30 Year Old Amiga Still Workin' It

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I love how this story is bringing Amiga users out of the woodwork, but c'mon, the picture in *that article* isn't even one of the right computer!  :p

http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=69365

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I've heard they don't do that anymore.  That they did actually run out of parts, finally.  Search the forums, that's what others have posted.  Still, they made a good run of it!  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

@OldsMikey... what version of AHI are you using with your Sunrise card?

This 'un, sir!  

http://aminet.net/package/driver/audio/AD516-AHI

You'll also need Studio16 software from here:  http://amiga.resource.cx/exp/ad516

Works fine but it doesn't take advantage of the AD516's DSP, so you need a pretty fast processor if you're going to be playing .mp3's or the like with it (unlike the MAS Player or Prisma MegaMix, if it ever gets released, which can do playback with a 68000).  Of course you've already got "fast processor" covered, so...  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Schweeeeeeeet! Thanks for the linkages!

So, you're saying that MP3s are soley at the mercy of the processor for playback with the Sunrize? The Bliz already plays back 192KB/s MP3s without even breakin a sweat! I'll have to encode some MP3s at 256KB/s or higher to see where the Bliz chokes... :lol:

Yes, that is correct.  The advantage you do get is 16-bit playback quality through the AD516, instead of 8-bit (or that hybrid Paula 14-bit mode).  You can use the AHI Prefs to configure a bitrate that matches your hardware.

Bah, let me just post a couple pics, it's easier than trying to explain.  

I keep a couple short leads plugged in to both the native Amiga audio output and AD516 output, so it's easy to swap between them (as opposed to constantly having to reach behind the machine).  Keep saying I'm going to get a mini-mixer, but then again I keep saying I'm going to buy a Prisma, too, if they're ever released.  

BTW, how's the XTra mem treating you? Have any software that you've been waiting to take advantage of it?

Note To Self.... Must..... Get...... R..... T..... G...... Card!!!:razz:

Still can barely run NetSurf without it crashing, but at least I an open more than one tab on IBrowse now.  Also, DoomAttack!  :lol:  Oh, and I switched my entire desktop over to Ken's Icons (from the modded GlowIcons I already had).  Love 'em!  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Thanks for the pic! That explains it perfectly!

That's odd that you can't open a butt load of tabs in iBrowse. I could open as many as, oh, maybe 50 using the (RIP) A1200 in my sig! That's what always amazed me about iBrowse. No matter how many tabs I opened iBrowse would only use about 30K per tab! Your accelerator has an FPU, right? And you're using the 020 version of iBrowse?

Great, glad it helps!

No, I mean I can *now* open a butt load of tabs.  Before IBrowse would get unstable with more than 1, but since quadrupling my amount of memory I haven't had any issues, haha.  

I do have everything diverted to ram for improved performance, all of it's cache stuff, etc., so it is going to eat up more memory than if I used disk space as cache.  But I did that on purpose, that's the way I like it!  :lol:

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Now that we've gotten this thread completely off-topic, you should try that latest 68k 3.4 DEV build of NetSurf.  It's crash-city for me, but maybe you'd have better luck?  :lol:

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Don't think it will matter as the same topic can be found in 20 other threads! HAHAHAHAHA!

Good point.  

I think I will do that right away! Where can I get it? Sorry, I didn't follow the never-ending Netsurf thread....   :lol: Any special instructions for installing/running it? Don't tell me I have to go back read all that stuff from the Netsurf thread! :lol:

That thread is my nightmare.  

You've got gobs of RAM, just unarchive and slap the whole thing into your Ram Disk and do an Assign NetSurf: there.  If you're really feeling daring try poking at the cryptic Resources/Options file.

