Broadband solution for the amiga 500

[Lemmink]

Well maybe an other approach that is a little difficult to set up (I don't know how to do it excactly too)
Try to get an A560 Arcnetadapter für the A500, and an A2060 Arcnetcard for a Zorroamiga. Put in that Zorroamiga an Ethernetboard too. Using MiamiDX it should be possible to rout the broadbandconnection of the Zorroamiga to the A500 via the arcnetconnection.

[Argus]

I agree with redrumloa.  Since the A500 motherboard was designed from the A2000, why mess with it if you can have the real thing with an A2000?  But challenges I also understand.  The trouble with adding a Zorro bus to the A500 expansion slot is that I believe it must be buffered, etc. to emulate a real A2000 bus.  That's more than a DIY project, but maybe I'm wrong.  I forgot to suggest and have never actually found one myself, but I believe Micronik made a special expansion board for the A500 which added Zorro and processor expansion slots to the A500 in a nice tower package.  This used to be sold here in the States by a company called CeV Design in Massachusetts (they used to advertise in Amazing Computing, wow! now that's dating me!).  Alas, like so much neat Amiga stuff for the A500, it remains a mythical creature to me.  If interested in seeing this real gem, there is a picture of one on the amiga hardware site (www.amiga-hardware.com).

[redrumloa]

bloodmoney wrote:
@redrumloaa
My goal is to get my amiga 500 hundred on a broadband/network connection simply because I want to, and I like the challenge.  

No problem in that. Here's my recomendation then. Either buy or build a SlingShot type zorro slot and add a A2065 or Xsurf ethernet card. Next you will need a TCP/IP stack. Here's the real sticky part. IIRC there is a 68000 version of Miami Shareware, use that. It will time out after 30 minutes and there is no way to register any longer. Maybe you can find a second hand set of disks, IIRC there was a retail version.

Another possibility, as long as you can live with AppleTalk instead of TCP/IP is a hardware called DoubleTalk. There was an Amiga 500 version that hung off the side like an A530 does. You have to use this with other AppleTalk hardware like DoubleTalk (A2000 version), or a real Mac that uses AppleTalk. Granted you may be limited on the type of network it is. It may be limited to file sharing, you'd have to find someone more knowledgible than me when it comes to networking:-)

[Lex]

Ethernet for the A500: Hydra AmigaNet 500

[Orjan]

Is it a Zorro card with a Side expansion slot -> Zorro converter? Or whats that green pcb by the connector?

[whabang]

Orjan wrote:

Is it a Zorro card with a Side expansion slot -> Zorro converter? Or whats that green pcb by the connector?

Sure looks that way.

[Orjan]

Yep... Its confusingly similar to: http://www.amiga-hardware.com/hydra_zorro_v11.jpg

[bloodmoney]

Very interesting red. I didn't know there was an Amiga version of DoubleTalk. I do have several models of Macs so this could work to some extent. Although my main goal is to surf the net/email/ possiable ftp server via broadband.
First I believe that I will have to upgrade my roms from 1.3 to something higher as Miami requires this if I'm not mistaken. There have been some really fascinating ideas generated from this discussion, again thank you to everyone for all the ideas.
 :-)

[Lex]

Orjan wrote:

Is it a Zorro card with a Side expansion slot -> Zorro converter? Or whats that green pcb by the connector?

It's the standard zorro AmigaNet card there, but the little green pcb is not a Zorro slot adapter. There's an extra connector/header on these AmigaNet cards just above their Zorro edge connector where the adapter attaches to. Here's the closeup of the small pcb: amiga.resource.cx/photos/photo.pl?id=amiganet500. Anyway the card should work in a Zorro converter too.

[Holley]

BTW what I said before was joking, I think the connector on the side of an A530 is for SCSI, but I would think it's possible to fudge a zorro in-between the A500 & A530.