Besides Gideon Zweijtzer and Jan Derogee I also interviewed Wilfred Bos on that rainy Saturday December 17th 2017 in...

Besides Gideon Zweijtzer and Jan Derogee I also interviewed Wilfred Bos on that rainy Saturday December 17th 2017 in Maarssen(NL) during the bi-monthly gathering of the Commodore and Amiga enthusiasts .
For me he forms the Dutch Dynamic Trio with Gideon and Jan considering their ingenuity and creativity in the Commodore scene.
https://moretro.blogspot.be/2017/12/interview-with-wilfred-bos-from-acid64.html?m=1
https://moretro.blogspot.be/2017/12/interview-with-wilfred-bos-from-acid64.html?m=1

I had an interview last weekend with another talented Dutch hardware maker. The always friendly Jan Derogee :)

I had an interview last weekend with another talented Dutch hardware maker. The always friendly Jan Derogee :)
Read more about Jan and his upcoming amazing Cassiopei 2 :D
https://moretro.blogspot.be/2017/12/interview-with-jan-derogee-from.html

I had an interview with Gideon last weekend.

I had an interview with Gideon last weekend. It gives you more info about his background and the upcoming Ultimate C64.

http://moretro.blogspot.be/2017/12/interview-with-gideon-zweijtzer-from.html
http://moretro.blogspot.be/2017/12/interview-with-gideon-zweijtzer-from.html

Vampire bitcoin miner!

Vampire bitcoin miner!

The Vampire V2 is now the Amiga accelerator that can not only pay for itself, but it can make you money.
https://youtu.be/HSYxyVFNWPs

Modern Vintage Gamer pimps his Amiga 500 with the TF530

Modern Vintage Gamer pimps his Amiga 500 with the TF530

Great to see TerribleFire's boards getting out there into the real world.
https://youtu.be/7yC2vx_fJy8

Using scrap parts to build a killer, Amiga like AROS powered computer

Using scrap parts to build a killer, Amiga like AROS powered computer
https://youtu.be/OCs9lysH5IM

Popular Mechanics takes on the unstoppable cult of Amiga

Popular Mechanics takes on the unstoppable cult of Amiga
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a27437/amiga-2017-a1222-tabor/

How to setup large hard drives for the Amiga.

How to setup large hard drives for the Amiga.
https://youtu.be/iqUiNARd-bg

Here's a great writeup of the journey from ignorance to competence: getting sectors off old floppy disks, without...

Originally shared by Ed S

Here's a great writeup of the journey from ignorance to competence: getting sectors off old floppy disks, without the benefit of the host machine. Much good explanation within of how to measure and make sense of the pulses coming from a floppy drive, how to account for variation, and how to persevere.
http://amiga.robsmithdev.co.uk/history

A new Commodore 64 is coming!

A new Commodore 64 is coming!

Yes, you read that right. Gideon's Logic Architectures, creator of the amazing 1541 Ultimate II+ cartridge, are working on a new C=64 motherboard that implements the original C=64 hardware in an FPGA and adds some features. Like integrated Ultimate 1541 II+ functionality, HDMI output, single 12v power supply requirements, Ethernet, and more. And since it's FPGA powered, it can be continuously improved, bug fixed, and upgraded.
IMO this is a much more attractive product than the C=64 Reloaded.

Hit the link for the full scoop.
http://www.1541ultimate.net/content/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74&catid=9&Itemid=127

Finally!

Finally!
I'm finally getting started. After some missteps with parts I'm finally ready to get building. Starting with a rev 2 because I currently see no advantage to the rev 3 given that the rev 2 works and is stable up to 50Mhz with working IDE.

Of course I started with the most difficult parts first. That being the CPLD'S. The sockets are just sitting there to test fit them. I'm going to install just enough parts to enable programming of the CPLD'S and then I'll program them. If that goes successfully I'll finish the rest of the board.

#TF530CCC

Amiga 500 Uber ROM

Amiga 500 Uber ROM

In an amazing stroke of luck that I still can't believe, both my Amiga 3.1 ROM and my supply of ST M27C160 EPROM's showed up in the mail today. This completed my collection of Amiga 500 ROM's and I was able to rip all three of them and convert them to the appropriate format to burn onto one 27C160 EPROM which you see here. It contains:
- Kickstart 1.2
- Kickstart 1.3
- Kickstart 3.1
- DiagROM - TerribleFire edition

Now I just have to build the converter board to mount it in a Rev 5 Amiga 500 ROM socket and allow switching between ROMs via DIP switches (for now).

TF530 programming tip

TF530 programming tip

I found this in a post on EAB today and thought I'd share it here.

"If your Xilinx programmer is of the cheap Chinese Digilink knock-offs, you'll need to download Digilink Adept and install the plugins for it. It is a matter of copying them in to a folder underneath C:\.Xilinx and selecting that unit under "Cable Setup." Mine is such an interface, and although it appeared to somewhat work with the default settings, I was never able to program or obtain consistent chains."

#TF530CCC

Use standard USB mice with retro computers

Originally shared by Christopher Gaul

Use standard USB mice with retro computers

If you've ever tried to find a replacement mouse for a vintage computer, you'll appreciate this project. If your vintage computer uses a quadrature encoder type mouse (ie most of them) then your choices in the past were to pay out the nose for an original mouse, or buy a specific converter for your computer only to use an old PS/2 mouse which themselves are getting harder to find. Now you have this device which can support most old school computers and uses standard USB protocol that works with standard USB mice.
http://www.waitingforfriday.com/?p=827

Can't afford the ridiculous prices the few surviving C=65's fetch at auction?

Can't afford the ridiculous prices the few surviving C=65's fetch at auction?
The Mega 65 is coming, and you can own one!

This is a great project idea, recreating the ultra rare, only ever made it to prototype, Commodore C=65, and doing it in a way that can be recreated with available parts at sane prices.
https://hackaday.io/project/11096-mega65-open-8-bit-computer

UPDATE and comments on the Terrible Fire Amiga accelerators

UPDATE and comments on the Terrible Fire Amiga accelerators

I know that some people are a little frustrated with the lack of progress here with regards to the TF530 and other Terrible Fire projects so I wanted to post some comments and encouragement.
The good news is that the project leader, Stephen (aka Terrible Fire, aka Plasmab) is back at full steam and making good progress on the project. The Rev2 TF530 is pretty much as feature complete and stable as it's going to get. Work on the Rev3 is progressing and a new model TF530S has been announced. The Rev2 is stable up to the 40-50 MHz range and feature complete with the exception of SPI which may never function on that board. Not a big loss at this point and time for someone that just wants a decent, reasonably priced, 030/882 board for their 68k Amiga with a little bit of really fast RAM and decent IDE.
The Rev3 adds some stability and hopefully will eventually eliminate the need for any jumpers like the remaining _INT2 jumper.
The TF530S is a major iteration in the lineup which explains the name change. This revision adds a new CPLD with more pis and more macro cells, allowing all the functions to be fully implemented. SPI for example. This model will also move to SATA from PATA IDE. As well Stephen is looking at moving to 4MB of SRAM and Autoconfig'ing that RAM in Zorro-III space, leaving all 8MB of Zorro-II space free for other boards and devices.
The TF530S will, hopefully, be the final design in the 530 lineup.

All this leads us to two conclusions.
I - Lots of progress is being made and the future looks good.
II- Lots or progress means lots of change and a moving target for us here looking to build the project.

