To Minimig or not to Minimig?

[skilgannon]

Hi all,

Thinking about getting a Minimig as it looks great and seems to solve the problem with the Scan Doubler issue (allowing 50hz screens which I think most CRT monitors should manage).

Just wanted your opinions on the Minimig and to ask if anyone knows if it can run Workbench 3.9?  I was hoping to use WB3.9 and my licensed copy of WHDLoad to stick a pile of games in a folder but maybe I'm aiming too high? Is it mainly for running ADF games from the memory card that I should be aiming for?

Any thoughts would as always be welcome

Skilgannon

[skilgannon]

Thanks everyone for your replies.  I forgot that 3.9 needs an 020 so that's out but my main hope was that I could use my ewxtensive collection of WHDLoad games on it so WB3.1 will be fine but it looks like from what WHITEB was saying that I need to get a 4mb RAM mod.  Is this just a standard old style EDO RAM?  

I think that based on the fact that WB3.1 will work and I can get my WHDLoad files to work with that - I may be on to a winner

Amigakit here I come (where hopefully they are selling a perspex casing for it)!

Thanks again all!

Skilgannon

[skilgannon]

Hmmm, might need to rethink my strategy then as it sounds like I could be talking approx £200 to get it to work the way I want it too...  I love the form factor but as AlexH reminded me, the A600 is a good option (and I guess I could new 3.1 ROMS and get the CF solution for it).  Only problem then is the screen as it can't use a monitor (other than the usual Philips types or old Microvitek 15hz types).  

I've just scanned eBay and there aren't a lot of A600's around...  Not sure what to do now (aside from continue to use my Amiga Forever on my PC - but even though it's excellent - it's just not the same).

Anyone using the A600 Compact Flash solution?

Thanks again all

Skilgannon

[skilgannon]

Thanks Tone but it's really the form factor I was after as I only recently got rid of my A1200 setup (was a nice setup too as it was accellerated and had 32mb ram and I also had it networked).  Because my Amiga monitor (Microvitec Multisync) died and I couldnt find another one (on eBay or anywhere else) I ended up not using it any more, so sold it.  The thought of a nice small form factor machine to be able to play my favourite games on the actual machine is a nice one but I'm stuck with the monitor issue again, as none of my TV's (All LCD) will run with it so I would need to again try and find one or get the old Philips MK2 style (which is really just a CRT tv).

[skilgannon]

LOL - I'm floating back to the idea of the MiniMig.  WhiteB, what do you think the cost would be to get the Minimig, casing, Ram and ARM upgrades?  I'm guessing around £300?  It's not really about the cash for me, just want to try and get an Amiga that will work the way I want it to (play WHDLoad games and on a monitor that would also be small enough to sit on the end of my desk).  I guess an A3000 is an option if I could ever see one for sale as that could live under my monitor

[skilgannon]

Hehe - thanks Tone, but if it was a 3000 I was going for the most I would pay would be around £150 as that seems to be the going rate on eBay but I guess depending on condition etc £200 would be my limit.  Do you know if the 3000 can work on LCD monitors?

LOL - just realised that so far I've gone from teh Minimig, to an a600, back to the minimig and am now talking about an A3000!  I'm not normally this flighty

I think that if the Minimig did everything I wanted it to do then I would have snapped it up but I'm thinking that the work to get it to be in the position I would want it to be in would be extensive (and the soldering might be prohibative - I'm rubbish at soldering!).

[skilgannon]

Think I'll need to park the Minimig idea for now  It will as you say be ultimately disappointing unless I could do the grand job that WhiteB has managed.  

If you're serious about your A3000 Tone then let me know and we can maybe chat off line.  Does it have 3.1 Roms?

[skilgannon]

(Waits for wife to moan about another "Amiga Product" when its released).

LOL - I'm glad I'm not the only one with a wife that moans about Retro stuff appearing at the hosue  I think the straw that set her off was some years back when a nice condition Sinclair C5 arrived in a massive crate (and I wasn't in to take delivery).  I was in the dog house for weeks hehe.  The various machines and retro goodness since then such as my prized Vectrex etc have been nothing compared to that

[skilgannon]

OH YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .  How much did the C5 set you back ?  Would be Ideal around here to run up the shops for a few items. (No idea if it would need registration or not though).

The C5 was around £300 I think.  I'm hoping it's worth a heck of a lot more than that now though.  It works fine and has a replacement higher power battery in it (although I kept the original).  I've let my daughter use it a few times in the back Garden (she's only Eight) and she thinks it's fab and very "futuristic" hehe.  Sir Clive would love that I think

The wife moaned about the size more than anythnig but the most expensive thing I've bought is probably my NeXT Cube system.  After import duty from the US I think I spent around £600 on it.  That was also a few years ago and it's still in the loft (after having great plans to get it all up and running and do some projects with it lol).

[skilgannon]

OK, Here's what I've done do sate my Amiga lust once and for all (hopefully lol).  I've agreed to buy a 3.1 ROM version of an A1200 from someone on Amibay; I'm ordering the Indivision Scan Doubler from Amigakit and I'm ordering a Minimig for the downstairs TV  Maybe sounds like overkill but what the hay, it will give me what I want (and in life that's imprtant hehe).

I made my decision based on all the good advice from you lot so just wanted to say thank you for taking the time, but if you would indulge me a little further, would you be able to advise on what PCMCIA adapter to get to use an SD / Compact FLash card as a hard drive please?  This will alleviate the need for me to get the Amiga networked.  Also does anyone know if when I fit the Indivision card, if I can still get an accellerator into the machine too?  

Cheers

Skilgannon

[skilgannon]

Sorry, meant IDE adpater, not PCMCIA...

[skilgannon]

Thanks again all - that's good news about the accellerator.  What I meant about the Compact Flash solution was that I should be able to build the whole hard drive with Workbench 3.9 (assuming I can get an accellerator) with all the WHDLoad games I have etc all on my PC using WINUAE then just plig it in.  This would alleviate me having to network the Amiga because in the past, I only used my networked Amiga to transfer games over from my PC using Amiga Forever.

[skilgannon]

Dropping you a PM Amigakit as I want to order the Indivision, the CF kit, a mouse etc but have a couple of questions...