My A500+ Project

[Lockon_15]

Take one more shot...

http://www.a1k.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=14

Enjoy.

[sim085]

Yes but that section is for German users. In the international section there is no A500 or other sections at least I did not find one.

[kolla]

sim085 wrote:
Hi again,

Was just wondering .. is there maybe a wireless adapter for the A500+ rather than connecting the Amiga with PC with a cable?

Actually, there is  :-D

Get one of these http://www.gridconnect.com/bluetooth-rs232.html or similar from different vendor, plug one into a PC and one into the amiga. You can ofcourse also use the  http://www.gridconnect.com/bluetooth-rs232-usb.html (or similar) that is the same only with USB for the PC-side, a better choice these days when PCs often dont have serial ports.

The really nice thing with this compared to cables, from the amigas point of view, is that there is no electrical connection between the two computers, so there is a lot less chance to blow up the oh so precious and fragile 8520-chips that control the serial port.

Cheers!  :-)

[Lockon_15]

I don't recollect claiming A500 showroom was inside international section.

However, there are a lot of pics so you can see what real stuff is made of.

[sim085]

what about this? Wouldn't this give me access to wireless network I have at home and thus also be able to share files between the A500+ and PC?

[Lockon_15]

According to the user guide, yes.

For a discounted price of USD 214,95 (Malta is hooked on 230V powergrid, correct?) you'll get less cable mess in your appartment, but it all depends what is media source on the Amiga side. If you choose serial, then you'll crawl in painful early 90's trend set of 33K modems.
 
When I say crawl, then I mean some 5 kbytes per second on PC-to-Amiga, and a bit better 13-14 kbytes per second when used as Amiga-to-PC.

If you choose Ethernet, then something in range of 100Kbytes per seconf could be achievable, depends on CPU.

[sim085]

If I buy such a device then I would try and use Ethernet since my wireless network is based on Ethernet! Wouldn't my Amiga be recognised just like any other computer I have on the network! I can then maybe use the Amiga Browser sold by Amiga Forever.

[pyrre]

If I buy such a device then I would try and use Ethernet since my wireless network is based on Ethernet! Wouldn't my Amiga be recognised just like any other computer I have on the network! I can then maybe use the Amiga Browser sold by Amiga Forever.

Yes, in theory. BUT.. only if you can find or write drivers for that device. And on top of that find/write drivers that are compatible with amiga TCP/IP stack.
And if you get it to work. you will always be limited by the speed of the serial port.

[kolla]

It doesnt really matter if you use the bluetooth option or the http://www.gridconnect.com/wi232.html (which btw also needs special software on the PC side), they would both plug into the slow serial port of the A500.

I dont know what Lockon thinks he is talking about, but the only way to get the speed that he mentions is to get a proper ethernet device for the A500 - these are very rare (and I would guess them to occupy the expansion slot).

If you get a better CPU (68020 and up) you can get a clockport adapter and a Subway USB controller and use a USB-ethernet dongle. The CPU requirements is due to the USB-stack (Poseidon) not supporting 68000 (and it also needs more RAM).

[Lockon_15]

SubWay, of course.
I hope sim085 now understand he's pretty cornered with stock 68000.

[Dandy]

darksun9210 wrote:

...
plugging a subway into the clockport adapter will give you USB on your A500 for keyboards, mice, usb memory sticks, CD drives, hard disks, etc. etc. and even USB>Ethernet adapters.
...

Currently it will give you only access to keyboards, mice and usb memory sticks, aside from Hubs.
The author of Anaiis dangled support for usbmassstorage.device (and possibly more) with Anaiis v2.0.

You can get more detailed information about the capabilities of Anaiis and discuss with the author of Anaiis here:
"Anaiis - Highway USB Stack for very limited Amigas" - thead at Amiga.org

[Dandy]

sim085 wrote:
Hi Dandy,

...
I connected everything to the same socket extension but still switch everything step by step as suggested on this thread

Hmmmmm - don't know who suggested it and why - since meanwhile 10 years I have my Amiga 4000 PPC up and running.

All the time I switched my eqipment on or off using the switch on the switchable multipoint connector and never had a problem since - even in the days I used my 19" CRT monitor (which used to draw a lot of current on power on).

Before that, I did the same with my A500 equipment for +9 years - equally no problem at all.

So I'm really asking myself what switching on all devices step by step is meant to be good for?

[alexh]

sim085 wrote:
Was just wondering .. is there maybe a wireless adapter for the A500+ rather than connecting the Amiga with PC with a cable?

Nothing which is Amiga native (without a CPU accelerator) but you could get a Bluetooth Serial Dongle.

But using a wired/wireless serial connection to your Amiga will be very slow. You'd be better off fitting a SCSI->IDE->CF adapter inside your HD8+ and cutting a hole in the side so you can remove the CF card for transfer to PC card reader. It would be very easy.

You would need:
An ACard AEC-7720U ($20)
A IDE to CF adapter
A CF card
A dremel or something to cut the slot in the side of the case.
A hot glue gun (or some good super glue) to glue the CF card in place!

The speed will be 10x or more that of a serial link!

P.S. I cannot believe some of the crap advice people are giving you!

[sim085]

@alexh,
Yes, Lockon_15 suggested this the moment I got my new hard drive and I am now giving it a thought. With a CF card I think I could build the environment I want using an Emulator on the PC and then try it out on the A500+ right? or?

I have a non-working hard drive (not GVP). The hard disk is dead but all the rest seems fine. Maybe I can try this on that hard drive Are there any good links on how this can be done?

I would still need to connect my A500+ to the PC in some way or another in order to be able to browse the internet. I prefer a wireless alternative but seems impossible to get without an accelerator card so I guess I'll wait until I get one.

[alexh]

sim085 wrote:
With a CF card I think I could build the environment I want using an Emulator on the PC and then try it out on the A500+ right?

Sure.

sim085 wrote:
I have a non-working hard drive maybe I can try this on that hard drive

If you have the aforementioned parts. (See above)

sim085 wrote:
I would still need to connect my A500+ to the PC in some way or another in order to be able to browse the internet.

You are not going to browse the internet on an A500+ You should get that out of you mind now. Even after you bought all the best equipment at a ridiculous price it will just about work but it will still be CRAP!

sim085 wrote:
I prefer a wireless alternative but seems impossible to get without an accelerator card so I guess I'll wait until I get one.

You will not be able to browse the web without an accelerator card anyhow. And with only 32 colour ECS it will look terrible.

It will be very expensive to get a native wireless ethernet for Amiga A500+. (You've have to buy a USB etc. and it may not be compatible with your accelerator) You should consider getting rid of the A500+ and buying an A1200. The accelerator will be cheaper, you have 256 colour AGA (web still looks terrible) and you can get a cheap PCMCIA wireless ethernet card!

If you really want wireless and you really want A500+ your only real choice is a Bluetooth serial dongle. It will work with all Amiga's (even A500) just like a modem.

[sim085]

Thanks alexh

Regarding wireless on my A500+ ... one day it will happen, just not right now :-) :lol:

I know I am pushing my luck now, but rather then a CF card could I put a USB Pendrive?

Thanks for all the help so far The hard drive will be an interesting project all by itself