Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: Ross1 on May 01, 2007, 06:43:27 PM
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While I was doing some searching I found this HERE (http://www.amigahistory.co.uk/draco.html) anybody know anything or have one of these and what can they do? Apparently it runs the Amiga OS
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Yes it runs AmigaOS and friendly apps, but no custom chipset means no games.
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moto
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Yeah, its sort of Am... Teron-board or Pegasos but with 68k cpu.
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Very interesting, I wonder if there are any floating around it would be neat to get one and play 8-)
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The Draco is a video editor that runs AmigaOS. The VLab folks did it as I recall. It was a custom 68K motherboard, though interestingly it did have the CIA chips on it. If commodore hadnt gone under, I think it would havebeen the first of many such products like that.
-Tig
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You can find them sometimes on the German ebay.
Too bad the idea never caught on in times when people wanted more modern 68k hardware.
There was some hardware that replaced Draco but it was not Amiga based but a custom hardware solution I think.
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IIRC the Draco was one of the first AMIGA compatible computers (the other was the EaglePC) and was intended to be a video editing system (think Video Toaster for Germany / Europe but using only MacroSystems cards). It was fairly well received but it was expensive. The link you provide shows a much newer case. The original version was a towered system, much like the C= A4000T.
As others have posted, it did / does not use the Amiga chip set so if a program you are trying to use needs to address an AMIGA specific chip, that program will not run (ie alot of earlier AMIGA games).
Regards,
Ltstanfo
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Ross1 wrote:
Very interesting, I wonder if there are any floating around it would be neat to get one and play 8-)
Run Amithlon.. pretty much the same experience but a lot upgraded.
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Ross1 wrote:
Very interesting, I wonder if there are any floating around it would be neat to get one and play 8-)
There are 2 for sale in Holland, and 1 in Poland.
For the one in Poland, check the ads ('classifieds') on www.amigworld.net - the seller is asking 650 euro
The seller of the 2 DraCo's in Holland is asking 500 Euro for both of them.
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You just missed this one:-
http://cgi.ebay.pl/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330110707476
Some great pix though :-)
A4000 Mad
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A4000_Mad wrote:
You just missed this one:-
http://cgi.ebay.pl/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330110707476
Some great pix though :-)
A4000 Mad
For some reason I believe it's the same Draco as the one on aw.net. I mean, how big are the chances that 2 Draco's pop up at the same time in Poland?
Then again, how big are the chances that someone in Holland has TWO Draco machines for sale :-)
Maybe the buyer of this Ebay Draco wants to make some quick money? :lol:
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Too high priced for me. I'll stick with my 2 A4000's
It seems that the Draco was mostly available over seas. Not in North America.
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So even Commodore was moving away from chipset dependence...
The CIA chips were probably still needed for the mouse, no? Much like ps/2 ports on the PC for so long...
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lou_dias wrote:
So even Commodore was moving away from chipset dependence...
The CIA chips were probably still needed for the mouse, no? Much like ps/2 ports on the PC for so long...
Timers in used exec were the main reason, useing serial mice was never that big of a problem.
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What is the EaglePC?
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Eagle computers was (IIRC) a German manufacturer that was often discussed when mentioning AMIGA licensed computers. They became a big name in the 1990's as C= was in demise. They were basically a PC clone maker who was licensed to make an A4000T type system for Europe when AMIGA was owned by Amiga.de. I don't think they ever did anything on the US side of the pond however.
A few points of reference:
Eagle A4000TE (http://www.cucug.org/amiga/aminews/1996/at960515.html)
A4000TE information (http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showhardware.cgi?HARDID=1618)
Eagle ZIII Shuttleboard (http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showhardware.cgi?HARDID=1578)
Regards,
Ltstanfo
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lou_dias wrote:
So even Commodore was moving away from chipset dependence...
No they weren't. DraCo (http://amigahardware.mariomisic.de/cgi-bin/showhardware_en.cgi?HARDID=43), together with the DraCoVision and the Casablanca (http://amigahardware.mariomisic.de/cgi-bin/showhardware_en.cgi?HARDID=42) were product of MacroSystem. It has nothing to do with Commodore.
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I received my first Draco (cube) today. It's really quick, partly because of the 68060, partly because of the fast SCSI controller. And from what little I have tried, it seems quite compatible as well. Considering that a second-hand system is cheaper than a second-hand A4000 accelerator, it is quite a good alternative for running productive software.
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Cool! Those cube cases (DraCo Vision) are much prettier than the first DraCos (in regular tower)..
Where did you find/get it and how much did you pay?
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BTW that cube case is made by Yeong Yang it is a regular PC case in AT-standard. That first version of the case is hard to track down though.
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lou_dias wrote:
So even Commodore was moving away from chipset dependence...
The CIA chips were probably still needed for the mouse, no? Much like ps/2 ports on the PC for so long...
Untrue, but Commodore was moving away from hardwired chipsets. Check out the AAA and Hombre next-gen Amiga chipsets. They were designed to go onto a PCI slot, allowing one to upgrade their Amigas chipset.
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McVenco wrote:
Cool! Those cube cases (DraCo Vision) are much prettier than the first DraCos (in regular tower)..
I'm not particularly inclined to agree, but I'm expecting a tower model as well, so then I'll be able to find out first-hand. OTOH, the cube certainly is easy to service.
Where did you find/get it and how much did you pay?
Ebay.de has had a lot of Dracos lately. I paid 256€ for the cube including shipping to Sweden.