This means that were going to have to continue to be patient and accept the issues facing us. The upside is that the Rev2 is a solid, usable design that's a great option for those simple wanting a reasonably priced boost in performance on their 68k Amiga along with a decently fast IDE interface. This device seems ideal for vintage A500 gamers wanting the performance to play 90+% of Amiga games at acceptable performance levels.
I'll be working to get those of us content with that up and going soon.
The rev3 is a transitional step that does improve on the Rev2, but that isn't absolutely necessary.
For those wanting the kitchen sink for their 68k Amiga 030 accelerator it's best to wait for the TF530S to become a stable design. This means we'll need to remain patient as the design gets tested and iterated.
Keep in mind that even the hyper fast paced tech segments like cell phones take at least a year to iterate designs and that's by company's with multi million/billion dollar budgets and massive human and technology resources. Given this is a project led by one man, working in his home, in his spare time, it's progressing amazingly fast. Compared to how long some Amiga and other vintage community projects have taken to see the light of day, this is moving at light speed.

SO hang in there, be patient, and you'll be rewarded.

#TF530CCC

Commodore C=64 in a C=16 case mod

Commodore C=64 in a C=16 case mod

This is cool. I've thought about doing this myself. The C=16's case and colouring is so much nicer and more modern than the old C=64 breadbin IMO.
https://www.retrohax.net/c16-to-c64-upgrade/

Amiga coding request - porting Berkeley SoftFloat

Amiga coding request - porting Berkeley SoftFloat

Are there any Amiga coders out there that are up to porting this library to the Amiga as a drop in replacement for the standard Amiga math trans libraries?

The purpose of this is to trap any FPU instructions on non FPU equipped Amiga's and run them via this library instead. This would include 68040 EC/LC and 68060 EC/LC powered systems.

I've done a quick search thinking that someone must have already done this, but didn't find anything, however if anyone else is aware of this already being done or wants to search further, please jump in.

#Amiga #programming #coding
http://www.jhauser.us/arithmetic/SoftFloat.html

The new Amiga's are here!

The new Amiga's are here!

Sort of...
The very long incubation of A-EON's modern Amiga project has finally ended and a unit has hit the hands of a reviewer.

It looks like an impressive piece of work. Just the right balance of classic Amiga and modern computer. And the Xenu co-processor is really intriuging. I really hope A-EON has some success with these systems and developers get hold of them. I'd really like to see what some talented folks can do with the Xenu.

Anyway, this is worth a read for any Amiga fan.

#Amiga

Thanks to cj juszczak for bringing this article to my attention.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/05/the-a-eon-amiga-x5000-reviewed-the-beloved-amiga-meets-2017/

Remaking the Final Cartridge 3

Remaking the Final Cartridge 3
http://hackaday.com/2017/05/20/building-a-replica-final-cartridge-iii/

Good news on the TF530

Good news on the TF530

Steven is making great progress lately on the TF530. He's solved many of the firmware issues with the TF530 and has it running at full speed. He's working on the the SPI ports next. He's also announced that he's started work on the TF540, a 68040 accelerator with some cool features.

#TF530CCC
https://youtu.be/RjrRBH0PqBg

Amitools - a great collection of Amiga related tools for working from other platforms (eg Linux, MacOSX)

Amitools - a great collection of Amiga related tools for working from other platforms (eg Linux, MacOSX)

If you do any Amiga related hardware or software hacking and development, these look like a must have set of tools. I was playing with the romtool for quite a while tonight and it alone made the amitools install worth it.

Note to Linux users
Most current Linux distros will have Python 3.x installed. You'll need to have Python 2.7 installed as well (you can have both) for this to work. Also you'll need pip and Cython for 2.7 installed. Easy enough to do from your package manager and pip.
https://github.com/cnvogelg/amitools

A new option for vintage computer emulation?

A new option for vintage computer emulation?

According to Hackaday, this board might make a great start on an emulation project, like an Amiga system.
https://hackaday.io/post/3185

Well that's one A501 batterectomy successfully completed. :')

Well that's one A501 batterectomy successfully completed. :')

The TF530 project lives!

The TF530 project lives!

