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Kay 
Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 28-Feb-2017 14:26:41
#1 ]
Super Member
Joined: 9-Mar-2003
Posts: 1411
From: Norway

Hi,

so, as I wrote in the other thread, I'm getting back into the Amiga/retro computing. I thought maybe I'd write about it as I progressed, and thought I'd do so in a separate thread. First, these are my old computers and consoles:
* AmigaOne G4XE, AmigaOS 4
* Amiga 1200, in tower, Blizzard PPC 060/603e, Mediator PCI, improved ATA, etc.
* Amiga 500, 1 MB chip, 4 MB fast, 50 MB side-mounted harddrive
* Amiga CDTV
* Amiga CD32
* Dragon 32
* Commodore 64 DTV
* Nintendo Gamecube
* Playstation 2
* NES

Aditionally, I have a pretty good gaming PC with a large monitor. Obviously, my office does not have anywhere enough space set up all of these systems. It's not a huge room, and I have a lot of stuff. However, I hope to be able to set up 3 or 4 of them, hopefully without my office degenerating into a complete mess.

I'll be posting here as I progress, hopefully someone will find it interesting.

Edit: I forgot to list my NES!

Last edited by Kay on 28-Feb-2017 at 09:10 PM.

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Templario 
Re: Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 28-Feb-2017 14:33:52
#2 ]
Elite Member
Joined: 22-Jun-2004
Posts: 3663
From: Unknown

@Kay
In your collection are missing two things, a sam computer like altmos all us and a MorphOS machine.

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AlicePPC 
Re: Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 28-Feb-2017 14:34:36
#3 ]
Member
Joined: 17-Nov-2005
Posts: 81
From: Asturies-Spain

@Kay
Welcome back.
A very good collection, you can always have more Amiga space on your desktop by removing the PC...you need it for the good new amiga hardware or the classic expansions

_________________
AmigaOne X5000/40-Amiga 4000T- Amiga 1200 x2

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OlafS25 
Re: Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 28-Feb-2017 14:46:55
#4 ]
Elite Member
Joined: 12-May-2010
Posts: 6321
From: Unknown

@Templario

almost all of us have a sam?

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wawa 
Re: Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 28-Feb-2017 15:02:32
#5 ]
Elite Member
Joined: 21-Jan-2008
Posts: 6259
From: Unknown

@OlafS25

Quote:
almost all of us have a sam?


maybe he meant almost all of us are missing it? although im not missing it too much, to tell the truth.

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marko 
Re: Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 28-Feb-2017 15:52:56
#6 ]
Super Member
Joined: 17-Dec-2007
Posts: 1816
From: Gothenburg, THE front side of Sweden ;), (via Finland), EU

@Kay

That's a nice collection!

I also have the neverending issue with having the space for all my computers and screens on a limited area.

_________________
AmigaOS 4.1 FEu2 on Sam440ep-flex 800MHz 1GB RAM
C128, A500+, A1200, A1200/40, AmigaForever 2008+09+16, 5 x86/x64 boxes
Still waiting (or dreaming) for the Amiga revolution...
m4rko.com/AMIGA

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Kay 
Re: Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 28-Feb-2017 21:08:42
#7 ]
Super Member
Joined: 9-Mar-2003
Posts: 1411
From: Norway

I will need to wait for some extra furniture to accommodate my older systems, I got started on my AmigaOne G4XE, which I am hoping to put inside my desk, sharing at least the monitor with my PC. This was the last Amiga which I used as my main computer. It has 512 MB of RAM, a 120 GB hard drive, and a Radeon 9100 graphics card. I remember I had it configured with Linux and Mac, and I remember showing it off at an Amiga Expo we organized in Trondheim, where I would demonstrate running Starcraft using Mac emulation.

Yesterday was a pretty good day, as after some problems which I talked about in the other thread, I managed to get it up and running. I had to use my old monitor which has an analog input however. Today, I had hoped to do a few things with the AmigaOne, all of which have failed so far.

Most importantly, I wanted to connect it to my ASUS ROG monitor, so that I wouldn't need a messy setup with two monitors. To achieve this, I purchased a fairly expensive VGA to RGB converter. Unfortunately, my modern monitor doesn't seem to accept the signal from the converter.

