For installation in an Amiga 2000:
For this you will need:
- an 8372A Agnus or an 8375 Agnus
- Phillips screw driver
- small jewlers flathead screwdriver OR an exacto knife.
- A PLCC chip extractor OR a small flathead screwdriver and a lot of patience
- these instructions printed out since your machine will most likely be turned off
THE PROCEEDURE:
- Turn everything off.
- Open the machine.
- Remove the cover (5 screws, 2 on each side and one the back)
- Remove the drive chassis (4 screws on the back and either 2 or 3 on the
front)
- Look on the motherboard, you will see a big square chip labelled
something like 8370 and AGNUS written beside the socket. This is the chip
you want to replace.
- Remove the chip the easiest way you find possible. (small flathead
screw driver and a lot of patience or just get a chip puller for a PLCC
type chip)
- Insert 8372A or 8375 Agnus. You MUST match up pin 1 on the chip with
pin 1 on the socket/board. The chip has a dimple along one side that
signifies pin 1 and the motherboard will have a 1 on it and in some cases
the socket will have a dimple in it too. Match them! VERY IMPORTANT!
- Make sure the chip is in solid.
- Look for jumper J101 beside the power connector to the motherboard.
Change it to the opposite position (pins 3 and 2 closest to the
connection I believe)
- Look for trace J500 at the back of the machine near the CIA's
(8520's) It's a jumper trace that you will have to cut with a razor
blade, small flat head screw driver or exacto knife.
- Once all of this is done. Turn the machine on to see how it works.
- Reassemble.
- Enjoy!
For installation in an Amiga 500:
For this you will need:
- Torx T15 Screwdriver or a flathead small enough to fit
- Small jewlers flathead screwdriver OR an exacto knife
- A PLCC chip extractor OR a small flathead screwdriver and a lot of patience
- An 8372A Agnus or 8375 Agnus
- A solder iron and some solder
- These instructions printed out since your machine will hopefully be turned off at the time
THE PROCEEDURE:
- Turn everything off.
- Unplug everything from the machine
- Turn the machine over and remove the 6 T15 screws around the edges.
- Turn the machine right side up now and lift off the cover
- Unplug the keyboard from inside the metal shielding and lift out the keyboard
- Lift the tabs up for the metal shielding and unscrew the four screws holding it down
- Pull out the shielding
- Now exposed is your Amiga 500 motherboard. Hopefully this is a REV 5 or 6 motherboard. Find this
out by looking at the inscription just above the trapdoor expansion.
- If it's a REV4, forget it. It's too much of a pain in the ass to trace the solder points from
the 68000 and out.
- Look at the Agnus chip and determine it's model number. If it's an 8372A or 8375 already, skip
down past the replacing and inserting the Agnus. (down 2 points)
- If the chip is an 8370, then this is what you want to replace. You can remove it with your
chip puller or screwdriver. If using a screwdriver TAKE YOUR TIME! If the socket cracks, the chip
will most likely not be able to make contact with all the pins and then not work. So be careful!
- Insert 8372A or 8375 Agnus. You MUST match up pin 1 on the chip with
pin 1 on the socket/board. The chip has a dimple along one side that
signifies pin 1 and the motherboard will have a 1 on it and in some cases
the socket will have a dimple in it too. Match them! VERY IMPORTANT!
- Over between the 68000 chip (the big one on the left) and the Kickstart ROM (the smaller
one beside the 68000) will be a label for the jumper trace JP2. You have to jump this pad to
the opposite position.
- Get that exacto knife or small screwdriver and scrape away the trace that's connecting the
bottom and the centre pads. BE CAREFULL NOT TO SCRATCH OUT ANYTHING ELSE!
- If you have an ADRAM 540 skip down to the ADRAM section. If you have a BASEBOARD, I have no
idea how to get those to work and you would be better off contacting Expansion Systems.
- Solder the top and the centre pads together. CAREFULL NOT TO SOLDER ANYTHING ELSE TOGETHER!
- If you have a multitester around, use it to make sure you have not accidentally left anything
that should not be there.
- If you have a REV5 A500 motherboard you are going to have to scrape
another trace out, but it's not labelled. If you have a REV6A then no problems, it's labelled
JP7A beside the trapdoor expansion. Simply cut it.
- On REV5's, this is what you do. The trapdoor expansion (right side of the machine where your
512k RAM expansion plugs in) has some traces directly to the left of it. Counting DOWN from the
TOP, count DOWN 8 (eight) pins on the trapdoor expansion, look directly left. You will see a solder
point on the motherboard and a trace coming out of it going directly UP (towards the back of
the machine) You have to cut this trace. You don't have to remove it completely, just break
the connection somewhere along that line.
- Cut the trace with your exacto knife or sharp flathead screwdriver.
- Plug the machine back in to see if it works.
- Works? Turn it off and reassemble everything and away you go.
FOR ADRAM OWNERS:
You have just cut the trace at JP2. Great. Now on the GARY BOARD for the ADRAM there is a small
solder point for a wire. Solder a wire at least 9 inches in legth between there and to the CENTRE
pad at JP2. Adjust the jumpers on the GARY board for 8372A Agnus and the appropriate amount
of RAM and away you go.
National Amiga takes absolutely NO RESPONSIBILITY for the outcome of this project. I (Greg)
have done over 100 of these before with 0 problems. This document is based entirely on that
experience. If you would like, I can actually do it for your for $20 (plus shipping) and even
supply an 8372A Agnus ($60).