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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: monami on December 24, 2007, 08:32:45 AM
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just out of curiosity i wanted to try my amiga on the net. i wanted this seriously a long time ago...
1. i don't have a pcmcia network card. what do i look for on ebay? i have a router with both types of connector on it. rj45 and thin net.
2. do i really need the cc reset fix? i'm unsure of the ins and outs of it.
3. what software to install for browsing. (free?)
4. i haven't got a monitor for it as such. i do have an lcd tv will it be a complete pain? what else is there for it? i'm not sure of the resolution i'll get.
what kind of experience should i expect with an apollo 40/ 28 32mb ram? thanks.
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On the hardware part you 'll need a PCMCIA network card based on the 3c589 chipset (and it's variants). On the software part you 'll need cc_cardpatch & cc_cardreset & 3c589.lha (download all of 'em from aminet). You 'll also need a TCP/IP stack (AmiTCP or Miami) and, of course, a browser (AWeb or IBrowse). Your Apollo is quite sufficient for internet browsing. I suggest using a cheap VGA adapter to use some of the highest resolutions AGA can display using an LCD monitor or LCD TV equipped with VGA input...
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ok so what kind of resolution do you expect with the adaptor. i take it it's an improvement over tv out? thanks.
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640 x 480.
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there is only one card with that chip on ebay at the minute:
http://search.ebay.co.uk/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=3c589+
perhaps they are hard to come by?
anyway what resolution do you get over composite i can't find out anywhere. my lcd tv is rgb compatible. i just want to display a reasonable amount of a web page.
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LCD-TV could suprice you, you might get deinterlaced display, but you should use scart.
Install and configure FBLIT to get some speed for browsing and don't forget to read manual carefully ;)
256 colors are to much, you need to use 64 or 128
Forget AWeb use IBrowse, it's much faster.
With those you amiga is allmoust useable webmachine.
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monami wrote:
there is only one card with that chip on ebay at the minute:
http://search.ebay.co.uk/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=3c589+
perhaps they are hard to come by?
anyway what resolution do you get over composite i can't find out anywhere. my lcd tv is rgb compatible. i just want to display a reasonable amount of a web page.
They are hardly rare and are quite easy to pick up you can also get prism compatible wireless cards for the PCMCIA--... You can use Interlaced screen modes but dont expect it to be fast . also most webpages will have a weird layout.... But for aminet IRC etc it is ok ... Go for MimaiDx and Ibrowse the best combination for me ...
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Hi,
I'm posting this from my A1200 Blizzard 1230MKII/SCSI 32 meg fast RAM on WiFi using a Netgear PCMCIA Card.
I use:
MiamiDX.
YAM 2.5 (is great).
Ibrowse with my GMail account.
and have run the display through a TV/Mon SCART but I'm now using an external SD/FF on the TV/Mon.
Kind Regards, Michael
aka rockape
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My A1200 uses a 3COM etherlink III card, and the aforementioned drivers that clemenza was talking about with Miami. (Not Miami Deluxe, though. I'm sure it would work, however) For browsers, my favorite is Ibrowse2.4, but it IS shareware, and has alot of nice features that I'm sure I couldn't live without removed. Aweb I believe is now an opensource thing, and works (though slowly) on AGA.The 3com card has a special cable for it, that ends in a regular ethernet connection (The fat looking phone plug, if your in the US. Not sure what European phone jacks look like) If your router supports DHCP, that would be your easiest bet. YAM2.5 should work fine for E-Mail, too. The biggest prob I have browsing on the 1200 is chip mem, as I run an 800x600 resolution on 2mb. I use FBLIT (also available on Aminet, I believe) to relieve some of the burden, but YAM and IBrowse particularly like to eat chip mem like a kid eating french fries. (If anybody knows any other tricks to get around this until I get a tower/ mediator for my miggy, let me know!) Also, you can use it for chatting IRC and the IM services with Wookiechat (Or Amirc, grapevine, I think theres a few other irc thingies out there), and the IM clients for Amiga. Amicq, Amiga AIM, AmiMSN, etc.. I use Jabberwocky with a gateway that supports all the chat servers I use. The only problem I have is the reset for the pcmcia port, which is easily fixed with another aminet proggy. (Cardreset, I think) I have it set to an icon on my dock menu, though I don't need to use it after a cold boot. Hopefully this help.
