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Offline DigitalQTopic starter

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My Amiga 500 tribute page
« on: January 09, 2008, 01:25:46 AM »
Okay, it's not much; I'm sure I'll add more in the future. At least it's something, and I feel my trusty crusty Amiga 500 deserves a tribute page; it was (and still is) a great machine.  I hope you all enjoy the pictures; they enlarge when you click on them!

My Amiga 500 Tribute Page
 

Offline DigitalQTopic starter

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Re: My Amiga 500 tribute page
« Reply #1 on: January 09, 2008, 10:29:52 AM »
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There were no 20Gb HDs back then!!


Oops!  I don't know why I keep on doing that!  Thanks for pointing it out.

I also love my Vic 20, but not in the same way as my Amiga 500.  I love the Vic like I'd love the company of an old pet dog; whereas I love the Amiga like I love the company of an old friend.  Some people may not see a difference between the two, but I do.  Dogs can't talk.   :lol:
 

Offline DigitalQTopic starter

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Re: My Amiga 500 tribute page
« Reply #2 on: January 09, 2008, 07:57:54 PM »
Quote

ral-clan wrote:
Oh, the link at the bottom of the screen doesn't seem to "link".


That's because it's still a work in progress.  I plan on creating a main Amiga home page which will link to various resources (ie; the Tribute page, the battery replacement page).  The back to home page link is just there as a placeholder.

Thanks for pointing that out, though!  
 

Offline DigitalQTopic starter

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Re: My Amiga 500 tribute page
« Reply #3 on: January 12, 2008, 01:10:52 AM »
Well, I certainly don't want to leave anyone wanting... :-)

I put the Slingshot expander on my scanner and grabbed a couple of scans for you:




As you can see, it's a remarkably simple yet effective device made by Prespect Technics, Inc.  I picked it up used for $20 back in the early 90's, and only ever used it with an A2090 card.  I would like to test it with a GVP RAM and SCSI card I just recently won on evilBay; but I digress.  Back to your questions.

The box is fairly common, I think, in where I live from the early days of the Amiga 500 release.  I live in Canada, so if you're in a different country, that would explain the difference.  I have seen them in much better shape at the local flea market; remember, this one's been hauled from one place to another with my A500 system over the years!

As for price, I can't remember exactly what I paid for the A500 and 1084s; all I remember is that I bought them both from a store in Peterborough, Ontario, after I sold my entire C64 system for $400.  It might have been $800 for both.  The A590 was an xMas gift, but I recall it being around $200.  The 1011 drive was definitely $250.  These are all pre-1990 prices.

The "Stand" on the monitor is built into the 1084s monitor; it flips down.  An earlier version of the 1084 monitor has two "Legs" flip down from behind, allowing the monitor to "Prop up" on the flat vented spot of the A500 (though it "Fits" better on a Commodore 128).  

As for the "Cheese" 501, I'm not too worried about it; as I have acquired a Supra RAM expander with a Lithium battery for free.  I may pop open that old A501 to salvage the RAM chips.

I do plan on doing more.  So far, I have this, along with this page which shows my A2000 system and explains how I replaced its clock battery.  Eventually, I'd like to have a bunch of material on the A500/A2000 duo (my all-time favourite Amigas) accessible from a main "Home" page.

As for the pictures, they were not retouched...just photographed in a manner to show a yellowed A500 at its best.   :-D
 

Offline DigitalQTopic starter

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Re: My Amiga 500 tribute page
« Reply #4 on: January 12, 2008, 01:46:30 AM »
The A2000 is, aside from the minor battery problem, absolutely mint.  It looks as though it had never been used in the past 20 years, and doesn't show the slightest bit of yellowing; even on the keyboard.  I can't really make a "Tribute" page to it, since I just got it this past December at World of Commodore.  I do plan on getting a lot of use out of it, however.  
 :-D
 

Offline DigitalQTopic starter

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Re: My Amiga 500 tribute page
« Reply #5 on: January 12, 2008, 08:29:07 PM »
Good news.  I decided to crack open the A501 to inspect the potential "Damage."  Here's what I found:



Everything as clean and good as the day it was new!  Now, the battery has long since lost its ability to retain a charge, but doesn't appear to have leaked a single drop onto the PCB.  I will probably replace it with an exact duplicate and seal everything back up in the tin housing (I carefully de-soldered the case so it could go back together the way it was).

As for my system, I don't think I got rid of a single piece of my original A500 setup.  I kept all my magazines, manuals, cables, even the dead RLL drive I used to use.  I still have my collection of Jumpdisks with covers.  I probably tossed out the warranty card and other junk like the plastic bag it was in a long time ago, though I still have my original Epson printer I used with it.  I'm considering digging through the rest of the boxes I have stored away to dig out things like that old mail order modem and set everything up exactly as I had it.
 

Offline DigitalQTopic starter

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Re: My Amiga 500 tribute page
« Reply #6 on: January 14, 2008, 12:29:28 AM »
I've added a photo extension from my main tribute page where I will continually add photographs as I see fit; I've done the manuals, disks, inside the A501, and my favourite Joystick to use with the Amiga.

It's all here (click).
 

Offline DigitalQTopic starter

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Re: My Amiga 500 tribute page
« Reply #7 on: January 16, 2008, 09:16:42 PM »
I thought that, when I bought my Amiga 500 back in 1988, it had no limits.  Today I keep finding out just how true I was in that sentiment.