Need advice on building a new, dream Amiga for Toaster/Flyer

[Starrfoxx]

I've been inspired by everything new happening to the Amiga, especially since OS4 has been finished.  The news about the MiniMig and the Clone-A are also exciting to watch.  It's influenced me to want to return to my trusty 'ol Amiga.

What I would like to do is build my ultimate, dream Amiga to house my Video Toaster and Flyer cards.  I would like to get some advice from other users out there during each phase of "rebuilding".  I don't have the money to do it all at once, so I'll need to do it piece by piece.  I think I'll even Blog it all too just for fun.  It might be rather interesting for other Amigans out there.

The first step would be to get another Amiga 4000.  I would like to keep my current A4000 as a backup.  I'm looking at either converting a A4000 into a tower or buying an actual A4000T to start off with.  I'd like to have two video slots.  The A4000T is the only system I know that has 2 video slots.  Why do I want two?  I would like to output my Video Toaster screen to a regular monitor, since Amiga monitors are becoming scarce.  So I would need one slot for the Toaster and another for a Flicker Fixer.  Software Hut used to have Toastscans that you plug into the monitor connector, but unfortunately I never got one.

So the advice I need for step 1 is which Amiga would be best and that I can realistically get?  Which one would be more flexible to upgrade?  My end plan is to upgrade to a 060/PPC processor and have it ready for OS4 and future apps, but I won't be able to do that to start off with.

Thanks for helping.  Building a "new" Amiga will be a nice project to work on.

[stopthegop]

Best of luck.  I admire your spirit.  Its a noble ambition but realize that what you're talking about is going to require pretty deep pockets.  I've built my main system up over the course of the last three years and I estimate having spent at least 4 grand, probably closer to 5G, on the whole project.  That includes everything like high value stuff such as a Cyberstorm, PCI expansion, and the Miggy itself to the endless number of small-ticket b.s. items you will find yourself "needing": scsi terminators, cables, gender changers, engraved blanking plates, zorro cards, PCI cards, various adapters, replacement battery, drives, fans, etc.. you name it.  It all costs $$.  And don't forget software -- that alone could balloon your budget beyond control.. That sums up the downside.

The upside is that you'll have an really awesome computer that is a blast to use, that isn't another "me-too" machine and that will not depreciate in value (unlike some other platforms that depreciate to the value of homemade fertalizer faster than you can say "obsolete" -- platforms which shall remain nameless ~*~ ~~wintel~*~*~*macintosh*~**~**~. I have no regrets.  If you're serious about doing this, I suggest doing it now because critical parts are getting ever more scarce and consequently more expensive.      

[hamtronix]

The sinews of AmigA building are money, money and more money.

[Starrfoxx]

hamtronix wrote:
The sinews of AmigA building are money, money and more money.

Oh yeah, that I can see by looking at all the hardware, etc.   :-o

I know it's going to take some time to find the hardware and have the money too, so that's why I want to start with the base and work my way up.  Some hardware I already have, and some I don't.  I look at it as building up a custom motorcycle or rebuilding a classic car.

The first step is the computer itself.  I wanted to start with another A4000 instead of the one I already have (just incase something goes wrong).  That's why I'm looking at either another 4000D or perhaps one of those 4000T.  I would be nice to have 2 video slots, but perhaps there are other options for video slots or maybe a converted 4000D into a tower is more flexible?

An AmigaOne would be nice, but the Toaster won't work in it.

[amiga92570]

Well on the positive side, Softhut is supposed to still be working on a new Toastscan. Keep your eyes open.

[Starrfoxx]

amiga92570 wrote:
Well on the positive side, Softhut is supposed to still be working on a new Toastscan. Keep your eyes open.

Oh definitely.  I've been watching that site, so I hope they find the pieces they need to build new ones.  Is there any way to add another video slot to an Amiga?  I guess not easily.  What about monitors?

[amiga92570]

Another route to take is 3000t, it has a built in scan doubler and flicker fixer. Only has one video slot though.

[skurk]

I have no technical advice, but for moral support I say GO FOR IT -- that is, if you can afford it.

I just did the same thing after I got my hands on a pretty standard A4000D.  I quickly decided to upgrade it to a top-notch classic Amiga with 68060 and all that jazz.  It's almost complete now, and I guess I've spent more than $1,000 building it so far.

Although the hardware is cheaper than it used to be, it is extremly expensive compared to todays standards.

But, as I mentioned, if you have the time and money, go for it.

With that said, I'm going to start on my next project soon, a towerized A1200 PPC+PCI.  Yet another project I need to "hide" from my S.O. ;-)

[T3000]

Good luck with the project.  
You'll also want to have a Flyer Drive-in for all those Flyer drives. Also, installing a PicassoII and a Multi Sync monitor into the A4000D will give you the ability to mode promote and fall back to amiga screen modes without needing a second video slot.
I am currently comptemplating this route with my A4000D/Flyer setup. Just gotta find another PicassoII as I really don't want to dismantle the A3000D quite yet.

[Starrfoxx]

T3000 wrote:
Good luck with the project.  
You'll also want to have a Flyer Drive-in for all those Flyer drives. Also, installing a PicassoII and a Multi Sync monitor into the A4000D will give you the ability to mode promote and fall back to amiga screen modes without needing a second video slot.

I do actually have a tower case just for the Flyer drives.  I should take a picture of it, because it looks like a Frankenstein monster.   :lol:  I have that Octupus cable which goes from the Flyer and hooks up to the drives in the drive tower.  Well, things weren't working properly, so I turned all the drives inside out.  The cables are now facing outwards instead of inwards and going directly into the Flyer card..... yeek, it's a mess.  it works though, lol.

My A4000D was actually expanded using that HighFlyer case many years back.  It gives it some nice air and space.  I think a tower would be nicer, though.  It would be nice to have everything all in one case.

Graphic cards, I never did get a Picasso II but I remember reading about them.  I'll check into that.  Currently, I have a Cybervision64/3D card.  It was a pretty good card in it's day.  It worked pretty well with ImageFX and also Emplant Mac and Shapeshifter.

[tonyvdb]

You could just do what I did a year back and place the A4000D into any tower case like in this picture that I just took of my setup:


The Video hard drives are located in the smaller tower to the left of the main tower that has the A4000D in it along with a Cyberstorm PPC.
It has worked really well for me. and was fun to do.

The drawback with using an A3000T is that you loose all the AGA features that the Toaster 4000 uses including the color wipes.

[Starrfoxx]

I remember reading how users made their own tower based A4000's.  If I remember correctly, it takes some modification of the case because the 4000 board doesn't align correctly and the slots don't line up with what's on the back.

Do you have any recommendations on cases and/or tutorials on how to do something like this?  It sounds like a converted 4000 tower and a Picasso II might be my best bet so far.

[tonyvdb]

if you have a dremal tool it makes for easy modification of the tower case. I used wire mesh that I bought from The Home depot that has aprox. 1/4" square grid you can see it on the fan cutouts on the side of the case.
Cut out all of the back of the case where the A4000D mother board would fit keep the old bracket that comes from the back of the A4000D as it will mount onto the wire mesh that you have cut to fit the back of the tower case. The screws fit right through the grid of the mesh and hold everything nicely in place. Use wire cutters or tin snips to cut out the spaces where the cables plug into the cards and your done. The only part thats tricky is making the holes for the screws that hold the A4000 motherboard to the case backplate some need to be drilled as the PC tower case is not the same for about 4 of them (my backplate slid right out so it was easy) Use the original screws that you removed when taking it out of the A4000D.