Any idea on when AmigaKit might get 1200s in stock?

[bbond007]

I waited too long to pull the trigger on one of their "Old Stock" 1200's and now they have been out of them for some time..   Anybody have a scoop on when (or if) they may be getting more of them?

I just bought a NOS US keyboard from them. It was pretty reasonable price.

You could see if they could build a refurb one with one of those... that goes a long way to making it newish.

[bbond007]

I waited too long to pull the trigger on one of their "Old Stock" 1200's and now they have been out of them for some time..   Anybody have a scoop on when (or if) they may be getting more of them?

there a few really nice a1200's on ebay i just saw

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amiga-1200-4GB-Gamers-HD-3-1-Rom-mouse-NEW-Parts-Boxed-GWO-/140745713115?pt=UK_VintageComputing_RL&hash=item20c51925db#ht_6842wt_1068

thats not _real_ bad om the price.

[bbond007]

Yeah there are quite a few good ones but they are all in the UK and since I am from Wisconsin I really would like one from the US if at all possible.  (Not just the proce for shipping either...  I want NTSC and anything from the UK is PAL)   :O(

thanks for the suggestion though.  Much appreciated..

Amigakit is in the UK. My NOS for Amigakit is PAL.

Why do you want a NTSC machine? You are not seriously going to use the composite output are you? Even so, the PAL composite has worked perfectly with the few TVs i have tried. I have never wished the machine was NTSC, in fact, I prefer PAL by default. I have a NTSC CD32 and that was a mistake. I should have bought a PAL one.

The only issue was the UK keyboard layout, which  I just replaced with a NOS US.

[bbond007]

I assumed that in the US I would need the NTSC version...  Since I am not certain exactly what the 2 standards entail I was simply playing it safe with the NTSC version...  So if I am hearing you correctly, if I were to get the 24 bit adapter being talked about on this board right now, it wouldn't matter if I used it in a PAL or NTSC version..  Is that correct?

Basically the only downfall to having a PAL A1200 in the USA is that it probably won't be able to connect to many old tube televisions because the RF modulator will be outputting PAL video. So if you want to use it with one of those old console TVs (like the ones with the built-in record players), you may be out of luck

the video quality of RF output looks horrible, so I doubt you would use that as a long term solution, and composite is not much better, but most TVs will work just fine in PAL mode on the composite input.

I'm going to remove the RF modulator out of my A1200 to make room for an HDMI port anyway...

Anything connected to the RGB port should work just fine, with one exception... I can't seem to get my NTSC DCTV unit working with my PAL A1200, but i'm not sure that's not something I'm doing wrong.

The Indivision AGA 2.0 will work the same for either version of the machine, and you'll probably want to run your desktop in 640x512 PAL mode vs 640x400 NTSC for the extra 100 lines of resolution.

Keep in in mind the the Indivision is not really a 24bit framebuffer, the 24bit thing is _internal_ and is necessary in order to handle the full AGA palette which is 24Bit. There have not been any promises that the new Indivsion will handle anything other than standard Amiga video modes. That being said, you DO still want the Indivision

[bbond007]

Cant you hardware mod a a1200's Alice chip to switch between NSTC/PAL ?

Yes and no.... you can easily mod a 1200 or CD32 to switch between 50 and 60HZ (or just switch in early boot), but the color signal will still be at the original frequency. That is what makes an NTSC CD32 such a nightmare as it has no RGB port like a 1200.... (and 90% of all CD32 software is PAL)

To convert the color signal you need mad soldering skills as you'll be working with surface mount technology.

[bbond007]

I've had bad experiences with NTSC machines running PAL software, and most amiga software is indeed PAL.

because a PAL amiga 1200 can run at 60HZ and a NTSC amiga can run at 50Hz its not the same issue you have with OCS machines where the machines can't switch and the timing is wrong or the bottom half of the screen is missing or both...

For a A1200 you'll probably be running whdload games anyway, and you can just add "PAL" or "NTSC" to the tooltype for that game and its all good...

If i was shopping for an A1200 I would consider condition, price & mb revision first and PAL/NTSC would be down the list form there.

[bbond007]

OK, while I have the "gurus" online and listening..  What motherboard revisions should I look for?  Which ones should I stay away from?  And as always.. WHY?   :O)

This page shows the various fixes for the different versions...

http://www.ianstedman.co.uk/Amiga/amiga_hacks/A1200_Mobo_fix/a1200_mobo_fix.html

Sometimes you need motherboard timing fixes to use an ACA030, 040 or 060..

Rev 1B & 1D1 don't need any timing fixes but are older (and more likely to have the wrong clockport) ...

Some of revisions have slightly taller custom chips and don't work as well with the original Indivision (tends to pop off) but the new MK II as supposed to have a better fitting socket.

I would say 1D4 because the to do timing fixes on the 2B you may have to add a resister and the 1D4 is just limited to removing stuff which I'm much better at

1D4 and 2B also might need a mod to fix flickering when using the Multisync monitor driver. That mod is easy though.  Bridging is only slightly more difficult than removing  My soldering skill level would probably be considered "dangerous".

The cockport mod is probably way more difficult than the timing mods, so make sure that the clockport is correct if you want to add a subway USB controller later on.

I just keep remembering more stuff and adding to this (as i'm waiting for Big Band Theory to download), so I'm sure you are thoroughly confused now

[bbond007]

It looks like ****e in 256 colours, is all

Hey... if you are running workbench in multisync mode in 8BPP on an AGA machine, you are probably have bigger issues that how it looks... like how it performs

[bbond007]

You do understand the difference between objective and subjective right?

I as far as I remember 3.9 looked OK in 256 colors. I did buy it.

Actually, I have never run workbench 3.9 in any more colors than 256 on any machines I have ever owned - even the ones with GFX cards.

I think I bought it from H&P directly I bought it. I wanted to support Amiga INC back then because I had no idea where it was heading.

I don't use it now, not for any reason in particular..

[bbond007]

Fair enough. I am wrong.

I do remember the menu bar thing looking pretty bad in 16 colors though..