jerry@truevision.com (Jerry Thompson) (10/08/90)
On the 3000, the video slot was moved from over on the right side of the machine to the slot adaptor board. It is now the same format as all other boards for the 3000. It is also inline with one of the Zorro III slots. Video boards for this form will definitely be there eventually. But if you absolutely, positively, gotta have it today, then you have to buy a 2x00. I don't think this will be a big issue. It sounds like 3000's are selling well and board manufacturers will want to make boards for the 3000. -- Jerry Thompson | // checks ___________ | "I'm into S&M, "What I want to know is, have | \\ // and | | | | Sarcasm and you ever seen Claude Rains?" | \X/ balances /_\ | /_\ | Mass Sarcasm."
daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) (10/10/90)
In article <12879@encore.Encore.COM> rnollman@maxzilla.encore.com (Richard Nollman) writes: >I went into my local Amiga dealer to get some prices on the 3000. I was >just about convinced that the 3000 was the machine I wanted. Then the >salesperson I spoke with blew my mind. He told me that if I wanted to >do video work that I should stick with the 2500 because third-party vendors >due to a misunderstanding with Commodore, created 12-inch boards instead of >10-inch boards. The oversize boards do not fit into the 3000. Things like >videotoaster will not be available for the 3000 until vendors redesign the boards correctly. The salesperson gave me the impression that if I wanted a genlocl that it would not be available for a quite a while. Well, the end result is true -- some video slot boards don't fit in the A3000. But it's not due to any misunderstanding on the part of the 3rd parties, it's due to their ignoring of published Commodore specifications. Set the wayback machine for 1987, when the A2000 was released. Commodore published a manual at that time, called the "A500/A2000 Technical Reference Manual", which, amoung other things, had a mechanical drawing for the video slot board, also indicating the area of the card's end that could be used for connectors. This was out before ANY video slot cards were released. Well, these 3rd parties found all kinds of clever things to put on these video cards. Some required more connector space on the card end than Commodore supported. Some required extra PCB space in the form of a "tail" that sticks up under the disk drive assembly in the A2000. Both of these were going against the Commodore specs, but I suppose they made these cards easier to build. In any case, the A3000 comes along, and the Video Slot is, surprise!, moved to a different location, now in-line with a Zorro III slot. Cards that cheated only a little, like growing a short tail, will still fit. Cards that cheated alot, by growing a long tail or too many card-end connectors won't fit. Which is exactly what you would expect -- specifications are published for a reason, not to make anyone's life difficult. >What about other vendors? Other than the toaster, I think there's an internal Genlock or two that might be a problem. Other goodies fit fine, and of course external Genlocks shouldn't be a problem. >Rich Nollman -- Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy Standing on the shoulders of giants leaves me cold -REM
jdobbs@director.beckman.uiuc.edu (Jim Dobbs) (10/15/90)
>Date: Fri, 5 Oct 90 12:22:58 EDT >From: Richard Nollman <rnollman> >Message-Id: <9010051622.AA05907@maxzilla.> >To: comp.sys.amiga >Subject: Wrong board sizes >I went into my local Amiga dealer to get some prices on the 3000. I was >just about convinced that the 3000 was the machine I wanted. Then the >salesperson I spoke with blew my mind. He told me that if I wanted to >do video work that I should stick with the 2500 because third-party vendors >due to a misunderstanding with Commodore, created 12-inch boards instead of >10-inch boards. The oversize boards do not fit into the 3000. Things like >videotoaster will not be available for the 3000 until vendors redesign the boards correctly. The salesperson gave me the impression that if I wanted a genlocl that it would not be available for a quite a while. >I expected alot of discussion in the various Amiga news groups about this and >have not heard a peep. The salesperson said that Commodore actually advised >their stores not to sell the 3000 as a machine to do video work. He said >that if I just wanted to do animation, the 3000 was okay. So as far as he is >concerned (and his store), this is the official Commodore line. >Has anyone else heard about this problem? Does anyone know what the folks >at Newtek have to say about the availability of toaster on the 3000? I was >also surprised that with all the rave reviews I have been seeing over the net >from people who were at the show to see toaster unveiled, that there was no >mention of this little glitch. >What about other vendors? >I talked with a friend who had been at another local Amiga dealer and they >did not seem at all concerned about this little problem. Their feeling was >not to worry, the boards will come out in due time. I am not so sure. >I hope this generates some discussion, but I would not mind if I got some >direct replies. >Rich Nollman My company shot video of dealer training seminars for a major Amiga wholesaler at AmiExpo Midwest in Chicago this summer. I couldn't believe it myself, but this IS the OFFICIAL Commodore-Amiga line on this problem. I was told this directly by the representatives of BOTH NewTek (the toaster people) AND Digital Creations (DCTV, SuperGen, etc.) Apparently there is ANOTHER problem totally separate from the SIZE limitation, (which is also true, by the by) - that is that due to Commodore-Amiga's clever placement of another expansion slot directly adjacent to the Video slot (about 1/2" away) there is a BIG PROBLEM with RF interference for Video devices. He said it would take a Faraday shield to cut this interference down to MINIMALLY ACCEPTABLE LEVELS, which would in turn create a HEAT problem. NONE OF THE EXISTING DESIGNS FOR VIDEO-SLOT ADD-ONS WILL WORK PROPERLY WITH THE A3000, EVEN IF THE SIZE PROBLEM IS OVERCOME. If you are doing TV, or video work - get an A2000. I use one with a GVP 68030/68882 + 8 megs of 32-bit RAM. It just simply SCREAMS, even at ray-tracing. This is NOT an ad for GVP, in fact, I have even had some problems with their products in the past (all solved to my satisfaction) - it is just that they make a FULL line of add-ons that WORK, even with the ACCELERATOR. I understand that if you even try to OPEN a HIRES/OVERSCAN screen on the A3000, it Gurus... I haven't bitten the Guru's wazoo in AGES! HAVE A NICE DAY! -- ^ - James C. "Jim" Dobbs - jdobbs@director.beckman.uiuc.edu ( O-O "The correct pluralization of 'smurf' is 'smurves.'" > - James C. Dobbs ^ DISCLAIMER - Nobody ever agrees with anything I think.
evtracy@sdrc.UUCP (Tracy Schuhwerk) (10/15/90)
From article <1990Oct15.074829.27115@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>, by jdobbs@director.beckman.uiuc.edu (Jim Dobbs): [ Lots of stuff on the 3000 and board size (video slot) deleted ] > I understand that if you even try to OPEN a HIRES/OVERSCAN screen on > the A3000, it Gurus... I have been running my A3000 daily for over 3 months now using a Hires/Overscan workbench and I think I've had a total of 3 "Software Failures" (The "Guru" is gone... only physically though... He still lives on in our minds! :-) that I could actually pin on anything but my own hacking or the incompatability of some games (read: Only 3 unexplainable "Guru's"). Actually, in the last few weeks I don't think I've blown it at all. Just a quick note in defense of the A3000 and 2.0! :-) Thanks Commodore! Great Job! -- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= _______________ / / / | uunet!sdrc!evtracy / (___ _ /_ /_ _ __ /_/ | evtracy@SDRC.UU.NET / . _____)__(__/ /__/_/_/ /__/_/_/__(/__/ (__/ \ +--------------------- Structural Dynamics Research Corporation (SDRC) - Milford, Ohio =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
peter@cbmvax.commodore.com (Peter Cherna) (10/15/90)
In article <1990Oct15.074829.27115@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> jdobbs@director.beckman.uiuc.edu (Jim Dobbs) writes: (Comments about video boards not fitting in A3000's) >I couldn't believe it myself, but this IS the OFFICIAL Commodore-Amiga >line on this problem. As Dave Haynie pointed out recently, any board-manufacturer who followed the PUBLISHED specifications for video-slot products will still fit in an A3000. One reason that we do provide specifications is that we are aware of what restrictions will be required in order to proceed with new products. The risk of ignoring the spec is that you won't work or fit. >I understand that if you even try to OPEN a HIRES/OVERSCAN screen on >the A3000, it Gurus... >I haven't bitten the Guru's wazoo in AGES! You understand incorrectly. Please do not spread such misinformation. As a matter of fact, AmigaDOS 2.0 makes Overscan so easy that a great many A3000 owners run with overscanned screens as standard. My Workbench is 720 x 478, hires-interlaced. The futures of Intuition and GadTools (the modules I develop from my A3000) depend on this set-up not guru'ing. It doesn't. >HAVE A NICE DAY! I'll try... > ^ - James C. "Jim" Dobbs - jdobbs@director.beckman.uiuc.edu Peter -- Peter Cherna, Software Engineer, Commodore-Amiga, Inc. {uunet|rutgers}!cbmvax!peter peter@cbmvax.cbm.commodore.com My opinions do not necessarily represent the opinions of my employer. "Television is a medium because it is neither rare nor well-done."
joseph@valnet.UUCP (Joseph P. Hillenburg) (10/15/90)
Actually the video slot problem on the A3000 si the faultof the vendors because Commodore wrote specs to say how bit the board was supposed to be etc. -Joseph Hillenburg UUCP: ...iuvax!valnet!joseph ARPA: valnet!joseph@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu INET: joseph@valnet.UUCP
mwm@raven.pa.dec.com (Mike (My Watch Has Windows) Meyer) (10/16/90)
In article <1990Oct15.074829.27115@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> jdobbs@director.beckman.uiuc.edu (Jim Dobbs) writes:
I understand that if you even try to OPEN a HIRES/OVERSCAN screen on
the A3000, it Gurus...
For your sake, I hope you understand video better than you understand
the A3000. I've got one. HIRES/OVERSCAN works just fine. Better yet,
so does SUPERHIRES/OVERSCAN, which makes anti-aliased fonts wonderful.
<mike
--
And then up spoke his own dear wife, Mike Meyer
Never heard to speak so free. mwm@relay.pa.dec.com
"I'd rather a kiss from dead Matty's lips, decwrl!mwm
Than you or your finery."manes@vger.nsu.edu (10/16/90)
In article <1990Oct15.074829.27115@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>, jdobbs@director.beckman.uiuc.edu (Jim Dobbs) writes: > [Lots of stuff deleted that should have been deleted in the prior posting...] > I couldn't believe it myself, but this IS the OFFICIAL Commodore-Amiga > line on this problem. Who did you talk to at Commodore to get this 'line' on this problem? > > I was told this directly by the representatives of BOTH NewTek (the > toaster people) AND Digital Creations (DCTV, SuperGen, etc.) None of these folks work for Commodore. ;-) > > Apparently there is ANOTHER problem totally separate from the SIZE > limitation, (which is also true, by the by) - that is that due to > Commodore-Amiga's clever placement of another expansion slot directly > adjacent to the Video slot (about 1/2" away) there is a BIG PROBLEM > with RF interference for Video devices. He said it would take a > Faraday shield to cut this interference down to MINIMALLY ACCEPTABLE > LEVELS, which would in turn create a HEAT problem. Well I grant that this could be a possibility. We have installed a Magni genlock in a 3000 and have not had any problems. Perhaps there are exceptions to this "rule". > > NONE OF THE EXISTING DESIGNS FOR VIDEO-SLOT ADD-ONS WILL WORK PROPERLY > WITH THE A3000, EVEN IF THE SIZE PROBLEM IS OVERCOME. Not true. See above. > > I understand that if you even try to OPEN a HIRES/OVERSCAN screen on > the A3000, it Gurus... This quote is the whole reason I decided to post on this message. Please don't post what you "understand", especially when it is to the determent of the Amiga. Perhaps you should say which version of 2.0 you saw this on? I have been using a A3000 with 5 meg for all of my AmigaVision development under 36.68 /ks 36.143 and though there are problems with this version -- it does NOT guru when you open a HIRES/OVERSCAN screen. > I haven't bitten the Guru's wazoo in AGES! Perhaps you should :-) > > HAVE A NICE DAY! > -- > ^ - James C. "Jim" Dobbs - jdobbs@director.beckman.uiuc.edu > ( O-O "The correct pluralization of 'smurf' is 'smurves.'" > > - James C. Dobbs > ^ DISCLAIMER - Nobody ever agrees with anything I think. -mark= +--------+ ================================================== | \/ | Mark D. Manes "Mr. AmigaVision" | /\ \/ | manes@vger.nsu.edu | / | (804) 683-2532 "Make up your own mind! - AMIGA" +--------+ ==================================================
navas@cory.Berkeley.EDU (David C. Navas) (10/16/90)
In article <1990Oct15.074829.27115@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> jdobbs@director.beckman.uiuc.edu (Jim Dobbs) writes: >I was told this directly by the representatives of BOTH NewTek (the >toaster people) AND Digital Creations (DCTV, SuperGen, etc.) > >Apparently there is ANOTHER problem totally separate from the SIZE >limitation, (which is also true, by the by) - that is that due to >Commodore-Amiga's clever placement of another expansion slot directly >adjacent to the Video slot (about 1/2" away) there is a BIG PROBLEM >with RF interference for Video devices. He said it would take a >Faraday shield to cut this interference down to MINIMALLY ACCEPTABLE >LEVELS, which would in turn create a HEAT