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Amiga News and Community Announcements => Amiga News and Community Announcements => Topic started by: DJS on December 07, 2013, 01:42:19 AM

Title: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: DJS on December 07, 2013, 01:42:19 AM
Elbox Computer is pleased to announce the new product for Amiga computers: TurboFlyer 530.

TurboFlyer 530 is a new 68030-based accelerator with integrated FastATA CF/SATA controller for Amiga 500/500+ and A2000 computers. TurboFlyer 530 it is an internal expansion, plugs into the 68000 processor socket.

Features:
• 68030 processor (with MMU) clocked at 40MHz
• 16MB of fast 32-bit DRAM memory on board

• Integrated FastATA CF/SATA controller:
- Fast transfer rate of up to 16.6MB/s
- Supports PIO-0, PIO-4 and PIO-5 modes
- Two buffered and terminated EIDE ports for four devices
- AllegroCDFS filesystem included
- LBA 48 support in the onboard BootROM (support of drives over 128GB)
- Automatically configured EIDE/CF/SATA/ATAPI devices
- Can boot from FAT16 and FAT32 formatted devices

• Includes custom expansion port for local hardware add-ons
• MapROM function (uses 1MB from 16MB of the on-board DRAM)
• Compatible with trapdoor Slow memory expansions (up to 1.8 MB)
• Compatible with Chip memory expansions
• Compatible with WHDLoad software

Pricing and availability:
TurboFlyer 530 will be on sale in February 2014 at the suggested retail price of 240 EUR (VAT excl.).

http://elbox.com/news_13_12_06.html
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: AmiDude on December 07, 2013, 12:23:15 PM
This sure beats the cr*p out of the poor ACA500! :hammer:
It costs some money, but then you have the ultimate A500/A2000 expansion! :banana:
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: Kronos on December 07, 2013, 01:14:19 PM
Quote from: AmiDude;753973
This sure beats the cr*p out of the poor ACA500! :hammer:
It costs some money, but then you have the ultimate A500/A2000 expansion! :banana:


No so sure ...

With VAT we are talking close to 300Euro, the ACA500 is 80Euro, an ACA1232@40MHz can be had for 160Euro ->240Euro (incl. VAT).

- 2 CF slots instead of 2 IDE (IMO CF makes more sense these days)
- 128MB instead 16MB (and probraly faster too)
- Clockport
- propetery 16Bit port similar to the new XSurf
- 100% certainty of no RDB-trashing code

Only think negative is that the ACAs dangle outside the A500.
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: golem on December 07, 2013, 02:15:49 PM
Quote from: Kronos;753974

Only think negative is that the ACAs dangle outside the A500.


My old A500 sits under the TV so that is a big negative. This is a nice surprise from Elbox. Expensive but if it can boot from a CF adaptor using 1.3 ROMs they might get my money.
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: Gulliver on December 07, 2013, 02:43:31 PM
Quote from: Kronos;753974
No so sure ...

With VAT we are talking close to 300Euro, the ACA500 is 80Euro, an ACA1232@40MHz can be had for 160Euro ->240Euro (incl. VAT).

- 2 CF slots instead of 2 IDE (IMO CF makes more sense these days)
- 128MB instead 16MB (and probraly faster too)
- Clockport
- propetery 16Bit port similar to the new XSurf
- 100% certainty of no RDB-trashing code

Only think negative is that the ACAs dangle outside the A500.


Not so sure of your comments either...

With this new accelerator you get:

-The fastest IDE interface around (FastATA)
-A non dangling hardware Frankenstein thing, that fortunately does not require case for safe usage (the ACA500 is such a beast)
-A MMU
-The fastest cd/dvd filesystem the amiga has, and the only one that supports UDF
-IDE interfaces which are way more flexible than CF slots (If you wish you can add a cdrom, a CF interface ($2 in ebay with shipping) or whatever other device IDE can accept)
-Big drive support built-in (no messing with the loadmodule mess)

Drawbacks:

-Elbox has an ethically questionable way of treating both customers and developers
-Price
-Less memory (but then there are not a lot of 68030 applications that take advantage of more than 16MB on an Amiga with OCS/ECS chipset).

It is good to have much more options for the A500. I remember not so long ago when a GVP530 ended up like $1000 on ebay!
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: AmigaClassicRule on December 07, 2013, 05:01:17 PM
Quote from: Gulliver;753977
Not so sure of your comments either...

With this new accelerator you get:

-The fastest IDE interface around (FastATA)
-A non dangling hardware Frankenstein thing, that fortunately does not require case for safe usage (the ACA500 is such a beast)
-A MMU
-The fastest cd/dvd filesystem the amiga has, and the only one that supports UDF
-IDE interfaces which are way more flexible than CF slots (If you wish you can add a cdrom, a CF interface ($2 in ebay with shipping) or whatever other device IDE can accept)
-Big drive support built-in (no messing with the loadmodule mess)

Drawbacks:

-Elbox has an ethically questionable way of treating both customers and developers
-Price
-Less memory (but then there are not a lot of 68030 applications that take advantage of more than 16MB on an Amiga with OCS/ECS chipset).

It is good to have much more options for the A500. I remember not so long ago when a GVP530 ended up like $1000 on ebay!


Two reasons why I hate ACA500 and which convinced me it is a waste of money:

1) No case for it
2) It is on the left side of the Amiga and not inside of it...meaning more space consumption and I do not have enough space in my table for that. The more hardware inside the case the better for me...as space is so important that I had to put my Amiga 500 inside the closet now because of space factor and Amiga 500 is huge compared to A600, MiniMig or FPGA Replay, etc)
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: Iggy on December 07, 2013, 06:04:16 PM
Quote from: Kronos;753974
No so sure ...

With VAT we are talking close to 300Euro, the ACA500 is 80Euro, an ACA1232@40MHz can be had for 160Euro ->240Euro (incl. VAT).

- 2 CF slots instead of 2 IDE (IMO CF makes more sense these days)
- 128MB instead 16MB (and probraly faster too)
- Clockport
- propetery 16Bit port similar to the new XSurf
- 100% certainty of no RDB-trashing code

Only think negative is that the ACAs dangle outside the A500.

Luckily I do not have to pay VAT, and this will work in my A2000.

You will all have to excuse Kronos.

Not only does he usually see the cup as half empty, but often that half is sh*t.
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: Kronos on December 07, 2013, 06:25:45 PM
/me cuddles Iggy *love you too*

Also you want have to pay VAT an the ACAs either, so they would be even less expensive for you ....
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: Iggy on December 07, 2013, 06:38:17 PM
Quote from: Kronos;753984
/me cuddles Iggy *love you too*

Also you want have to pay VAT an the ACAs either, so they would be even less expensive for you ....

And I actually AM damned fond of you too, dude.
You have given me some GREAT advice.
That pointer on using the dual boot guideline to set up an unflashed SATA controller, worked like a charm.

But you're almost as negative as I am (however, no one beats me at being an intentional..., well I'm not allowed to say).

And, I don't ever want to discourage a MorphOS developer from posting.

I really miss Piru around here.

Also (finally) your point about the external expander makes sense.

It might just be cheaper for me to replace the A2000 with an A500 and use that.
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: Kronos on December 07, 2013, 08:22:46 PM
@mylovechild
Quote

It might just be cheaper for me to replace the A2000 with an A500 and use that.


You do know that Jens has allready outlined plans for an ACA2000 (very similar features then the ACA500) ?
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: Iggy on December 07, 2013, 10:35:19 PM
Quote from: Kronos;753991
@mylovechild


You do know that Jens has allready outlined plans for an ACA2000 (very similar features then the ACA500) ?

