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Documentation about the Vampire hardware

HDMI Issues

Colin Ellett

Posts 25
20 Apr 2019 09:14


Hi All,
 
  just posting to say I've been using the Vampire for a few weeks now and it's been great (mostly).
 
  I started experiencing issues on day 2 of usage (i.e. no picture no boot). I tried to re-seat it numerous times and it worked intermittently. Anyway, I've fitted a brand new socket (turned pin) to eliminate any possible connection issues.
 
  It boots fine but sometimes there is no DIGITAL-VIDEO signal, fine on RGB. If I turn the Amiga off then back on, it usually comes back on.
 
  Any suggestions?

Note: it's a Vampire 500 V2+


Ronnie Beck

Posts 37
20 Apr 2019 12:09


Is your amiga recapped?  How old is the PSU?

When you say there is no HD-MI, do you at least see the logo screen when you first power on the machine?


Colin Ellett

Posts 25
20 Apr 2019 12:15


Yes, the Amiga is fully recapped and brand new PSU.

No there is no logo on screen, nothing (monitor says no signal). But there is a kickstart screen on RGB.

If I turn the Amiga off and on then it usually resolves itself and I get a picture on DIGITAL-VIDEO.

Strange indeed. I tried to think back and seem to remember using a different CF adapter on the second day (plugs directly into the Vampire, no ribbon).

Reverted back to the original one (with ribbon cable) and it seems to be working. I will try this for a few days and see how it goes.

Wonder if this is the problem? But how can a CF adapter affect DIGITAL-VIDEO?


Ronnie Beck

Posts 37
20 Apr 2019 12:22


The CF card should not stop the Vampire Logo on boot unless you have a short somewhere.  i.e. You plugged the CF Card adapter in incorrectly.

Remove everything off the IDE port and anything off the expansion port.  See if it at least shows the logo on HD-MI then.


Colin Ellett

Posts 25
20 Apr 2019 12:47


As I say Ronnie, it seems to be working with the other CF adapter.
 
  Strange....
 
  I'll see how it goes over the next few days

-Has anyone else come across this before??-


Ronnie Beck

Posts 37
20 Apr 2019 15:56


Colin Ellett wrote:

As I say Ronnie, it seems to be working with the other CF adapter.

Then you have your answer.  There is something wrong with the second CF Card adapter.  Perhaps it would be worth mentioning exactly which adapter you have, so that others could say if they had the same experience with your adapter or not.  The wiki page does mention a few which are known to be compatible.  You can find that list here:

EXTERNAL LINK 
If you have one of the listed adapters, it could be that it is faulty or you mistakenly connected it wrong.  It is easy enough to do (speaking from experience) and it would almost certainly stop the Amiga booting.


Colin Ellett

Posts 25
20 Apr 2019 16:07


Yep, booting first time, every time now :-)
   
    The thing is the one I have replaced it with is the exact same model of adapter (V.B1);
    The one that doesn't work connects directly, the one that does work connects via a ribbon cable. Just tried the suspect adapter in my A1200 and guess what, yep it doesn't boot!
   
    A faulty CF Adapter it is ;-) Just happy the Vampire is ok!!
 
  Update: Black screen again. I checked out that link for compatible hardware and it says cheap Ebay CF adapters work (which is what this is). I wonder if it's this particular model CF adapter thats causing the issue. I've ordered one from Edu Arana, fingers crossed. If the new one does the same thing, I may have a faulty Vampire :-(


Colin Ellett

Posts 25
20 Apr 2019 17:28


Just to be clear - in the hope that someone else has experienced the same issue.
 
  When I turn on the Amiga it's usually fine (more that 95%), but the odd time when I switch it on it still boots, I can hear the starting sound of Coffin, but there is no signal from DIGITAL-VIDEO.
 
  If I turn off the Amiga, 9 times out of ten this resolves it and the DIGITAL-VIDEO is restored.
 
  When I have DIGITAL-VIDEO it's there for the entire session.
 
  It seems that every now and again, DIGITAL-VIDEO does not initialise when the Amiga is first powered on. It has been working fine all day and has only just given me a 'No Signal' black screen again.
 
  If you have experienced anything resembling this, can you please assist me?
 
Update: just opened up my other A1200 to try the CF adapter in that - V.H2
This one has just done the same thing, Amiga boots up fine everthing loads, I hear the Coffin intro, BUT no DIGITAL-VIDEO signal. No amount of reset resolves the issue but a power cycle restores the DIGITAL-VIDEO signal


Colin Ellett

Posts 25
20 Apr 2019 19:53


After a short break,a few deep breaths and something to eat.

I decided to check some voltages.

Under load the PSU is outputting 5v exactly, but at the voltage regulator V3 the voltage is 4.8V. I have adjusted the PSU to output 5.15V under load and now V3 shows just under 5V.

I wonder if this has been voltage related all along? Anyway, I'll test it for a while and let anyone that cares know how I got on.

Fingers and toes crossed!


Colin Ellett

Posts 25
21 Apr 2019 12:24


Unfortunately it took about half a dozen power ups this morning to get a signal on DIGITAL-VIDEO.

I'll contact Igor, I think this Vampire is faulty :-(


Gunnar von Boehn
(Apollo Team Member)
Posts 6207
21 Apr 2019 13:15


Colin Ellett wrote:

Under load the PSU is outputting 5v exactly,

What PSU do you use?


Colin Ellett

Posts 25
25 Apr 2019 20:10


Apologies for the delay in replying Gunnar, been busy with work.
 
My PSU is a Mean Well RT-50B, it's only months old. I measure 5V at the Amiga side but the output is adjustable on the PSU (so could increase it if necessary).
 
I noticed that I have not tied the Mains earth to COM (common 0V) connection. I wonder if this makes a difference?
 
Here is the data sheet: https://www.meanwell.com/productPdf.aspx?i=481#1


posts 12