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