Amstrad NC150 Troubleshooting Guide
The Amstrad NC150 shares the NC100's case and, in Hans-Jürgen Böhling's NC100/NC150 power supply diagram, its power circuit, so the power and display checks on the Amstrad NC100 Troubleshooting Guide apply to it.[1]
Power
| Symptom | Probable cause | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Dead on batteries and adaptor | Software lock-up, F301, switch-on circuit | Remove all power and drain as in the NC100 guide (this erases memory), then check F301 with the case open |
| Works on one source only | Flat or reversed AA cells and contacts; adaptor, lead or socket | Fit fresh cells; check the adaptor against the 6 V DC input on Böhling's diagram |
| Low-battery warnings | Main cells or lithium cell low | Böhling's diagram shows warnings for four AA cells below 4.2 V and 3.2 V and for the lithium cell below 2.3 V; replace the cell concerned |
| Memory lost after a battery change | Lithium cell dead or all sources removed together | Replace the lithium cell; restore files from a card |
Sources: Böhling's power diagram[1] and Nixon's lock-up recovery for the NC100.[2] Nixon gives different thresholds from Böhling for the same signals; both are set out on the Amstrad NC100 Troubleshooting Guide.
The reset keys (Function, Stop and ←Del held while switching on) are documented for the NC100, where the reset erases the memory but not a memory card.[3] Back up to a card before trying them on an NC150.
Display
The display supply is the −15 V output of the DC/DC converter on Böhling's NC100/NC150 diagram, and the display joins the main board through a flat cable on the NC100.[1] A blank or faint screen on a working machine calls for the same checks as on the NC100: the brightness control on the right-hand edge, the flat cable, then the LCD supply.[4]
Software
The NC150's ROM is twice the size of the NC100's and adds a spreadsheet and a falling-blocks game.[2]
Related pages
- Amstrad NC150 · Amstrad NC150 Maintenance Guide
- Amstrad NC100 Troubleshooting Guide · Amstrad NC100
- Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Hans-Jürgen Böhling, A Surgical Guide To The Amstrad Notepad Computer. Community document, hosted as File:Amstrad NC100 Surgical Guide.pdf, described at Amstrad NC100 Surgical Guide. The "NC100/NC150" power supply diagram (6 V DC input, F301, DC/DC converter, +5 V, lithium-backed 5VBK and −15 V LCD supplies, battery-level detector) and the NC150's ROM and RAM.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Robin Nixon and Chris Nixon, The Amstrad Notepad Advanced User Guide (Sigma Press, 1993), pp. 187–188 (lock-up recovery on the NC100) and p. 247 (the NC150). Scan at archive.org. Retrieved 2026-10-02.
- ↑ Amstrad plc, Amstrad Notepad Computer user manual (NC100), resetting, p. 60. Hosted as File:Amstrad Notepad Computer User Manual.pdf, described at Amstrad Notepad Computer User Manual.
- ↑ Amstrad plc, Amstrad Notepad Computer user manual (NC100), setting up p. 2 (brightness control). Hosted as File:Amstrad Notepad Computer User Manual.pdf.