careful with the tin shield as even fingerprints from a previous owner had tarnished it. I read somewhere that phospheric acid can turn the tin black. In the long term I'd like to source or create a replacement part that isn't tin. I'm talking to an automotive designer friend about possible options.
Yes, it might turn the plating black, but it will stabilise exposed rusty steel. It's best used as a pre-undercoat stage for painting. Good luck with that.
I'm wondering if silver cleaner might have done a decent job of cleaning up the tarnish on that shield...
we build a PC inside one of these cases and used the RF shied even, just sand blasted it with a sandblaster from harbor freight,
Also a great cleaner is homemade silly putty(water wwhite glue and borax) works amazing!!!
Sounds like fun, do you have a link to the sandblaster? It seems very thin to sandblast I'm assuming you put something behind it to reinforce it and stop it bending?
www.harborfreight.com/21-oz-hopper-gravity-feed-spot-blaster-gun-95793.html and, not a big deal, we actually used walnut shells because he had a bag of that for another project and it would do the job(ground wallnut shells are a great abrasive)
you dont gotta hit it with much to remove the rust in my exp, one trick to prevent rust on them that works pretty well is heating the metal with a heat gun and applying wax then wipe off with cotton cloth quicky, trick i learned at a job i had, we did it to several parts to stop corrosion because the geese we used was not 100% effective..
another option is finding somebody with a lazer de-ruster( look it up on here, i think it could do the trick to remove the rust as well, hell if you got the coin, you could buy a chinese model and rent out your services, and reinvest in more cool stuff, perhaps one of the last amigas they made, i really wish they would just crowed fund bringing amiga's back, even if it was just an amiga os for the pc platform and they sold a platform they guaranteed to work.... and with an emulator that would let people play and use ole amiga software/games perhaps even a usb amiga branded floppy disk drive... so people could read their old games/apps....(bet you there would even be a small trade in old games like that, and even new stuff that fit on that format...)
I wonder if some sort of electroplating would work with the metal shield. Nickel or some sort of chrome finish perhaps?
+petti78 indeed that's what the quote was for I mention. Too expensive for me I'm afraid. It would need to adhere to tin whatever the solution. I think a batch of new stainless steel ones would work out cheaper if enough people were interested
Sure, a chinese fab should punch out new ones almost for free as long as you can make a large enough series to justify the design cost I imagine. Electroplating should be a DIY thing though. Just some DC and cheap chemicals and a suitable donor material if you find the right metals to use.
How about powder coating the whole thing in a silver color? That should seal it and prevent the rust from coming back soon.
I seem to remember reading somewhere that the RF shielding was a US requirement by the FCC.
That music....oh that music!
Took me back to the days of playing Jaguar XJ220 :)
I was wondering if some UV leds setup, wouldn;t do better job than sun .. You can have them set up more evenly from each side, and you don't have to depend on weather. Of course, this is just a theory .
It's a good one, and heat plays as much a part as anything. I bought a UV strip light this week and the Amiga is very nearly finished. The weather is still overcast so I gave up on the natural method. Hopefully I can get it filmed and finished this weekend to show you.