Good news folks, a little time off and rest and SJ is back on the project. He's even got some good news.
To summarize:
- New PCB design that does some cleanup, adds some cap pads, fixes a few bugs
- New firmware that eliminates the need for the _INT2 and _OVR jumpers!
- code work ongoing to activate the SPI ports and a few other things

#TF530CCC
https://youtu.be/CkPmqJYQp6M

Amiga 8MB expansion board for 68K CPU DIP socket

Amiga 8MB expansion board for 68K CPU DIP socket
http://mkl211015.altervista.org/ram68k/

Alternate jumper point location for _INT2 and _OVR on the A500 Plus

Alternate jumper point location for _INT2 and _OVR on the A500 Plus

If you have a project or product that requires the installation of _INT2 and _OVR jumpers on the Amiga 500 (eg the TF530 Accelerator or Kipper2k RAM/IDE board) then normally you get those off the expansion (Zorro) port. However, if you have a rev 8A or higher motherboard (IE an A500+) then there is already a convenient set of pads where you can take these signals from. It sits just above Gary and is labelled CN15. I've created a diagram to show you.
Also, if it were me, I would use 2 of the pairs from some twisted pair cable to make this jumper wire. I would take the solid colour of each pair and connect them each to one of the signals. I would then take the striped or lighter wire of each pair, join them, and connect them to ground (GND) on each end. This would give you a clean, noise free reduced signal.

#TF530CCC

Amiga power supply replacement recommendation - The Mean Well RT-85B

Amiga power supply replacement recommendation - The Mean Well RT-85B

This should work for all(most?) Amiga's with external power supply bricks. IE A500, A600, A1200.

I've stopped using original power bricks on my vintage computers. They are inefficient, under-powered, and in some cases outright dangerous to your precious vintage computer or even pose a fire hazard. I believe I posted in the past on my Commodore 8bit PSU replacement design. Now for the external PSU Amiga's here's a great option that's more efficient, cooler, and more powerful to run expansion boards and devices. Just take the output cable from your original power brick and use one of the online pinout guides to connect it to the output screw terminals of the RT-85B. Voila. Note that the "B" in the model number is important, an "A" or "C" model will not work.


https://www.meanwell-web.com/en/product_info.php?products_id=RT-85B

You can pickup the unit at most reputable electronics suppliers (ie Mouser, Digikey, etc.) but be careful of e-bay, AliExpress, etc. as there are a LOT of clones and counterfeits of unknown quality out there.

Amiga 68000 DIP Socket IDE interface

Amiga 68000 DIP Socket IDE interface

This is an older project for an AdIDE like hard drive interface for the A500 (and probably A2000) that may be useful as is, or as a source of information for other projects.

#Amiga
http://www.mkl211015.altervista.org/ide/ide68k.html

Amiga PCB explorer

Amiga PCB explorer

Need a reference for dong Amiga motherboard testing or repairs? Try this.
http://www.amigapcb.org/

HC508 - Yet Another Amiga 500 accelerator board

HC508 - Yet Another Amiga 500 accelerator board
This time with 50MHz HC68000 CPU

TF530 Amiga 500 accelerator expansion port jumper hookup diagram

TF530 Amiga 500 accelerator expansion port jumper hookup diagram

For those building the TF530, remember that you have to add jumper pins to existing holes on the A500 expansion port. Once those are soldered in you can connect the jumper wire to the pins on the TF530 as shown in this diagram.

All credit goes to Mr.Flibble on EAB for the diagram.

#TF530CCC

So you want to be an Amiga developer?

So you want to be an Amiga developer?

http://coppershade.org/articles/Code/Tools/Amiga_Development_Environments/

Fork of TerribleFire's GITHub repositories

Fork of TerribleFire's GITHub repositories

I've forked the TF GITHub for those in the CCC that are working on it to use.
This includes the TF520 & TF530 and the binaries he built for programming the CPLD's.


