**Need Setup HELP** with Classic Amiga 2000 HARD DISK (Bridgeboard)

[wbrejnia]

SCART to HDMI converter Arrived

So the converter Arrived, but I already love the Indivision Solution.


I'm stuck with the AmiKit Cable, but can return the Converter for Full Refund.

Thinking of trying it before I do.  Just to compare.

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I think I get it. (maybe not)
The 1MB of memory I currently have on board (which currently is Address split) 512kB Chip and 512kB Fast, becomes 1MB Chip with the simple 8372 Agnus Chip Upgrade.
And the reason I would consider this is my GVP+8 board has 8MB of Fast Ram, so this would balance things up.
But if I pulled the GVP out, it would mess things up.  Correct?

Correct.  That's pretty much the optimal configuration you're going to get on an A2000 without dumping a ton of money into it.  1MB chip (on the motherboard), 8MB fast (on the GVP card), plus that 68010, lol.  :lol:

[darkage]

then tomorrow...... Stuff it, I'll buy a A4000!  

[Pat the Cat]

Now with OS3.1 (I'm totally lost)

-> Where do I begin learning OS3.1? (Trace STARTUP-SEQUENCE? and peek around?)

Three key differences on the Workbench side;-

1) You can now "Show All Files" on Workbench GUI to be able to click on files that don't have an icon (same file name ending in .info).

2) You now have an ENV: folder on the RAM disk and an ENV-ARC drawer on the system (hard disk) for storing ENVironment settings.

3) You now have a Locale drawer, also on the system (hard disk in your case) for storing Catalog information for programs. Some programs insist on that, usually because they have different language options, and they need to know what language to use. So get used to stuff Catalogs for programs into Locale.

All Workbench 2.0 and up operate like that, with subtle changes to the DEVS drawer.

Biggest difference in 3.0 upwards is the use of Datatypes. This lets you set up default tools for operating with different file types. For instance, specifying a given program to display PNG files, or edit or convert files to different formats.

--> What is good way to backup my current Hard Drive OS install?

 
 Attach another hard drive in the chain, format it, copy the files over.

[wbrejnia]

then tomorrow...... Stuff it, I'll buy a A4000!  

Yeah, I know.  A2000 is limited.

But for me this is nothing to do with the A2000 in some ways.
I really haven't figured out a purpose other than a Retro Demo Box.

I scratch my head thinking when I'm done, what SW will I use.
I'll try Deluxe Paint, but just to see what it was like.  
Few Games to see them again.

I do have a copy of "The Lost Treasures OF INFOCOM".
 Playing a couple of those Episodes will be Special.  I played quite a few Titles ages ago (drawing maps and Clues on Paper).

I've been looking into Programming Languages/Compilers to write some useful programs.  (not much out there except for Basic).

What I'm enjoying is the process of building Up he Amiga.  Nothing more YET!

[wbrejnia]

A bit of Modernization for the A2000 (Which is my Project Box)

So I've been getting concerned when I pack this Amiga with all the boards, how warm will things get during use.

When I was fooling around with the RLL drive and doing Low Level Format, the Drive got so Hot I could barely touch it.

So here is a future Project I'm planning.

I have a couple of Temp. Sensors that are for PI and Aurdino Projects.

I have spare I/O on the Ardiuno Board that currently drives the Spared LED DISPLAY on the Gotek. (After Adding the LCD Display)

If I get these working together, I can have a pulse on the heat inside the Chassis (a few places, eg Power Supply, HD, CPU)

That DS18B20 Smart Sensor is really cool if you look up the spec.
http://datasheets.maximintegrated.com/en/ds/DS18B20.pdf
It a computer with logs and alarms, on a 3 pin device.



So for me, this kind of stuff is what the Amiga is for me.

[wbrejnia]

 Attach another hard drive in the chain, format it, copy the files over.

Good idea.  I was thinking something like that.

-> What I want to try, is make a AMIGA Partition on the Lo-Tech ISA/IDE-SD card. (Thru the Bridgeboard)

->Then dump to the SD card Partition (unlimited space, removable).

-------> It will be slow, but it's just a backup once in a while.
--> I already got One Partition working on the RLL drive (Remember I got it to show up DH0: on Amiga, before I installed the GVP-SCSI)
--> Bridgeboard Manual says make one Partition at a time.  
--> Will it work on a 2nd Drive (the SD card, not the RLL). That would be great!!

[Pat the Cat]

(head scratch)

I guess it boils down to - where do you put the RLL drive and 5.25 floppy drives.

I'd be tempted to keep the RLL internal and get the floppies external...

... Increases rarity. Machines with internal 5.25 inch floppy drives are rare, but machines with external 5.25 floppy drives are even rarer...

As for heat, old school hard drives do usually run hot, especially when repeatedly accessed (low level format does that).

You can wire up thermistors/thermocouples to sense heat etc, but they don't actually remove heat. Just help give you a heart attack through nervous exhaustation... even if they are very accurate.

