Am I really alone in wanting an Amiga AGA compatible?

[Nlandas]

Hey guys,

    I have Amiga Forever and it's a great effort and does let me run AmigaOS and get nostalgic but I still like running actual hardware. I'd be interested in running the latest AmigaOS if the hardware could be made for less. However, since it still runs over RISC chips the cost of a motherboard is too high for me to dedicate currently. I the OS could be ported to AMD/Intel that would be amazing but the money is likely not there.

    Am I really alone in wanting a retro Amiga AGA compatible clone system that would be as close to 100% compatible with the A1200/A4000 series? No I couldn't pay $1500 for it.

    However, with the retro scene offering Atari 2600 Flashback compatible systems(hacks for adding a cartridge) and now the RetroN 5 supporting NES, Famicom, SNES, Super Famicom, Genesis, Mega Drive, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, & Game Boy Advance cartridges, along with a multitude of retro Coleco, Intellivision, others and the previous success of the C64DTV - doesn't it seem like there might be a place for Amiga? Isn't there some cost effective way with modern ICs to create an AGA hardware system in a complete package compatible with modern TVs, USB, etc. and sell enough to get costs down?

   Am I wrong is the Amiga chipset still so complicated that even with modern ICs it's too expensive to clone like these other systems have been and release a modern hardware retro system?

I mean they even just released a complete replacement motherboard for the C64, which I do understand is less complicated than the custom chips but the market must be small for a replacement C64 motherboard at this point - isn't it? Not that I'm not also a C64 fan as well but I'd be more interested in a new C64DTV myself.

-Nyle

[Nlandas]

Wouldn't owning an Amiga 1200/4000/CD 32 solve your problem?

Until the old hardware starts to die on you. I think that new AGA compatible hardware would keep the retro hardware community alive for a lot longer.

[Nlandas]

The c64 is big in europe and uk etc still. Sadly not as much in the USA,but my c64 from 1983 is still going,and i have kept my 128dcr's etc.
Why reinvent the wheel. there are plenty of working aga amigas out there needing a good home,and if you shop smart they can be had for reasonable prices.
  It amazes me how much time and effort people spend trying to get around the real stuff out there.
I see A4000's go for reasonable prices on ebay and the worst case they might need caps to make them reliable-just avoid ones with battery damage. add a cf for a hd  and away you go.

I wanted an A4000 to replace my old A4000/030 that I sold when I really needed the money. I've purchased 5 different A4000D and an A4000T - they all had hardware problems and ultimately ended up in booting to a colored screen. No matter of cleaning or basic maintenance would get them back and functional. I assume they needed new capacitors, which is beyond my soldering ability. The cost to have them repaired was high. I sold them for parts and fortunately recouped most of the money paid.

The bottom line is, even with how well engineered Amiga hardware was, there is an end of life on all of it. It really seems like there must be some market for an AGA retro hardware solution that would offer good compatibility, modern video output and USB.

I might be dreaming but it just seems like there must be a market worldwide.

[Nlandas]

It would be nice if they could come up with something like miniMIG AGA.  Could they not use at least the 030 and FPGA for custom chips?
My 4000 is dead and it is too expensive to replace. All of them had the same battery damage.

Yes, it would be nice.

My experience too. I wanted an A4000 really badly to replace my old one. They all managed to get them to boot up long enough to get screen shots, sell them to me, and then they arrived and all had boot problems. I was a fool enough times trying to get a functional unit.

I would pay for an AGA hardware based system that ran classic AmigaOS.

I'd also pay separately for a copy of the current AmigaOS that ran on x86 hardware.

-Nyle

[Nlandas]

Just get a real Amiga and be done with it.  If you don't have the money save up for it.  I would spend my hard earned money on REAL Amiga hardware vs some hacked micro computer that is pretty much worthless and has zero monetary value after purchased.

Rich

I have an A1200 that I enjoy with 030, CDROM, HDD but it won't live forever and it has no modern output or input ports so if my multi-sync CTX monitor dies I'll be stuck with the old 1084S in the closet.

A lot of the old hardware is dying over time and finding someone to fix it is costly. I would think more costly than buying a new AGA compatible system. I could be wrong.

