Finally! An Amiga user again!

[rfancella]

Hi all!

Wanted to post this somewhere for my friends to see.

 

"Back in the day", shortly after the Amiga 500 was released in the US I was a proud owner of an Amiga 500 (with an A501 installed), a 1084s monitor and a A1010 external floppy.  I was a happy camper.  A few years later I was forced to relieve myself of it and have wanted another ever since.

I started looking a few years ago to find, they are expensive here in the states.  Hard to find.  I did not want to get a PAL one, mainly because of the hassle and expense.  So I keept my eyes out for a cheap A500.  Score last week!  A stock A500 for dirt cheap.  Comes with nothing and not tested, but hey, I can figure it out I tell myself. 

It arrived on Thursday.  Unpacking it I feel a little giddy and nostaligic.  It is actually in pretty good shape.  A little yellowing, but not bad.  Couple scuffs, but not bad.

 

 

What is pictured is what I got.  No power supply, no mouse, no cables.  But for the price, i'm not complaining.

So I start to dig into it.  First thing I noticed was the floppy drive eject button is broke.  Bummer deal, but I will replace it with either an HxC or Gotek anyway.  But maybe it still works?? 

 

Flip it over and a couple screws are missing.    Means someone has been inside.  May not be bad?  Arrggg...  Was hoping for a 501 installed.  Nope.  Here is the label:

 

 

Eeek.  The floppy drive is loose inside.  Damn.  Tells me, someone took this thing appart because the floppy quit.  They couldn't fix it so they didn't even put the screws back in.  No screws holding the floppy drive in.  Sad day.  Hope this didn't screw up anything inside.

Pop the top, remove the keyboard and top shield.  Looks pretty good inside.  And no damage from the loose floppy drive:

 

 

Caps look good.  Happy dance.  Rock Lobster (insert B52 song here)  "It wasn't a rock, was a Rock Lobster."

Rev 5 MoBo, bummer.  Was hoping for a 6. 

 

 

I start looking up numbers.

Kickstart 1.2

Stock everything.  Regular Fat Agnus & Paula.  No enhancments at all.  That would have just been bonus.

Here is a big picture of the MoBo:

 

 

And a big picture of the back:

 

 

 

Next post:

On to Saturday....

 

 

Thanks,

Ron

[rfancella]

Saturday:

Need to get this thing powered up!

I have read a few pages on how to wire an ATX power supply to your Amiga 500.  Man, I wish I had a square 5 pin power cord.  Searched the webs with no results.  Can't find one anywhere.

Drag out and pile up my spare ATX power supplies and my PS tester.  Picked out the best.  One had very good 12v, -12v and 5v.  The 3v was a little weak, but I don't need 3v.    Found a winner.

Open it up and cut out all the wires except the four I need.  Short the Power on wire to ground.  Now when I hit the switch on the back of the power supply, it comes on.  No pictures of the process, but here is the result:

 

 

Now, what to do about that pesky square plug.  Hmmmm...  It's the same as what is used on a C128 power brick.  But I don't want to destroy the one I have.  Using it on my C128.    Maybe cut the cord and put in a molex, so I can use it on one or the other?  No, might want them both powered up at the same time.

Stumbled across a page where this guy made one.  Looks tacky, but works.  I'm sold.

 

Sacrafice an old 1541 data cable.  Only cable I can find that I have a ton of with big enough pins.

 

 

Broke it up to extract the pins.  Tough nut.  Kinda like trying to get a Brazil nut out of it's shell with just a hammer.  Trying not to bruse the nut. 

 

 

Yea, one pin missing.  Hit it with the hammer and it went somewhere.  I only need 4. 

Cut a molex from a spare cable I had.  Ready to clean up and solder together:

 

 

Done:

 

 

Now, to fit the wires to the back of the Amiga.  Tripple check everything and I think this is right.    Check it again.  Yep.  All good.

 

 

Time to break out the glue gun.  Looks like crap.  Glob, glob.  Cover the pins and wires in glue.  Flip it over and on it's sides.  Glob more glue.  Then glob even more.  Let it sit overnight:

 

 

Pull it out.  Re-insert.  Wow, remarkable.  Works good.  Connect the other molex to the power supply cable and test fit everything.  Tripple check the voltages and pins again.  Looks good so far.

