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Amiga computer related discussion => General chat about Amiga topics => Topic started by: IndyJones on January 25, 2008, 06:48:54 PM

Title: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on January 25, 2008, 06:48:54 PM
A friend from another forum gave me his old 500 setup. It was sleeping in his closet and he had no use for it. I can't wait to get home tonight and fire it up! I'll be coming back here for lots of help!
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: Tomas on January 25, 2008, 06:53:56 PM
 :-D

Make sure to remove/clean the battery on the memory expansion if it is present.
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: leirbag28 on January 25, 2008, 07:06:34 PM
@IndyJones

Remember that the Amiga 500 is like between a SEGA Genesis and Super Nintendo when it comes to graphics. it can be called a 16bit system, even though it has 32bit data path or whatever.

So don't expct much...............now if you know what your getting into..........there is lots of cool stuff you can do with it.

1) make prank Calls using the SAY utility
2) create interactive screens with buttons using SCALA or AmigaVision to execute them
3) Play great video games of course............
4) add Credit or Titles to Movies using BroadCast Titler 2.0 (really really great High Quality program for whats a 7mhz machine)
5)IRC (Internet Relay Chat) if you upgrade your A500.....IRC is one of the best chat programs in the world........especially the Amiga version: AmIRC
6) and many more tiny things you will discover


Let me know if I can help you with anything.........I got lots of extra Amiga stuff lying around......alot that I can give you FREE.
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: Tomas on January 25, 2008, 07:33:30 PM
@leirbag
I think the a500 was superior to the snes when it came to both graphics and sound quality in games.
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on January 25, 2008, 08:55:06 PM
Quote

leirbag28 wrote:
Let me know if I can help you with anything.........I got lots of extra Amiga stuff lying around......alot that I can give you FREE.


Thank you in advance! I may take you up on that. I'll see what all's included (and if it even works) tonight. I'll post pix, too!
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on January 25, 2008, 11:44:59 PM
Here's my new "girlfriend."  :-P

(http://www.westg8.com/tivo/amiga500.jpg)

It comes with the much needed A520, so I should be all set. Assuming it fires up, that is. Wish me luck!
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: Krusher on January 26, 2008, 12:09:55 AM
Good luck, and treat her nicely, she deserves it.
Oh and welcome to the not dark side  :-D
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on January 26, 2008, 12:26:38 AM
It's alive!!!!

(http://www.westg8.com/tivo/amiga500works.jpg)

It boots up to an internal hard drive. How do I see how big it is?
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: taunusand on January 26, 2008, 12:57:36 AM
A500 *INTERNAL* harddisk??

Wow!!

The bar to the left when you open workbench disk indicates free space, between "F" and "E" (Full/Empty)
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: Tomas on January 26, 2008, 01:19:34 AM
how much ram does it have?
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on January 26, 2008, 01:22:22 AM
Quote

Tomas wrote:
how much ram does it have?


I don't know. How do I find out?
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: Rob on January 26, 2008, 01:37:41 AM
@IndyJones

Open a shell and type avail or look for showconfig in the tools drawer.  
Having never used Workbench 1.x I can't say for sure if these are present, so I apologize if they aren't.
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on January 26, 2008, 01:47:27 AM
(http://www.westg8.com/tivo/amiga500avail.jpg)

Here's a shot of the avail command, and the F/E bar.
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: AMC258 on January 26, 2008, 03:05:53 AM
Someone GAVE you an A500 with INTERNAL hard drive????!!!?  Where are all these people when I'm around? :-o
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: SamuraiCrow on January 26, 2008, 03:17:22 AM
@IndyJones

You've got 512k of Chip memory and 512k of Fast memory.  1 meg total.  It's a start.  That 512k in the belly-slot of the A500 may have a battery backed clock that needs the battery removed.

At one time I would have recommended checking if you got a Fat Agnus chip in there and, with a Kickstart upgrade and a little soldering and a jumper wire or two you would have a full 1 megabyte of Chip RAM.  There is also a hack on the Aminet that tells how to add 8 megs of real Fast RAM to an A500.

As it is now, I'd recommend you leave it in its stock configuration so you can run all of the classic games for it.  Whether you upgrade or not, you should be able to run AmosPro on it to do a little coding.  It's a pity the AmosPro manuals are out of print and no longer available first-hand.
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on January 26, 2008, 03:22:30 AM
Well, I'm paying shipping. And another forum member on the other board is going to dig out his 3000 for me.

The 500 will be for games. The 3000 will be to see if I can get a Toaster working again.
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: rkauer on January 26, 2008, 03:50:56 AM
Quote

IndyJones wrote:
Well, I'm paying shipping. And another forum member on the other board is going to dig out his 3000 for me.

The 500 will be for games. The 3000 will be to see if I can get a Toaster working again.


 Again?!?!

 Did you had a toaster (not that one intended to burn bread) before? :bow:
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: hardlink on January 26, 2008, 04:03:28 AM
Quote

taunusand wrote:
A500 *INTERNAL* harddisk??


What indicates an internal (or any) harddisk?

EDIT - Oops - nevermind, he said it :oops:

The next screenshot does indicate more programs in a directory than would fit on floppy :)
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on January 26, 2008, 01:16:42 PM
Quote

rkauer wrote:
Quote

IndyJones wrote:
Well, I'm paying shipping. And another forum member on the other board is going to dig out his 3000 for me.

The 500 will be for games. The 3000 will be to see if I can get a Toaster working again.


 Again?!?!

