A3000 Discussion

[matt3k]

What's the most up to date SCSI drive an A3000 can handle?
I've got lots of U160 and U320 drives, but I really doubt those would work (work great in my Mac and my PC).

Hi Iggy,

As Zac mention no problem with them, newer drives/scsi are picky with cables and termination.  Old SCSI cables that were a 'mile long' and not well crimped may be an issue.

Modern SSD Drives work fine in Amiga's also.  I have a OWC SATA 3g drive that I picked up on a deal.  The adapters are the pricey part of the deal, they are generally north of $100 USD.

But they format and work well on stock 3000 SCSI.  Sad to say the Acard adapter/SSD do not work on the Warp Engine SCSI.  That and a quiet fan make a silent Amiga...

[Rodomoc]

Not sure why your subway does not work off the X-Surf. This is the exact setup I have in my A3000. Having USB is fun in any computer and quite novelty in the A3000. Would re-installing the Subway software help? It is also easy to plug these things in backwards and wreck things too, I almost did but caught it in time.

[Rodomoc]

As far as the A3640, I have been running a 3.1 version from Amiga Technologies for quite some time now without issues. The problem seems to be both space (drive tray right on top of it), and heat, I have a very thin heat sink with tiny cooling fan that just barely clears the drive tray. Running for years like this now. As far as the A3000 SCSI, I love it. Sure it is slow as hell but it works. I did run an Elbox Fast ATA for a bit. Basically to get a decent CD drive going. But my boot times were atrocious with all of this crap. (takes a long time to get CDFS loaded up) So I did go back to a SCSI only system without CD for now.

I like the A3000 a lot. Mine is a little creaky at times but it does run without any hassles. As far as working in the case, it is indeed tight in there. Here is a funny story, I was tinkering with MorphOS 2.0 when it came out using an Efika board. I got tired of using it without a case so stuck it in an old A2500 case I had. That was hilarious because the Efika is so tiny and looked ridiculous sitting all by itself in the monstrous A2500 case

[magnetic]

U320 LVD/SE drives work fine with a proper adapter. Some models may require high-byte termination to spin up, all other devices are fine with a wide-to-narrow or SCA2-to-narrow adapter.
There may be the odd LVD-only device, not compatible with single ended, but I have yet to see such a device (got a terminated cable like this though).

Yes I can agree with this. AFAIK most modern SCSI drives "lvd type" do work with good 50 pin adaptors. I never had spin up problems most configs of this worked back when we used used to service toasters and amigas.

[danbeaver]

Not sure why your subway does not work off the X-Surf. This is the exact setup I have in my A3000. Having USB is fun in any computer and quite novelty in the A3000. Would re-installing the Subway software help? It is also easy to plug these things in backwards and wreck things too, I almost did but caught it in time.

Mine works fine off the X-Surf although I swapped out a 50 US Salad leaf ISDN Surfer to use for its clockport; same orientation as for X-Surf -- Ribbon cable heads to the bottom of card, not off the top!

[TjLaZer]

I'm having a problem with my A3000.  Speech doesn't seem to work! (say command) Tried WB1.3 or 2.04 and it doesn't work.  Sound works perfectly otherwise!  My system soft kicks Kickstart, maybe this is the reason why...

[ChaosLord]

Speech works fine on my softkicked A3000.

Secret Hint: If you delete the C:Say command or the LIBS:translator.library or the DEVS:Narrator.device off of your hard drive then you are going to have problems with speech. :insane:

[nicholas]

Dan,

I feel your pain on the zips,but i do so many i can almost do them blindfolded now.

The fastlane works just fine in the A3000( i have the 8.5 rom upgrade for them if you need it-needed for 060 use), i use several. You must have buster 9 or 11 thought. buster 7 only does zorro2.

I find it odd you say the 3000scsi device isn't the best. I find it rock stable and have proven it to people who claim this many years. Its almost always a termination issue or term power issue that causes flakiness,BUT alot of older scsi cdroms had bad firmwares-also some bad drives load the bus badly when they start to fail.
the 3000 rarely if ever requires active termination. Passive is fine but active is best.
keep in mind when using internal and external devices the ends of the bus become the drives and only those should be terminated.  no A3000 motherboard term resistors should be installed in this case.
Other problems with scsi bus is often caused by bad or backwards term power diodes and without term power, terminators dont work.

the burning smell may be the PALS in the 3k,they run hot, OR the pull up resistors on the slot board,they run hot also. any dust on them makes a smell sometimes.

Like many,i think the 3k case looks good but is a horrible internal design. i dont find them particularly sharp  but it doesn't take much to cut yourself on metal cases.

If you are ever fighting it and need help don't hesitate to ask,i think i have seen about every 3000 trouble there is.. lol

mech

I'm itching to put my A3000 back together after two house moves and two years in storage (in pieces too).

I may have many questions too if you don't mind?

[matt3k]

Sure Nicolas happy to help,

I just got working working perfectly, after many (much to many) hours.  So everything is still fresh in my mind!

Matt

[nicholas]

Sure Nicolas happy to help,

I just got working working perfectly, after many (much to many) hours.  So everything is still fresh in my mind!

Matt

Muchas gracias Matt!

First thing I need to do is download the latest 68060.library for my CSMK2. Would Phase 5's be best or Thor's?

[matt3k]

Muchas gracias Matt!

First thing I need to do is download the latest 68060.library for my CSMK2. Would Phase 5's be best or Thor's?

I had a CSMKII many years ago.  Great card, congrats.  

I used the Phase 5 ones and they worked perfectly.  Never tried the Thor.

From my experience go with the P5, they are proven and work...

[ChaosLord]

Thor FTW!

[nicholas]

I had a CSMKII many years ago.  Great card, congrats.  

I used the Phase 5 ones and they worked perfectly.  Never tried the Thor.

From my experience go with the P5, they are proven and work...

Thor FTW!

Well the P5 ones always were stable on my mk2 and also worked a treat on my old Blizzard too, but I'm tempted to try out Thor's as I've heard great things about them and he is a great 68k coder.

I guess I'll try them out and see how I get on.

Just found out that my kids have a week off school so that will set back my A3000 restoration plans a tad.