No monitor, so the mono composite output will have to do.

Put everything back together and break out the little TV.

 

Hook it all up...  Hit the power.  Flicker, flicker:

 

 

She Lives!!!  Woot!

Haven't seen this in years.  Many, many years.

 

 

Leave it on for a few minutes.  Everything seems stable.  No pop or sizzle.  Everything seems good.

Drop a floppy in and power cycle.  I couldn't be that lucky:

 

 

Now, keep in mind.  These floppys are from when I used to own one back in the late 80's.  Many have mold on the lables because they were not stored correctly.  My guess, the floppy dive is good, the disks are not.  I tried 6-8 of them and none work.  Different errors.  Some not even recognized like the picture above.

 

Still I am happy with the outcome.

 

I have an Atari 1040 ST and Atari SC 1224 monitor.  Now to find the correct ends to build an adapter cable.  Anyone know where I can get a Female DB-23 and Female DIN-13?? 

 

More to come...

 

Thanks,

Ron

 

 

[rfancella]

PS:  I think Indivision and my bank account are going to become intimate. 

 

Thanks,

Ron

[Aorin]

Hey Ron, I see your happiness from here man, enjoy it buddy, you deserve it and much more.

[dougan78]

Saturday:

Need to get this thing powered up!

I have read a few pages on how to wire an ATX power supply to your Amiga 500. Man, I wish I had a square 5 pin power cord. Searched the webs with no results. Can't find one anywhere.

Drag out and pile up my spare ATX power supplies and my PS tester. Picked out the best. One had very good 12v, -12v and 5v. The 3v was a little weak, but I don't need 3v. Found a winner.

Open it up and cut out all the wires except the four I need. Short the Power on wire to ground. Now when I hit the switch on the back of the power supply, it comes on. No pictures of the process, but here is the result:

Power Supply.jpg

Now, what to do about that pesky square plug. Hmmmm... It's the same as what is used on a C128 power brick. But I don't want to destroy the one I have. Using it on my C128. Maybe cut the cord and put in a molex, so I can use it on one or the other? No, might want them both powered up at the same time.

Stumbled across a page where this guy made one. Looks tacky, but works. I'm sold.

Sacrafice an old 1541 data cable. Only cable I can find that I have a ton of with big enough pins.

Cable 01.jpg

Broke it up to extract the pins. Tough nut. Kinda like trying to get a Brazil nut out of it's shell with just a hammer. Trying not to bruse the nut.

Cable 02.jpg

Yea, one pin missing. Hit it with the hammer and it went somewhere. I only need 4.

Cut a molex from a spare cable I had. Ready to clean up and solder together:

Cable 03.jpg

Done:

Cable 04.jpg

Now, to fit the wires to the back of the Amiga. Tripple check everything and I think this is right. Check it again. Yep. All good.

PS wires fit.jpg

Time to break out the glue gun. Looks like crap. Glob, glob. Cover the pins and wires in glue. Flip it over and on it's sides. Glob more glue. Then glob even more. Let it sit overnight:

Glob, glob wires.jpg

Pull it out. Re-insert. Wow, remarkable. Works good. Connect the other molex to the power supply cable and test fit everything. Tripple check the voltages and pins again. Looks good so far.

No monitor, so the mono composite output will have to do.

Put everything back together and break out the little TV.

Hook it all up... Hit the power. Flicker, flicker:

Alive.jpg

She Lives!!! Woot!

Haven't seen this in years. Many, many years.

Kick12.jpg

Leave it on for a few minutes. Everything seems stable. No pop or sizzle. Everything seems good.

Drop a floppy in and power cycle. I couldn't be that lucky:

Bummer.jpg

Now, keep in mind. These floppys are from when I used to own one back in the late 80's. Many have mold on the lables because they were not stored correctly. My guess, the floppy dive is good, the disks are not. I tried 6-8 of them and none work. Different errors. Some not even recognized like the picture above.

