Found a dead P5 chip on my Amiga 1200 motherboard this weekend

I was trying to get my old Amiga 1200 running again, popped the case open, and spotted this one chip near the floppy drive that looked kinda burnt around the pins. Turns out the P5 custom chip was fried, and I spent like 3 hours desoldering it with a cheap iron from Harbor Freight. Anyone know a reliable source for replacement chips that won't cost me an arm and a leg?

2 comments

2 Comments

felix_jones1mo ago

Had the exact same issue on my A1200 last year. That P5 chip is notorious for dying when the floppy power connector is old and wonky. I got a replacement from a seller on AmiBay, paid like 15 euros shipped, and it worked fine after swapping. Just make sure you clean up all the old solder and flux residue from the burn marks, I used some isopropyl alcohol and a stiff brush before seating the new chip. Did you check the traces around the floppy port for damage too?

sagey691mo ago

Man I felt that whole post in my gut. I spent a whole weekend last summer fighting with my A1200 and found the same chip had gotten so hot it actually cracked a tiny bit near pin 12. Had to use a Radio Shack iron I've had since the 90s and it was brutal desoldering that thing. Ended up cutting all the pins off one by one and then cleaning out the holes with a solder sucker and some thin copper braid. For the replacement I actually had luck on Ebay from a seller in Poland, cost me about 12 bucks with shipping and it took like 10 days to arrive but it worked perfect. Just make sure you get the right revision because I heard there's two different versions of that chip floating around.