Amazing! New A500+ kit available at A1k!

[Iggy]

cool but hopefully we can find a german translator here

Or just use Chrome.
BTW - I don't get this.
I really like the video card, but why a 500+ motherboard?
Its not like they are a rare commodity.

[Iggy]

@Iggy

Right question : "Why not ?"

I'm not sure if I'll order, but I will order the A2000 replacement board also in planning.

OK, now I get it, because I'd order an A2000 board myself, and they aren't a rare commodity either.

But instead of an A2000, what would be cool is trying to improve on that board.

A2000 with PCI slots instead of ISA slots (and active, instead of passive)?

Whether or not I would consider purchasing one, this kind of attitude makes me really, really angry. :madashell: :madashell: :madashell:

Yes, that IS stupid.

[Iggy]

It's not stupid at all.

"You came here for an argument".

OK, Mr. Cleese.

But forcing me to register with a website I'm unlikely to continue to visit in order to obtain/support a piece of hardware is just plain dumb, whether you think so or not. :p:p:p

[Iggy]

You just described why it is not dumb. It is not just "a piece of hardware", it is a community effort, and you just stated quite clearly that you have no intentions of being part of that community.

You don't make it sound like a community, you make it sound like a cult.
I belong to a Yahoo group that works on a Color Computer 3 fpga core, but that is fairly original.
And we're creating functionality that wasn't there before (new graphic modes, better A to D conversion, etc).
Recreating an A500+ plus board isn't terribly original. Regardless of previously stated opinions, there's a fair number of those boards left.

So yeah, the attitude is freakin' dumb, AND you've just helped make up my mind, I don't want one.
I have a perfectly functional A2000.
Which is a better platform than the 500 (or 500+) anyway.
I'll spend my money on a Vampire2 or a V2000 video card.

Hope they enjoy their little "kid's clubhouse" mentality.

If I add another legacy system, it will probably be an AGA based one.
You've really put me off.

Brilliant marketing, the Stanley brothers would have loved it.

[Iggy]

This is forbidden by law.... all parts and the system itself is not CE or ROHS certified, which is nessesery in europe.... so only that way is possible... a private, selfmade community project.....

Your point? ROHS is pretty much required everywhere in commercial products, but as you've pointed out, this isn't a commercial product.
And a personal or community driven project doesn't preclude open distribution.

I have boards I send out all the time (including a V9958 based 80 column card) to anyone that is interested that is willing to reimburse me for my expense.

RetroBrew computing (the successor to N8VEM) members send out a variety of boards to anyone that asks for one.

This whole "only for our members" nonsense is childish.

"This is forbidden by law..."

Obfuscation, plain and simple.
Go back to your tree fort.

[Iggy]

I really dont understand the anger about all this. I have nothing to do with the project at all. I just thought I would chime in that I will be receiving a pair to assemble.

Any site I have ever bought anything on requires registration of some kind to place an order. This is no different. You can literally register, go place the order, get the paypal payment link and be done. Its that simple.

Yeah, I guess my objections are overblown.
After all, we register users in our yahoo group for the Coco3 FPGA project, BUT we do distribute our code freely AND I don't understand the linkage between registration and board distribution unless they are planning to offer support.

[Iggy]

I personally think ROHS would disagree as you are giving them money. Although ROHS also covers equipment given away for free, you only have to make the equipment available (which they are).

However ROHS doesn't cover re-using equipment sold before 2006. MOS/CSG chips made today on the same process would fail ROHS, but the ones manufactured in the 80's and 90's are fine. I expect the PCB would be fine, or the PCB house would be out of business by now.

So I don't know what the fuss over ROHS is. They certainly haven't found a loop hole by only selling it on a1k.org.

As a spare part for an old computer, I don't think CE testing would be required either.

You really are overthinking this.
Reimbursement for personal expenses that not incurred by a business activity are hardly the purview of a regulatory agency.
And this is not a business.
As far as a1K.org, I couldn't care less what their position is.

[Iggy]

They offer support to each other on the forum, it's kinda implicit. A500+ schematics are not exactly rocket science, to make a replica of the board is not so hard, so why not do it yourself if you really want one?

That is a common perception, but the creation of board layouts from schematics is far from easy.
And it would hardly be necessary, as I've stated before, while bare boards would not be available, populated legacy boards are still possible to find.

[Iggy]

The simplest you can do is not to sell it as a product, but a small private series, as a hobby...