Still I am happy with the outcome.

I have an Atari 1040 ST and Atari SC 1224 monitor. Now to find the correct ends to build an adapter cable. Anyone know where I can get a Female DB-23 and Female DIN-13??

More to come...

Thanks,

Ron

You check digikey?

[rfancella]

Thanks for the reply.

Looks like DigiKey has the DIN-13's.

But the only place I can find the DB-23's is at CableDepot.  Guess I'll order some and see how it goes. 

Next payday.  The shipping is going to kill me. 

 

Thanks,

Ron

 

 

You check digikey?

 

[dougan78]

Thanks for the reply.

Looks like DigiKey has the DIN-13's.

But the only place I can find the DB-23's is at CableDepot. Guess I'll order some and see how it goes.

Next payday. The shipping is going to kill me.

Thanks,

Ron

They have most the stuff i need. Mouser is the other one i use.... maybe they have it?

[gigapig]

Great story Ron, I was excited for you. If you need anything from the UK let me know. I nearly bought another C64 last week but I have 2 in the attic and no money, Lol.

There must be a ton of modern addons for the Amiga Like Flash drives etc.

 

To get over yellowing, just do what Commodore did with for the C64 and spray a Vic 20 case a nice tan color. Should work for your Amiga

[AlexDC22]

Great read brother, I couldn't help but to smile imagining you tinkering with it... I put myself in your shoes and I know how extatic I would be

..

Thx again for a great read and good luck on the continuing adventure

[zomboided]

I had one of these in the exact same config as you   Used it so much.

Did you think about swapping out the drive for an SD card solution instead? 

[rfancella]

Thanks Giga,

There are a bunch of addons for the Amiga for sure.  It is a thriving retro community.  Over there in the UK anyway.  Most everything made is made outside the US. 

Makes it hard for guys like me.  On a budget.

 

I have a C64c I think it's called.  Would love to find a cheap "bread box" C64.

 

LOL.  If I were to paint it, it would not be beige.    Maybe a gloss black or Candy Apple Red??  With racing stripes?

 

Thanks,

Ron

 

Great story Ron, I was excited for you. If you need anything from the UK let me know. I nearly bought another C64 last week but I have 2 in the attic and no money, Lol.

There must be a ton of modern addons for the Amiga Like Flash drives etc.

 

To get over yellowing, just do what Commodore did with for the C64 and spray a Vic 20 case a nice tan color. Should work for your Amiga

[rfancella]

Thanks for the tip.

Mouser has no DB23 or DIN13.    At all.  So I guess it's CableDepot and Digi-Key for me.   lol..  That rymes.

 

Thanks,

Ron

 

They have most the stuff i need. Mouser is the other one i use.... maybe they have it?

[rfancella]

Thanks my friend.

Working on the last couple bits of my Atari 1040 STf also.  Mounting the replacement floppy drive in it as well.  That one works for sure. 

 

Thanks,

Ron

 

 

Great read brother, I couldn't help but to smile imagining you tinkering with it... I put myself in your shoes and I know how extatic I would be
..
Thx again for a great read and good luck on the continuing adventure

[Agrajag]

Great stuff Ron! I've still got an Atari STE and Falcon tucked away and wish I had the time and space to get them back up and running. One of these days...

[rfancella]

Yes for sure.  Just not sure which one.

The Gotek is cheaper.  But the HxC is more feature rich.  And I can use it on more than one machine.  Just have to disconnect it and move a couple jumpers.

I do plan on adding an Indivision ECS to it.  But untill I can afford that, I'll build the adapter to use my Atari Monitor on it.

I also plan on adding a USB to Amiga mouse adaptor.  They are pricy as will, but then I can use a standard PC mouse on it.

 

These are my options:

An un-flashed Gotek and flash kit runs around $43.00

A flashed Gotek with Cortex firmware is around $42.00

A flashed Gotek with HxC firmware is around $52.00

An HxC internal slim is around $93.00

An HxC internal is around $157.00

An HxC external cased is around $152.00

 

An Indivision ECS is around $93.00 not including shipping.

But it allows me to connect the A500 to a CRT or LCD monitor.    VGA output, baby!