The second thing I wanted to do, was copy the contents of my harddrive to my PC for backup and inspection. I tried connecting several different USB sticks as well as an external HD. None of them worked, and I also discovered that the USB preferences crash.

Finally, I tried connecting to the internet using the onboard Ethernet port. This also failed, giving me a timeout when I try resetting the connection.

So far, my AmigaOne seems to be in a fairly poor shape when it comes to software in general. After I receive my copy of AmigaOS 4.1 (ordered and sent from Amigakit today), I will be reinstalling the OS and updating everything, hopefully working out the issues and bringing the functionality to a more pleasing level. As for right now, my AmigaOne, as well as my desk, is a mess.

Last edited by Kay on 28-Feb-2017 at 10:09 PM.
Last edited by Kay on 28-Feb-2017 at 09:09 PM.

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PR 
Re: Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 1-Mar-2017 0:29:37
#8 ]
Super Member
Joined: 1-Sep-2004
Posts: 1961
From: Suomi-Finland

Good collection.

My XE is still waiting for the OS 4.2- or 5 and the killer browser.

060, PIV , A500 x few with some addons and a pile of other Migas + extras.

OS4 works fine , only what to do with it. It's fast.

OS4Depot and the legendary Aminet is a for a start if forgotten.

A new install runned well.

Hoping to get it there too as with the monitor.

Here a HP monitor sharing the pc and XE with KVM switch. Viewsonic worked too but ditched that.

Happy Amigatimes.

PR



Last edited by PR on 01-Mar-2017 at 12:35 AM.
Last edited by PR on 01-Mar-2017 at 12:31 AM.

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Templario 
Re: Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 1-Mar-2017 2:10:46
#9 ]
Elite Member
Joined: 22-Jun-2004
Posts: 3663
From: Unknown

@wawa
I have two.

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Kay 
Re: Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 1-Mar-2017 18:15:00
#10 ]
Super Member
Joined: 9-Mar-2003
Posts: 1411
From: Norway

Another day, not much progress, but I've learned a little bit:

The VGA to HDMI adapter I bought is working, as I found out when connecting it to my old monitor using an HDMI-DVI cable. However, connecting it to the modern monitor (an ASUS ROG PG279), it will not accept the input.

Now, another strange thing: if I connect the DVI output of my AmigaOne directly to either monitor (using either a DVI-DVI or DVI-HDMI cable), I will get a picture, up until Workbench has loaded, at which point it will go blank (the ASUS says it's out of range). I'm suspecting there is something wrong, either with the way AmigaOS is handling the graphics card, or the graphics card itself. I found a Radeon 9250 for sale on a Norwegian second hand sales site, which I think I will try to order, to see if it helps. Also, my copy of AmigaOS 4.1 is underway, which might help as well.

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Kay 
Re: Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 1-Mar-2017 20:06:44
#11 ]
Super Member
Joined: 9-Mar-2003
Posts: 1411
From: Norway

I am still waiting for furniture to accomodate, but I couldn't resist taking a look at my Amiga 1200. This is the machine I am most uncertain about, both when it comes to condition and what I will do with it. I caught a glimpse of it when fetching the AmigaOne, and it has been in the back of my mind since.



Some of you might recognize this as the Elbox Power Tower. It has seen better days. The cover for the floppy drive was removed long ago, as it didn't align properly with the drive. Apart from that minor annoyance, it also needs a proper cleaning.



There's the back of it. I remember those two phono outputs, I believe I actually drilled the holes into the case. There are leads from them to the audio ouput on the CDROM.



Now, the inside is what I was most curious about, and immediately, it is obvious that something is missing. Instead of the rather large BlizzardPPC, there is the old 68030. What used to be in between the connector and the accelerator, was a Mediator PCI, to which I believe I had attached a Voodoo 3 card, a network card, and possibly a sound card. I did a quick search to see if I could find the Mediator, but couldn't. It might be around somewhere. I vaguely recall putting it in a box intended for something else, but it was so long ago.

The search for the Mediator revealed a mint condition MSI Radeon 9250, though. I don't remember why I have this, but I suspect it was the highest spec card I could find for my AmigaOne at the time, and that it ended up back in the box because it didn't work with it. A quick test seems to support this theory.

