A few questions about the GVP Impact A500 HD8+ Series II

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Hi!

First, great deal!  I had a hard time resisting spending more money than I did there, at the end I tried to get @LoadWB to spend his money, instead, which was great fun.    The A500HD+ is one of the best-performing, and most "esthetically pleasing" hard drive controllers available for the A500, IMHO.

Second, you don't show it in your picture, but you did get the external power supply, correct?  While it's possible to run the A500HD+ off the 86-pin port only, which is what I do, it's not recommended to do this unless you have a low-power drive or one of the SCSI-to-CF or SCSI-to-SD solutions, so as not to tax the bus and stock PSU too much.  Just mentioning it to verify that you're not having a power problem.  http://members.iinet.net.au/~davem2/overclock/a500hd.html

Third, there are pretty much more different options for what you can do with this setup than there are clouds in the sky.  If it were me building another A500 system, here's what I'd do:

Get a new 3.1 ROM ($17 at AmigaKit):
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=157

Get a set of 3.1 disks ($16.34 at AmigaKit) and do a fresh format & install of Workbench 3.1:
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1211

Upgrade to a 68010 processor (good for about a 5% speed increase and allows you to use the "Quit" key in WHDLoad, usually run about $5-$10 on ebay):
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=motorola+68010&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.TRS0&_nkw=motorola+68010&_sacat=0

Upgrade to an ECS Denise (optional, but I like to have it personally):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amiga-Super-Denise-8373-NOS-for-Amiga-500-2000-and-3000-/161756512645?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25a9708185

You already have plenty of fast ram in the sidecar, looks like yours is already maxed out, if not you can put up to 8MB in there with standard 30-pin SIMM's (also usually run around $5 each on ebay).

If you only have 512K of chip ram you should look into the mod to upgrade it to 1MB.  This is pretty easy on most variants of A500 motherboard, instructions vary depending on which MB version you have and which Agnus.

If you still want to keep fallback ability for 1.3, you could get a ROM switcher.

...in any case, a 3.1-equipped, 68010 A500, with 1MB chip and 8MB fast is plenty sufficient for tinkering with Workbench (you might look into the "BetterWB" pack), and also for playing just about any classic game available through WHDLoad.  Obviously some folks might prefer to forgo all those upgrades and just use a Gotek or HxC variety of floppy emulator, not my personal cup of tea, but "as many options as there are fish in the sea", and all that.  Good luck, have fun, here's a couple more links to get you started:

http://lilliput.amiga-projects.net/BetterWB.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHDLoad

http://whdload.de/

If you really want to max it out, get an Indivision ECS (usually around $100), which will allow you to use any modern monitor.  I love 'em, but again that's just IMHO, some people prefer the classic CRT's, blech!  :p

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Correct, the DB25 port on the back is for connecting external SCSI devices.  I've used mine to successfully connect DVD drives, CD burners, external hard drives, SCSI card readers, etc.  Obviously you'll need some kind of case to house and power the device, and to figure out the SCSI device ID & termination, which can be the trickiest part if you've never done it before.  I know I had a tough time wrapping my head around it at first!  

Setting up/prepping a hard drive is certainly doable under 2.04/2.1 or 1.3, but IMHO if you choose this route you're only making it harder on yourself.  The software is available and it works, but unless you have some pressing need to use one of these older versions (i.e., nostalgia, or compatibility with some certain old software)...  why make it harder on yourself, when you can get 3.1 ROM's & disks for under $40 USD?  

The sidecar supports up to 8MB of 16-bit fast ram.  The best way to do this (again, IMHO), is with two matching 4MB, 30-pin, 60n's SIMM's.  You can usually find these on ebay for around $5 each.  There's tons of them on there, but these should work fine:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4MB-30pin-SIMM-RAM-MEMORY-without-parity-4x8-30-pin-/161019154549?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257d7d5075

Also while I'm thinking about it, if yours doesn't have the latest ROM, it's cheap to upgrade to 4.15, which offers improved compatibility with larger hard drives.  The best, best ROM you can get for the device is the GuruROM, but these are exceedingly difficult to find, not because of the ROM itself, but because of the little PCB that sits between the ROM chip and the board, and has been out of production for decades.

TJLazah sells 4.15 ROM's on ebay:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amiga-4091-GVP-or-Supra-Series-III-SCSI-ROM-update-/131566171810?hash=item1ea1f476a2

And here's info on the GuruROM:  http://babel.de/amiga.html

And this link has info on setting the jumpers inside the case:  http://www.bigbookofamigahardware.com/bboah/product.aspx?id=1194

More here:  http://amiga.resource.cx/exp/impact500mk2

There's a German version of the A500HD8+ manual floating around, but I don't know where there's an English version.  For other things the A2000 version manual can be helpful (in English, here):  http://amiga.resource.cx/manual/Impact2000_SeriesII.pdf

Amiga is not a cheap hobby, and it's a personal pet peeve when people don't want to spend the money to "do it right", but almost all these items I've linked to in this and the previous post can be had for under $20 each.  And that's one thing I absolutely love - that you can get some little chip for $20 bucks, plug it in, and radically alter the performance of your device.  One of my favorite things about this hobby, actually.  Try doing that on a PC.  