problem. Well, I don't know about that. It certainly is possible, but from the outside of this box, the RF noise is at least 10 times lower than my A500. I can actually watch TV, which is a lot more than I could do with my A500 on... If you need to shield from the other slot, why not shield the slot, not your board? Hasn't this occurred to any of those "representative?" >I understand that if you even try to OPEN a HIRES/OVERSCAN screen on >the A3000, it Gurus... If this info was from the same "reps," they should be shot.... The things which have bombed for me are things that would bomb on *any* 68030 platform. This last piece is so mis-informative, that it puts your other concerns in grave doubt. See Peter Cherna's post as well... David Navas navas@sim.berkeley.edu "Excuse my ignorance, but I've been run over by my train of thought." -me
peter@sugar.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva) (10/16/90)
In article <1990Oct15.074829.27115@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> jdobbs@director.beckman.uiuc.edu (Jim Dobbs) writes: > I understand that if you even try to OPEN a HIRES/OVERSCAN screen on > the A3000, it Gurus... You understand wrong. (a) I'm running a HIRES-OVERSCAN workbench! (b) I just went into dPaint (old dPaint) and did a full-video page and Show-ed it. No problems. -- Peter da Silva. `-_-' <peter@sugar.hackercorp.com>.
cunniff@hpfcso.HP.COM (Ross Cunniff) (10/17/90)
Your other points about RF interference *might* be true, but... > I understand that if you even try to OPEN a HIRES/OVERSCAN screen on > the A3000, it Gurus... > I haven't bitten the Guru's wazoo in AGES! is absolutely bogus. Who told you this? I am running a HIRES/OVERSCAN workbench on my A3000 under 2.0. Note that there IS some software out there that deliberately broke the rules in order to get overscan; Commodore is fully within their rights to break that software; if they were required to support all illegal software practices, we would have another C64 on our hands. Note again that this broken software is broken on 2000's running 2.0 also. It is not a 3000 issue. > HAVE A NICE DAY! Thank you, I will. > James C. "Jim" Dobbs - jdobbs@director.beckman.uiuc.edu Ross Cunniff Hewlett-Packard Colorado Language Lab cunniff@hpfcla.HP.COM
seanc@pro-party.cts.com (Sean Cunningham) (10/18/90)
In-Reply-To: message from jdobbs@director.beckman.uiuc.edu The problem with the placement of the A3000's videoslot isn't one that takes a total design rework to fix. The size issue is real, but that's for developers to contend with, since boards that were to Commodore spec will fit. As for interference, why mess with a shield? One of the first products that I think are needed for the A3000 are different backplane designs. I personally want those two ISA slots EXORCISED from my machine! I'd be interested in a three ZORRO]I[ slot, one video slot design. Let's face it, besides a videocard, a high-capacity RAM board, a DSP engine, and possibly a networking card, I can't think of much else I'd like to install. As for hires overscan, I've never had any problems...except maybe for DPaint3 occasionally. That's the application's fault though, and it's an OS2.0 non-compliance issue...under 1.3 it never happens on the A3000. Sean >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> .SIG v2.0 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< UUCP: ...!crash!pnet01!pro-party!seanc | B^) VISION GRAPHICS B^) ARPA: !crash!pnet01!pro-party!seanc@nosc.mil | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ INET: seanc@pro-party.cts.com | Dual A3000 based, custom Help keep the | computer graphics, RealWorld: Sean Cunningham competition // | animation, presentation, Voice: (512) 994-1602 under \X/ | simulation, accident- | scene re-creation, and ...better life through creative computing... | recreation...(whew!) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
mwm@raven.relay.pa.dec.com (Mike (My Watch Has Windows) Meyer) (10/19/90)
In article <5086@crash.cts.com> seanc@pro-party.cts.com (Sean Cunningham) writes:
I'd be interested in a three ZORRO]I[ slot, one video slot design.
Let's face it, besides a videocard, a high-capacity RAM board, a DSP
engine, and possibly a networking card, I can't think of much else I'd
like to install.
