Converting A600 into a console. Great work

[Harrison]

Something like this:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?...C=SO&U=strat15

[toomanymikes]

Now theres a project to be proud of! Harrison, make it so! Oh yeah, how you getting on with your Mame cabinet?

[Harrison]

I've not begun the MAME rebuild yet. I am planning to focus on it at the start of the new year though, and will document it and post the building process as I go for you all to see.

[toomanymikes]

Ok, this has got me thinking. Heres a list of components that I think would be required to build one of these bad boys. If I have missed anything out let me know:

Casing
Seperates casing such as a satellite receiver.
Spray paint
Plasticising filler
Tower floppy disk drive casing

Power
Amiga PSU to AT PSU adapter
ATX PSU or similar
Power lead

System
A1200 with Kickstart 3.1
100Gig 3.5'' HD
2.5'' to 3.5'' HD adapter
USB adapter
Amiga to PC keyboard adaptor

Controls
USB Keyboard
USB Mouse
USB Joystick

Do you think this shopping list would be enough or have I missed anything? How much do you recon all of this would cost too? Its not like I'm going to build one soon but it would be a great project if you had the cash and time!

[Tiago]

Yes i think that's it toomanymikes.

But one thing i am not sure. In this project he said that he placed a Kickstart from the A500 in the A600 Mainboard.... i dont know if that is 100% compatible, he said it works fine... He do that because A500 kickstart is more compatible (games).

[Harrison]

I'm also not sure about that. The A500 KS1.3 rom will be missing support for the ECS chipset, the IDE HD controller and the PCMCIA slot, so you would instantly lose all of those, plus you would no longer be able to boot ECS/Workbench 2 software. Much better to stick with the built in KS2.05 in the A600 and use a relokick 1.3 disk if you do have any games that require KS1.3 (although many WHDLoad installers fix games so they will run on newer Amigas, so that isn't such a problem.

The only thing on that list I'm not sure about is the A1200 motherboard. Yes it would be the best option, but they are quite wide motherboards so wouldn't fit in most separates/midi or sat receiver sized cases. The A600 motherboard is much better suited for this purpose.

I do like the idea of using an Amiga to PC PSU converter, and that gave me an idea. How about using a mini ITX PC PSU? That way you should be able to fit the PSU inside the case with the Amiga! If that could be made to work it would be a very neat and tidy solution. In fact you could even use one of the many available mini ITX cases for the project instead of converting a case form something else. That way you might even get one with a floppy drive slow already in place (and even a CD/DVD slot).

[Tiago]

converting a PC PSU to Amiga is not so easy

check this user guide:
http://www.ianstedman.co.uk/Amiga/am...U_Replacements

anyone wants to try on your own amiga ??

[Harrison]

Seems like quite a complex method for the Amiga to PC PSU conversion. If I were doing one I would bridge the two soft power on pins so that when the PSU was switch on it would automatically supply power, then wire the standard Amiga power connector from an old Amiga PSU to one of the 12V rails from the PC PSU. Quite quick and easy conversion.

Although to do a completely internal PSU for an A600 or A1200 motherboard, it definitely would require a lot more work.

For a big box Amiga I would just buy a PC ATX PSU to Amiga converter and use that. I've been thinking about doing that with my A4000 as the original PSU in that is very noisy. I could fit a 200W ATX PSU that would be silent just by buying an A4000 PC PSU adaptor and swapping the PSUs over.

[toomanymikes]

How about using a mini ITX PC PSU? That way you should be able to fit the PSU inside the case with the Amiga! If that could be made to work it would be a very neat and tidy solution. In fact you could even use one of the many available mini ITX cases for the project instead of converting a case form something else. That way you might even get one with a floppy drive slow already in place (and even a CD/DVD slot).

Thats exactly what i had in mind. Basically a box with a bunch of output connections on the back, usb connections and disk drive on the front and a power cable. How good!

[Harrison]

It would be great, and would make a true multimedia Amiga.