Just got my first Amiga! A few questions...

[Tupin]

I saw it on Craigslist, and snagged it immediately. It's an Amiga 4000/040 with a Golden Gate DOS card, and I believe a Video Toaster. It came with a bunch of DD floppys with animation software on it, as well as an external 3x CD-ROM drive with a few "Club Toaster" CDs. The guy I bought it from said he used it for working on videos. I paid $25 USD for it. I'm pretty thrilled I could get one for that price.

I also got a 1040S monitor. It's the one that doesn't have a DB23 port, but that doesn't matter as I don't have one of the cables either. This is what the back looks like (example pic): http://betastart.com/SW/DSC01504.jpg

Could I use one of those two RGB input ports? I'm good at soldering, I could probably hack together a cable.

The only other problem is that the keyboard is for an Amiga 1000. If I get an adapter like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/AMIGA-4000-KEYBOARD-ADAPTOR-5-6-DIN-PINS-/270718972011?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f081bb06b

Could I use a PC keyboard by plugging an AT to PS/2 adapter into that? Or would it just be easier to get a 4000 keyboard?

I'm guessing I should check on the internal battery, too? Sorry for all of the questions, I just want to get up and running as soon as I can.

[Tupin]

Don't know what I'm going to do about a display, just found out this monitor has a problem with the power button where it turns off, and it also has horizontal lines.

[Tupin]

Bad luck, I'm in St. Louis. I would take a keyboard for the 4000 if you are looking to get rid of one. I'd imagine monitors would be too expensive to ship.

Anyway to tell if you have a multisync monitor? Or is it just guesswork?

[Tupin]

I didn't believe him at first either, thought he meant $250. Yeah, I was lucky.

I think I'm going to wire up a DB23 to VGA cable, put it through one of those video converters, (like this one: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0315697) then hook it up to a VGA monitor. I'll use the 1084S for something else, maybe my C64 if I can get the power button to stay down.

[Tupin]

So just get the battery out with pliers? I don't want to have to deal with soldering on it until I have to, but that battery has to come out soon, hopefully it hasn't done much damage.

[Tupin]

Just checked it, it's not that bad. A little leakage on the side of the battery and a small amount on the board. I'll snip it out later today and clean it with some vinegar.

Meanwhile, I'll order some parts of to create a VGA cable and get one of those boxes later this week, so it will have time to dry. Unless I can hack a female DB25 into fitting somehow...

[Tupin]

Got the battery out and cleaned the area with vinegar. Cleaned it right up. Hopefully it's okay now.

[Tupin]

Would this wiring of a DB23 to VGA adapter be correct? I understand that it would have to go through a VGA box, but this is just to get it to VGA:

AMIGA----------------VGA
Pin 3 (AR)-----------                                                              Pin 1 (R)                                  
Pin 4 (AG)-----------                                                             Pin 2 (G)
Pin 5 (AB)------------Pin 3 (B)    
Pin 16 (GND)---------Pin 6 (RGND)
Pin 17 (GND)---------Pin 7 (GGND)
Pin 18 (GND)---------Pin 8 (BGND)
Pin 11 (HSYNC)-------Pin 13 (HSYNC)
Pin 12 (VSYNC)-------                                              Pin 14 (VSYNC)

[Tupin]

How would one do that? Maybe I'll just get Amigamaniac's TV adapter...

[Tupin]

Update. I ordered Amigamaniac's adapter, but he's been delayed a bit. I'm guessing Amiga Forever is the best option for transferring floppies? It keeps giving me an error...

Oh, this machine has two hard drives in it, by the way. One is connected to the DOS card, one to the Amiga board. Could I use one of these for either a third drive or a replacement?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/40pin-IDE-CF-Compact-Flash-Bracket-Amiga-4000-Mac-PC-/270789144748?pt=PCC_Drives_Storage_Internal&hash=item3f0c4a70ac

[Tupin]

I want to use the DOS card as a DOS card, so I guess I will have three hard drives once I install the CF card.

[Tupin]

Does anyone know where amigamaniac is? I haven't gotten my adapter that I ordered at the beginning of the month...

[Tupin]

Oh, I got a keyboard. The guy who sold me the Amiga accidentally gave me a 1000 keyboard instead, so we exchanged and I got the 4000 keyboard.

Everything is ready, I'm just waiting on the adapter. Hopefully it will ship out soon.

[Tupin]

I mean, has anyone talked to amigamaniac recently? I can't get a hold of him, and others have posted on his site's forum asking where he is.