I'm just curious.  It'll probably bomb because you don't have a graphics card, but maybe you can track down the AGA version and try that on one of your 1200's?  I think your 2000 could do it though, with it's '060/128MB.  You just need to get yourself a graphics card, mister!  

http://aminet.net/package/comm/www/NetSurf-m68k

Edit - I eventually got 3.3 running on mine, I could view the Google homepage, but it would run out of memory and crash if I tried to load anything like amiga.org.  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Meh, then again, maybe I'll f#ck with this later.....   bigger fish to fry! :roflmao: I wanna get my Sunrize going next... along with some faked better graphics (I think I'm gonna try to trade my mint condish, horked, AT-A1200 for an RTG card - yea, that's gonna happen LOL). It's supposed to rain tomorrow so maybe I can get away with working on the A2000 without the Seahag knowing.... cause, you know, I'm supposed to spend every waking moment tryin to GET A JOB! :lol:

You might be able to get a PII for the price a mint-ish A1200 brings in, depending on upgrades, what phase the moon is in, how people feel about their latest favorite character getting killed on Game of Thrones, etc.  Good luck!  And get a job!!  :lol:

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Agreed, the Spectrum is the superior card, but I might be slightly biased.  

Bought two different PII's, a v1.4 and a v1.6, could not get either of them to "recognize" the output from the Indivision.  They make an audible click when they perform their switching, so it was pretty obvious to tell when they were and when they weren't.  I don't think there's anything wrong with PII cards in general, they just can't "see" the output of an Indivision ECS, in order to activate the switch.  I've heard they do work with Indivision AGA boards.

Here was Jens' suggestion when I asked him about it.  I managed to get a GVP Spectrum (which works without modification) before trying what he's suggested below.  I'll post it here in case it helps you, or someone else, in the future:

individual Computers Tech Support    
3/25/14
       
Dear ,

Thank you for your request. I don't have an amiga.org account any more, so I can't see the pics. From what I've read on the first two pages, the switcher in the PII works, and it just can't handle the VGA output from Indivision ECS.

VGA consists of five signals only: RGB analogue and two sync signals. These are generated "by the book" on Indivision ECS, so you need to look for the problem on some other pin. The first thing that comes to mind is that 5V signal on pin 9, but that isn't supplied on the Commodore VGA-adapter, so can't be the cause.

What's different on the VGA adapter is that it connects pin 11 (the ID0 line) to GND, which the Indivision ECS cable leaves open. Try to ground pin 11 and see if the P2 pass-through works.



Your INDIVIDUAL COMPUTERS Support Team

Jens Schönfeld

The fix that he's describing may very well be this wire seen in the top-left corner of the board in the picture on Amiga hardware database website:  http://amiga.resource.cx/photos/photo2.pl?id=egs28&pg=2&res=hi&lang=en

If that is the case, that means Spectrum's are already "fixed" (every Spectrum board I've heard of includes this wire, including mine).  But I'm just hypothesizing.  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Nice.... if you can verify (like you have time...) that solution works maybe I should just get one of yours. As long as I can get satisfactory results, I don't care what it is. (Sorry no smileys - now I'm on the machine with no Java Script). I move around a lot in the house.

I sold mine already, otherwise I'd definitely offer one up for ya!  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Wow! You sold both of those already? Both to the same person? Or did you eBay? Congrats on your sale! I know you were trying to recoup what you could get.

Time flies, man!  This was months ago.  I forget, I think I put one on Amibay and one on Ebay.  On to better homes, I hope!  

One of these days, one of these days, I tell ya, I'm gonna be in the market for an '060 board for my main A2000....  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Ahhhh, ya know, the more I use my Bliz the more I love it! If you EVER see a non-upgraded 040 (they're all really 060 boards) going cheap GRAB IT! Then, send it to me, and I'll upgrade it for ya! Why you ask? Cause I still have 97 more of those SMD resistors on hand! HAHAHAHAHA! Seriously, grab one if you can... what an amazing board. The freakin SCSI bus is amazing!

HA!  :lol:

I will, man.  But "going cheap"?  You know better than that!  I LOL'd at "97 resistors left".  

Biggest bottleneck with my GeForce '040 is the SCSI bus, now that I've finally got a reasonable amount of RAM in the thing.  Still, it's quite snappy with PFS and all the other mods I've done to it.  Shame the GVP can't be upgraded to an '060!  

As Tim Allen said, "More power!!!"  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Why so seroius ... ?
http://youtu.be/8UVXVRZmwlw

:banana: :banana: