Bodega Bay

[curtis]

Okay, I found one of these and have been playing with it for a bit and here's my take on it.

First, THIS THING IS A BEAST!!!!!

I mean really, it's HUGE!

Take the lowly A500 and stick this on top of it, and you've suddenly doubled the depth.  With the BB attached, the A500 is a whopping 23 inches deep instead of the typical 12 inches.

The height is also monstrous.  In the corner computer desk I use for the "Amiga Corner", with a 15" LCD monitor, I have about 1/4" to spare!  Much taller than an A2000.

About the only advantage to this thing is the zorro slots with the ability to add a bridgeboard.  However, even that's not a big advantage due to the GVP 286 board for their sidecar peripheral or the ATOnce card that fits where the processor is in the 500.

All in all, I can confirm why this thing didn't sell real well.  Way too bulky.

Of course, that's just my 2 cents.

Curtis

[B00tDisk]

Okay, I found one of these and have been playing with it for a bit and here's my take on it.

First, THIS THING IS A BEAST!!!!!

I mean really, it's HUGE!

Take the lowly A500 and stick this on top of it, and you've suddenly doubled the depth.  With the BB attached, the A500 is a whopping 23 inches deep instead of the typical 12 inches.

The height is also monstrous.  In the corner computer desk I use for the "Amiga Corner", with a 15" LCD monitor, I have about 1/4" to spare!  Much taller than an A2000.

About the only advantage to this thing is the zorro slots with the ability to add a bridgeboard.  However, even that's not a big advantage due to the GVP 286 board for their sidecar peripheral or the ATOnce card that fits where the processor is in the 500.

All in all, I can confirm why this thing didn't sell real well.  Way too bulky.

Of course, that's just my 2 cents.

Curtis

Counterpoint: when the 500 was new, it was the only way to get Zorro slots (video card, SCSI controllers and bays for multiple HDs, etc.) on the 500.  Continuing to stack out towards the left to add things on was tedious.

Other cons, though?

No CPU slot
No dedicated video slot
Not 100% compatible with internal 500 add-ons (some accelerators, some RAM expansions)

[curtis]

About half-way through getting this pig back to operating condition, the question kept going through my mind, "What was I thinking!"

Of course, once I get the LED's soldered back into place and get all the stuff stuffed into it then close it up, I'll probably not complain about it again.

Or at least until I have to open it up again!

[bbond007]

Continuing to stack out towards the left to add things on was tedious.

I once saw a weird guy with about 10 of those side expansions chained to a TI99. One of which was some sort of XT emulator. On the computer he was showing how he could run Microsoft Flight Sim 1.0 about one fourth the speed it ran on the original 4.77mhz XT.

I remember thinking, those are obsolete (have you not heard?) as I went home to my A500 and had a chuckle as I ran FA-18 Interceptor...

That must have been over 20 years ago, and now I'm that guy with the obsolete computer.

%$%$^*

[curtis]

I believe your thinking of the Triton XT.  It was actually 2 pieces, one interfaced with the /4A and the other was the "bridgeboard".  In essence what it did was use the TI screen and keyboard and the other box was the computer.

It didn't sell very well!

Yeah, I remember the original sidecar expansions for the TI.  Those are now considered very collectible as they didn't sell that well for just the reason you mention.  The replacement was the Peripheral Expansion Box.  Another HUGE box that the cards dropped into and was attached to the TI via a (semi)flexible cable.

[huronking]

Still, I always wanted one of those...

And I wish I still had my PEB... I wonder if it and it's cards were engineering samples
for a government Tempest contract they were shielded so heavily, and they just used them off the shelf.

[curtis]

Well, speaking from 20 years of Navy experience, if they ever had a TI on deck, I never saw it!

TI has always had a reputation for over-engineering.  Then giving their top engineers "promotions" into sales and marketing!

Still, I always wanted one of those...

And I wish I still had my PEB... I wonder if it and it's cards were engineering samples
for a government Tempest contract they were shielded so heavily, and they just used them off the shelf.