Hi all,

I'm thinking of creating a laptop from my Sam440ep.

I realise there are several problems to overcome, size of case, charging (connecting batteries to Sam440 motherboard).

Anyone got advice on possible routes to take, possible laptop cases that would accommodate a Sam440 board.

There more advice I get the more chance I have of succeeding.

If anyone has tried and failed I would also like to know how far you got.

If anyone else is thinking of doing such a project I'd also like to hear from you.

Last edited by 1Mouse on 06-Nov-2016 at 03:45 PM.

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1 AmigaOne G4XE (OS4 Pre-Release Update4)
Minimig
Sam440ep + OS4.1FE
Sam460cr + OS4.1FE

@1Mouse

A SAM460EX (or Tabor board) would probably be a better start for a project like this, but since you already have the SAM440...

One thing you are going to have to figure out is how to drive a flat panel display.

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Amiga! "Our appeal has become more selective"

@1Mouse

Buy an Alice laptop, why punish yourself?

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"Art challenges technology. Technology inspires the art."
John Lasseter, Co-Founder of Pixar Animation Studios

@BigD

Buy a laptop, why punish yourself?

@1Mouse

You could consider a suitcase solution. I always found this project very interesting.

Amiga in Suitcase

@Beans

I originally thought of my 460cr but then realised it has no onboard anything so the 440ep seemed a better bet.

@all

I do like a bit of emulation but when I have all the parts, possibly, to build my own native laptop then why not try?

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1 AmigaOne G4XE (OS4 Pre-Release Update4)
Minimig
Sam440ep + OS4.1FE
Sam460cr + OS4.1FE

@1Mouse

LOL. I was going to suggest opening a thread. I'm sure this was discussed on here already. Anyway we'll see if anyone has any good suggestions.

Without a proper way to hook a Sam into a laptop case and use the facilities such as KB, pad, screen power and drives I would agree a "casetop" made from a suitcase may be an easier option.

You make a good point about power. The board expects ATX. So perhaps, slightly hack it if it works, by connecting an ATX/ITX PSU to an inverter hooked up to a 12V supply or whatever UK cars give. Without a proper adaptor, I've powered a PowerBook from a car inverter going from 12V DC to 240V AC to the AC adaptor which usually supplies 24V DC to the Mac.

A computer shouldn't pull too much load, but the drives and PSU would take some power. So this would be fine if you plug it into the wall. If you really want it portable you need a battery to handle it.

For the screen you just need slot it in the upper case or remove the LCD screen from it's case. But you need the logic board so you can hook DVI to DVI and power up.

Keyboard and track/mouse can be done same way. Just hook a usual one in the USB port.

It's getting heavy now.

Last edited by Hypex on 11-Oct-2016 at 02:23 PM.

@BigD

That's doesn't run OS4 like a Sam does. Isn't that just a fake netbook? I mean a netbook with Amiga emulators. 1Mouse wants a real computer I think where he can actually see a keyboard and screen. Not a toy computer.

@Hypex

That be right.

Could anybody in Amigaland hep

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1 AmigaOne G4XE (OS4 Pre-Release Update4)
Minimig
Sam440ep + OS4.1FE
Sam460cr + OS4.1FE

i don't think the SAM440ep would be really suitable for a laptop case, you'd need a very thick large one, to fit all needed drives, risers, cables and so on. However, with some luck you should be able to build a box adhering to VESA standards, and transform a LCD monitor into an... AmigaOne All-in-One!



...the Amiga-in-One!

Last edited by paolone on 11-Oct-2016 at 04:16 PM.

@paolone

Riser cards wouldn't be necessary as I would be using the onboard sound and graphics.

Does anyone know a case that the motherboard would fit in as I don't wish to have to make a case

_________________
1 AmigaOne G4XE (OS4 Pre-Release Update4)
Minimig
Sam440ep + OS4.1FE
Sam460cr + OS4.1FE

@1Mouse

Has your Sam got the LVDS port/header and RAM soldered to the board?

The LVDS should allow you to connect a laptop panel without extra circuitry to drive. Soldered on RAM will also keep the profile of the board as low as possible. There were also some boards that had the ATX power mounted at 180° instead of the normal 90°, that can also be used to keep everything as low a possible.