Fact is, inside an A2000 it can hit over 50C and everything keeps running anyway. For that era of technology, not unusual.

[wbrejnia]

Pat,

Thanks for the tip that the A2000 and Power Supply was built to run Hot (I still worry a bit about Heat Stress on Old Caps, etc).

However my plan is to leave the Amiga Case (outside) looking un-hacked.
It will look just like the picture at the beginning of this thread. (With the Cap Key glued in, that I got recently).

The A2000 is kind of pleasant looking (at least to me).  
A Computer Architecture symbol of it's time.

When I see people selling an Amiga with a Black Gotek, or Zip drive hanging half out, it turns me off.

That is where my Amiga Side-Kick will come in (Eventually).

A simple (possibly beige) case like the A1010 External Drive.

-> It will have the Gotek LCD display, Gotek LED display.  
-> An extension of the USB Dongle Port-From-Gotek.  
-> The switch for the Rom Switcher.
-> The Arcade switches for flip-gotek-disks (etc)
-> I might run it an AC/Adapter to run the Ardiuno and other stuff I pack into it or the Amiga Chasis.
---> I have have some Ardino relays, that I might auto flip jumpers, or power off RLL drive)
---> The temp sensors inside the Amiga will be visual fun.  Maybe trigger an extra fan.

Whatever I hack together , it will compliment the Amiga, not ruin the look.
All extra stuff will be clean/tidy wire runs, using click/connctor-module cables (that I ordered from China few weeks ago).
The original Amiga 2000 (Internal/External) will be minimal modifications.
Any necessary holes will be at the back or thru the Card Face Plates.

The Side-Kick-Box might be a bit tacky, but retro style (on purpose).

We'll see, how much time and effort I have.

[wbrejnia]

Indivision(VGA) vs SCART-Converter(HDMI)  COMPARISION

So I call NewEgg to do RMA return on the SCART-HDMI converter, and they told me it wouldn't matter if I opened the box to try the unit.

So here is a comparison.  

Two Exact Monitors (Same Settings, Side by Side)

(LEFT) Indivision is [Indivision-VGAout] -> [Monitor-VGAinput]

(RIGHT) SCART is ( [Amiga-Db23-Video Out] ->  [AmiKit-SCART-HDMI-CABLE] -> [SCART-CONVERTER] -> [HDMI-DVIconverter]  -> [Monitor-DVIinput])




Really hard to tell the difference, but looking closely the Indivision has better Color Clarity/Separation.

In Workbench (HiRes Lace, 16 Colors) Difference is more noticeable.


Here CLOSER UP (with Camera) is Indivision.


Here is SCART


You can see that Indivision is a "tiny/bit" sharper.

However to be fair, the SCART hookup is a long 9 Foot AmiKit Cable, going thru Converter, then Adapter, into Non HDMI monitor. (So lots more conversion, and cable noise).  It might be as good with a Direct HDMI hookup.

If I wasn't comparing side by side (STILL PICTURE), I wouldn't notice any difference since both are VERY GOOD.

However when I move my mouse around on the SCART Display, I see fuzzy pixels, distorting the image behind it.

I'm not a professional Evaluator doing extension comparisions.  If I didn't see both side by side I'd be happy with either Purchase.

I can only Return the SCART Converter, so I'm keeping the Indivisions.  If I had a choice, I would have gone with Invision Anyway.

There are benefits to going SCART, since you can do both (HDMI and VGA with a cheap adapter, but not the other way around)

Plus with SCART converter box you can Upscale 720P to 1080P, and inject sound from the Amiga into an HDMI monitor/TV with sound.
Use it for a Legacy Xbox, or Gaming Console.

Either is a win/win over a bulky Amiga CRT monitor.
But I will compare the Amiga Monitor to compare Colors Rendering Accuracy.


** UPDATED after more TESTING **
Indivision is much better.  Clearer, Sharper, less distortion, flicker, noise. (again it could be my long cable, etc)

[darkage]

I havent logged in for awhile, great to see this thread keep on getting bigger.

This looks like fun http://www.ebay.com/itm/ESP8266-reprogrammed-as-Hayes-serial-Wifi-Modem-Commodore-C64-Apple-Amiga-/201881095855?hash=item2f010d0eaf:g:UCIAAOSw4CFYrQ~o

at true 300 to 2400 baud speeds.

[wbrejnia]

I havent logged in for awhile, great to see this thread keep on getting bigger.

This looks like fun http://www.ebay.com/itm/ESP8266-reprogrammed-as-Hayes-serial-Wifi-Modem-Commodore-C64-Apple-Amiga-/201881095855?hash=item2f010d0eaf:g:UCIAAOSw4CFYrQ~o

at true 300 to 2400 baud speeds.

Darkage,
Welcome back.

At first when I looked at the spec, I thought "useless" even at 19,200baud.
You couldn't even load a modern web page in hours.