 

The PC USB Mouse adaptor is around $23.00

 

Those are required in my book.

Then, the wish list is to add a ACA500, Kickstart 3.1 with a kickstart switcher, A501 and maybe an ACA1221 (or ACA1243) down the road.

 

Wow.  That's a ton of money.  But it's either this or save it for the grandkids.    Maybe i'll just will this to one of them.  Right??

 

Thanks,

Ron

 

 

I had one of these in the exact same config as you   Used it so much.

Did you think about swapping out the drive for an SD card solution instead? 

[rfancella]

Nice!  The Falcon was quite the beast back in the day.

It was comporable to an A1200, if memory serves.

Is your STE a 520 or 1040??  Or perchance a MEGA?? 

 

I think i'll eventually bump mine up to TOS 1.4 and add an UltaSatan to it. 

For now, i'll just keep writing ST images to floppy every time I want to play a different game.    Easy utility to do so and it only takes a couple minutes per floppy.

 

Thanks,

Ron

 

 

Great stuff Ron! I've still got an Atari STE and Falcon tucked away and wish I had the time and space to get them back up and running. One of these days...

[Agrajag]

I think the STE has 4MB installed, can't remember what if started as though.

The Falcon has 16MB and a 128MB internal HDD, and cost a small fortune as I recall. I also added a video digitizer and one of those gizmos that increases the screen resolution. Knackered my monitor a bit fiddling with that!

[dark13]

The atari falcon was actually better than an amiga 1200 as it was sold with a 16hmz '030, 8 audio channel and had a DSP. Amiga 1200 was an engineering disaster as the chipset was not consistently updated and it was too slow compared to the 020, with a simple 2mb fastram upgrade an A1200 is almost twice faster

 

The only problem with an A500 is upgrades costs lots of money and you're a bit limited in possibilities. Indivision does not improve CPU and honestly I don't know if videoram can be addressed as ram for whdload. ACA 500 is a really stupid thing to me... only 68010 and 2mb, if you want a better cpu and more ram you have to stuck another ACA to it ending up with a bad looking board hanging out from your amiga. I think the only interesting project is vampire500 FPGA but it's still not a finished product (as far as i remember RTG emulation is planned).

 

Why NTSC? Most amiga's software is PAL and some NTSC games are unplayable as they have not been speed-corrected so the gameplay is too fast. Here in italy we have PAL but I wouldn't suggest buying a PAL megadrive as most games are 20% slower and with orrible black stripes

[rfancella]

Dark,

Thanks so much for the info.  I never knew anyone that had a Falcon here in the states.  Sounds like an amazing machine.

 

I do not agree with your assesment of the ACA500.  I do agree, it's ugly. 

But there is no other solution out there that allows you to have two seperate hard drives (compact flash ).  It just plugs into the expansion slot.  Comes with Kickstart 3.1 switchable and 1.5 or 2mb memory expansion.  If the game won't run, shut down the computer and pull the expansion.  It's back to a stock A500.

Agreed, it does not add an 020 or "new" processor, but does double the speed of your existing CPU.  Unfortunatley, they cannot be found at the moment.  But the ACA500 Plus is due out around the end of the year.  That adds, reportedly, 8 or 10mb with some additional features.

The Vampire does look sweet.  But again, it's an "inside job". 

 

Keep in mind this, nostalga does not equate to logic.  Just trying to live out my youth. 

 

I wouldn't mind having an A1200.  They are very rare here in the US.    I understand the issues with it and that many games will not run on it.  But I can't afford an A4000T either. 

 

What do you think about the UltraSatan for the ST series?

 

Thanks,

Ron

 

The atari falcon was actually better than an amiga 1200 as it was sold with a 16hmz '030, 8 audio channel and had a DSP. Amiga 1200 was an engineering disaster as the chipset was not consistently updated and it was too slow compared to the 020, with a simple 2mb fastram upgrade an A1200 is almost twice faster

 

The only problem with an A500 is upgrades costs lots of money and you're a bit limited in possibilities. Indivision does not improve CPU and honestly I don't know if videoram can be addressed as ram for whdload. ACA 500 is a really stupid thing to me... only 68010 and 2mb, if you want a better cpu and more ram you have to stuck another ACA to it ending up with a bad looking board hanging out from your amiga. I think the only interesting project is vampire500 FPGA but it's still not a finished product (as far as i remember RTG emulation is planned).