Read up, and have fun!  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

No prob!  Not touching that question about "is it legal or not", however.  I would say yes, but then I'm sure the copyright police would be all over this thread in a hot minute, LOL.  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

@AmigaBruno -

You kill me, man.  Don't just say you can't do it, thousands of people have done it before you.  Research man, research!

To plug into a 500 sidecar all you need is a SCSI cable an an external chassis to physically hold and power the drive.  I bought mine off ebay a couple years ago for $3 from some Mac user.  

The physical connection is easy, configuring the SCSI ID and termination is what's hard, if you've never done them before.  Also I recommend OS3.1 or 3.9.  No reason you couldn't do it with an earlier version - again - you'd just be making more work for yourself, doing it that way.

I'm a very visual person, I can learn more from a few pictures than I could from a thousand pages of text.  So if you're like me, here's a few pictures to get you started:

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Do not want to hijack this thread, however was following it as I have a similar HD8+ and have a quick question on the ROM chip ... so buying the ROM chip offered on ebay is not enough? You also need an additional board?

The 4.15 ROM chip off ebay will plug right in.  It's the GuruROM which requires a PCB adapter fitted between the ROM chip and the socket.

Edit:  Pic 1, regular ROM.  Pic 2, GuruROM.  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Have any of you experimented with mounting some sort of SCSI-to-CompactFlash (or SD?) adapter in one of these sidecars? Any suggestions or advice around that idea?

Nice, glad it's working!  Yeah, 20 years of not moving, heads probably were a little stuck, haha.

Any SCSI-to-CF or SCSI-to-SD solution that's compatible with the Amiga should work in the sidecar.  Personally I use a Mechware SCSI card reader in mine (gives slots for PCMCIA, SD, xD, CF, MemoryStick, and SmartMedia).  Excellent reader but now that the hoarders have gotten hold of them, you can usually only find them on ebay for a couple hundred $$ (Mechy sold them much cheaper when he had them).  I had to take the cover and faceplate off (and a little bit of snipping) to get it to fit.  Here's a couple pics, one from when I first installed it, and one from when I upgraded to 3.9 a few months ago:

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

PS - which AD&D game is that in your pic?  I <3 those!  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Does your top cover actually still fit over all those gubbins?

Yes sir!  

Pics with it closed:  http://www.amiga.org/forums/showpost.php?p=793381&postcount=12

Although I've tended to the habit of leaving the bottom screws out lately, so I can just "pop the hood" whenever I need to get at the other slots, LOL.  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Ah ok, but, I bet your anti-RF radiation shield doesn't fit does it?!

What do you think?  

  :laughing:

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I think you're irradiated. :laugh1:

Here's a pic of me working on my Miggy.  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Hahaha - don't be too jealous, my GVP is still being flaky. I can't yet tell if it's just the (notoriously failure-prone) Quantum drive or the GVP itself, but it frequently fails to be recognized by the system without being repeatedly disconnected / reconnected to the side of the A500. Something definitely fishy going on here...

H.

A good cleaning of that edge connector might help, but I would replace that drive asap, and avoid putting repetitious strain on the connector.  I know it's designed to be connected/disconnected, but you know, 30-year-old hardware and all...  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I think you mentioned one (rare, expensive) SCSI-to-CF adapter earlier - are there any others I should be looking for, possibly ones that won't require an organ sale to procure?

Alternately, I think I'll be buying one of the "kipper" adapters soon anyway, which might make it a moot point...

The best ones IMHO are the ones Mechy used to sell, but I own two so might be a little biased.    Do a search on ebay for "AztecMonster", they're around a hundred bucks and I think there's some threads on here about folks using them in the past.

Here's one where someone specifically mentions using it in the GVP:  http://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?18378-CF-SCSI-adapter-CF-AztecMonster

I prefer CF but there's also the SCSI2SD project, I believe a few places have these for sale:  http://www.codesrc.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=SCSI2SD

Kipper's stuff is great, also.  Again, it's just personal preference for SCSI in my retro machines.  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

It seems like I should forget about attempting to add a SCSI drive to my GVP hard drive unit then. I could plug it in, but it wouldn't work. I have no idea how to set it up.

Meanwhile, it seems here's another, easier solution for my A1200 http://www.vesalia.de/e_amigaslimcddrive.htm . It seems like I just plug it in, then it works. Can it really be that simple? They're closed until Septmber 1, though.

You'll still need to set up the software and drivers.

Man!  Stop this nonsense about "I have no idea how to set it up".  I've seen you post comments like that before and I am really getting sick of seeing them.  None of us had a flipping clue what we were doing at one point.  We all sat down, pulled out an instruction manual, read a little bit, researched, Googled, and asked questions when we got stuck.  No one is going to hand you the answer on a silver platter, unless you get lucky enough to find a really bored, experienced Amigan in your area.  But it's not that hard!  It's not rocket science!  And if you would just read and research the forums you'd find all the information you need to get a CD drive working with your A500.

Instead of just throwing up your hands and saying "I can't do it", at least TRY.  

/rant mode off

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

The point here is that you must use the correct name for the SCSI driver, which is dependent on the interface used, so this would be gvp.SCSI for an A500 or A2000.

gvpscsi.device or omniscsi.device, depending on if you have the Guru-ROM.