Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: Niding on May 09, 2009, 11:54:26 AM
-
I havent used my A1200 for years, and it was never
connected to the internet when I used it in the mid 90's.
Have dusted off the A1200 and monitor and are intrested in
getting it "up to date".
It got a 1230/50mhz acceleration board.
Anyhow, any "easy" way of getting hooked up to the net?
Did a search on this forum but didnt find any threads.
If this has been answered before and someone know the link for the thread, I would appriciate it :-)
If its "easier" to hook up thru my PC, how do I go about doing that?
-
There are two packages available to connect your A1200 to the net:
EasyNet PCMCIA Kit (http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=116)
EasyNet Wireless PCMCIA Kit (http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=121)
-
You asked at the right time, I have literally just managed this very same task.
You will need:
1) A copy of AmiTCP (or another TCP/IP stack).
2) A PCMCIA network card. I'll upload a picture of the one I am using presently, it was a cheap ebay job.
PCMCIA NIC: See here (http://extropia.co.uk/_temp/pcmcia_card.jpg)
3) A copy of cnet.device, available from aminet.
4) CardReset, also from aminet. You might not need it, but it is useful.
5) A router - hopefully if you have a network connection from an existing PC you'll already have one.
6) A Swede*
Plug the network card into your PCMCIA slot and connect it to your router. The link light should come on when the A1200 has power, or at least it did on mine.
Assuming you are using AmiTCP
Install AmiTCP and when it asks you what sort of network adaptor you are using, lie and say an CBM A2065 board.
When it asks for your IP address, give it a suitable one from the range your router allocates. In my case this was 192.168.0.4 since .1 is the router, .2 my PC and .3 the A1XE. When it asks for the default gateway, use the address of your router. Same for Name Server.
After installation (before rebooting), put the cnet.device (020 or turboio) into sys:devs/networks.
Edit the db/interfaces file in amitcp's directory and change the 2 occurences of a2065.device to cnet.device
Edit the db/hosts file in amitcp's directory and add your chosen IP address with a hostname underneath the localhost entry. Doesn't matter what you use for a hostname as long as it is legal. a1200.w00t.net or something equally triumphant should do ;)
Reboot.
If all has gone well, amitcp will start at boot time and you will have connectivity. You can test this by opening a shell and pinging your router. Or open a browser, if you have one installed.
If you do have problems, try using the CardReset command in your user startup before any reference to amitcp. Your machine might fail to assert the _RESET signal on the PCMCIA when the machine reboots. CardReset addresses this issue.
If you have a towerized A1200, think about how much room there is between your PCMCIA slot and the tower casing. You might need an L-shaped adaptor. I got lucky, but only just:
See here (http://extropia.co.uk/_temp/pcmcia_tower.jpg)
*If all else fails, talk to your assigned Swede via IM, who will patiently get you through the whole process. It worked for me, YMMV :-)
-
Or, you could use the AmiKit packages above, which I'm sure are less hassle to set up.
-
Thanks for the replies :-)
I will look more into it when I got time later tonight.
Im probarly gonna buy the amigakit hardware, but will bug you Karlos if I run into problems!
-
You need to get #6 on the list :-D
-
I live in Australia so I'd like to buy a PCMCIA card thats compatible with the Amiga 1200 from here rather than ordering from the UK. Can I use any type2 PCMCIA wireless card? Im sure I've read it has to be 16bit rather than 32, is this correct? Is there anything else I should know?
I assume I can get all the software I need from Aminet or elsewhere on the net?
Help is much appreciated.
Cheers
Ben
-
Ben,
This linky (http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=43153) may help ya.
If you haven't used your 1200 in years you might also want to know about WHDLOAD (http://www.whdload.de/)
-
I live in Australia so I'd like to buy a PCMCIA card thats compatible with the Amiga 1200 from here rather than ordering from the UK. Can I use any type2 PCMCIA wireless card? Im sure I've read it has to be 16bit rather than 32, is this correct? Is there anything else I should know?
I assume I can get all the software I need from Aminet or elsewhere on the net?
Help is much appreciated.
Cheers
Ben
The Amiga 600/1200 only use 16-bit PCMCIA. See here (http://www.amiga.org/gallery/index.php?n=2966) for an example card that works just fine with cnet.device (available from aminet and elsewhere).
-
Do the wireless easynet PCMCIA cards /easynet support modern encryption protocols like WPA2? I am interested in letting my Amiga1200 see the internal network so i can transfer files but i am not willing to drop my security down to WEP.
-
Forget it. No WPA(2) on the Amiga.
I prefer to use my A1200 with a wired networkcard, such as the 3C589, which works nicely.
-
Yeh i was thinking wired too. I got way too many things talking to my wireless to change it for a bit of ancient tech lol.
Plus i think the old wificards are only gonna work at wireless b speeds. I think i may have to raid my I.T store room at work and find some old wired PCMCIA cards we dont use anymore!
-
I never tried wireless, as far as I know it isn't supported for classics. Nothing wrong with a good old-fashioned bit of cat-5 dangling out of your A1200...
-
I never tried wireless, as far as I know it isn't supported for classics. Nothing wrong with a good old-fashioned bit of cat-5 dangling out of your A1200...
There is wireless card for sale on Amikit (http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=121), but it is expensive. It comes with driver and Network CD though.
-
For anyone looking to buy a second hand PCMCIA card who isn't sure which ones are compatible, GMB has put together a list here - http://www.g-mb.de/pcmcia_e.html
I use a 3Com Etherlink III card with my A1200 with this driver - http://aminet.net/package/driver/net/3c589
And I use a Digital PC-LAN card with the cnet.device on the A600.
Good luck to everyone trying to get their A1200s online, it's heaps of fun once you've got it all up and running, especially if you have a 030 or faster, although that doesn't stop me from going online from my 000 A600 and my 020 CD32 :)
Make sure you download Dynamite so we can all play an online game of Bomberman against each other some time!
-
Wireless networking is available on a A1200 using prism2.device from the aminet (http://aminet.net/driver/net/prism2.lha). The archive contains a list of compatable cards, I can personally recommend the Orinoco silver cards and the Netgear MA401.
It is WEP only though :(
Gaz
-
Thanks for all your help.
-
Here's some additions and replies to many messages in this thread :)
There are other options too than EasyNet or discussed old AmiTCP. I'm personally using AmiTCP Genesis (at home) and MiamiDX (out there when DHCP or PPPoE is needed) on my classic A1200/030. They're much easier to setup than older versions of AmiTCP/IP.
One quick option to try if your card works or occasional transfers is this (http://jpv.wmhost.com/NetworkBootDisk) bootable one disk solution.
If your Amiga is put on tower, then there's possibility to use some bus expansion (PCI or Zorro) and find network card for it. PCMCIA isn't the only solution.
Wireless drivers support only WEP 64 bit and 128 bit encryptions so far. I'm using Lucent Tech's and Orinoco's Silver cards, which support 64bit WEP. Gold card should support 128bit too and Bronze didn't have encryption at all IIRC. I like wireless option much more than those annoying dongled wired ones. Of course it's crackable with such low encryption, but if you don't handle that important data on Amiga. You also can use encrypted protocols. I think it's enough to hide wireless connection from being all open and visible so that casual opportunist can't use it.
You'd better check compatibility issues on each driver's archive from aminet. Search 3com, cnet and prism2 devices.
Used Amiga compatible PCMCIA cards can be found pretty easily. At least here in Finland you see them all the time on used stuff forums and ebay equivalents. Price range is here something around 1-10e for wired one and 5-20e for wireless ones.