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A Couple Questions about the Commodore Amiga 600...

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explodinglaptop

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Online for sale I've seen various beautiful tested Commodore A600s, but I'm cautious before I go ahead and purchase with various questions looming in my head:

What exactly is a capacitor, and would a 1991 Commodore have one? I am aware that old computers that do and haven't been used for a while can explode, something I would certainly wish to avoid. (Please be aware that my knowledge of computers right now is primary about software, not hardware.)
Also...

Do old Commodores require old or Commodore specific monitors? Would a generic plug and play work on A600? I hope as much because shipping and price no doubt are killer on those old things.

Thank you, whoever answers!
 
1. A capacitor charges electric current (correct me if I'm wrong) and is present still in all modern electronics. There are several types of capacitors, and the ones most common to explode are the electrolyte ones when they have dried up. Generally I think it happens mostly in high voltage applications (transformers) on equipment 20-25 years or older.

2. The Amiga 600 will work on a regular TV using antenna (RF) output, or you can buy or build a special cable to get RGB for e.g. SCART or a custom old-style monitor. It won't work right out of the box on a VGA monitor, but there are some ongoing work with 3rd party adapters that will somewhat bridge this. In average, a 15 kHz RGB monitor like the C=1084, Philips 8833, any TV with SCART and so on is your best bet to get a crisp picture. Your selection of monitors may depend on which part of the world you live in.
 
Okay, thanks!

I'm pretty sure about this now, thanks to this and other various sources about the internet.
The capacitor was vital for me to know about, I am certain that nightmares would come about a beautiful vintage computer 'poping', spiting out the embers of some mysterious part as the screen goes blank and I desperately run for the outlet...
 
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But the power supplies in particular can let out amazing amounts of white, stinking smoke. It happened to me recently, thrice in one day even!

To explodinglaptop: Don't worry, all three were 25+ year old equipment which had been stored in a cold, damp garage for the last 15 years and of which one I powered on before letting it warm up first.
 
carlsson said:
But the power supplies in particular can let out amazing amounts of white, stinking smoke. It happened to me recently, thrice in one day even!.
Click to expand...

Yes, it's dramatic allright. It's happened to me a few times now. Now I almost expect it when turning on vintage stuff of unknown origin. It's spectacular but often easily repairable by just replacing the exploded component. (if you can still get it or an equivalent.)

Tez
 
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