Bought an A2000HD

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Remove that barrel battery, if it still has one.  But you've been around here long enough to know that.  

Also I'd check what revision motherboard it has.  Some early 4.x boards had known issues (it's all documented on the various Amiga hardware resource websites already, no need to rehash it here).  6.x is generally more desirable, with 6.2-6.5 being probably "the best".  Also later versions are more likely to have KS 2.04 ROM and ECS chipset.

What SCSI interface card does it have for that hard drive?  It may have extra fast ram and other goodies inside.  As far as the price you paid, $375...  eh, maybe a hair on the high side, but if it's clean & white, and you find any treasures inside, it's worth it.  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Good to know, I have the sys info and it has ECS so must be a "newer" board.

Look for a sticker on the board to give you the exact Rev. #.  I think the silkscreen will only have a "4" or a "6".  You can also tell by the # of RAM chips: old boards have 32 chips, newer boards have 8.  

Don't forget that battery!!  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Aren't all 2000s "beige" or "tan"?

I would actually call my main A2000 "grey", at least the faceplate.  It can be hard to tell in photos though, especially if you use flash (or if your monitor is mis-adjusted... or if Amiga.org compresses them too much during upload).

My other one is a little more "beige", but I've never seen one yellowed to the point of how A500's/A1200's frequently get.  Maybe they have less bromine and whatever other chemical junk in their faceplates?

Here's some pictures for your viewing pleasure.  I think she's puurty.  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I have the sys info and it has ECS so must be a "newer" board

Or an older board that someone upgraded with newer chips.  Like Hicks said in Aliens, "I say we crack the case and do a visual inspection of the motherboard.  It's the only way to be sure."  Or something to that effect!  :laughing:



Haha, sorry, just messing with ya.  Congrats again!  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Hmm..want that multi-card reader...where to get??

That's a Mechware SCSI card reader.  Long unavailable, except for when they pop up on Ebay for exorbitantly marked up prices over what Mechy used to charge.  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Grr...of course.  What is the next best thing?  Looking for an easy solution to be able to swap files between Amigas, and my Mac.

A network?  Floppy disks?  j/k.  Maybe one of these?



Really it depends.  You looking for internal, external, CF, SD, etc.  Lots of options.  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Nice for now looking for external either some sort of USB hub..or what you posted a CF card reader..front mount would be nice.  USB obviously gives more options.

I have my A2000 set up that I can transfer files via either CF, SD, or USB.  All my PC's have media card readers too.  Think I use SD the most, honestly sometimes forget I even have USB even though the plug is right there on the side of the monitor, LOL.    I think CF & SD solutions may be a little cheaper than USB, but like you said, USB gives more options.  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Is Amigakit the source for this type thing??

ROFL.  

No, Google.    All kinds of SCSI-to-SD and IDE-to-SD adapters out there.  Where you start obviously depends on what kind of interface your Amiga has now.

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

As always, nice pics Mike.

I like the blue LEDs behind front air vents.  A touch of modern without going over the top.  

Did Mech tire of making SCSI card readers, or, did the raw materials dry up?  I'd like about 3 more of them.

ty

Mech bought them somewhere.  If you search the forums he posted the whole story, I think because I bugged him about it enough.  

He bought them all somewhere, thousands of them, had to track them to a warehouse through some obscure government surplus tracking code.  He updated the firmware and whatnot, and eventually sold them all, more to people using old synthesizers than to Amiga users, unfortunately.  But that's why they still pop up on ebay pretty frequently - the synth crowd.  You should be able to find his whole story somewhere here.  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Will any 50 pin SCSI CD rom drive work with the included SCSI controller?

Yes, they should.  I've almost never had bad luck with SCSI CD drives, just feels like they're "built better" than IDE.  Or for another option, this is the drive that I use with my A500:

IBM LF-D291BK 4.7GB 5.25 in. SCSI-50 Pin DVD-RAM 04N5967

Paid $34 for mine on ebay a while back, brand new.  Looks like they're going for even cheaper, now.  Although a white one or beige would probably look better in an A2000.  

Edit: check your ROM version.  v7.0's are available pretty cheap and resolve a bunch of problems older ones had.  There's also v8.0 ROM's, but I think that's some homebrew hack, I don't know all the details on those offhand.  

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Hey Mike is this a plug n play type thing??

You're killing me man, you've never seen one of those before?  That's just a generic picture of one I found online, although I do have a couple kicking around in a drawer for my various Miggy's.  Lots of people use them on A4000's, etc.  Typically you'd plug it into the 40-pin IDE header on the motherboard, configure the jumpers (usually not much more complicated than Master/Slave), run power to it, stick in a CF card, and boot/prep/format it for Workbench.  These kind aren't hot-swappable though (which is a difference between the extra LUN's in the Mechware device), because, well... think of it as replacing the hard disk in your A4000.  You wouldn't unplug that when it's powered up, would you?  

Anyhow, blah blah, the rest should be self-explanatory.  Time to go get some coffee!  

Edit: it's the same concept as this.  I couldn't find a decent pic of an A4000 in my 30-seconds of Googling, but here's a pic of similar concept in an A1200: