CPC464 Restart

Project CPC464 Restart
Getting a CPC464 without monitor to work
Status	Completed
Contact	Mahjongg
Last Update	2016-01-16

CPC464 Restart is a project where an old Amstrad CPC464 (without monitor) is restored to working order again.

First issue is that the original CPC464 came with a monitor that had a built in power supply, the monitor could be either color or monochrome, and the CPC464 needs 5V @ 2A.

The power supply isn't a problem, as there are plenty of power supplies at Revspace that can be used. The only PAL monitor though we have ready is a PAL monitor that only has a composite input, not a SCART one, which was a bit of a problem because the only documentation I could find about adding your own monitor were about using the RGB input via SCART using a SCART TV/Monitor.

After studying the schematics, and connector pinouts of the 6-pin DIN monitor connection, I came to the conclusion that the center pin was used for a "Luminance" signal, and that the signal also included sync, so this seemed to be a PAL composite (monochrome) output.

So a power cable with 4mm banana plugs was made, and a 5-pin DIN to RCA video cable, and that did the trick, we got a nice and crisp video output. The CPC464 happened to have a 64K memory expansion built inside, so BASIC reported this was a 128K machine!

The machine worked but was a bit "flaky", and one of the keys didn't work.

Next: Fix the keys, and try to load a game from cassette.

Some time ago the CPC464, and about a hundred other home computers that where in my possession, have been donated (in bruikleen gegeven) to awesome space, http://awesomespace.nl so that means a status change here to "Completed".