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Amiga computer related discussion => General chat about Amiga topics => Topic started by: shpinktaar on October 25, 2006, 05:14:33 AM

Title: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: shpinktaar on October 25, 2006, 05:14:33 AM
Hey guys... first time member, first time poster here, and long-time fan of the Amiga.

I just recently acquired an Amiga 1000 and an Amiga 2000 for free + monitors.  I haven't opened up the 1000 yet, but the 2000 seems to have the ICD AdSCSI card and some ramboard (didn't check out the model), and a nice 1gb scsi drive addition.

It came with a ridiculous amount of disks, has Amiga Vision, Transformer, Maple, and of course Deluxe Music, Paint, Video.

Anyways I was looking at doing a few upgrades and enjoying the nostalgia.  Firstly I'm looking to acquire an A2386 Bridgeboard, and a better monitor... any ideas?  But that's not the real reason I'm posting.

It's just nice to see this community here.  I remember a while back checking for something similar and not having much luck.  So I'm wondering - what's the status of Amiga software?  I've realized some producers have put up their old Amiga software for free download on the 'net - but has the copyrights run out or what?

Also - how far can I take this 2000?  What are the chances of interfacing a Zorro NIC with my D-Link router?

Anyways I'll probably be dropping by frequently as I try to get this beast in good working order.  I was actually surprized by how well maintained these systems are.  NO dust, no blemishes, nothing... almost looks new out of the box.

The guy I got it from worked for an airplane manufacturer, so there's a billion flight sims and flight plans/trajectories /aircraft info all over the place - I haven't really looked too far into it, but NEAT stuff.

Thanks guys... It's good to be here.


Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: LoadWB on October 25, 2006, 05:25:48 AM
To address the Zorro-II NIC and D-Link router, with the right software (Miami, AmiTCP, Genesis, et al,) the right driver, and the right connection (10BaseT/RJ45 the best and easiest way to go,) your chances of getting on the Internet are exceptional.

My systems:

Amiga 1200 with Netgear 802.11, LinkSys Combo PCMCIA
Amiga 2000 with Ariadne II
Amiga 4000 with XSurf 3cc

All have worked with:

LinkSys BEFSR81
LinkSys WRT54G
LinkSys WAP54G
LinkSys WAP11
SMC Barricade 4008ABR

Running:

Miami and Genesis


And if you need help getting stuff running, aside from an infinite number of tutorials around, there's also these forums.
Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: shpinktaar on October 25, 2006, 05:40:41 AM
Wow that was a quick reply.  Thanks.  I plan on making great use of the tutorials and manuals, etc.  I was just wondering if it was at all worth it... and it sure seems like it.  

I tried getting Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego working just for old time's sake - got it booted, but it seemed to crash a bit... ah well... on to bigger and better things.  That didn't really interest me ALL that much.

I wonder what the hell I'm going to do with this A1000.  This is quite a bit of fun I must say.

Thanks.
Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: McVenco on October 25, 2006, 07:35:20 AM
Did you steal my topic? I got an A1000 and A2000 for free as well a few days ago! :lol:

Anyways: welcome to amiga.org! Stay a while, stay forever!
Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: Colani1200 on October 25, 2006, 08:20:15 AM
Quote

shpinktaar wrote:

The guy I got it from worked for an airplane manufacturer, so there's a billion flight sims and flight plans/trajectories /aircraft info all over the place


 :-o  You mean they did not delete their data on the HD?
Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: McVenco on October 25, 2006, 08:27:33 AM
Quote
Colani1200 wrote:

 :-o  You mean they did not delete their data on the HD?


A lot of people don't. The A2000 which I picked up this weekend had a harddrive full of stuff as well. I'm not trying to get it running anymore though, because it's just a 40MB MFM drive - not worth it. I also have a lot of syquest disks and DAT tapes with personal data from this guy on it. I'm just going to delete it.

Besides, what valuable personal data could be on a disk if they didn't delete it?
Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: shpinktaar on October 25, 2006, 09:15:38 AM
Oh yeah - 2 free computers, and all the data I can handle... well not quite.

And yeah they didn't delete any of their things, and like I said - I haven't exactly checked all the contents of the disks but many of them are labelled with plane names, info to do with planes, and there's even a bunch of binders filled with similar info.  I'm hoping to find some 737 blueprints or something.

I spent most of the night reading about "whatever happened to the Amiga", and it's a shame.

I tried out a few of the games too, but most of them seem to require a joystick, so I'll probably invest in one of those... I'm also considering getting a null modem cable and setting up a network with Amiga Explorer (which was conveniently installed for me).

It's definitely great to be back... I haven't used an Amiga in 15 years.

Edit: I can't believe the responses in just a few short hours... despite the machine's demise, it seems the supporters are still around, huh?
Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: InTheSand on October 26, 2006, 01:14:15 AM
Congrats on the free computers! Lucky git!!!