Thanks, I can wait to invest more in legacy hardware, I have a G5 and a Radeon 9600 coming.
I play around with the Amiga, I can actually do things with MorphOS.
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: Oli_hd on December 08, 2013, 01:14:51 PM
Oli want pictures to drule over :)
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: yssing on December 08, 2013, 04:35:54 PM
yes pictures would be great to have.
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: skolman on December 08, 2013, 09:40:13 PM
Quote from: Gulliver;753977

-The fastest cd/dvd filesystem the amiga has, and the only one that supports UDF


I've done tests AllegroCDFS and can not read UDF 1.50+, only DVD-Video (ISO + UDF 1.02), but as for me is the best, because you can see the CDDA as RAW PCM files and rip to disk.
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: LaserBack on December 09, 2013, 12:43:11 AM
300 euros they are crazy for such money you can purchase an A1200+ 030 accelerator this is by far a better machine
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: Rob on December 09, 2013, 02:27:36 AM
Like too see pics too.
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: klx300r on December 09, 2013, 06:42:46 AM
will this work in an A1000 with a CPU riser? I'm waiting for Jen's ACA1000 but curious if this can fit in the A1000 oh & pics please
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: Oldsmobile_Mike on December 09, 2013, 07:30:43 AM
This sounds like a great upgrade over the old VXL-30 in my A500 now, definitely interested in more details and especially pics.  If anyone from Elbox is reading this I'd like to add to the wishlist:

- Test for no incompatibilities with sidecars such as the GVP and A590, for those of us who still like to use SCSI devices
- I'm hoping that with modern technology the thing won't be gigantic (like the old A500 accelerators), and also not interfere with fitting of the Indivision ECS or MegaChip (my current setup containing all this hardware requires several careful spacers)
- Memory, MapROM, etc., autoconfig or are configurable by jumpers (i.e., doesn't require any additional software like the ACA cards)
- Would be nice if there were more than 16MB of 32-bit memory, but I'll live, that's still way more than I have now.  ;)

That's it for now, am sure I'll come up with a few more "wishlist" items soon!  :mickeymouse:
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: skolman on December 10, 2013, 04:26:20 AM
Now time on Turbo for the Amiga CD32 :)

"A complete listing of all the pins of the CD32 expansion connector.
All the 68030 control pins are now added."
http://aminet.net/docs/hard/cd32-expansion.txt
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: psxphill on December 10, 2013, 12:04:06 PM
Quote from: Kronos;753991
You do know that Jens has allready outlined plans for an ACA2000 (very similar features then the ACA500) ?

IIRC I suggested this as a product to him in the late 90's as I had an A1500 and getting an accelerator for them was hard but A1200 accelerators were easy to get, at which point he accused me of trying to steal the idea off him.
 
I'd thought about doing it myself, but like so many projects I realised my time/motivation/skills weren't up to it.
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: Paulie85 on March 29, 2014, 12:17:46 PM
Any word on this? It was due in February and it's nearly April. I wanted to buy one but I emailed Elbox but did not receive a reply.
I may go for the ACA instead now.
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: yssing on March 29, 2014, 03:13:43 PM
Paulie just go for the ACA500 instead
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: save2600 on March 30, 2014, 02:29:15 AM
Using the ACA500 with a Phoenix (original) equipped A1000 and LOVE it!

May as well support what's available now, don't look a gift horse in the mouth and save the wet dreams for later!  :laughing:
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: Lurch on March 30, 2014, 09:27:05 AM
Elbox usually have some well made hardware, i.e. Mediator it's a great product especially the SX/TX and the FastATA.

Downside is you usually get no response when trying to contact them, support is also sadly lacking.

Drivers for the ATI 9200 is also lagging, would love to be able to use it in Warp3d or for 3d games. Even an update of the Voodoo driver to allow me to use both GPU's on the Voodoo 5 would be fantastic.

I've also tried to register three items but no response. However I stick it out because having a PCI option for the 1200 is fantastic.

Waiting on many a great hardware that's been announced to be released is an Amiga pass time. Would have jumped on a Dragon coldfire if it was released. Looking at those teasing photos on their website LOL.

Maybe Elbox will surprise us and actually release the TurboFlyer. Maybe the Dragon will come in to being (how about letting me buy a prototype???) Maybe some new drivers will be released, and maybe I'll get a response from Elbox from the emails I've sent them.

A lot of maybes :-)
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: pyrre on March 30, 2014, 04:24:16 PM
Is there any evidence this thing is going to be released?
February 2014 has passed. and so has march.... and i cant seem to find it in any stores....
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: fitzsteve on March 30, 2014, 04:40:37 PM
Quote from: pyrre;761549
Is there any evidence this thing is going to be released?
February 2014 has passed. and so has march.... and i cant seem to find it in any stores....

You could try Emailing Elbox, they have a contact Email address on their article.
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: Lurch on March 30, 2014, 07:05:41 PM
Quote from: fitzsteve;761551
You could try Emailing Elbox, they have a contact Email address on their article.


Then cross your fingers for a reply. On to me 10th email over 6 months no reply ;-)
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: klx300r on April 01, 2014, 04:31:43 PM
Quote from: save2600;761534
Using the ACA500 with a Phoenix (original) equipped A1000 and LOVE it! ...  

pics please;)

Jens said he's be releasing an ACA1000 for our Amiga 1000's soon after the ACA500 was released.  I'll be buying one but must admit I'm in love with my external scsi drive and original side cars so hopefully the ACA1000 will play nice with the original attachments.
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: NovaCoder on April 02, 2014, 12:23:12 AM
Quote from: pyrre;761549
Is there any evidence this thing is going to be released?
February 2014 has passed. and so has march.... and i cant seem to find it in any stores....

Don't hold your breath, you will probably suffocate.....


This is a hobby market, the correct approach is:

1) Have an idea
2) Develop a basic working prototype
3) Take some pics and then tell the world about it
4) Receive feedback
5) Tweak the product design based on the feedback
6) Sell it!

This is basically the approach taken by Jens (Individual Computers), Elbox could learn a lot from him :)
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: pyrre on April 02, 2014, 02:15:17 AM
Quote from: Lurch;761556
Then cross your fingers for a reply. On to me 10th email over 6 months no reply ;-)
I have tried e-mailing them before, back in 2006... still waiting for an answer...
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: Lurch on April 02, 2014, 06:15:21 AM
Quote from: pyrre;761713
I have tried e-mailing them before, back in 2006... still waiting for an answer...


Wow, that's terrible. Not sure what to do myself. Where did you buy the hardware through?

I'm after a rumored slightly higher riser card for a Mediator, apparently these were being sold for 40-50euro through Elbox.

Even tried Amigakit no answer.
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: pyrre on April 02, 2014, 04:15:52 PM
Quote from: Lurch;761719
Wow, that's terrible. Not sure what to do myself. Where did you buy the hardware through?
I never got to buying any hardware....
Honestly i cant remember anymore what the query was about.
I think it was about the mediator or the pc-key 1200

I did buy the pc-key 1200, and i think it was from vesalia.. and it works like a charm...

But the query... it has slipped my mind. and the mail is long-gone deleted from my mail client...
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: Rabbi on April 02, 2014, 09:05:36 PM
I've had trouble with Elbox responding to my e-mails, too.  I don't think that you'll get a reply from them; however, when the accelerator is available, I'd be willing to bet that AmigaKit will stock it.  I begged Elbox for many times to re-issue the FastATA for both the A1200 & A4000, but it never happened until AmigaKit stepped in to get it done.  I would like to be able to purchase the upgraded firmware chip instead of buying a whole new FastATA device.
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: SimonV on April 16, 2014, 07:40:53 PM
I do have a CSA megamidgetracer in my A500, but I would like some IDE solution in it. So Elbox where is that thing ? Hello ? Elbox ?
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: klx300r on April 16, 2014, 08:01:24 PM
Elbox may need help with returning emails but they have delivered real, quality products for our miggies (minus the SharkPPC that is :-) so hopefully this one comes to life soon
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: amiga1260 on April 27, 2014, 09:53:08 AM
There is a new update on the website of Elbox about the Turboflyer with some benchmarks.

It will be released in Q2 2014.

http://elbox.com/news_13_12_06.html
Title: Re: TurboFlyer 530
Post by: Megamig on April 27, 2014, 10:39:28 AM
Great to see new Amiga development - especially for A500/A2000 users.

Now here is my gripes... 16MB is way too little for a card of this price. As someone has already mentioned - why wouldn't you buy a A1200 instead.

Does anyone know what would the cost be in adding network or USB connectivity to this card? As it would be a much better sell if it offered one or both of these options straight out of the box.