Editing Amstrad NC100 Surgical Guide

'''"A Surgical Guide To The Amstrad Notepad Computer"''' is a '''community teardown and repair write-up''', not an Amstrad publication. 14 pages, with a text layer and searchable.

Its own opening line states its provenance: the document "is based on Hans-Jürgen Böhling's 'surgical guide to the Amstrad NC'", captured from a community wiki page — the text still carries the wiki's own link markers and a reference to a local copy of ''sg-nc100.zip''. '''Amstrad published no service manual for the NC100''', and this is the closest substitute available; it should be cited as a community document.

== What it covers ==

* '''What the machine is''' — the NC100 and how it differs from the NC150 and NC200
* '''Specifications''' — as compiled by the author
* '''How to read the firmware number'''
* Disassembly and internal layout, with repair notes

== What it settles ==

The specification section gives figures useful before opening one:

* '''Processor''': Z80-compatible CMOS running at '''4.606&nbsp;MHz'''
* '''Memory''': 64K internal, divided as 15K system, 11K upper and 38K lower
* '''Firmware''': 256K ROM, containing the text editor with mail-merge and spell-checker, address book, time manager, calculator, terminal program (ASCII or XMODEM) and BBC BASIC with assembler support
* '''Display''': 480 × 64 pixels, normally 80 × 8 characters
* '''Storage''': PCMCIA/JEIDA Type&nbsp;I cards, '''maximum 1&nbsp;MB SRAM, 5&nbsp;V'''
* '''Power''': '''4 × AA cells''' or an AC adapter, with a '''CR2032 3&nbsp;V lithium backup cell'''
* '''Consumption''': 40&ndash;60&nbsp;mA in use
* Size and weight: 295 × 210 × 22&nbsp;mm, 930&nbsp;g

The '''two-battery arrangement is the point to take away''': the AA cells run the machine and the CR2032 holds the memory. Removing the AA cells with a flat or missing CR2032 loses the contents of RAM, which on an NC100 is where all the user's documents live.

The other models are distinguished: the '''NC150''' (sold mainly in Italy and France) has 512K of firmware ROM and 128K of RAM, with a spreadsheet and the game ''Blockade'' in the extra 256K; the '''NC200''' adds those features plus a 720K MS-DOS-compatible 3.5-inch floppy drive and a 16-line by 80-character fold-up screen.

== What this document does not contain ==

* '''No parts list, no component values, no designators, no schematics.''' It is a teardown guide, not a service manual, and nothing on this wiki should carry NC100 component values sourced to it.
* '''No fault-symptom table''' and no measurement procedure.
* '''No power supply data''' beyond the battery and adapter arrangement.
* '''It is a secondary source''' — a community write-up derived from another author's guide, captured from a wiki page — and should be attributed as such rather than presented as manufacturer documentation.
* The referenced ''sg-nc100.zip'' attachment is not hosted here.

<pdf> File:Amstrad NC100 Surgical Guide.pdf </pdf>

Download here: [[:File:Amstrad NC100 Surgical Guide.pdf|Amstrad NC100 Surgical Guide.pdf]]

[[Category:Amstrad Service Manuals]]
[[Category:Documentation]]