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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Marketplace => Topic started by: davide405 on March 12, 2005, 06:17:50 AM
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I'm still clinging to the (admitedly) Quixotic notion of putting an A500 online. :lol:
Could I do it with the following?
Check out this item on eBay. (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4598&item=5174356194&rd=1)
I suppose I would need some sort of adaptor to go from 10Base2 or 10Base5 to 10BaseT
Of course, this would all presume the auction doesn't go beyond my budget :-o
Comments, advice ???
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AS IS, no returns or refunds, worked 7 years ago. Personaly I'm taking a step back and put bids on such items as if it was a "defect" unit.
With just BNC connector (info say no AUI port present) meens you need an older switch/hubb with BNC and TP for it to connect to any modern network. ;)
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Well, nightmares are dreams, arent they?
I'd give this a "no".
What you can is look for a Side-Expansion - to Zorro II - Adapter (aka Busboard). Those with two ZII-Slots are even home-made. You can also look for a Trumpcard 500 pro, which had one inside.
Then you can get an Algor or Highway (USB!!) and put a Norway (Ethernet!!) on it. works like a charm. If you replace the actual Trumpcard SCSI-Adaptor, you can even go for a Buddha instead and get new IDE drives (even CD-Roms and notebook 2.5"-HDDs), a Soundcard (Delfina) for the clockport, and / or use the expansion slot of the Buddha. See http://www.ami.ga for more info.
You need the busboard elsewhere, though. Manuals for making one are on AMINet, and if you ask nicely here on the forum somoen might be able to make one for you (though not necessarily for free ;) ).
Have fun,
McTrinsic
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From the description, I saw that it had BNC connectors.
Unless you have super old equipment to hook it up to, it's a waste of money.
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Oh come on you are all playing it down so you can get it for a decent price. This is nearly the only option to hook up an A500 in it`s original case to DSL (with a few adapter OK).
I`m sure the price will go above 100$ easyly. Even if it would be defektive it still is a rare collectorsitem. I would sure bid on it if it were in europe, but with all the customs trouble....:-(
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@ all
Thanks for the feedback :-) Some different ideas there, but I like to consider all of the angles of a question.
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If you just want to get on line .........
Why not use dial-up, 56k modem.
No problems at all.
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I think there are adaptors/convertors for bnc, so i think you should be able to use it with a modern 10mbit tp cable.
I have/had one myself somewhere, but never was able to test if those convertors really work.
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Brian wrote:
With just BNC connector (info say no AUI port present) meens you need an older switch/hubb with BNC and TP for it to connect to any modern network. ;)
Not exactly. 10base-2 to 10base-T converters are available (ex. NuData CoTwist, etc.). Just like there are AUI to 10base-T tranceivers available.
Also, this is not the only A500 networking solution. All this box is a Zorro II Hydra card with an Zorro adapter. If you can find, or build, a Slingshot Pro, you can do this with probably any other card.
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Forget that thing. Find yourself a nice Bodeage Bay case and add networking and all other manner of Zorro II cards to your A500. The only drawback is you will need a big strong desk to hold up the bodega bay since it redefines "big footprint".
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AltRN8 wrote:
Forget that thing. Find yourself a nice Bodeage Bay case and add networking and all other manner of Zorro II cards to your A500. The only drawback is you will need a big strong desk to hold up the bodega bay since it redefines "big footprint".
:lol: That would be a dream solution for sure. Back in the day ;-) I admired the Bodega Bay, but never bought one. Now I regret the indiscretions of my youth :insane: When was the last time a Bodega Bay came up on eBay?
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Last ones I saw were years ago. I bought one sold it stupidly and then bought another one. It's stashed away in my attic right now unfortunately until I can find the space to drag it out to play with again.
Every once in awhile I get a hankering to sell it (to help fund the purchase of a second A4000) but just can't bring myself to do it. It's just too cool a piece of hardware.
I hope you find something that helps you get your A500 online. There is nothing like a classic piece of hardware on your network.
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Tomas wrote:
I think there are adaptors/convertors for bnc, so i think you should be able to use it with a modern 10mbit tp cable.
I have/had one myself somewhere, but never was able to test if those convertors really work.
The cheapest, most available way to do this in the US is with a simple hub. Just find any old 10baseT hub with a 10base2 (BNC thinnet) port. I used "ARK" "SOHO" brand for my home network, however, this monster (http://www.acomputerbuyersdream.com/store/product_info.php?ref=7¤cy=USD&products_id=570) is presently the cheapest thing Froogle turns up. (That one will require a little more hacking in setup, because the presence of the serial port suggests it's a managed hub, and you might have to haul out a null-modem cable and un-configure it out of whatever the previous user had it doing.)
I doubt you'll beat five bucks on a "media converter" alone, and this way you get extra ports for whatever else you don't mind hanging off unswitched(?) 10baseT.
Note that installing your own BNCs is 'interesting,' but can be done -- having an appropriate crimper or a huge honking pliers with the right kind of channel in the teeth helps a lot. (I forget the details.)
And remember that each end of the coax has to terminate in a T with a terminator on it, while even in a simple configuration, going "straight through" without them will never work. (In this day and age, it's probably cheaper to get tees and terminators by buying generic Realtek NE2000 clones than going to Radio Shack -- or at least you get a free ISA network card with each -- check your local hole-in-the-wall, you never know what brand will include them in the package.)
Edit: Obviously, once you have the 10baseT/10base2 hub in place, you just "uplink" it to your 10/100 switched or existing LAN if you've got. There are limitations on how many segments/repeaters or whatnot you're 'allowed' to have with ethernet, but you won't hit them in that configuration alone (this is pretty basic stuff).
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Edit: Post removed because I finally figured out where/why/when the Trumpcard came into the discussion. Doh.
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You can just buy one (the Bodega Bay).
Get them from the
Commodore Computer Center http://www.commodorecomputercenter.com/amigahw.htm / ccc@spro.net
I checked last fall (around october), and it still was in stock.
But too huge in the end, I got myself a nice Phoenixboard fo the A1000.
Have fun,
McTrinsic
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@McTrinsic
Thank you very much for the links :-D
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@davide405
I have a Bodega Bay and have never been able to get a 3.1 ROM to work with it (iirc I tried a few times with a Rev. 5 A500 with both physical ROMs and via SKick... no go). It works okay with 2.0 ROMs most of the time, but that means no web browser program works on it. Also, you're going to miss not having an A2000 style accelerator slot. The only accelerators that work with the Bay are the expensive/rare A500 68000-slot types. You're really better off just hooking up the A500 with a modem to the net, or use a slingshot sidecar expansion with a ZII ethernet card. Lastly, it is huge; the A2000 has nothing on the Bay size-wise. I took the Bay's busboard right out of it and made a very long mid-tower containing it and the A500 m/b that sits on the floor under my desk. For what you'll spend on the Bay you'll get a complete A2000 on eBay. Just some thoughts before you buy.
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Let us know if you did buy it!!
Have fun,
McTrinsic
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Looks like your going to win the auction.
Let us know if you manage to get it working.
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Apparently, the last Bodega Bay available in the free world was bought just a few days before I expressed interest in it :lol:
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@Floid
Thanks for the link. I'll NEVER outgrow that many ports on my little home network, and for $5.00 :-D
Now if I can just figure out how to use it :lol: