So, is MiniMig worth buying?

[wolfchild]

The minimig is not perfect in many ways, but it's a damn good piece of kit and I would not hesitate to recommend anyone to buy it.

The compatibility problems will eventually be sorted out, and you'll all be able to upgrade by just replacing a file on the SD card and rebooting the MiniMig.

The menu structure is a software matter and, PIC memory permitting, could also be sorted out given time and volunteers.  Likewise for implementing a hardfile on the SD card or using 2GB+ SDHC card (always at the mercy of the PIC's memory).

My only gripe is the custom PCB layout.  If it were widely available in mini-ITX format, then we would have less problems with finding a housing for it.  I admired Illuwatar's mini-ITX design, but there don't seem to be further developments from his side...

Cheers
Edwin

[Darrin]

In my opinion it's worth every penny.  I had a lot of fun putting it into an old PC keyboard and testing games that I haven't played for 10 to 15 years!

OK, it's frustrating when a personal favourite doesn't work, but the majority do and the core is constantly undergoing improvement.

I'm glad I bought it and I'll be first in line to buy any improved models that come out at a later date.

Remember, it's support for the existing designs that is driving people to make improvements for the future.  If you can aford it then buy a board, support the principal of the Minimig and encourage further development.   :-)

[hektic]

I've just bought one from Amigakit, I think it's great!

OK so it's not cheap considering current "emulation issues" ... but if it's possible to get %100 compatabilty via software updates alone it's a BARGAIN!

[barney]

Hey, "thedaddy", how much does that Minimig case you designed cost?  Let me know, because I may be looking into buying one in the very near future.  thanks

Barney

[TheDaddy]

Hi,

The case is in prototype stage, the prototype itself has cost me, until now, several hundreds pounds (GBP), when I receive it in the next 2 weeks, the development costs woud have surpassed £1500 easily (just for the prototype). This for a single individual/developer is a massive amount of money, remember that to design the case and finance this project I had to sell my car, pc and borrow some extra cash.

Once I have the prototype I will take photographs, maybe a video and publish it. To start with I will have a limited amount of cases available for sale so first come, first served.

As someone mentioned, the Minimg motherboard is very peculiar, it has ports on all sides so this is a custom design just for the Minimig v1.1.

Specs:

Accomodates and encloses the Minimig version 1.1, as sold by ACube/Vesalia/Amigakit, completely.

Plastic case with accessibility to:

SD-Card (bevelled slot to be confirmed)
Mouse and keyboard
Amiga joystick/mouse
VGA port
Audio connector
Serial port
DC IN (Power) port
Reset switch (through hole)
Menu switch (through hole)

Included:
Rubber feet
Ventilation slots
Holes for visual access to LEDs (power and drive)
Easy Assembly/Disassembly system
Motherboard pillars (x2)
Instructions leaflet

Colour: Gloss White (iMac/iPod like)
RoHS compliant product

Options:
RFI and EMI shielding (at extra cost)

Final price to be announced very soon, just remember that the cost of a mini-itx case (which needs to be hacked and modified to accomodate the Minimig motherboard) is easily between £50 and £100.....I'll do my best.

Thank you,

 :-)

[alexh]

I would say, no it isnt worth it. €130 for a crippled A500?

[alexh]

Darrin wrote:
and the core is constantly undergoing improvement

Nice joke.

[TheDaddy]

With some work from the people on this site we should have a fully functional A500, but also remember that it can be other things too, Atari for example, C64 or Vic20.

When I bought my GP2X, development was slow but then people started releasing C64, Amiga, Sega etc.. emulators and they worked pretty well. :-)

[Everblue]

hektic wrote:
I've just bought one from Amigakit, I think it's great!

OK so it's not cheap considering current "emulation issues" ... but if it's possible to get %100 compatabilty via software updates alone it's a BARGAIN!

Its not possible to get 100% compatability unless its cycle perfect.

[Andeda]

Yes it is, the list of supported games is much longer than not supported games, so go ahead and buy it, you won't regret it

[Sig999]

I'm keeping an eye on it - but I don't think it's ready for prime time yet.

It has a 'coolness' factor to it - but right now it can't do what I want - which is develop.  I can do that on either UAE or my the A2000 on the other desk.

Maybe someday it will be a cool replacement.

[RedskullDC]

Hi Phantom,

Phantom wrote:
I'm considering to buy a MiniMig, but I want to know from people that bought it already if it worth the money. I read some reviews from the net, but I hope that users from here have much more to say. Appreciated. :-)

Personally, I think you would get better value for money buying a general purpose FPGA development board.
The S3-400 on the board (IMHO) will not leave you lots of room for expansion.

The Altera DE1 at $150 can easily run Minimig with a 68k softcore, with room to spare.

The Digilent Nexys2-1200 with and SD adapter and PS-2 ports would be another inexpensive target. I'm working on a port to this particular board at the moment.

If you just want a modern A500 equivalent, and have no interest in tinkering, then the normal Minimig is still worthwhile.

Hope this helps,
Red

[chengineer]

I like the minimig project; but then again, my A600 with 2GB HDD loaded with whdload games is even smaller than a minimig with keyboard and everything. O.k. no VGA support; but I can connect the A600 to my tv in the living room.  

[Darrin]

alexh wrote:

Darrin wrote:
and the core is constantly undergoing improvement

Nice joke.

I was under the impression that aCube had loaded you a freebie to work on an updated core after you said you could add additional function sif only you had one.  Is this not correct?

[Hattig]

To be fair, the A600 is very old hardware now and when it breaks, that's it. You maybe be fortunate and have it for another 10 years of course

There's also a limited amount of A600s (and A500s, etc) going around. Which makes me think of millions of Amigas ending up in landfill, being crushed by earthmovers, etc.

In addition, the programmable nature of this hardware means that you may, one day, be able to emulate other systems on it. First it will be the Atari ST, then the Megadrive, and other 68000 machines, and probably a few 8-bit machines to boot. Hopefully, speaking of booting, we will have a bootmenu to select the type of system you want by this stage.

Oh, and TheDaddy, I'm impressed by the amount of effort and money you've put into your project!