But that IS what they are doing in this case Thomas.
So all the concern over ROHS is really undue.

And please don't appeal to me with the "we have superior regulations" crap.
Excessive regulatory BS like your "unfair competition" regulations are ludicrous.
And your so called superior consumer protection didn't stop Volkswagen from trying to cheat on the emissions controls of the cars you have been shipping us...which we caught.

Iggy, its not about getting a populated board. Its about the fun and challenge of building your own board and populating it yourself. I did an A1000 for someone awhile back this way which was also an a1k project. I was also going to do an A4000T they offered but ran into problems and sold most of the board and parts. Its all about the fun of it.

If you want an A500+ you can easily get one sure, but can you say you built it yourself and be proud of it? I love my 4000T now more than ever because of all the upgrades and enhancements to the board I have done myself. Its a skill I have worked a long time and very hard to build up and maintain. Doing something like this is just an awesome bonus of having that skill that I can do for someone else.

Heck I have an A500 now and don't need one, but I don't have an A500 I assembled from scratch! This one will go in a box frame and be mounted in my office when I complete it so I can show it off.

I get that.
I've been thinking about approaching the Apollo team on a project I and a few friends are building because our board has no video output.
And this 500+ board is something that could be soldered by the average individual.
The 500 and 2000 don't rely on a lot of surface mount crap (mostly through hole components).
In a way its a lot like a hobbyist board.
I do wonder why we aren't switching to 68HC000s for things like this though.
They are available at up to 20 MHz and 50% or higher overclocks are not uncommon.

[Iggy]

Well, the US will find out how funny the Germans can be with their president Drumpf in January

I fully agree, he's been good for nothing except comedy so far.
Although once in office we might get some horror with our comedy. :hammer:

They sell a naked Board...... nothing else..... you also can buy some old spareparts to build it....

Ah, so as a bare board, ROHS is pretty much irrelevant.

Although I have to wonder how the makers of the mostly finished Kiwi 68008 board get around the ROHS regulations (they use old components like V9990 video display processors).

[Iggy]

@ Mike

Its not that bad, at least we are talking about the board still.
By now this should have degenerated into an argument about the merits of legacy vs various NG applications. ;-)

[Iggy]

I'm still waiting for Drumpf's opinions on the merits of legacy vs various NG applications.  Next will come a comparison to Hitler, and a wistful comment about how much better amiga.org was when we had Franko and Doommaster.

Make Amiga.org Great Again!  :laughing:

OH, I wish I'd thought to thrown in the Hitler comparison thing, that IS good.
At least we are still on schedule and rocking!

BTW - Humor is the only thing that's going to get me through the next four years.
Oh, and Frank's still counting squirrels (I actually DO miss him, but I miss Cammy more - good friends both).
Thanks.

[Iggy]

Second.

Sorry guys, I'm not sure I can limit my thoughts about Trump to the arena of politics.
I'm a registered Republican (but vote how I see fit) and my sister is much more conservative than me, but she has revealed to me that ever since Trump entered this race she hasn't needed laxatives, all she needs to do is see his face and she's good to go.
So Mike's nickname seem apt.

But hey, how about the idea of recreating Amiga motherboards, eh?
How about altering or adding to the designs?
Can't wait to see what an A2000 can bring to the table.
There are still plenty of ICs for those.
Something like an A4000 would be much harder with the scarcity of Buster11s.

[Iggy]

Actually that was his family name.  

http://www.snopes.com/donald-drumpf/




AmigaKit still sells Buster 11's so they can't be that rare... which is more than I can say for all the folks saying they're tripping over piles of A500+ motherboards, LOL.  


Edit - strike that last, it now says "Stock T.B.A." for them.  

Fascinating, but weird!

[Iggy]

I don't care what you think about German laws. It's another discussion. No matter what you think: In Germany, German laws apply. And no matter whether you like them or not: You have to be super-careful here if you are selling products. You have to provide services to the customer, and you have to be in fair competition and must follow certain regulations.

BTW - Can you define "fair" competition? Our legal system doesn't cater to vague ideas that can be twisted by legal interpretations.  What you think of as unfair may be what another thinks of as a competitive advantage.
There is legal and there is illegal. Fair is a moral concept, not a legal one.
And while I won't stoop to attacking a German's sense of superiority (moral or otherwise), legislating morality doesn't work.