 Did you had a toaster (not that one intended to burn bread) before? :bow:

I used a Toaster in college, then in a video production job. They were never "mine."
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on January 26, 2008, 05:45:45 PM
Okay, how would I go about making disks? I have some disk images and some floppies I can use. Is there a way to connect to Amiga to a PC? Or can I write an Amiga image to floppy on a PC?
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: Krusher on January 26, 2008, 05:59:47 PM
Transfer the images on your miggy on harddrive and there are tools to write them back on floppy.

Or buy a Catweasel  :-D

Oh and there's a tool for connecting Amiga to a PC

http://www.amigaforever.com/kb/3-108.html
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on January 26, 2008, 06:04:03 PM
Thanks, I'll look into that.

Also, if I want to pick up a monitor on eBay, which model numbers work with the Amiga? Is there one that will also work with my recently acquired C=128?
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: Krusher on January 26, 2008, 06:09:00 PM
1084 or any monitor with an rgb input.
Don't know about your c128, I supose there's a composite output on it?
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on January 26, 2008, 06:53:31 PM
I'm seeing 1080, 1702, and 1902 monitors on eBay right now. Will any of those work?
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: Krusher on January 26, 2008, 07:00:43 PM
The 1902 is a no go, as its specifically build for the C128 and can only accept DIGITAL rgb
Or you have to build an svideo adapter for your Amiga...

The other two are no problem (although horribly old)
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on January 26, 2008, 07:18:03 PM
Ideally, I'd like one to work with both the C=128 and the Amiga. I have a desk setup for both and one monitor would be much better than 2.
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: Krusher on January 26, 2008, 07:26:03 PM
I assume you want to use the 80 columns mode of the 128? Then you need the 1902.

You'll have to settle with the Amiga though, since composite is a lot worse to look at then rgb, and you need the A520 modulator to get color.

Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on January 26, 2008, 07:30:38 PM
I have (and am using right now) the A520. I'd like to upgrade that a real Amiga monitor, though.
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: HopperJF on January 26, 2008, 07:32:03 PM
Out of the small selection of monitors you listed I'd recommend opting for the 1080, its a lovely monitor even now, with the old-school Amiga logo and absolutely excellent picture quality.
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: Krusher on January 26, 2008, 07:34:21 PM
Quote

IndyJones wrote:
I have (and am using right now) the A520. I'd like to upgrade that a real Amiga monitor, though.


Then there's no other solution then have 2 monitors. Amiga monitors don't have RBGI inputs needed for the 128, and 128 monitors lack the analog RGB input needed for the Amiga..

You're out of luck I'm afraid, and you'll have to live with 2 monitors. But at least you can watch them at the same time : :-D

Oh I forgot to mention the Commodore 1940/1942 monitors for the Amiga.
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on January 26, 2008, 07:38:24 PM
Well, clearly the more important monitor would be for the Amiga. I can live with a TV for the C=128. I just bought that for games.
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: Krusher on January 26, 2008, 07:40:00 PM
Well, go and look for the 1080/1084/1940/1942  :-)
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on January 26, 2008, 08:00:30 PM
Good thing I'm made of money!

Not.
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on January 26, 2008, 08:05:46 PM
I see a Commodore 2002 monitor locally here on Craigslist. What's a 2002?
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: Krusher on January 26, 2008, 08:18:27 PM
Check this list out:

http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showcat.cgi?CATID=26

Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on January 26, 2008, 08:21:43 PM
Quote

Krusher wrote:
Check this list out:

http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showcat.cgi?CATID=26



Sweet! It's for the Amiga. It "has to go today" according to the ad. I sent an email. We'll see if I can snag it.
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on January 28, 2008, 12:07:44 AM
I got the monitor! For only $5!
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: Caius on January 28, 2008, 12:22:51 AM
Quote
IndyJones wrote:

It boots up to an internal hard drive. How do I see how big it is?

Did anyone give a proper answer to this? Well, in any case: Open a shell and type info to see size, usage, etc for all mounted disks.
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on January 28, 2008, 01:05:55 AM
Quote

Caius wrote:
Did anyone give a proper answer to this? Well, in any case: Open a shell and type info to see size, usage, etc for all mounted disks.


Thanks for that! It reads as a 61MB hard drive.

(http://www.westg8.com/tivo/amiga2002.jpg)

Despite the wash out from the flash, you can see the monitor is not in perfect shape. The colors sort of ramp off. Is there a way to degauss it?
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: IndyJones on March 23, 2018, 10:33:07 PM
It's a sad day. She's on the auction block.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/273125330433?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: Oldsmobile_Mike on March 23, 2018, 10:59:21 PM
Did you ever figure out what the hard drive controller is?  An A500 with internal hard drive is pretty rare, might bring you a few extra $ if you're intent on selling it.  I would take it apart and post some higher quality photos, too.  Good luck!
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: BLTCON0 on March 24, 2018, 03:47:46 AM
Quote from: Oldsmobile_Mike;837748
Did you ever figure out what the hard drive controller is?  An A500 with internal hard drive is pretty rare, might bring you a few extra $ if you're intent on selling it.  I would take it apart and post some higher quality photos, too.  Good luck!

Could be an M-Tec AT 500 Megabody (http://amiga.resource.cx/exp/at500), intended for internal installation of an IDE 2.5" disk.
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: zipper on March 24, 2018, 06:44:06 AM
Or AdIde 44 http://amiga.resource.cx/search.pl?product=ad+ide
Title: Re: I'm finally one of you! (got an Amiga 500)
Post by: bbond007 on March 25, 2018, 03:29:21 AM
Quote from: zipper;837755
Or AdIde 44 http://amiga.resource.cx/search.pl?product=ad+ide


I had one of those in my A500 with 52meg quantum :)