Edge connector...

[orange]

well I THINK it worked. dont really remember well.
this is what I do remember: I connected 4Gb Quantum fireball HDD that was PC formatted to it. But because HDD was full of data, I couldn't format/write anything. So I just used that small program for reading drive information (cyl/sectors IIRC) and Amiga displayed: ..Quantum Fireball.. and I was happy.   :-)
(all those time lost making pcb was worth it)

but then I bought A4k and several A2k, and never had time to play with it more. I would like to, in future. All that is needed now is a good case. Also, will standard A500 PSU be enough to power HDD through that BUS?(I used external AT PSU)
I also heared something about BUS noise and that its why it wouldn't work with A1000  :-(


After all the trouble of making that thing, maybe it would be a lot better to buy the real stuff (Alfa power, IIRC). Yes, original IDE controllers for A500 are hard to find and expensiveeee, but they are probably a lot better and have an option of adding RAM. [BTW, there is a VERY complex project on aminet for adding RAM,IDE,KS to A500 by a Russian guy]
Pity noone makes IDE4A500 anymore.


PS. A500 is here not worth much more than 41 AUD..

[JimS]

I had one of the commerial ZorroII expansion boxes on my 1000. It worked well, even with a loaded 2058 Ram card and a SCSI card. I did the grounding mods in the 1000, and ran a ground out into the into the box. No bus noise problems

[FastRobPlus]

If anyone has one of these ZorroII expansion boxes for an Amiga 1000 - PM me - I'll pay well for it.

[Generale]

I saw that complex project for adding..everything...to the a500.
Unfortunately like all the other ones, I looked at it and discovered I can't source all the parts. I can't even get half of the 74 series here which really irritates me.

If I could get the real addons, believe me I would.
Unfortunately I always seem to go to the wrong garage sales too. At least I got an a520 for $1 from one.

I do quite like building things even for an intellectual exercise, but I do wish I could make something bootable.

As for bus noise on the a1000, would a high speed cmos buffer, maybe a schmitt help with that?

[JimS]

Generale wrote:
I do quite like building things even for an intellectual exercise, but I do wish I could make something bootable.

As for bus noise on the a1000, would a high speed cmos buffer, maybe a schmitt help with that?

It probably would help to use those better chips. My 1000 did autoboot. I put the Kwikstart board in there. Handy, since the internal floppy died and I couldn't load the kickstart disk anymore. :-)

[Argus]

@Generale

I made one of those ISA hack jobs to attach a Zorro II card to an A500.  It was a nightmarish solder job.  Then it dawned upon me, I could have saved a lot of time if I'd only used some old PC 5.25" floppy cables.  They have maybe 20-25 pin female adaptor ends for the old card-style interface of 5.25" drives.  If you carefully cut and glue a bunch (maybe 3-4) together you'd make the 86-pin female connector to attach to the A500's side port. The beauty of it is no soldering is needed to attach ribbon cable!  Then you could either attach a 100-pin female connector similarly fashioned to the other end of a short ribbon cable section and attach a Zorro II card or solder the ribbon cable wires to whatever contraption your making. A lot of old pc's have provision for either 3.5" or 5.25" floppy adaptors right on the cables.  I think it's worth a try, may even try it myself.  Remember to keep the ribbon cable length as short as possible.

[Generale]

@JimS

Do you have any details on the commercially made Zorro2 Expansion?

@argus

now there's an idea. Only concern for me is a lot of those connectors are just clipped together. Remove the clipping mechanisms on the sides and they'd separate...wouldn't they? Or are they narrow enough to be stuck together with minimal/no clearancing. I don't have one in front of me now and I can't remember. Sorry.


Oh..about the higher quality high speed components. Oddly enough they seem to be less expensive than their traditional brothers now. I'm not complaining

[Floid]

Generale wrote:

now there's an idea. Only concern for me is a lot of those connectors are just clipped together. Remove the clipping mechanisms on the sides and they'd separate...wouldn't they? Or are they narrow enough to be stuck together with minimal/no clearancing. I don't have one in front of me now and I can't remember. Sorry.

With enough epoxy, anything is possible.  :-D

But nah, really, you must know how these go together -- the ribbon cable stabs onto barbs, and even if the clip on the back snaps off, it's not going to *immediately* fall back out on you.  So if you paint some nonconductive adhesive on, you can get the flat part of the clips back on for cosmetics... and if you use enough, you should be able to make it as proof to being yanked out by the cable as it was originally.

I'd take the dremel to all the bits first, of course... and then something like a thin ruler and a whole bunch of C-clamps would come in handy to get the whole mess aligned as a straight connector long enough to paint the gloop over one flat side.  (At this point you're down.. what, 2 or 3 XT floppy cables, $6 of glue, and one good table you'll be vainly trying to scrape your epoxy accidents off for weeks, so do remember to consider the cost/benefit.)  :-)

[JimS]

Generale wrote:
@JimS

Do you have any details on the commercially made Zorro2 Expansion?

Remember, this was for the 1000, not the 500. There were more available for the 500. The one I owned had 2 Zorro slots, and a passthru. There was room inside for a 3.5" hard drive and an optional power supply. It was made by some outfit called "Phoenix".  On second thought, I believe the box was made by Micro R&D, the folks who made the Bigfoot power supply. The box was called "Phoenix"

[Argus]

generale

Floid is right, the cables stick onto metal barbs on the XT floppy connectors.  You could just glue the plastic backing parts right back on the cables.  Believe me, if it works, not having to solder 86 small wires to the pins would be worth it ...or 172 pins if you include the other end.  I may try and make one tonight.

[Tahoe]

I really liked the Bodega Bay back in the old days!

Zorro II:  4  
Zorro III:  None  
ISA:  3 (3 inline) (Non Active)
PCI:  None  
Video Slots:  None  
Other:  None  


The Bodega Bay is an external busboard for use with the A500 which comes with its own housing. It connects to the side expansion slot of the A500, contains its own power supply and provides three drive bays. This unit may be electrically compatible with the A1000, but is unlikely to physically fit as it's designed to "hug" the A500's case.

http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showhardware.cgi?HARDID=1330


Probably impossible to find nowadays....

[Argus]

Tahoe wrote:
I really liked the Bodega Bay back in the old days!

Zorro II:  4  
Zorro III:  None  
ISA:  3 (3 inline) (Non Active)
PCI:  None  
Video Slots:  None  
Other:  None  


The Bodega Bay is an external busboard for use with the A500 which comes with its own housing. It connects to the side expansion slot of the A500, contains its own power supply and provides three drive bays. This unit may be electrically compatible with the A1000, but is unlikely to physically fit as it's designed to "hug" the A500's case.

http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showhardware.cgi?HARDID=1330


Probably impossible to find nowadays....

That is exactly what I made my ribbon cable connector for. To put an A500 motherboard and the bodega bay backplane in a tower case. It is huge though.

[Generale]

I like the sound of the bodega bay. i want one!!! especially the isa slots.

I've had drive connectors fall apart on me before. Caused unexplained drive errors until I went to unplug the cable and it separated with no force.

I might have to find some old floppy cables on ebay. it would make the job a lot easier.