Simon Archer (Rigo) is probably the guy to talk to since he made the only convincing looking Amiga laptop. I did discuss it with him at one of the shows and we came to the conclusion that a 17" would be about the best size to fit everything in an keep it as slim as possible. There won't be any case it will fit so something custom will need to be fabricated, would might be able to re-use that top half since you're not trying to fit anything extra in.
Both Simon and Loriano (The Daddy) have some experience of fabricating custom cases.

@1Mouse

Several times, I wondered if it was possible to use the Sam440 like that. I like the idea. Unfortunately I don't have the knowledge to help you now. But I am interested to get news if you make some progress.
I hope you will find help.
If the battery is a problem, as laptops are often used with the power cable plugged in, a transportable computer would be already nice.

@corto

I don't have the knowledge either that's why I brought up the subject.

I could always use YouTube and maybe guess a little, sort of play it by ear

_________________
1 AmigaOne G4XE (OS4 Pre-Release Update4)
Minimig
Sam440ep + OS4.1FE
Sam460cr + OS4.1FE

@1Mouse

Old Laptops had more room in them. The Toshiba T3100 looks like it might have enough room if you don't mind carving out the case a bit.

@themamboman

Was hoping for something a little more contemporary, not so bulky

_________________
1 AmigaOne G4XE (OS4 Pre-Release Update4)
Minimig
Sam440ep + OS4.1FE
Sam460cr + OS4.1FE

@all

I've just dug out my Sam440 and had a look at the motherboard.

It seems too tall with those SATA ports sticking up and my 512mb RAM, you talking about an inch at least in height.

Not sure if there are any old laptops that are this deep.

_________________
1 AmigaOne G4XE (OS4 Pre-Release Update4)
Minimig
Sam440ep + OS4.1FE
Sam460cr + OS4.1FE

@1Mouse

Check here for starters. This is an old one. Seems not much has changed.

http://www.mini-itx.com/projects/itx-laptop/?page=1

@1Mouse

#1: don't listen to anyone who says it cannot be done.

#2: I would start with a 460ex instead, though.

driving the LCD:
http://www.ebay.com/bhp/lcd-controller-board-hdmi

ATX from 12-25V battery input:
http://www.mini-box.com/PicoPSU-120-WI-25-12-25V-DC-DC-ATX-power-supply

And for cooling you'll need to design your own heatpipe cooler. Which sounds very hard but is 100% doable. And a pretty cool thing to have on your CV

All tall connectors on the motherboard need to be replaced by cables (or removed, if not used). This sadly includes the ATX power connector.

All of those are cool and not too hard to do. This one is worse, though:
for battery charge/discharge control you need a bit of electronics. This is where it gets tricky. Typical "3 cells in series" li-ion chargers operate from AC in, not DC. And they're not made to run a load, just charge the battery, disconnect before turning load on. So I would design my own charge/discharge control using something like this:
http://datasheets.maximintegrated.com/en/ds/MAX1535B.pdf

Unfortunately this involves software also, to control both the charging circuit and the battery. Doable, but hard. (edit: oh, and the picoPSU needs to be replaced with something that can run down to 10.4V now, not sure if picoPSU can do that out of the box. Edit2: ah, the picopsu-60-wi can do 6-26v, not sure if 60w is enough).

So to run without battery, simple hardware mod (if you can solder). To run with battery, expect to need a bit of electronics training. I've been wanting to tackle that part so we could make a PROPER Amiga laptop for a while now, but real life tends to get in the way of all my plans.

Last edited by olegil on 18-Oct-2016 at 03:08 PM.
Last edited by olegil on 18-Oct-2016 at 03:01 PM.

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This weeks pet peeve:
Using "voltage" instead of "potential", which leads to inventing new words like "amperage" instead of "current" (I, measured in A) or possible "charge" (amperehours, Ah or Coulomb, C). Sometimes I don't even know what people mean.

@olegil

Great start. Perhaps "print" a customised case and keyboard also. That will take about a week I'd say.