What are the slots on the A3000D daughterboard?

[Amiduffer]

For anyone who has the manual for the A3000D, could you tell me what specifically the 3 different kinds of slots on the daughterboard are, and what kind of cards go in them.

Is the one on the bottom a Z2 slot?

Which one is best for the Cybervision 64/3D to go in?

[amiga92570]

Hi, you can install cybervision in any of the slots. Most people install it in the top slot because that is the video slot. If you do not have the scan doubler attached to the cybervision it can be installed in any slot.

[amiga92570]

Oh yeah, All the zorros are Zorro III. Two of the slots have ISA slots in line for use with brigecard, and the one at the top has a video connector for use with scan doubler/flickerfixer as with picasso and cybervision.

[patrik]

@Amiduffer:

You should not get a CyberVision64/3d, but a regular CyberVision64 to the A3000. This as the regular version can autoswitch between the flickerfixered vga signal from the A3000 and its own output. This is something the 3d version can not do - not even if you get the associated CV64/3d-scandoubler, as it needs an A4000(T) to fit.

The 3d version is also slower if you wonder, it should rather have been called CyberVision64/CR (CR = Cost Reduced).

In other words, with the CV64/3d, you will end up with two separate monitor connectors - one for the CV64/3d's rtg output and one for the A3000 regular chipset output.

With a CV64, you will end up with just one monitor connector - for which the CV64 automatically selects if the CV64's rtg output or the A3000 regular chipset output should be routed to depending on which is active at the moment.


/Patrik

[xaccrocheur]

patrik wrote:
(...)
With a CV64, you will end up with just one monitor connector - for which the CV64 automatically selects if the CV64's rtg output or the A3000 regular chipset output should be routed to depending on which is active at the moment.
/Patrik

What ? I have the same setup, and I never noticed such behaviour from my 3000's CV64, I still have to use a KVM switch to direct both outputs to my (-31Hz capable) Nokia monitor... Is there something I forgot to do ? Like a jumper or something ?

[560SL]

That was news to me too. Both native and rtg output from the same connector?

[Amiduffer]

Hi Patrik, I have the card now, so I have to make do with what I have, (unless you want to trade it for your Picasso IV). I just wanted to be sure that I was hooking it up to the correct Zorro slot.

Thanks all.

[Darrin]

@ Amiduffer:

Did you just buy a card from Software Hut too?  I still trying to decide whether to fit the one I ordered into my A2000 or A3000.  Why the hell didn't Commodore stick to the A2000 case when they released the A3000.  The lack of a 5.25" bay for an IDE CD ROM drive bugs the hell out of me.   :-D

[Amiduffer]

Hi Darrin.

Yes, the Softhut offer was a pretty darn good offer, so I took advantage of it.

If you put it in your A3000, make sure that your Buster chip is the newer Rev.11, as I learned to my chagrin.

[Darrin]

Amiduffer wrote:
Hi Darrin.

Yes, the Softhut offer was a pretty darn good offer, so I took advantage of it.

If you put it in your A3000, make sure that your Buster chip is the newer Rev.11, as I learned to my chagrin.

Ah, thanks for that tip.  I picked my A3000 up second hand so I'm not sure what the Buster revison is.  What happens if it is an older one?

All I have in the A3000 is fully populated RAM sockets, an IDE interface and Kickstart 3.1.  I'm running OS3.5 which I installed using Siamese v2.5 to link the A3000 to my PC in order to use the PC CD ROM.

When I bought the Cybervision card I also bought the kickstart 3.1 ROMS for the A2000.  The A2000 has a SCSI/RAM card and nothing else.  I also grabbed a copy of OS3.9.

So, do I expand the A3000 which has a faster processor and the built in SDFF or do I transfer the IDE card to the A2000 and expand that.  I have a soft spot for the A2000 as my first two Amigas were an A2000 and an A1500.

[adolescent]

@xaccrocheur/560SL

You connect the native video to the pass-through port on the CV64, then the CV64 to your monitor.  The CV64 does the switching for you.

[Darrin]

adolescent wrote:
@xaccrocheur/560SL

You connect the native video to the pass-through port on the CV64, then the CV64 to your monitor.  The CV64 does the switching for you.

Doesn't the CV643D do exactly that if you have purchase and install the optional SDFF module?  I'm sure I read that in the manual I downloaded.  Plus you get more video RAM as standard on the CV643D.

[amiga92570]

Yes, please do not try to run a cybervision on a non accelerated 2000. It will take like an hour to load your workbench background screen. haha

[Amiduffer]

Here's the word from Dave Haynie himself:

Next we consider the Buster chip. The Buster in the A3000, Rev 6 or Rev 7, is a well proven design. The difference between the two is only that there was a small bug in Rev 6 that caused it to fail at 16MHz, but it works fine at 25MHz. These are what we called Level I Busters; they don't support Zorro-3 DMA or Quick Interrupts, and they don't attempt to translate local bus burst cycles into Zorro-3 burst cycles.

Starting with the unreleased Rev 8 Buster, we went to Level II, which is roughly twice the size of the Level I design. Level II Buster supports Zorro-3 bus arbitration, DMA, Quick Interrupts, and translation of local bus burst cycles into Zorro-3 "Multiple Transfer" cycles. There are two of these parts released: Rev 9 and Rev 11.

The Rev 9 Buster has a few flaws. The primary flaw, and the main reason the part was revised, is that the Zorro-3 bus arbiter can jam under the right conditions. Some DMA cards, like FastLane Z3, use a workaround for this (they avoid the lockup condition), others don't, and will lock up when used with a Rev 9 Buster. There is also a potential problem with end-of-cycle synchronization in the Rev 9 part. Some Zorro-3 cards will demonstrate this problem, some won't. This is made worse by the STERM* sampling problem on the Rev 3.0 A3640. A final problem with Rev 9 Buster was introduced by the A4000 architecture. The integrated bus buffer, Bridgette, used in the A4000 can't quite guarantee the propagation times required by the Rev 9 Buster design (done before Bridgette was proposed). In the typical case it works fine, in the worst case some Zorro-3 cards will have a problem with this condition

the rest is at THIS SITE

Software Hut has Rev 11 Buster chips

[Amiduffer]

Darrin wrote:

Ah, thanks for that tip.  I picked my A3000 up second hand so I'm not sure what the Buster revison is.  What happens if it is an older one?

Well, here's a chance to open up your A3000 again, so you can worship the interesting hardware architecture. :-) The Buster is the square chip next to the fast slot, half covered by my 3640 accelerator.

Heres pictures of all three Buster versions

Busters!!

If its older, you buy it from SH, take out the old buster, and put the newer one in. Tres simple. Be sure to have the special tool for removing those kind of chips.