I WILL keep this project alive

#TF530CCC

https://github.com/TheRealTachyon

Link to the new SysInfo for you Amiga hackers

Link to the new SysInfo for you Amiga hackers
http://sysinfo.d0.se/

Interesting Photobucket album

Interesting Photobucket album

I stumbled across this today. Some very interesting Amiga related hacks pictured in there. Anyone have any more info on this person and their hacks?
http://s1314.photobucket.com/user/y_u_l_q_u_e_n/library/

The TF530 and TerribleFire's other Amiga projects are dead - Or "this is why we can't have nice things"

The TF530 and TerribleFire's other Amiga projects are dead - Or "this is why we can't have nice things"

If you haven't followed the controversy over on EAB, TerribleFire (aka plasmab) got into it with someone over something and they banned him. In frustration he deleted all his videos, closed down his github, etc. and posted a video basically saying he was done with the Amiga projects because the stress and BS wasn't worth it.

I'll leave my comments on the specifics of that situation for other places. What I want to reiterate is the reason this community exists. Existing old school vintage computing forums are poison. They are full of stubborn people that are averse to new ideas and new people. They shut down new people that want to try new things to solve old problems. They are so negative and occasionally out right abusive that they most often take the joy right out of these projects for people. They drive them away, kill the projects and protect the status quo. The community suffers for it. No progress is made, or is made by those few brave souls willing to go it alone. Even then they eventually have the joy sucked out of it for them and the projects wither and die after being abandoned. What's worse is that in these forums too many of the people that are the problem are part of the administration and moderators, and they protect the old guard that is the problem. It's an old boys club of bitter, angry, immature malcontents and they create a stagnant, poison environment that harms the communities they're intended to serve.
Because this attitude is so pervasive across all of these forums, I wanted to create a new place where people were free to spitball new, even wild ideas. Where project creators could go without fear of old guard criticism. An incubator for ideas where people can collaborate, help each other, and foster innovation and positive reinforcement. Where established project creators and those with technical skills can assist each other and younger creators to help projects reach completion, rather than seeing them fail.
My only problem has been in getting the community jump started and getting creators to come here and use this place as it is intended.
That's where existing CCC members can help. When you see people getting shut down in other forums, PM them and tell them about this place and invite them here. Or even better, before they get shut down.

The WDC 65C265 - future projects centre-piece?

The WDC 65C265 - future projects centre-piece?

What cool projects could be built with this chip at their heart?
A Commodore SuperCPU type project?
A modern C=65 like computer?


More info:
http://www.westerndesigncenter.com/wdc/w65c265s-chip.cfm
https://www.tindie.com/products/dcwdc/mensch-microcomputer/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WDC_65C265

Drag soldering technique for TF530 Builders

Drag soldering technique for TF530 Builders

This is a demo of a great method of doing SMD package soldering that beginners can use as it doesn't require a lot of special or expensive tools or equipment.
This is basically the method I use most of the time with good results.

#TF530CCC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NybcDlTJhGg&feature=share

Vampire 500 V2 running Amikit in what has to be the cleanest A2000 I've ever seen

Vampire 500 V2 running Amikit in what has to be the cleanest A2000 I've ever seen
https://youtu.be/COOcddgy420

Build it yourself Ethernet for the Amiga

Build it yourself Ethernet for the Amiga

Using simple, off the shelf parts you can build an Ethernet adapter that works on nearly all Amiga's.
http://lallafa.de/blog/amiga-projects/plipbox/

Open Source Amiga FPGA based RTG graphics card project

Open Source Amiga FPGA based RTG graphics card project

https://github.com/mntmn/amiga2000-gfxcard

Pure digital HDMI output from your big box Amiga

Pure digital HDMI output from your big box Amiga

This board goes right into your Amiga 2000/3000/4000 video slot and it'll convert the Amiga's digital video signals directly to HDMI output with no analog conversion performed, resulting in the cleanest Amiga graphics output you've probably ever seen.


http://mntshop.bigcartel.com/product/mnt-va2000cx-video-slot-expansion-diy-kit-or-assembled

Attention Amiga fans - Amiga HW blog

Originally shared by Christopher Gaul

Attention Amiga fans - Amiga HW blog

Lots of cool Amiga projects news on this blog.
https://amigafun.wordpress.com/

Don't spend a bunch of money on a microscope to do SMD work until you've explored your options

Don't spend a bunch of money on a microscope to do SMD work until you've explored your options

There's a lot of discussion in the Amiga community about building one of TerribleFire's TF530 opensource accelerator boards. One thing that TerribleFire has been recommending heavily is getting a proper 10-20x microscope to do the SMD work under. However, I want to point out that there are other, much less expensive options worth exploring first.

