Acorn A5000 Service Manual

The Acorn A5000 Module Level Service Manual (Acorn part number 0492,059, ISBN 1 85250 099 9, Issue 1, November 1991) is Acorn's dealer service manual for the Acorn Archimedes A5000. The A5000 main board is surface-mount, so Acorn deliberately documented it at module level and directed component-level repairs to an Acorn Authorised Central Service Workshop.

What it contains

Fault diagnosis and repair — the test equipment list (including the A5000 test disc, Acorn part 0292,824), the flowchart for a 'dead' computer, and the three PSU failure modes Acorn recognised: complete failure, individual rail failure and thermal shutdown.
Functional test suite — memory, battery-backed RAM, IDE hard disc interface, hardware check, external ports, disc interface, real time, audio, video, and keyboard and mouse tests, each with the action to take on failure. Among the checks it lists are the DRAM size links LK23 and LK24, which must match the memory actually fitted, and the 82C710 peripheral controller serial test.
Disassembly and assembly — top cover, backplane, cables, main PCB, disc drives, speaker, front moulding, power supply unit, keyboard and mouse.
Safety tests — earth continuity at 25 A and DC insulation testing for class 1 equipment.
Appendix F — the complete table of main PCB links, plugs and sockets, with their default settings: the ROM size selection links LK11/LK12/LK14/LK15, the DRAM size table for LK23/LK24, the genlock connection LK6, the floppy pre-compensation and mode-select links LK17/LK18/LK19/LK21, and the pinouts of the serial, parallel, video, headphone, keyboard, IDE and floppy connectors.
Appendix G — the final assembly parts list. The standard machine is listed as a 2 MB main PCB, a 40 MB 3.5-inch IDE hard disc, a 4-way backplane, a Brisbane 240 V PSU and a 3.5-inch floppy drive.
Mouse jig template, serial port loopback plug, and monitor adaptor cable drawings.

What it does not contain

It carries no main PCB circuit diagram, no component-level parts list and no capacitor values — Acorn put those in the separate A5000 Technical Reference Manual. The schematics are on this wiki as Acorn A5000 Circuit Diagrams. The manual does not document the power supply internally, and it does not identify the backup battery type. It does not cover the 33 MHz "Alpha" A5000 of September 1993, whose motherboard differs in having a socketed MEMC1a.

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Download the Acorn A5000 Service Manual here: Acorn A5000 Service Manual.pdf