Storage devices for A500 Plus

[AmigaBruno]

I've just bought an Amiga A500 Plus from eBay. So far, I've only managed to power it on and get the Kickstart boot screen. I've never owned an A500 Plus before. There's a warranty seal on the back of the computer, instead of underneath at the front. I assume this means it's standard with no upgrades fitted. My next step will be to buy some Workbench 2 disks.

Obviously, I'd like the convenience of some kind of fast mass storage device instead of relying on floppies. I wonder what would be compatible and not too expensive to install. I think that anything that works with the A500 would also be compatible. I've read that the following devices can be used - SCSI hard drives, IDE adapters and CF cards, Iomega Zip disk drives, and USB memory sticks. Unfortunately, I don't know how to install any of these, except old SCSI drives made years ago specifically for the A500. There's also this device http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SD-Floppy-Emulator-Rev-C-BLUE-EDITION-/170952527345?pt=UK_VintageComputing_RL&hash=item27cd908df1 which uses SD cards to store floppy disk images.

I hope someone here can advise me.

[AmigaBruno]

Go for it, it is recommended because amiga floppy drivers has a tend to fault. And the sd cards just way faster to read. If you want hard drivers, you need to buy some hd expansion card. (it is fitted to the side expansion port) Or get an accelerator hdd drive combo 2 in 1. (because some accelerator card dont' like some of the hdd cards) or 3:1 with memory upgrade.
Anyway some of the accelerator can use modern (ie 80GB or more) hard drives, but it is really depend on the actual modell. Of course most of the 90' hard drivers works, but you know, most of them not or not working correctly because of ageing.

I'm afraid I don't understand any of this. Please try again.

[AmigaBruno]

Lurch and hese7, perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough.

I'd really like to know where I can buy some compatible mass storage devices for my Amiga A500 Plus, complete with the prices. The availability of them and the prices have to be current.

[AmigaBruno]

I wonder what's stopping me from attaching any SCSI hard drive? Perhaps I need a controller. What would the controller consist of? Would I have to buy an old hard drive made specifically for the Amiga which plugs in at the side?

[AmigaBruno]

Bruno - the A500 doesn't have an internal SCSI controller (like the A3000, A4000T, do).  Here's a good example of what one looks like:

http://amiga.resource.cx/exp/impact500mk2

The hard drive itself doesn't need to be Amiga-specific, but the controller does (obviously).

They are scarcer than hen's teeth on ebay, etc., however.  :-/

OK, I see. It seems to me that I'll never add a hard drive to this Amiga A500 Plus. I suppose I'll buy a floppy drive emulator, like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HXC-USB-Floppy-Emulator-/181042623041?pt=UK_VintageComputing_RL&hash=item2a26fb3241 . It will prevent me from buying and cluttering up my flat with lots of floppy disks, at least. I have used a similar device with the Amiga's ancestor, the Atari 8 bit computer, so I already know how good it is! The only thing that worries me is how to install it, because it's compatible with various computers. Does it plug in to the external floppy drive port?