c0op3r Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 I just wanted to say hello, I just decided to finally branch out from Apple II (I do recognize a lot of the names here from the Apple II section). I am really happy to find a group of people that have interest in the Amiga, one of the things with the Amiga is that a lot of the people that are interested in it are in Europe, so unlike he Apple the Forums and Fb groups are all over the place. I never really owned an Amiga I used to play with one as I worked/managed an Electronic Boutique (almost 30 yrs ago) and we had them for sale and a demo unit. I had gone PC by that time but was always impressed by the machine. So I am learning FAST what I want, and I have ordered all kinds of parts to build out my machine: A500 (got one from eBay in box with power supply and mouse GREEN LEDs) VampireV2+ from AmiBay New 512k Trpdoor RAM upgrade w/ RTC GoTek Floppy Emu (the one from eBay that has all the Commodore markings) External Floppy Drive (I got this so I can put the GoTek in it) Floppy Boot selector switch Compact Flash to IDE adapter 5" cable for adapter Plipbox Deluxe with Vampire Edition Case Still gotta get a CF Card from Amazon I really want an Amiga 600 also, I think its just a really cool looking little machine, I have been watching AmiBay (as eBay people think those things are GOLD) cant really find one YET! But I went ahead and order some parts for it when I find one: Furia 33Mhz +FPU accelerator A604n RAM upgrade with RTC Kick Start Rom Chip 3.x Capacitor Kit IDE to CF card adapter I have a lead on a Indivision ECS Scan Doubler. As cool as a Vampired 500 is that switching back and forth from RGB to HDMI is not cool, so if I get the 600 setup like I want I can see the 500 going away unless they fix that in a SOON firmware update. Some of you might ask why buy parts for a machine you dont have yet, but some of you are from the Apple side also and know that these new parts come out and go away fast and if you dont get it, its gone. Not sure if this is the case for Amiga also, but did not want to take a chance. So anyway I look forward to learning from you all and playing some Lemmings and Cannon Fodder. c0op3r 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Welcome to Amiga! You have put together one helluva starter system, something I would have died to have back when I picked up my first 500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0op3r Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 Welcome to Amiga! You have put together one helluva starter system, something I would have died to have back when I picked up my first 500. Thanx - Yeah its kinda the MVP of Amiga stuff currently (from what I can tell) but I dont plan on branching out beyond the 500/600 machine so its ease to get the goods for this machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinphaltimus Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Yeah, helluvuh starter there. I purchased my first A500 from EB back in 90. The one I have now sounds a lot like yours. I traded out the CFCard reader for a 44pin ide to sata and connected an SSD. Put the GoTek as DF0: because I put the entire setup into an ATX tower case - original case was shattered due to brittle plastics. And I went with SDNet for the vampire. Also added a USB Keyboard and separate USB mouse adaptor. It's also the only Amiga I own. So I'll be saving up for a Vampire v4 Stand-Alone if ever I need to replace it. Otherwise, the rest of my Amiga world is in emulation.As for the RGB/DV outputs due to the vampire, it's not unlike the old days. If you went out and purchased an RTC video card for you big box Amiga, you'd most likely need two displays as well. However; there is an updated core v3 coming that allows all video out of the digital video port. But THAT version 3 core is coming after the next core v 2.7 is released. Which we're all hoping is SOON. But it does nothing to address the 2 monitor system AFAIK. So Welcome. Hope it's as fun for you as I. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 BTW, LOVE the avatar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0op3r Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 Yeah, helluvuh starter there. I purchased my first A500 from EB back in 90. The one I have now sounds a lot like yours. I traded out the CFCard reader for a 44pin ide to sata and connected an SSD. Put the GoTek as DF0: because I put the entire setup into an ATX tower case - original case was shattered due to brittle plastics. And I went with SDNet for the vampire. Also added a USB Keyboard and separate USB mouse adaptor. It's also the only Amiga I own. So I'll be saving up for a Vampire v4 Stand-Alone if ever I need to replace it. Otherwise, the rest of my Amiga world is in emulation. As for the RGB/DV outputs due to the vampire, it's not unlike the old days. If you went out and purchased an RTC video card for you big box Amiga, you'd most likely need two displays as well. However; there is an updated core v3 coming that allows all video out of the digital video port. But THAT version 3 core is coming after the next core v 2.7 is released. Which we're all hoping is SOON. But it does nothing to address the 2 monitor system AFAIK. So Welcome. Hope it's as fun for you as I. If you live in PA when you bought that you were not to far from EBs headquaters (West Chester). I gave serious consideration to going with an IDE SSD, but the CF is easier to take out and plug into a USB adapter to move files onto the CF than an IDE SSD drive, none of my workstations have IDE only SATA SSDs, so it was a convenience over quality consideration. I chose to put the GoTek external as I would call myself a Resto-Modder in the vintage computer world, I like to keep the 'original' feel of the machine, but under the hood its SUPERCHARGED. I like using a floppy every so often, so I wanted DF0 to actually be the floppy drive. I am not one for emulation, I like the hardware and I like making incredibly modded machines. I my fingers and toes crossed that the Vampire/Apollo people figure out how to get everything out of the HDMI port eventually (read: SOON). But that is why I am so interested in the 600, it wont be as fast, but with the Indivision ECS adapter its an all one output machine. BTW, LOVE the avatar. Right back at you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 (edited) That's a lot of good stuff to start your mission I was the opposite. I was always an Amiga guy and only recently (within the past year) got into the Apple II/IIGS. The Amiga as you would imagine is a different world, but certainly a great one! I think when it comes to the A500 setup you are configuring you might be concentrating way too much on the floppy stuff. With the Vampire and ApolloOS you will probably rarely if ever use the Gotek, floppy selector...or the floppy drive in general. The OS contains every game and demo I could possibly think of...and tons of applications to boot. You will need a 32GB CF card to fit the enormous image. The Indivision ECS is a must currently with the firmware not supporting native amiga video modes. It's just a good piece of kit to have in general. Amigakit gets stock regularly and I did not have to wait long for them to get in stock. Just keep an eye on the page daily: https://amigakit.amiga.store/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=918 You will definitely want to increase the chip ram on the A500 to 2MB if you have a motherboard revision that can use a MegaChip or equivalent. The MegaChip usually runs $150-$200 on ebay and I paid $150 for mine. It might sound like a lot just for chip ram, but when you find you cannot launch great WHDLoad games like Cannon Fodder due to lack of chip ram you will be looking for one of these Sometimes good deals like this pop up so you might want to follow a seach for "Amiga MegaChip": https://www.ebay.com/itm/MegAChip-DKB-Software-For-Commodore-Amiga-500-2000-2000HD-/322847616766?hash=item4b2b37aefe%3Ag%3ADbMAAOSw~vpZ8QRu&nma=true&si=82Mk7yUwfkYIpOlime35S5%252B31s4%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 As for the 600, I had one of these as well a while ago with the Furia and I have to say it was a nice compact peppy machine. But at the end of the day with your A500 upgrades your A500 will be faster and can play the same exact stuff. Only get the A600 if you want a tiny amiga And as you said about parts being available and then not, yes, this happens on the Amiga side as well...but I have had MUCH less of a hard time getting Amiga components than IIGS stuff. It took a year to get a Transwarp and I am still looking for a Nashida Radio DVI or VGA adapter after looking for over a year! Edited January 16, 2018 by eightbit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0op3r Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 That's a lot of good stuff to start your mission I was the opposite. I was always an Amiga guy and only recently (within the past year) got into the Apple II/IIGS. The Amiga as you would imagine is a different world, but certainly a great one! I think when it comes to the A500 setup you are configuring you might be concentrating way too much on the floppy stuff. With the Vampire and ApolloOS you will probably rarely if ever use the Gotek, floppy selector...or the floppy drive in general. The OS contains every game and demo I could possibly think of...and tons of applications to boot. You will need a 32GB CF card to fit the enormous image. The Indivision ECS is a must currently with the firmware not supporting native amiga video modes. It's just a good piece of kit to have in general. Amigakit gets stock regularly and I did not have to wait long for them to get in stock. Just keep an eye on the page daily: <snip> Good info I will keep an eye on the page for the Indivision ECS. As to the floppy you could be entirely correct, ALL of my purchases are based entirely on research and NO actual experience. But it was cheap enough to have around even if its rarely