Now, back to the A1200. This used to be my main computer for a long time, and it went through several upgrades. While I am feeling nostalgic about the Power Tower now, it was probably at the point when I transferred it to the tower that things started getting a bit too far away from what the computer was originally designed to be. In the old days, it used to be in its wedge case, with a 1230 accellerator, some extra ram, internal IDE harddrive, and external CDROM. I don't quite remember how I combined this with Internet access, but there probably was a solution. I think it might have been through modem, as it was quite long ago. It was a reasonably expanded system, which worked well for games and general use, although I always yearned for a higher resolution, flicker free display output.

At the end, I think my A1200 had these specs:
* AmigaOS 3.9
* PPC 603e/68060
* 64 or 128 MB RAM?
* 3 GB harddrive
* Voodoo 3 graphics
* Enhanced SATA interface

Now, I don't think I want to return it to that state. It was motivated by the fact that this was my most powerful, main computer, and I was struggling with the limitations of old hardware. The place of main computer is now held by my PC, and my PPC Amiga system is the more powerful AmigaOne XE. I sort of miss the old wedge case for the 1200 (which I still believe I have lying around somewhere), and have thought about returning the Amiga to it. However, I also have a fair bit of nostalgia for the Power Tower. Additionally, I am not sure how easy the transfer would be. Perhaps I'll get a separate A1200, but I really don't know.

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wawa 
Re: Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 1-Mar-2017 20:23:53
#12 ]
Elite Member
Joined: 21-Jan-2008
Posts: 6259
From: Unknown

@Kay

sorry to say but this case is really really ugly. id check if you have the genuine casing or get one of those new fancy ones that have been fabricated lately
https://www.a1200.net/new-amiga-1200-cases/
and while using it with the accelerator you have at hand for the time being wait till vampire for a 1200 becomes available.

mediator is fine, but i think vampire might be more advantageous. mediator has a slow bus transfer to rtg, although it is able to produce high resolutions. vampire has its own framebuffer, and while it has some bottleneck that effectively reduces the frequency on hdmi output on higher resolutions, this may be taken care of when the solution for a1200 arrives.

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Kay 
Re: Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 1-Mar-2017 20:46:15
#13 ]
Super Member
Joined: 9-Mar-2003
Posts: 1411
From: Norway

No need to be sorry, I appreciate the opinion. I'd like to get an A1200 in a wedge case again, although I don't share your view on the Power Tower. Obviously, it looks a little nicer when new and clean:


But if you think it's ugly, no problem.

I'm very uncertain about what to do, though. I suppose I will start by looking for the BlizzardPPC and Mediator. The 1230 accelerator will probably find a use, as I like the idea of having a modestly upgraded A1200. The Vampire 1200 is something I am really interested in. A lot of the upgrades I installed, especially towards the end, felt like messy hacks, always with trade-offs and unfortunate limitations. The Vampire 1200 looks like the upgrade I would have loved to have back then, a clean and neat way to get a lot of power into an Amiga.

Last edited by Kay on 01-Mar-2017 at 08:47 PM.

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wawa 
Re: Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 1-Mar-2017 21:08:56
#14 ]
Elite Member
Joined: 21-Jan-2008
Posts: 6259
From: Unknown

@Kay

Quote:
Obviously, it looks a little nicer when new and clean:


i never liked these tower cases, i had two of them i got with a4000s from some tv studios. to me it has no amiga flair and it ages very badly. what i like is for instance a4000 case. it may be not very finctional in mainenance but its very compactly designed inclusive the interiour.

Quote:
I suppose I will start by looking for the BlizzardPPC and Mediator.

certainly if you already have them id put them to use. but i wouldnt buy them today.

Quote:
A lot of the upgrades I installed, especially towards the end, felt like messy hacks, always with trade-offs and unfortunate limitations.


because they have been trade offs and limitations. on the other hand technical progress has made new tech to fit better with the old hardware. today you dont need a messy hack around 3.5inch hard drive, you can take a silent cf or sd card. if you really need it you have a compact cd drive that fits into amiga 5.25 drive bay. better fpgas are making low power consumption low heat accels possible without some ugly ppc cpu companion hack that doesnt help with most applications. all in all there is a number of options open.