Here are some examples.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/8-Lens-Magnifier-Magnifying-Eye-Glass-Loupe-Jeweler-Watch-Repair-with-LED-Light-/192003410213?roken=cUgayN

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Eyelash-Extension-LED-Light-Magnifying-Spec-Glasses-Hands-Free-Magnifier-JS-/291964133659?roken=cUgayN

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Headband-Headset-LED-Head-Lamp-Light-Jeweler-Magnifier-Magnifying-Glass-Loupe-/221995696587?roken=cUgayN

I think that one of these combined with an inexpensive USB microscope to use for board inspection might work fine. I personally have the first set of glasses and a microscope like the one below which I intend to use in combination rather than spend a hundred or more dollars for a microscope, plus fifty bucks shipping etc.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/50-500X-2MP-USB-8-LED-Light-Digital-Microscope-Endoscope-Camera-Magnifier-JL-/162275780765?roken=cUgayN

Keep in mind that these items are an option for anyone looking to explore SMD electronics assembly, not just those building the TF530. They are a great. low cost, option for hobbyists that don't take up much space.

#TF530CCC
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/8-Lens-Magnifier-Magnifying-Eye-Glass-Loupe-Jeweler-Watch-Repair-with-LED-Light-/192003410213?roken=cUgayN

Hands up those who intend to build the TF530 Amiga Accelerator

Hands up those who intend to build the TF530 Amiga Accelerator

Please post in the comments if you are going to build one (or more) and if you intend to build and sell them for others to buy.


#TF530CCC

Got a little fire in the mail today!

Got a little fire in the mail today!

Yes!

#TF530CCC

Using the Arduino as a JTAG programmer

Using the Arduino as a JTAG programmer

There are a lot of uses for this, but as it relates to this community it should allow you to program things like the TF530 Amiga Accelerator's CPLD's using the JTAG port on that device.

#TF530CCC

Something that might be useful for those building modern solutions for vintage systems

Something that might be useful for those building modern solutions for vintage systems

With the recent excitement about people building their own Amiga accelerators, I thought this might be handy for those in the group looking to design and build their own low volume devices.
Plus some of these techniques can be adapted to end users assembling their own projects like the TF530.

#TF530CCC
http://raspi.tv/2017/how-to-do-smt-surface-mount-soldering-by-hand

Don't throw out those cracked and broken vintage computers! Repair them

Don't throw out those cracked and broken vintage computers! Repair them

Learn plastic welding quick and simple with tools you either already have, or can get cheap.
https://www.retrohax.net/broken-plastic-case-no-problem-2/

TF530 Accelerator parts are starting to roll in

TF530 Accelerator parts are starting to roll in

I got all my new SMD components yesterday and these puppies arrived a few minutes ago. I also got the SMD soldering paste and new desoldering braid for fixing mistakes. 

#TF530CCC

TerribleFire's TF530 Accelerator - Finished dev board photo

TerribleFire's TF530 Accelerator - Finished dev board photo

I thought you might like to see a photo of what the finished boards look like. Here's one TF posted on the GITHub of a finished board running and installed in an A500 during development.

Also, be sure to checkout the newly updated wiki on his GITHub at:
https://github.com/terriblefire/tf530/wiki

FTA:
Introduction

This page is a brief overview of the system architecture of the TF530. The TF530 is an accelerator card for the Amiga 500 series of computers (may work in other 68000 based machines?).

Components/Features

The TF530 has the following

A 68030 CPU Capable of 32Mhz (at present - 24Mhz Recommended).
A PLCC 68881/2 FPU Running Synchronously with the CPU.
2/4Mb of 5V/12ns 32bit SRAM. Configured in the Zorro II address space.
Gayle Emulation ATA Support (7Mhz Clock Domain at present).
Bus Marshaling to the 68000 Socket only when the cycle is not internal to the card.