Quote
shpinktaar wrote:
I can't believe the responses in just a few short hours... despite the machine's demise, it seems the supporters are still around, huh?


Definitely! Amiga RuLEz, remember!  :-D

 - Ali
Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: adolescent on October 26, 2006, 02:44:23 AM
Nice score!  Check the battery on the A2000.  Leaky batteries can cause a mess.
Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: Gav on October 26, 2006, 03:31:36 AM
Yeah the amiga may have died but in our eyes it will always be alive aslong as there are still users out there such as us lot and amiga.org is the best amiga forum..
Welcome...
Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: beller on October 26, 2006, 03:33:52 AM
Welcome!  You're in good company here!

Nice start on your Amiga collection, and a great price to boot.  I started with a 4000 last year, having only an A600 from the 90s, and have since added a new (old stock) A1200, an A2000, and at AmiWest this weekend I got an A500 with warranty seals intact, 1 MB ram, 1.3 Rom, and a power supply for $15.  

Have fun!

Bob
Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: shpinktaar on October 26, 2006, 05:30:28 AM
Sweet stuff.  I love hearing about all the people that get dirt cheap Amigas on the forum.

I've spent all day trying to figure out how to make use of ADF files on my amiga... so initially I had to figure out how to format 720kb discs on a usb floppy drive running winxp... (format a: /t:80 /n:9) while the notch was taped.  then i had to find PKZip for the amiga... and adf2disk.  Wow it's been one helluva day, but it's well underway.

So far I've got TV Sports Baseball (which I used to OWN!), and Defender of the Crown working on the 2000 :D

Oh happy days.  Time to buy a joystick, lol.
Next step - serial connection.

(And the battery looks fine... like I said, EVERYTHING was in perfect condition)... magnificent.  Hell one of the monitors and an external floppy drive came in ORIGINAL BOXES!)
Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: keropi on October 26, 2006, 07:01:04 AM
maybe u need to check www.whdload.de
whdload allows you to run games via HD/workbench ... no disks nescessary at all...
Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: shpinktaar on October 26, 2006, 08:21:05 AM
Hmmmm yeah...I'm still undecided if I want to make use of those types of programs... I can't make up my mind.  I like having the disks... it just brings me back.

But thanks for the link... I'm definitely keeping it in mind.

Anyone know where I can get a few 500 Epyx XJ joysticks?  Hell any joysticks will do for that matter (has to be coming from Canada... not paying $10+ to get it across the border + more s&h).
Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: _yak_ on October 26, 2006, 10:22:24 AM
 Joysticks at AmigaKit (http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?osCsid=0c97e666a670fc7ded9bded1661d8e8f&keywords=joystick)
Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: TrevorDick on October 26, 2006, 01:09:08 PM
Congratulations on receiving your Amiga GIFT.  The best place to look for classic Amiga parts IMHO is eBay, where almost anything you want is available.  There are still a few suppliers around who stock new boards and upgrades for classic Amiga's.  I can recommend AmigaKit as an excellent source, but there are a number of others.

There are also some excellent websites that cater for all things Amiga. (This site included of course).

Anyway welcome back to the family.

TrevorDick

Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: Tomas on October 26, 2006, 02:52:48 PM
Quote
(And the battery looks fine... like I said, EVERYTHING was in perfect condition)... magnificent. Hell one of the monitors and an external floppy drive came in ORIGINAL BOXES!)

I would still replace it if i was you, as it will definitely start leaking soon.
Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: shpinktaar on October 26, 2006, 05:42:26 PM
Thanks for the link.  I've already been over to AmigaKit, and it doesn't quite have what I'm looking for in terms of joysticks.  

I may be forced to buy from them though if nothing else comes up (especially those 500 Enyx XJ ones I'm most interested in).

As for the battery leekage... ugh that's a pain... but you guys know best, so thanks.
Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: scharmers on October 26, 2006, 07:41:52 PM
I liked the Epyx joysticks too for their feel, but MAN did they suck at diagonal directions -- critical for jumping games like Prison, Baal, et.al.  Always seemed like they clicked first in one cardinal direction, then clicked into the other...I've just got a cheap Atari-clone Gemstick and I like it better :)
Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: shpinktaar on October 26, 2006, 11:06:29 PM
Yeah one of my favorite games was Tv Sports Baseball and that joystick just works magnificently for that game when you get a little used to it... but you're right, some games that required even more diagaonal movement were made very difficult by this joystick.
Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: CLS2086 on October 27, 2006, 06:36:47 PM
Congratulation.
But where do you live ?
Title: Re: Got 2 Amigas FREE
Post by: shpinktaar on October 28, 2006, 03:50:08 AM
Toronto, Ontario, Canada.