Last edited by wawa on 01-Mar-2017 at 09:09 PM.

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Kay 
Re: Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 1-Mar-2017 21:49:58
#15 ]
Super Member
Joined: 9-Mar-2003
Posts: 1411
From: Norway

Ooh, I did take a look at those new A1200 cases, they look amazing! Now I sort of want 3 A1200s. One in the tower, one in an original case, and one in a fancy case. But space and money will probably dictate that I can't have all three.

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wawa 
Re: Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 1-Mar-2017 21:54:55
#16 ]
Elite Member
Joined: 21-Jan-2008
Posts: 6259
From: Unknown

@Kay

;)

i havent got any as i did not "towerized" any of my amigas. in fact i tried to put one in a 19'' rack, as i used them for driving units in some vdeo installations, but i luckily gave up on that and simply used straps instead.

i have one trusty 1200 though that is very sun burned. one day..

btw, id better not post a snapshot of my desk. i know how they tend to look. yours is still rather clean. here one half dismantled s4000 is sitting here next to me waiting for another aros test case. in the corner behind another two, aww, aww...

Last edited by wawa on 01-Mar-2017 at 09:59 PM.
Last edited by wawa on 01-Mar-2017 at 09:59 PM.
Last edited by wawa on 01-Mar-2017 at 09:55 PM.

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Kay 
Re: Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 2-Mar-2017 18:54:08
#17 ]
Super Member
Joined: 9-Mar-2003
Posts: 1411
From: Norway

Today I'm sort of taking a day off, as I haven't had nearly enough sleep this week, and I am waiting for the new graphics card and OS upgrade for the AmigaOne. I did go out and buy a a well known computer product, though:



That's right, it's the "Be Your MOOD" Extreme Lightener from Palette, with its advanced White Reflection system. Okay, as some of you might have guessed, what I'm actually after here is hydrogen peroxide cream which comes with it.



A lot of my old equipment is both dirty and yellowed, and I'm hoping the hydrogen peroxide cream in this package will be a decent substitute for Retrobright. It's actually not that easy to source these things in Norway. I looked at several shops and webshops looking for it. You could get liquid hydrogen peroxide at a pharmacy, but only a small quantity, and at a high cost. Then you would still need to get some other chemicals to turn it into a cream, and it just wouldn't be convenient. I also found a medium sized box of cream at a hair salon, but it had a bunch of different chemicals, and cost more than £40. What I would have preferred was to order this cream:
https://www.chemistdirect.co.uk/bblonde-cream-peroxide-40vol/prd-31a
This is cheap, and I have read about other people using it for the same purpose, so it should work. Unfortunately they don't ship this one to Norway for some reason. If someone in the UK feels like helping me obtain this, please PM me.

I've also bought some electronics cleaning fluid, microfiber cloth, and compressed air. Time to do some much needed cleaning.

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SydneyBloom 
Re: Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 3-Mar-2017 7:25:20
#18 ]
Member
Joined: 23-Sep-2008
Posts: 64
From: Norway

@Kay

You don't need to mutch hydrogenperoxide, and you can buy the 3% concentration in big bottles at a lower price. The 3% worked well for me. To make it creamy just add "maizzena" or similar from the grocery store.

Last edited by SydneyBloom on 03-Mar-2017 at 07:25 AM.

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Kay 
Re: Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 3-Mar-2017 9:01:08
#19 ]
Super Member
Joined: 9-Mar-2003
Posts: 1411
From: Norway

@SydneyBloom

Do you mean the 100 ml bottles they sell in pharmacies? Do you mind PMing me the details of what you used and how you mixed it?

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klx300r 
Re: Getting back into the Amiga
Posted on 3-Mar-2017 18:22:17
#20 ]
Elite Member
Joined: 4-Mar-2008
Posts: 3833
From: Toronto, Canada

Quote:

Kay wrote:
@SydneyBloom

Do you mean the 100 ml bottles they sell in pharmacies? Do you mind PMing me the details of what you used and how you mixed it?


+1, please keep us updated as I would love to whiten up my A4000 keyboard top cover soon

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c64-2sids, A1000, A1200T-060@50(finally working!),A4000-CSMKIII
! My Master Miggies- Amiga 1000 & AmigaOne X1000 !
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