EDIT: I don't know where you can find one of these cards online, I guess you can get lucky on the bay once in awhile. I've seen them in Thrift shops, even.
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thanks for the info guys. one thing i can't find out is the resolution you can get if you use the composite out? i want to try it this way before buying a vga adaptor.
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Don't even bother, composite out is way too blurry.
Anyhow, you're not going to get any reasonable (in today's terms) browsing experience out of A1200.
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well... it's something i've wanted to try since 1998 so it's like just to give it a go. i know the digital age is upon us and it isn't up to online movies etc but i've lots of other stuff for that. i don't mind blurryness. but is it stuck at 320 by 200 or whatever low res that is? i'm not sure if composite can do higher than that?
it will go to a lcd tv via scart.
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I think with the accelerator you shouldn't be TOO bad off, I used to use my A1200 with my microbiotics 68030/50 and it wasn't half bad.
but as previously mentioned, yes you need the PCMCIA card (I had one from National Amiga (RIP), there are others around but you'll have to look; and the TCP stack - if you have a copy of Miami, great - you might even be able to find the eval around? That allows 30 min. of use at a time....
otherwise, if you find an old CU Amiga or AmigaFormat software disk, they were fairly regularly offering TCP stacks (eval or otherwise) on their disks, e.g. NetConnect, etc.
as to resolution, stick with about 32-64 color screens - it will look washed out but be oodles faster....
let us know how it goes....this may also help...
http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showcat.cgi?CATID=27
kevin
http://www.amigau.com
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Well, some versions of AmiTCP/IP are free (http://www.acc.umu.se/~patrikax/amiga/guides/AmiTCP_Install/), so TCP/IP stack is no problem.
You're not limited to 3com PCMCIA network cards only, you can also use many ne2000 compatible cards with cnet.device (http://www.g-mb.de/cnet/index_e.html).
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i haven't sat in front of my amiga for a long while. what is the highest setting in screen prefs for a amiga with no graphics card?
partly i shall be testing out some of the hardware i have to make sure it's ok.
what can i do to get it working with a ps2 kvm? if i leave everything in the tower i have the keyboard adaptor and a ps2 adaptor. i do have a manual switch so i don't need the video adaptor as it'll go to scart... but the mouse? i don't want to pay out for a cocolino yet.
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@monami
If you're using the composite out, you're stuck with either 640x400 (NTSC high-res interlace) or 640x512 (PAL high-res interlace), depending which standard your TV uses, though the interlacing means its going to flicker like hell. (I'm not sure which continent you're on) For higher resolutions, I'd use the rgb port with an adapter, with the super-72 monitor driver, you can get up to 800x600 resolution. (Mine is set to that @ 64 colors for speed purposes, even with Fblit its too slow in 128 or 256 colors) There's a monitor driver around somewhere that goes up t0 1024x768 on AGA, but I wouldn't use it. (Eats chip mem) As far as the mouse issue, I use a Mr. Mysza that my brother gave me because it wouldn't work with his kvm switch, so as a standalone it works fine. (Using with a alpha data joystick switch + 6-button sega controller, mr. mysza to ps2/usb adapter to usb to wireless mouse base) I believe there's other threads about the ps/2 adapter/kvm issue, though.
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@kvasir
cool thanks for the info. i'm in the uk. but i went and sold my commodore branded rgb adaptor a little while ago. (damn!) i could live with 800x600. i'll still give the scart ago.
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Buy this:
Amiga RGB to VGA Monitor Adapter (http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=50&products_id=183&osCsid=966a0591dbbb1dad4bcee84499c2a286)
:-)
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i did end up buying the rgb adaptor but my lcds don't do the 15khz modes. sadly!
the tv box i use takes the composite signal and can put it up to 1260x1024 or so. it isn't too "blurry" at all. although there is some on screen noise though that seems to be coming from my tower. it's sitting on the desk. (i'll have to find my sheilding.) i seem to be able to use high res laced modes through the box. and don't have any flicker strangely!
i can't use super72 driver as it's 24khz and just rolls my screen. multiscan productivity is fine...
i wonder what my best bet is?