#TF530CCC

TerribleFire TF530 68030/68882 Amiga 500 accelerator - General Discussion

TerribleFire TF530 68030/68882 Amiga 500 accelerator - General Discussion

Please post all general discussion on this topic in this thread.

Also note that I have gone back and hash-tagged all related posts as shown below on this post and will add that tag to any new TF530 related posts.


#TF530CCC
^^^Click here to see all TF530 related posts!

Terrible Fire Amiga accelerator project

Terrible Fire Amiga accelerator project

UPDATE: More info and Group Buy discussion

Just to be clear, I have not committed to doing a group buy yet. However, I have committed to doing the legwork on pricing and seeing if there is enough interest and cost savings to make a group buy worth doing. If so, then I'll look at whether I will handle the group buy, hand off the information and contact list to someone else to handle, or maybe arrange with one or several others in different regions to handle group buys for our area. Basically whatever makes sense. I also will not commit unless we can all agree on a method everyone is ok with and that doesn't put me at financial risk.
I hope none of that sounds too negative. I very much want to help out anyone in the Amiga (or Atari) community that is interested in this project and will do what I can to facilitate that.

Meanwhile, we'll have to be patient. This isn't something that's going to happen in a week. I've already ordered most of the parts to build one or two boards myself and once I've received that parts, I'll do the math on the costs involved and the total and post the information in this section. I also want to test the board and make sure the parts I find are correct and functional. Finally, the board has only just gone to beta status this past week with TerribleFire just achieving the first fully functional version at that time.
What that means is that he's now verified that the hardware design is correct and functional. Any future revisions and updates should be strictly firmware related. This means that anyone getting in now is an early adopter and beta tester and that there may be bugs. However, it also means those bugs can be fixed with an update to the CPLDs.
If we don't rush in to things, TerribleFire and his few current Alpha testers may find any remaining bugs and fix them before we build our boards so it's in our interest to wait a few weeks anyway.

The current recommended speed for the board is 24MHz and that's what I'm gong to build and test. The board has however been tested up to 32MHz though that's pushing stability with the current firmware. One future update planned by TerribleFire is to go through the firmware and find optimizations necessary to run the board at higher clock rates reliably, possibly up to 50MHz. Some people may want to wait until that is achieved, some may not.
If you are just looking for a nice, inexpensive little boost to your A500 then gong with a 24MHz build and processor now should be fine. For those looking for more performance and possibly more RAM, it might be worth waiting so you only have to buy one set of parts and processors.

Anyway, I'll do my best to keep everyone up to date however there won't be much news to report until I've received everything I've ordered and gotten final invoices on it all. Once I do I'll put a spreadsheet together with the parts and costs pus shipping, etc. for everyone to look at to get a feel for what the final costs might be and whether we're all still interested in a group buy or just a parts resource list or what.


#TF530CCC

Terrible Fire TF530 Amiga 500 60830/68882 accelerator - GIThub files

Terrible Fire TF530 Amiga 500 60830/68882 accelerator - GIThub files

Here is the github for the accelerator project for those interested in building it.


#TF530CCC

https://github.com/terriblefire/tf530

Terrible Fire's TF530 Rev2 Amiga 500 Accelerator PCB's

Terrible Fire's TF530 Rev2 Amiga 500 Accelerator PCB's

For those interested in Terrible Fire's impressive and low cost Amiga 68030/68882 accelerator project, here is where you can order PCB's.

Note that this design is intended to also be functional in the Atari 520ST so it has multiple applications.


#TF530CCC

http://dirtypcbs.com/store/designer/details/12476/1330/tf530-rev2b-zip

Terrible Fire Amiga accelerator project

Terrible Fire Amiga accelerator project

I'm posting to welcome those interested in Terrible Fire's low cost Amiga accelerator project(s) to this community. This is the section (Amiga Expansion Devices) of the community to post, share, and collaborate on that project in.
Please let me know if I can be of and assistance in helping this project go forward.


