Upgrading the Amiga 500

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11th August 2011, 08:39
Puni/Void

Upgrading the Amiga 500

Hi guys,

I'm currently in the process of bringing my Amiga 500 back to life.

Have purchased the following items so far:

- New floppy disk drive (old one was not working properly)
- Kickstart ROM-switcher
- Hardware PC-emulator (:cool:)

I'm interested in getting hold of a CRT-screen as well, preferebly one of those from Commodore, but they are not easy to obtain.

Now.. I want to install a hard disk in my Amiga 500. I've heard about a CF-solution which you can plug into the side of the machine. Does any of you have any experience with that? Which hard disk system would you recommend (controller)?

Thanks for the input. :)
11th August 2011, 10:36
Stephen Coates

Upgraded A500s are cool :).

A 1084 or CM8833 monitor would go nicely with an A500. I missed my CM8833-II since it broke. Machines like the 500 will still work on the Microvitec 1438 but it isn't as good.

Can't say I'm familiar with any CF stuff for the 500, but flash memory is avaliable for just about every other old computer these days, so you can probably get something. I just have my GVP HD+ with its 50MB Quantum SCSI drive. That works nicely and still has plenty of space on it. Only downside is that it is noisy.

I'm going to put a CF card in my A1200 as soon as I've bought some adaptors.

Which PC emulator do you have? :cool:
11th August 2011, 16:05
DonAmiga

Hopefully the ACA 500 will be out this year and think there was talk of it having a IDE connection :) As for the monitor would you risk getting one shipped from the UK (there is a 1084 on ebay UK) or anywhere else? I got a IDEK Liyama 5017 monitor shipped from Germany to the UK and I'm pleased to say it arrived safely and working great :) Always worth asking the seller.

Cheers
12th August 2011, 16:18
Harrison

I've heard there is a CF card solution in development. As DonAmiga says Individual Computers are currently working on the ACA500 accelerator for the A500 for release later this year and it will include an accelerator, 32bit fast ram and an IDE port, and possible CF support. Would be great if this makes it to market and finally breath new life into the A500, which recently has been becoming less and less popular compared to the A600 and A1200.
12th August 2011, 22:38
DonAmiga

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harrison

Would be great if this makes it to market and finally breath new life into the A500, which recently has been becoming less and less popular compared to the A600 and A1200.

completely agree looking forward to upgrading my A500:) the only thing is my shopping list just keeps getting bigger :rolleyes: making me having to work more on financing it all :dry:
17th August 2011, 20:07
Puni/Void

Hi mate,

That is great news! It was good to read that Individual Computers are working on a new card for the Amiga 500. If it has IDE-support, then it is a must have for many Amiga 500 owners. :)

I'm a bit reluctant to buying a monitor from abroad considering the cost of shipping, but it looks like I don't have much choice if I'm going to purchase the monitor I want. I'm considering going for an old-school TV instead, as those can be picked up for free around here. :) Anyway, nice that it wasn't hard getting your monitor shipped from Germany. I'll have a look around and see what I do. Thanks for the info. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by DonAmiga

Hopefully the ACA 500 will be out this year and think there was talk of it having a IDE connection :) As for the monitor would you risk getting one shipped from the UK (there is a 1084 on ebay UK) or anywhere else? I got a IDEK Liyama 5017 monitor shipped from Germany to the UK and I'm pleased to say it arrived safely and working great :) Always worth asking the seller.

Cheers

---------- Post added at 19:07 ---------- Previous post was at 19:05 ----------

Hi Steve,

I've got the KCS Power PC Board. I've written an entry about it. Have a look here: http://oldschoolgameblog.wordpress.c...-pc-board-500/

Here's a couple of pictures of it after it arrived as well: http://oldschoolgameblog.wordpress.c...d-pc-emulator/

Looking forward to test it. :)

You won't regret using a CF-card with your Amiga 1200. It works like a charm. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephen Coates

Upgraded A500s are cool :).

A 1084 or CM8833 monitor would go nicely with an A500. I missed my CM8833-II since it broke. Machines like the 500 will still work on the Microvitec 1438 but it isn't as good.

Can't say I'm familiar with any CF stuff for the 500, but flash memory is avaliable for just about every other old computer these days, so you can probably get something. I just have my GVP HD+ with its 50MB Quantum SCSI drive. That works nicely and still has plenty of space on it. Only downside is that it is noisy.

I'm going to put a CF card in my A1200 as soon as I've bought some adaptors.

Which PC emulator do you have? :cool:
21st September 2011, 20:34
Puni/Void

A little update for those of you who are interested. :) I've now installed a brand new floppy disk drive into the machine, along with the KCS PowerPC board. Will soon install the Kickstart ROM switcher as well. Want pictures? Have a look here. :)

Have also obtained a decent CRT TV. My grandmother had one that she didn't use anymore. She was very happy about the fact that I wanted to use it. :)

Now.. I've misplaced my TV-modulator, so I'm in the process of finding a new one. Anyone got a spare?
22nd September 2011, 15:52
Harrison

TV-Modulator? Why not get hold of an Amiga to Scart cable. Makes it so much easier to hook an Amiga up to most TVs and the image quality it brilliant compared to a modulator. About equal to the image of a dedicated CRT.
23rd September 2011, 12:27
Puni/Void

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harrison

TV-Modulator? Why not get hold of an Amiga to Scart cable. Makes it so much easier to hook an Amiga up to most TVs and the image quality it brilliant compared to a modulator. About equal to the image of a dedicated CRT.

Hi mate!

I know that it's better with SCART, but my grandmothers TV does not have SCART. ;) I therefore need a TV-modulator for my Amiga 500. If you've got one gathering dust, I'm VERY interested. :)
26th September 2011, 16:44
Harrison

I have some somewhere. Will have a look when I get chance this week. Will UK PAL ones work OK?
27th September 2011, 21:14
Puni/Void

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harrison

I have some somewhere. Will have a look when I get chance this week. Will UK PAL ones work OK?

Thank you very much, Harrison! :)

UK PAL is top notch. Will work perfectly.