External keyboard needed with A1200 accelerators?

[DoogUK]

Posting this from my desktop miggy with apollo 1240@40

[KatManDEW]

Wow! You guys are the greatest!

Removing the 68040 library fixed the hard disk booting problem with CPU caches enabled!

Turns out the fan is not the only clearance problem. With the fan out of the way, the keyboard hits the SIMM socket. The keyboard is still way too high to reinstall the top of the case.

That SIMM socket really needs to be a right angle socket for this board to be mounted in a desktop.

Here's a pic of it sitting on the SIMM socket alone...

[da9000]

The reason the SIMM socket hits the keyboard is that this card is for TOWER mods of A1200. Whoever sold you the card should have told you it's not for desktops.

You can hack it in as Matthew pointed out by sliding the fan, but you said there's still a problem with the socket.

One option is to trade it with another user's Apollo 1240 which is not the tower version.

Another is to unsolder the SIMM socket, but I *highly* recommend to NOT do that because you can damage the board and delicate tracks unless you have a lot of experience with soldering and some good tools.

And the third option: build a towered A1200 ;-)

[Fingers]

da9000 wrote:
And the third option: build a towered A1200 ;-)

To me that's the only option! :-D

PZ.

[KatManDEW]

I didn't know there was such a thing as a tower-only accelerator for the A1200, or I would have specified that when I ordered it.

I wouldn't mind using a tower case, but I wanted a classic A1200 right now, and I don't really have the money for a tower case setup right now.

I have the 1240 working in my A1200 right now, but I feel like I'm walking on egg shells because the keyboard, which is pretty heavy itself, is resting on the SIMM socket and thus pushing on the 1240. And typing exerts additional force.

Not to mention the fact that the whole setup is just plain clumsy and dorky looking.

da9000 wrote:
The reason the SIMM socket hits the keyboard is that this card is for TOWER mods of A1200. Whoever sold you the card should have told you it's not for desktops.

[DoogUK]

Doesnt it have the simm socket on the reverse side??

[KatManDEW]

DoogUK wrote:
Doesnt it have the simm socket on the reverse side??

Yea, it has a socket on the reverse side. But even without any memory in the top socket, the top socket itself sticks up way too high to allow the keyboard and case to be reassembled.

[DoogUK]

I'd remove the 2nd simm socket in that case unless you are happy to go ahead with your plans for a tower.

[KatManDEW]

DoogUK wrote:
I'd remove the 2nd simm socket in that case unless you are happy to go ahead with your plans for a tower.

I'm not totally sold on the idea and expense of a tower system.

I'm tempted to hack some off the top of the SIMM socket with a hot knife, and bend the metal clips back enough so that the keyboard and case can be reassembled. I think the SIMM socket might still be usable down the road, even if it required using a rubber band or zip tie to hold a SIMM in the socket.

[doctorq]

I didn't know there was such a thing as a tower-only accelerator for the A1200, or I would have specified that when I ordered it.

There isn't such a thing, but some accelerators is recommended to be used in a tower case, for instance the Apollo 1240 you have. As you have already discovered, it works fine with your A1200 desktop, the computer just can't be reassembled.

I'm tempted to hack some off the top of the SIMM socket with a hot knife, and bend the matal clips back enough so that the keyboard and case can be reassembled. I think the SIMM socket might still be usable down the road, even if it required using a rubber band or zip tie to hold a SIMM in the socket.

If I were you, I wouldn't do that. You dramatically reduce the price of the card if you plan on selling it, and you end up with a machine you aren't satified with (the 040 card generate a lot of heat, which means that the A1200 often needs to be raised above the table, making it unstable again, depending on how you raise the computer).

If it was me, I would bite the bullet, and sell the card with a loss, and go for a Blizzard 030 card instead. It generates less heat, fits the trapdoor perfectly, you can reassemble the case, can take up to 128 MB of ram, etc. If you want more horsepower you can go for a 060 card.

Maybe someone would like to trade their Blizzard 1240 for your Apollo 040?

[DoogUK]

or send it to PG who will upgrade it to 060 and remove that simm socket for a very reasonable price  :-D

[Damion]

DoogUK wrote:
or send it to PG who will upgrade it to 060 and remove that simm socket for a very reasonable price  :-D

I also think this is the best idea, if you need the power. Otherwise, a 68030 card is the best/most compatible option for gaming (and still quick).