#TF530CCC

https://youtu.be/RHnaElLx_CQ

Use modern USB mice and joypads with your Amiga

Use modern USB mice and joypads with your Amiga

I came across this and thought I'd share, given how hard to find real Amiga mice are and how much they suck anyway, especially for what they cost.
http://retro.7-bit.pl/?lang=en&go=projekty&name=rys_mkii

An ARM processor emulating a 6510 processor in software, as a hardware CPU replacement and potential accelerator

An ARM processor emulating a 6510 processor in software, as a hardware CPU replacement and potential accelerator

I had a similar idea a year or two back, using the Raspberry Pi similarly, but this is the first I've seen someone do something like this IRL.

Pixel level drawing program in the spirit of Amiga Deluxe Paint

Pixel level drawing program in the spirit of Amiga Deluxe Paint
http://www.cosmigo.com/

I was introduced to Commodore when I was ~ 8.

I was introduced to Commodore when I was ~ 8. Brother in law had a VIC-20. Thought it was pretty cool. My dad bought a Plus/4 maybe later that year for the family printing business. I played that quite a bit. Then he bought a 128 for home, and that's when the computer bug bit me. I started attending a local Commodore computer club. My dad bought a 64 for me a couple years later and played it for a few years. Then I moved to a 486-DLC and other PCs. After several years, I started messing with C= emulation (not that good then) and I felt the urge to play those great old games and feel the real keys and original joysticks. So, I retrieved my 64 from my cousin that I sold it to a few years before. Not long after, I saw the caretaker of the old Commodore club hardware in the store and we started talking. I told him that I was getting back into C='s again and he told me I could have ALL of the old hardware and software. Also attained a couple of Amigas from eBay. During this time I started the Global Commodore User's Group on Facebook and G+ (now only G+ because I hate FB.)

Now, the sad part. Because of space problems and money troubles, I sold off everything but my main 64 that now has some sort of illness that I can't diagnose, and quite a few joysticks that I'm going to use for emulation on my Windows PC.

Even though my collection is gone, my love remains for those great microcomputers.

FYI - A500 IDE interface

FYI - A500 IDE interface
http://www.mkl211015.altervista.org/ide/a500ide.html

Commodore 64 keyboard emulator

Commodore 64 keyboard emulator

This could be useful for a variety of reasons.
PS, this should work in the VIC-20 too. Possibly other Commodore 8bit machines.
http://podstawczynski.com/c64/key64tapper/

The amazing Amiga, still inspiring people today.

The amazing Amiga, still inspiring people today.
https://www.google.com/amp/arstechnica.com/the-multiverse/2017/01/people-still-use-the-amiga-today-and-new-viva-amiga-documentary-shows-why/%3famp=1

Armiga - An A500 Emulation Console

Armiga - An A500 Emulation Console

More here
https://youtu.be/4VOY2yqNKBI
http://www.armigaproject.com/

New Amiga Keycaps on Kickstarter

New Amiga Keycaps on Kickstarter

See more, including A1200 replacement cases, at:
https://www.a1200.net/
http://kck.st/2eSRE8W

Great list of retro computing resources by Ed S​

Great list of retro computing resources by Ed S​

Originally shared by Ed S

Here's a collection of pointers to Communities, blogs and forums relevant to Retro Computing interests. Since I made this collection, a few more collections and communities have cropped up. I'll add a list as a comment - please add your own recommendations!
(Although there are lots of pointers here, most are low traffic, so my approach is to join up with everything which looks interesting and unsubscribe later if it doesn't suit.)

Open Source Amiga Accelerator project

Open Source Amiga Accelerator project

Here's a guy doing just what this community was meant to support. Building an open source Amiga accelerator that anyone can duplicate.
Check out the project on TerribleFire 's YouTube Channel.

#TF530CCC

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu4uiUtALy1ILAxNh7TGsmQ