 

Why NTSC? Most amiga's software is PAL and some NTSC games are unplayable as they have not been speed-corrected so the gameplay is too fast. Here in italy we have PAL but I wouldn't suggest buying a PAL megadrive as most games are 20% slower and with orrible black stripes

[dark13]

Dark,

Thanks so much for the info.  I never knew anyone that had a Falcon here in the states.  Sounds like an amazing machine.

 

I do not agree with your assesment of the ACA500.  I do agree, it's ugly. 

But there is no other solution out there that allows you to have two seperate hard drives (compact flash ).  It just plugs into the expansion slot.  Comes with Kickstart 3.1 switchable and 1.5 or 2mb memory expansion.  If the game won't run, shut down the computer and pull the expansion.  It's back to a stock A500.

Agreed, it does not add an 020 or "new" processor, but does double the speed of your existing CPU.  Unfortunatley, they cannot be found at the moment.  But the ACA500 Plus is due out around the end of the year.  That adds, reportedly, 8 or 10mb with some additional features.

The Vampire does look sweet.  But again, it's an "inside job". 

 

Keep in mind this, nostalga does not equate to logic.  Just trying to live out my youth. 

 

I wouldn't mind having an A1200.  They are very rare here in the US.    I understand the issues with it and that many games will not run on it.  But I can't afford an A4000T either. 

 

What do you think about the UltraSatan for the ST series?

 

Thanks,

Ron

 

Well, honestly I haven't seen an atari ST nor a (more "uncommon") atari falcon back in the days. Amiga was basically better and cheap enough so the choice was obvious. Here in italy IBM compatibles were really too pricey, especially the decent ones. Consider that back in the days italian £ was a weak currency, so in the very end you must consider hardware's cost to be something like 2X compared to USA. Atari ST was mainly chosen by musicians while amiga was clearly a "gaming machine". USA mentality was very different: amiga's price was too high to consider A500 a "gaming machine" but in USA cartridges rent was very common while here it was not, piracy, on the contrary, was very common in italy and the whole europe.

 

8mb-10mb on ACA500 would make sense... as far as i remember many whdload games have problems with 2mb even if pre-load is turned off.

 

A1200 are common enough here, they aren't exactly "cheap" but prices are not out of this world. You might check if amigakit still has refurbished A1200 on sale . EU to USA delivery isn't exactly on the "cheap" side though...

[rfancella]

Just a quick update.

I got a female DB23 and female DIN13.  My attempts to make an adapter cable to use my Atari SC1224 monitor on my Amiga have failed miserably. 

All I get is a dim scrolling screen.  So, I orderd and Indivision ECS from AmigaKit last week.  I know, they are a little slow to ship.  Orderd it on Friday.  We'll see. 

Also orderd a Gotek (unflashed) and a Gotek Firmware Flash kit from Poland.  Orderd it beginning of last week, so it should be here this week some time.  I'll give it a good test once it's flashed and report back here.  I'll have to use the Mono Composite out untill the IndECS shows up.

I also bought a 512k trap door expansion board from another Amiga site.  Excited to get it in.  Just shipped today from a guy in Turkey.

Got a PS2/USB Mouse Adapter for both Amiga and Atari.  Tried it out on my Atari 1040 STf.  Wow!  I can now use an optical mouse on both machines!  That's cool!!

 

Thanks,

Ron

[rfancella]

Hello all!

Another quick update.

My Indivision ECS shipped today. Woot! The 512k ram board should be here any day.

Over the last couple days I got the Gotek and flash kit. Put the Cortex firmware on it and started going through my USB drives to find one that will work. I have a 16gb Cruizer that works great. Loaded it up with all the adf's I could find. Only a quarter full. Nice!

Playing Amiga games in monocrome sucks.

Thanks,

Ron