used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 I have a Gotek in my A2000 and I use it sometimes. I have a 64GB USB inside of it that has pretty much the entire TOSEC collection just in case I run into a reason to launch something. I have a real floppy drive in the machine as well in order to image real amiga disks if I ever need to (recently did this with 14 Toaster install disks) and I can use the Gotek and images in order to run installations to the "hard drive" (in my case SCSI2SD) So yeah, it definitely has its uses. I just find I personally do not use it much at all...but it is always good to have it there so you made some good purchases. If you need help with anything along the way you know we are all there to help you out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinphaltimus Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 I should mention vampire core v3 will bring upwards of 4MB chip ram as well as AGA to that A500 and the HDMI video fix as mentioned earlier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinphaltimus Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 (edited) And - with A 3.1 rom, you don't need the floppy switcher. 3.1 rom comes with an early boot menu or early start menu (whatever it's officially called) that allows you to choose your boot device. So even tho' I have DFO: as my goTek and real floppy as my DF1: I can boot to either. Well, not true, I modded my GoTek and I use it in index mode which doesn't support booting from it. So there's that.AND, Vampire will ask you to pull your kickstart rom chip out, it's not needed as it is built into the Vampire and could cause issues if left in.AND - as eightbit said, you won't really be using the floppy much at all if you go with the ApolloOS image.But it could come in handy so you don't feel left out. Like right now, as I type this, the Old School Hacker Group BAmiga Sector One's entire floppy archive is being virtualized and uploaded for the first time ever. Hundreds of floppy images to explore, but beware of the old school virus infections that are still an issue today. A lot of the TOSEC collection is infected. And some of the disks in the BS1 collection are infected. And yet, there are tools like ADF device that allow you to mount ADF files in workbench, from there you can Super Duper or X-Copy them to a real floppy disk if you did not have a GoTek. I do have a GoTek and still use adf.device to mount adf files on occasion. Since I can easily transfer them via Ethernet. Edited January 16, 2018 by Sinphaltimus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sm3 Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 There will be a Kickstarter coming for new Amiga 500 cases as well (have to scroll down) https://www.a1200.net/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 There will be a Kickstarter coming for new Amiga 500 cases as well (have to scroll down) https://www.a1200.net/ I am definitely in for that... would like to put my souped-up 500 in a clear case. Mind you, I am still waiting for all my KS key-caps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sm3 Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 I am definitely in for that... would like to put my souped-up 500 in a clear case. Mind you, I am still waiting for all my KS key-caps. Yeah, it takes him a while to get things going, but he delivered on the 2 Amiga 1200 cases I bought in the Kickstarter. They are good quality too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Yeah, it takes him a while to get things going, but he delivered on the 2 Amiga 1200 cases I bought in the Kickstarter. They are good quality too! I love my 1200 cases... except I cannot figure out how to open up the USB port holes on the side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 I just wanted to say hello, I just decided to finally branch out from Apple II (I do recognize a lot of the names here from the Apple II section). I am really happy to find a group of people that have interest in the Amiga, one of the things with the Amiga is that a lot of the people that are interested in it are in Europe, so unlike he Apple the Forums and Fb groups are all over the place. Depending on what you're looking to get out of the platform, you'll likely find it to be superior to the IIgs. The IIgs never went anyplace. The Amiga went to artists and TV shows like Babylon 5. The IIgs had a lot of limitations built-in from the factory that only expensive add-ons could "cure". This being done to prevent competition against the MAC. The most obvious being the 2.8MHz clock speed. There was also a copyright claim that prevented Apple from selling any computer with built-in stereo sound output. And the IIgs never had a lot of software. Despite my tedious and lousy experience with the Amiga in it's heyday, I will say that in the past 5 years its scene has become more focused and active than anything for the IIgs, especially now. I get the impression the IIgs has a lot of "Because Apple" surrounding it. And that's the only reason why it's on the radar today. Not because of any technical merits. And my IIgs is in my collection, Because Apple! Back in the day a buddy of mine got a IIgs, but all we did with it was play Apple II games at 3MHz, we never really used anything on the GS side of things because, well, there was very little available for it at the time. By the time the IIgs side got any significant software, there were all kinds of accelerators and interesting bits of graphics software available on the Amiga and other 68000 based machines. And worst of all, it's a kludgy kombination of the very successful and wildly popular 1MHz 6502 //e and some half-aborted MAC prototype. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0op3r Posted January 30, 2018 Author Share Posted January 30, 2018 So here I am so far: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sm3 Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Looks good! What are you doing for video? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Vampire pr0n! I hope he is using the Vamp's RTG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sm3 Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Interesting, I haven't been keeping up with the Vampire stuff, since I mostly buy from iComp. I see there is HDMI output on this device. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinphaltimus Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 I was in the same place not too long ago - But I couldn't keep it in the original case - see the missing bottom half from the top of the case. Yeah - Brittle plastic - Hence why i put it in an ATX tower.GodSpeed - have fun.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbit Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 (edited) It's really the lack of the RF shielding (in combination with old plastic) that causes this. The shield not only served as an RF shield, but more importantly as a rest for the keyboard itself. Without it the keyboard is just kind of floating there...pushing on that expensive vampire and not providing the plastic with solid stability. I never had a vampire in an A500 (it was in my A2000 when I had it) but I did have an Indivision ECS in my A500 and I was able to get the shield back on with a little modification. I would suggest at least trying to get the shield back if you can without any damage or shorts. As much as I loved the Amiga 500, I just cannot find myself ever going back to its lack of internal expandability. The Amiga 2000 all the way for me (and other big box Amigas) Edited January 30, 2018 by eightbit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 On the 500? ISTR the keyboard rests on supports which are built into the side of the case. Been a while since I have been in mine so I could be mistaken. I was happy when I moved to my 4000 from the 500, but I had my 500 decked out with a 68030/50, MegaAChip, 32MB RAM, and I had a GVP A500+ for the hard drive on the side. The internal CD-ROM in the 4000 was a bonus, for sure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c0op3r Posted January 31, 2018 Author Share Posted January 31, 2018 Looks good! What are you doing for video? My original intention was to use the Vampire's HDMI out for video but, it turns out that you can only use that for SOME video modes. So for now the Amiga 500 is not really going to get used. The Apollo Team has been promising that the next release of the firmware will handle this issue. Vampire pr0n! I hope he is using the Vamp's RTG. RTG? I was in the same place not too long ago - But I couldn't keep it in the original case - see the missing bottom half from the top of the case. Yeah - Brittle plastic - Hence why i put it in an ATX tower. Funny you should mention that the case cracked. I retrobrited my 500 and I did not even get the mixture off the case before it cracked, the Commodore plastic is so brittle, that is one of the reason I really hope that replacement cases are produced. As mentioned above the 500 is going to get shelved for a while till the next Firmware is released and I (fingers crossed) the replacement cases are produced. In the meantime I have a 600 on the way, I figure its a bit newer so maybe the plastic wont be as bad, its a lot smaller (I love that smaller footprint). I plan on making it my daily driver over the 500. I got a handful of upgrades for it: Indivision 6004n with RTC Module Indivision ECS Scandoubler Furia EC020 Kickstart 3.1 ROM SD to 2.5” IDE adapter 16GB SD Rom Card PCMIA WiFi Card PCMIA to CF card adapter US power supply So that machine wont be as fast but for playing classic Amiga games this should be just fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 RTG = Radioistope Thermoelectric Generator used on deep space probes like Voyager. Or more applicable to Amiga, RTG = ReTargetable Graphics https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retargetable_graphics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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