Commodore Amiga 4000

This is my second Amiga. I bought it in 1993, from the money I got from doing my obligatory civilian service. It was heavily extended until around 1996, when ESCOM went bankrupt and it was clear that the Amiga platform won't have any future.

At its prime, my Amiga was housed in a RBM Towerhawk Big Tower, with multiple harddrives, CD burner, and a lot of extensions. I had sold my original Amiga 4000 Desktop case because I thought I wouldn't need it any more.

When I moved house in 2000, I didn't have the place for a Big Tower system any more. I bought my friend's Amiga 4000 Desktop, and sold my own Big Tower system and many other assets. The Desktop system was then stowed away and never used any more. I removed the leaked battery later (a common problem with Amiga 4000's), but it had already caused damaged the PCB.

In 2021, I repaired the machine and did a full refurbishment. It is futureproof and fully working again. I'm actively using it.

Configuration

  • Built: December 21, 1992
  • Mainboard: Revision B
  • CPU: 68060/50 (Phase5 CyberStorm MKII)
  • OS: AmigaOS 3.2
  • Chipset: AGA (Buster-11, CSG Lisa)
  • RAM: 2 MB Chip RAM, 128 MB CyberStorm RAM, 256 MB Zorro-III RAM
  • SCSI: CyberSCSI MKII, SCSI2SD v6
  • Extensions: MNT ZZ9000, MNT ZZ9000AX, MacroSystem Toccata, MacroSystem MaestroPro

Known Issues

  • Despite the whitening, the front plate is still a bit yellowed. There is no solution at the moment, except of maybe painting the plate or 3D printing a new one. Maybe someone will produce a batch of new front plates some day?

Restauration Works

  • Restauration was carried out from January thru August 2021.
  • Whitened the keyboard and the heavily yellowed front.
  • Top cover got a new professional paint in the original color.
  • Thoroughly repaired the damage caused by the leaked battery. All affected parts were replaced, all traces checked (some repaired), all vias thoroughly cleaned. Battery lye was neutralized and washed off.
  • All electrolytic capacitors were replaced with Panasonic ones (with up to 10,000h lifetime). Damage of leaked capacitors around keyboard connector and CIA was cleaned. All affected components around these leaks were generously replaced.
  • SIMM sockets were replaced with modern ones having metal holding brackets.
  • Updated RAM to maximum possible configuration, with a total of 384 MB Fast RAM.
  • Harddisks were replaced with a SCSI2SDv6, connected to the CyberSCSI board.
  • New BeQuiet BN238 PSU replaced the original PSU. It sits on a 3D printed frame. The system is almost silent now, but still actively cooled.
  • Added a MNT ZZ9000 for HDMI RTG, Ethernet, and USB. Extended it with an MNT ZZ9000AX for audio DSP.
  • New replica "A4000/060" badge.
  • MaestroPro and Toccata: Recapped, all GALs replaced with new ones.