But then I thought.  My Fish Tank Controller.
It's status web pages are XML.  Very simple, and few characters (9600 Baud would be ok)

HERE IS A SAMPLE XML Web Pull from my Fish Tank Controller on my LAN (which has Wifi)

<hostname>ApexJRBashostname>
<serial>AC4:10556serial>
<timezone>-4.00timezone>
<record><date>04/07/2017 22:15:23date>
<probe><name>TMP-Bname><type>Temptype><value>78.1value>probe>
<probe><name>Amp_2name><type>Ampstype><value>0.25value>probe>
<probe><name>pH-Bname><type>pHtype><value>8.31value>probe>
<probe><name>Amp_4name><type>Ampstype><value>0.5value>probe>
record>

With this device, I could get my Fish Tank Stats with a Simple Amiga BASIC program.

And not have to invest in a Expensive, and Similarity Useless Zoro Ethernet Card.

Cool.  
Maybe someday.

Actually, I saw something similar when I was looking for Networking for the A2000.
THIS PLIPBOX http://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?70232-Plipbox-Parallel-Port-Arduino-Ethernet-adapter

http://lallafa.de/blog/amiga-projects/plipbox/plipbox-hardware/
Kind of the same concept.  More expensive, more bulky and needs Wired-Ethernet.

[wbrejnia]

One more Indivision VS SCART-Converter COMPARISION

So I did the paperwork to return the SCART converted.

Since the order was supplied via China, they don't want it back (return shipping too expensive).  So since I'm a Regular/Loyal Customer I got a full refund and get to keep it.

Thus I gave the SCART-Coverter another Whirl (HDMI-Direct) using the Extra Long DB23-SCART-AmiKit cable I thought would be handy.



This time on the Home Theater Projector with a 100 Inch Diagonal image.

Pretty impressive. (No fine tuning (Color/Contrast) done on Projector).
Maybe I can get the kids to touch the Amiga after all. (If I can get some Good Retro Classics) "Like Dragon's Lair".

[wbrejnia]

ROM SWITCHER (Do I need Kickstart 1.3?)

So I've been playing with AmigaOS3.1 and the Kickstart 3.1 ROM.

However, Workbench 1.2 won't load, and that's the only Workbench I have working perfectly with Bridgeboard/Janus/RLL drive.

Which means I need to put back the 1.2 ROM to figure things out.
->Or I get Bridgeboard working the same on OS3.1 (Which could take some work. So easier to just Boot off Gotek for the demo).

When the ROM switcher arrives, I will have a choice of ONLY TWO ROMS to put into it.  ( may mod it for 3, but not sure)

At this point my only two choices are KS1.2 and OS3.1 ROM.

If I got a KS1.3 ROM would it work for Workbench1.2?  (At least WB1.3 would work and I feel more confident getting Bridgeboard working on it)
->or would it be the same problem as OS3.1 ROM, including not being able to run WB1.2 and some of the Floppy Bootable GAMES (that will go on the GOTEK).

Yes, WHload is another consideration, but I still will always want for Demo purpose ABILITY to run Workbench 1.2, Working-Bridgeboard and the OLD games.

[wbrejnia]

NO NEED for KICKSTART 1.3ROM.

I found my copy of Workbench 1.3 and it boots with the OS3.1 ROM.

And now I can see my GVP Hard drive with OS3.1 (but I can't run some of the OS.31 SW).

I'll be able to create WB1.3 Sub-Directories within the GVP drive and mount WB1.3 files with appropriate ASSIGN commands.

I have more confidence I can get Bridgeboard working now.
Which is good enough.

[Raffaele]

ROM SWITCHER (Do I need Kickstart 1.3?)

So I've been playing with AmigaOS3.1 and the Kickstart 3.1 ROM.

However, Workbench 1.2 won't load, and that's the only Workbench I have working perfectly with Bridgeboard/Janus/RLL drive.

Which means I need to put back the 1.2 ROM to figure things out.
->Or I get Bridgeboard working the same on OS3.1 (Which could take some work. So easier to just Boot off Gotek for the demo).

When the ROM switcher arrives, I will have a choice of ONLY TWO ROMS to put into it.  ( may mod it for 3, but not sure)

At this point my only two choices are KS1.2 and OS3.1 ROM.

If I got a KS1.3 ROM would it work for Workbench1.2?  (At least WB1.3 would work and I feel more confident getting Bridgeboard working on it)
->or would it be the same problem as OS3.1 ROM, including not being able to run WB1.2 and some of the Floppy Bootable GAMES (that will go on the GOTEK).

Yes, WHload is another consideration, but I still will always want for Demo purpose ABILITY to run Workbench 1.2, Working-Bridgeboard and the OLD games.

You can also mount Kickstart files in RAM, Cold-Reboot surviving if you have programs like KickBack or Degrader.
They load your kickstart file in RAM (1.2, 2.0, 2.1 etc.) if you have enough memory installed in your system and allow you using your Amiga with previous AOS Operating System versions in their full extent.