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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: cpfuture on November 28, 2006, 02:09:05 PM
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Here's the thing. My A500 looks like a plain old unmodified A500 from the outside. There's not even anything connected to the side port. But inside it has an MTec 68030 accelerator, an Mtec Megabody (internal IDE controller) with 4Mb 32-bit RAM and a IDE/CF converter with a 1GB CF "harddisk" and a ROM switch which works by holding down the left mousebutton on (re)boot instead of a manual switch.
I really like this setup and I like the fact that I can go from a bog standard A500 with 1.3 to a more advanced machine that allows me to connect to the Internet. The MTec accelerator has a 68000 mounted for fallback situations, for those games that won't work with the 68030. The problem is that I need to close a jumper to enable the 68000 and vice versa to disable it. Opening and closing my A500's case every time I want to play Lotus Turbo Challenge 2 is a prospect I'm not very fond of, so the only way out is to mount an external switch somewhere on my A500 and connect it to the afforementioned jumper.
I would really hate having to vandalize my pristine A500 case for this purpose, but I don't see any other option. Ofcourse I could let the wire and switch hang off the side of my A500 so I don't have to drill any holes into the A500, but I don't like crap hanging off my A500 either.
So you see my dilemma. I know lots of people wouldn't think twice about drilling holes into their Amigas, but I'm pretty anal about this sort of thing and I'm sure there are likeminded individuals here. Before I do decide to mount a switch somewhere on my A500 I thought I'd ask the wisemen here if there are any alternatives I hadn't thought of yet.....
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WHDload has a huge selection of installs that work on any CPU and would eliminate the need to mess with jumpers.
http://www.whdload.de
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One option would be to put a very low profile switch under the Amiga, so you just have to lift it a little and slide your finger under to flip it.
Another option would be to put the switch at the back where the ports are. It won't be seen.
Of course, all of the above still mean drilling an extra hole in your Amiga (even if the hole is hidden).
What about setting a tiny push type switch into one of the holes on the bottom of that Amiga where there already is a cavity for a screw hole? The A500 case would still hold together fairly well with one screw missing.
I do think a nicely mounted switch can sometimes enhance the look of the Amiga, if done professionally.
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How about modding one of the LEDs (power or disk?) to be tip of a toggle switch? Or placing a slide switch into one of the vent gaps you could swtich it with a screw driver or tip of a pen?
Or you could go crazy and come up with some kind of wireless switch! :-D okay maybe not.
Andy
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I am going to run more than 8 switches on my A500 I am working on now. You can turn off turbo, extra mem, stereo mode, kickstart switch plus lots of more. Nothing is more professional than a dual row of shiny switches IHMO but I can understand a maxed A500 looking like a standard one is very cool.
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cpfuture wrote:
I would really hate having to vandalize my pristine A500 case for this purpose, but I don't see any other option.
Why don't you vandalise someone else's A500 then? If you can a second closing lid for the side expansion port from someone, you can make a hole in that, thus keeping your own lid in the original state.
Sure, you will still have a switch sticking out, but at least you still can transform your A500 back into an original one :-D
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I would just mount a small toggle dip switch inside the trap door to conceal it if you dont want it visible.
http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&productId=470096 :idea:
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Yeah, if you really don't want to touch anything on the case, putting the switch behind the trapdoor or the sidecar door seems like a good idea. You can open the sidecar door without even having to lift the computer very much, and by that route, you can mount the switch to the RF shielding nearby -- just make sure you don't short anything.
Personally, though, I've always drilled the plastic and tucked a small switch into the back panel by the ports if I've needed to add one.
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Thanks for all the responses so far! Using the power or drive LED as a switch sounds like a very cool idea, although a bit difficult for me to try on my own. Would be really cool though and will definitely keep that in mind. 8-)
The advice about placing the switch inside the trapdoor or sidecar door is brilliant in its simplicity and is probably what I'll do. I won't be switching back and forth very often, so it's not a chore at all and this way I can keep my A500 unmolested on the outside! So extra thanks to amiga92570 for pointing that one out. :-D
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Hi! Just put an insulated switch "hotmelted" (glue) over the shield besides the sideport (I make it on my -now sold out- A500) for a ROM Switcher.:idea:
It's easy to make, you can take the side port cap away (in a safe place, of course), or just open it when you need. :idea:
[ ]s
Be happy :-D
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Try using a reed switch taped to the inside of the lid, then you can place a little magnet on the top to make the circuit. You could even build a latch so one pass of the magnet would change the state.
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When I had an A500 upgraded with an extra 256k of RAM, the RAM upgrade had an enable/disable switch. The switch was on the end of a wire which trailed out of the trapdoor (the wire was very thin so the trapdoor still closed). The switch had a small self-adhesive pad which was used to stick it to the back of the A500. You could do exactly the same with your switch to avoid vandalising your nice clean A500 :-)
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moto
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I had the same dilemma when making a ROM switch (to use either 3.0 Viper ROMs or 1.3 ROM on motherboard). What I did was run the switch wire through the centre of the monochrome video output (without modifying anything). After a while I found I never had to switch to 1.3 ROM because I can SKick into 1.3, or use WHDload for games or use WHDload kick13.slave for other 1.3 stuff.
Then I put 3.1 ROM on the motherboard and used the switch if I wanted to boot WB 3.9. I then found I didn't use the switch much because I ended up hating WB 3.9 - and WB 3.1 on 3.0 ROM worked perfectly fine (and I found a way to have HD >4Gb without 3.9).
Now I'm glad I never drilled any holes because I decided to remove the switch.
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Frags wrote:
Try using a reed switch taped to the inside of the lid, then you can place a little magnet on the top to make the circuit. You could even build a latch so one pass of the magnet would change the state.
Just what I was thinking! No holes.