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Documentation about the Vampire hardware

A600 Vampire 2 Wont Boot.

Tony Day

Posts 62
07 May 2018 19:12


My Vampire 2 A600 wont get past boot again for some reason. Ive seen a fair share of green and yellow screens as well. Anyone got any ideas?

Tried using the A600 as well as a larger A500 psu


Renaud Schweingruber
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 378
07 May 2018 19:40


Try reseating it.


Leigh Russ

Posts 151
08 May 2018 01:14


Reseat it. Sand down the socket like it says in the FAQ if it hasn't already been done. Make sure to clean the pins on the socket and CPU too.

Chat is displayed on the RGB port?

What core are you running and have you done the capacitor mod?


Gunnar von Boehn
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 6207
08 May 2018 08:36


Tony Day wrote:

My Vampire 2 A600 wont get past boot again for some reason. Ive seen a fair share of green and yellow screens as well. Anyone got any ideas?

This sounds like your card lost contact.
Reseat it and make sure its fixed with screws.



Tony Day

Posts 62
13 May 2018 12:15


tried it all.. reseated it, tightened screws, cleaned it.. this has been a constant problem for me since they day i brought it. it was one of the first batch of vampires so it came with the screws and white plastic risers. ive heard that a better solution for clamping the card down (screws) are now being shipped instead?

im looking into a 3d printer mount solution on ebay. id really like to get this sorted once and for all as most of the time i spend trying to get the a600 to boot rather than actually using it.

im still running 2.5 as im not competent enough with a soldering iron to do the mod myself.

ill be sending it off i think to be modded, clamped down and the firmware updated.

it still has 3.1 roms installed, a ps2 keyboard adapter and an indi ecs... not sure if any of those are causing any conflicts. im also using an original a600 psu but i have a few a500 spare psu's laying around. ive heard they're better?


Leigh Russ

Posts 151
13 May 2018 20:02


Did you sand the socket down? Mine was an early board from Kipper2k (with the white 3D printed spacers) and the socket was not sanded down at all, so the connection was rubbish.

Once I rubbed it on sandpaper until the next she of the socket was level with the top of the metal pins it then increased stability greatly. These sockets are not really designed to be used this way up in the manner that they are beng used on the vampire so the connection is not always ideal.

I replaced the spacers with longer screws like the newer boards were sent out with. Just M1.6x16mm screws and nuts.

Mine also seemed more stable with the Kickstart ROM removed so maybe also try that




Tony Day

Posts 62
15 May 2018 17:52


Thanks Leigh. I'll try all the things you suggested. ive just brought a better socket from ebay so maybe that'll help.

I don't suppose you have a link for those screws? they sound a lot more affordable than that mount i was looking at.

Thanks.


Leigh Russ

Posts 151
16 May 2018 19:49


Not sure where you are located but I often use this seller on eBay EXTERNAL LINK 
Same seller for the nuts EXTERNAL LINK 
Though there are plenty of other sellers, and the ones based in China are cheaper still.

You can then just use a nylon spacer on the right hand side to ensure you dont do it up too tight which may bend the board. personally I measured the gap between the motherboard and vampire and 3D printed some spacers the exact size.

Also i put a tiny dab of clear nail varnish on top of the threads so that it doesn't vibrate undone (i dont do the nuts up very tight)

I did find though, that once I changed my socket to a PCS-068A socket that I could lift the whole amiga up by the vampire, so the fixings were not really need, but I did put them back for peace of mind.

The socket i used did have much thicker pins that the original one, and the holes on the Vampire card are quite small, so I had to ensure that I cleared as much solder out of the holes as possible. The new socket then took a while to gently push in place as the fit was very tight.


Daniel Kovacs

Posts 35
17 May 2018 00:42


I have an early Kipper V600 as well and the only time I've ever had it come unseated was when attaching the USB Blaster.  Pressing down on the connector was enough to lever the card off the cpu, even with the 3d printed standoffs in place.


Bart Mikulski

Posts 101
21 May 2018 10:11


Leigh Russ wrote:

  I did find though, that once I changed my socket to a PCS-068A socket that I could lift the whole amiga up by the vampire, so the fixings were not really need, but I did put them back for peace of mind.
 
  The socket i used did have much thicker pins that the original one, and the holes on the Vampire card are quite small, so I had to ensure that I cleared as much solder out of the holes as possible. The new socket then took a while to gently push in place as the fit was very tight.

This is very interesting, I'm thinking of doing the same mod, as I suspect my board might still have minor connectivity issues (it is sanded, cap-modded and I'm using mounting screws already).

Should I buy any PCS-068A, or do you recommend any particular seller? And, does the PCS-068A have to be sanded as well?

Thanks!



Leigh Russ

Posts 151
21 May 2018 14:24


It's the same socket as I had fitted on my Furia when I had one. It also needs sanding down and a notch cut out to allow for the resister that is on the motherboard near the CPU.

I believe that socket has been discontinued but I found some on eBay but I had to buy 10 of them. I have already sold a couple on for what I paid for them plus postage but still have 5 or 6 left.

There was a member on a German forum who advised that they don't fit due to the size difference and the size of the holes into he PCB. I didn't find them to not fit at all, just a very tight fit so had to gently and slowly press fit the socket into place.

Not sure where you are located but can possibly source some sockets locally cheaper than it would be for me to post one. If not then let me know.

If you do a searches for my other posts on here you can find a longer post regarding my issues I encountered, what I tried and tested, the socket change, and how once that was done the only issue I had remaining was heat related and solved by adding a fan


Bart Mikulski

Posts 101
21 May 2018 18:21


Leigh Russ wrote:

  It's the same socket as I had fitted on my Furia when I had one. It also needs sanding down and a notch cut out to allow for the resister that is on the motherboard near the CPU.
 
  I believe that socket has been discontinued but I found some on eBay but I had to buy 10 of them. I have already sold a couple on for what I paid for them plus postage but still have 5 or 6 left.
 
  There was a member on a German forum who advised that they don't fit due to the size difference and the size of the holes into he PCB. I didn't find them to not fit at all, just a very tight fit so had to gently and slowly press fit the socket into place.
 
  Not sure where you are located but can possibly source some sockets locally cheaper than it would be for me to post one. If not then let me know.
 
  If you do a searches for my other posts on here you can find a longer post regarding my issues I encountered, what I tried and tested, the socket change, and how once that was done the only issue I had remaining was heat related and solved by adding a fan
 

 
  Thank you, I will read through your posts.
 
  I think it's the same seller, a pack of 10:
 
  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PCS-068A-1-IC-Socket-SKT-68-pin-PLCC-2-54mm-made-by-Augat-pack-of-10-ZB127A/292124042389?epid=1471934875&hash=item4403f32495:g:J-oAAOSwubRXIKjt
 
  This would cost me 12 GBP, shipped to Poland. How much would it cost to get 1 or 2 pcs from you, including shipping?
 


Leigh Russ

Posts 151
21 May 2018 23:36


That looks like the same seller. P&P from the UK would be about £2.75 and sockets are £0.50 each.

If you are on Facebook, it may be worth joining the Vampire Accelerators Users Group and putting a post there as you may find some other people local to you who would be willing to split the cost and save yourself some more money. You can also find me there is you wanted to send me a message.

If you do perform the a socket change, its much easier to sand the socket down before you solder it in place too.


Leigh Russ

Posts 151
21 May 2018 23:44


This forum also has some information of mods and fixes, and includes talk of the socket. I wanted to post to say that I had done this, as they seem to think different Vampire boards have different sized through holes which they do not afaik.

I am not a German speaker though so couldn't comment. An interesting read though

EXTERNAL LINK


Bart Mikulski

Posts 101
22 May 2018 07:57


Leigh Russ wrote:

  That looks like the same seller. P&P from the UK would be about £2.75 and sockets are £0.50 each.
 
  If you are on Facebook, it may be worth joining the Vampire Accelerators Users Group and putting a post there as you may find some other people local to you who would be willing to split the cost and save yourself some more money. You can also find me there is you wanted to send me a message.
 
  If you do perform the a socket change, its much easier to sand the socket down before you solder it in place too.
 

 
  Ok, so please reserve 2 pieces for me. Once I am accepted in the group, I will message you. Thanks!

posts 15