-Nyle

[Nlandas]

the aga chipset is quite robust even being old, not much fails in 4000s other than caps,ram etc-battery damage is also a bad one. All the ttl level chips can still be bought from places like mouser etc. having a motherboard and 3640 capped runs under $100 so that doesnt seem crazy to me. It sounds like you gave up due to lack of experience. Sadly all the info to make these machines go is on the net. I am confident i have enough parts and such for my 4000's to easily outlive me.

Well let's see, I didn't see anything that looked like battery leakage but I imagine it can be hard to detect if well cleaned. All batteries had been removed and nothing looked to be discolored like pictures I've seen of leakage. I built my own power supply with a modern power supply with correct A4000D power connector to test to make sure it wasn't a power supply issue. I replaced the RAM, I had a box of the correct SIMMs from other systems. Did a general cleaning and made certain all the socketed chips were seated properly, etc. So I guess, sure I stopped from lack of experience on what other components to swap that were readily available. I don't know where you are getting the motherboard and 3640 re-capped for $100 but all the places that I checked with wanted a lot more than that. I had sent an accelerator card to France once and spent a big chunk of change to get back a board that didn't work. I suspect that a recap is what was required.

The one other common failure on the 4lk is on the 3640 accelerator, when a cap leaks it often eats a trace under the cap. its not too hard to fix usually. Of course there are the variables of what stupid people do to these machines to damage them. I have seen some carnage caused by people who shouldn't be messing in hardware but didnt have the sense to realize it.

I always stay within the frame of what I know how to do and not to do. I wouldn't try to replace capacitors or repair a trace without additional training. My soldering is limited to tinning leads for joining wires and joining copper pipe fittings. Wouldn't dream of damaging an old system by going beyond that.

I also think that there are a lot of people out there that enjoy the retro Amiga scene or at least watch to see where it's at that would not at all be interested in doing board level repairs. I still think that they are a valuable addition to the community but this might just point to the need for a source of retro AGA hardware. I hope Jens can come through and make a modern AGA motherboard with his stock of AGA chips.

You will find these old Hmos/Nmos chips will likely go on 60+ years.. the c64 is already over 32+ years old

The C64 also just got a brand new motherboard made for it so that you can populate the new board with chips. This is a great refresh and is something that I think Amiga desperately needs. I've got my fingers crossed that Jens can pull off some form of AGA motherboard with modern video output, I/O(USB), and SATA support. That would be amazing and certainly extend the lifespan of retro Amiga hardware for those of us who are good technicians but not hobbyist electrical engineers. ;^)

Keep on Amiga'ing.

[Nlandas]

It was about 100 bucks from Amigakit, sent off my motherboard and 3640 to them and it's been running awesomely ever since, well minus the funky OS side things I've done to it

slaapliedje

   Sounds like you got lucky, I've read too many posts about waiting and waiting for items to come back from repair from them.  $100 is certainly a reasonable fee to re-cap both the motherboard and the 3640 though.

   I am glad that it worked out for you.

-Nyle

[Nlandas]

If you don't want software emulation, and if you don't want FPGA reimplementations, then perhaps this is more for you:

Jens's Amiga Reloaded project:
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?p=1028046

I've been hoping that Jens would come out with his AGA project for some time now. He supposedly reverse engineered most of the AGa chipset. In this case he's going to use existing stock of old chips. Hopefully, a full replacement motherboard modernized.

[Nlandas]

There is a guy that calls himself maccaps on ebay i think it is:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amiga-A4000-Re-Cap-Service-/181795613932?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a53dcecec

he also has a web page i believe.

I have a c64reloaded and its a neet board.
The amiga board jens is doing infortunately needs alot of dongles and is a 1200 style board. i want a 4k board with onboard 060 preferrably without all the bottle necks of the 1200.
Jens has supposedly bought up the world supply of aga chips i hear ;/

mech

That's what the article seemed to imply about Jens and the AGA supply. Where did you see the additional details on the board Jens is working on? I'd suspect he'd want to use boards he's designed to fill in the gaps. I agree, I'd love to see a more modern AGA board myself.

Have you used the guy on eBay to redo any boards yourself?

-Nyle