Hey, why should I pay for all them extra slots? Don't need no video;
don't really need even one Zorro ]I[ slot, but not having one at all
could be painfull, so the price break would have to be real good to
go to none. How about a stripped-down 3000 with just one slot?
Actually, given the nice design on the 3000, the cost of extra slots
is negligible. Look at what's on the expansion daughterboard - almost
nothing. I'd be surprised if that board adds even 1% to the cost of
the machine. Nuts, the slots don't even chew up space on the the
motherboard. About the only thing they cost you is a possible second
drive rack on the left-hand side of the box. And you may be able do
that if you leave the daughterboard empty.
So hey, DaveH - how about a "slot terminator" for the A3000 (if
needed), along with a drive tray suitable for holding low profile
(half-height, maybe?) 5 1/4" drives (especially tape drives!).
<mike
--
My feet are set for dancing, Mike Meyer
Won't you turn your music on. mwm@relay.pa.dec.com
My heart is like a loaded gun, decwrl!mwm
Won't you let the water run.navas@cory.Berkeley.EDU (David C. Navas) (10/19/90)
In article <MWM.90Oct18152502@raven.relay.pa.dec.com> mwm@raven.relay.pa.dec.com (Mike (My Watch Has Windows) Meyer) writes: >In article <5086@crash.cts.com> seanc@pro-party.cts.com (Sean Cunningham) writes: > Let's face it, besides a videocard, a high-capacity RAM board, a DSP > engine, and possibly a networking card, I can't think of much else I'd > like to install. Yeah, I can see my need for a whole bunch of slots :) >So hey, DaveH - how about a "slot terminator" for the A3000 (if >needed), along with a drive tray suitable for holding low profile >(half-height, maybe?) 5 1/4" drives (especially tape drives!). Yeah, and I'd really like an internal 5-1/4" slot to take those tape drives. Hey, I know! Blame it all on smelly sneakers, but I must be brilliant! Here's what we do. We take a HUGE case, stick an A3000-type motherboard on it. With, maybe, ten slots, and maybe like four or five drive bays, and call it the Tower Amiga. Yeah, that's the ticket. And we'll name it the A3500. Yeah, that's it. Hey. You know, if Commodore isn't going to produce something like this, we can just go pack our bags, because we all know the Mac bugs will eat us while we sleep. <rant> <rant> :) :) [It's four in the AM, and I know I shouldn't post, but....] David Navas navas@cory.berkeley.edu Get -MB- off the net, elect him as our next Vice President. [It's a joke.]
swarren@convex.com (Steve Warren) (10/19/90)
In article <MWM.90Oct18152502@raven.relay.pa.dec.com> mwm@raven.relay.pa.dec.com (Mike (My Watch Has Windows) Meyer) writes: [...] >Hey, why should I pay for all them extra slots? Don't need no video; >don't really need even one Zorro ]I[ slot, but not having one at all >could be painfull, so the price break would have to be real good to >go to none. How about a stripped-down 3000 with just one slot? [...] Yeah, but I think the ultimate "minimal" cheap 3000 offshoot would include an A3000 motherboard with an Ethernet card plugged into the place where the backplane normally goes. Build it in a box with the 1950 tube and space for 2 floppies on the right side. Do it like the NCD tubes, which have a small base that contains the motherboard, and the tube is swivel-mounted (integrated) on top of the base. The maximum configuration of this machine would be 8 SCSI devices, 4 floppies (2 internal, 2 external), 16 Meg of motherboard fast ram, and 2 Meg of chip ram. Leave space for a right-angle connected CPU-slot board, so further memory expansion or CPU enhancement could occur there. There would be RGB out, 1 serial & 1 parallel port (we really should figure out a way to get 2 serial ports on there), a SCSI port, audio out, keyboard and mouse ports, a floppy port, and Ethernet. To cut expenses, and since the monitor is integrated, the RGB port could be eliminated. The floppy port could conceivably also be eliminated. The combination would be so compact, it would look as small as a monitor with nothing under it but a swivel-mount base. If people wanted to add SCSI peripherals they could purchase a cheap XT-clone case & power supply and stack the tube on top of it, and it would not take up any more space than the 2000 system does today. This tube could sell for around $2000-$2500 retail, and people would line to buy it. -- _. --Steve ._||__ DISCLAIMER: All opinions are my own. Warren v\ *| ---------------------------------------------- V {uunet,sun}!convex!swarren; swarren@convex.COM
daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) (10/23/90)
In article <MWM.90Oct18152502@raven.relay.pa.dec.com> mwm@raven.relay.pa.dec.com (Mike (My Watch Has Windows) Meyer) writes: >Hey, why should I pay for all them extra slots? Don't need no video; >don't really need even one Zorro ]I[ slot, but not having one at all >could be painfull, so the price break would have to be real good to >go to none. How about a stripped-down 3000 with just one slot? I'm not the mechanical designer who'd work this out, or the Marketing Group who would order it. But I figure, IF you could shrink down the power supply enough on the right side of the case, the existing A3000 motherboard would fit in a shorter box with prehaps a single Zorro III slot that comes to the same height. If the supply (which of course also puts out less juice since, in cutting out three Zorro III, two PC, and a video slot, you get back about 8-10 Amps) doesn't grow too much when shrunk vertically, you might still have room for the internal floppy and one really small hard disk or second floppy. Obviously a number of other permutations are possible, it's really a question of just how much money that would save. >Actually, given the nice design on the 3000, the cost of extra slots >is negligible. Look at what's on the expansion daughterboard - almost >nothing. I'd be surprised if that board adds even 1% to the cost of >the machine. I don't know the exact cost, but the only real expense of that board is the connectors, so it's a drop in the bucket compared with hard disks and 68030s. >Nuts, the slots don't even chew up space on the the motherboard. The Motherboard has 1 Buster Chip and 10 TTL buffers to drive the expansion bus, along with of course the two connectors. Not entirely trivial in the board space it uses, though it's not a really expensive feature. If they wanted a bare bones "AmigaStation" with no slots, the Buster functions used by the motherboard could be done up in a PAL instead, and some reasonable amount of board space/complexity would be freed up. >So hey, DaveH - how about a "slot terminator" for the A3000 (if >needed), along with a drive tray suitable for holding low profile >(half-height, maybe?) 5 1/4" drives (especially tape drives!). How many drives do you need?!? The real trouble that would cause is that these 5.25" drives especially need lots of +12V, which you don't get in the A3000. The 3000 supply delivers something like +5V@17.5A and +12V@3A, versus the 2000's +5V@20A and +12V@8A. > <mike -- Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Amiga 3000) "The Crew That Never Rests" {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh PLINK: hazy BIX: hazy Standing on the shoulders of giants leaves me cold -REM
mwm@raven.relay.pa.dec.com (Mike (My Watch Has Windows) Meyer) (10/23/90)
In article <15326@cbmvax.commodore.com> daveh@cbmvax.commodore.com (Dave Haynie) writes: >Nuts, the slots don't even chew up space on the the motherboard. The Motherboard has 1 Buster Chip and 10 TTL buffers to drive the expansion bus, along with of course the two connectors. Not entirely trivial in the board space it uses, though it's not a really expensive feature. Actually, what I meant was that the slots beyond the first don't chew up space on the motherboard. I assumed that that reducing the number of slots on the daughterboard wouldn't reduce the motherboard real estate. >So hey, DaveH - how about a "slot terminator" for the A3000 (if >needed), along with a drive tray suitable for holding low profile >(half-height, maybe?) 5 1/4" drives (especially tape drives!). How many drives do you need?!? Depends on how big each one is :-), but I had 3 on my 2000 (not counting the 2 floppies). What I'd really like is room for a QIC tape, or something similar. I don't think there's room for one on the current drive tray. What's CBM doing about the tape drives on the A3000UX? The real trouble that would cause is that these 5.25" drives especially need lots of +12V, which you don't get in the A3000. So add a 12V power supply to my order :-). To bad, though. <mike --
U3364521@ucsvc.ucs.unimelb.edu.au (Lou Cavallo) (10/23/90)
G'day, In article <107337@convex.convex.com>, swarren@convex.com (Steve Warren) writes: [...Steve's suggestions of a cheap minimal expansion Amiga...] > This tube could sell for around $2000-$2500 retail, and people would line > to buy it. Your idea Steve (an A3000 integrated into a 1950 monitor with swivel base, minus the slots and some other stuff) sounds to me like a description of a Sparc SLC. :-) Some questions arise, o should the monitor be a larger one (a la a Viking)? ( will that make such a box that is too expensive ) ( for "ordinary" Amiga user? ) o how to price it/market it wrt the Amiga 2000? o how to find out when/if CBM will be doing this? Seriuosly, this question forms part of the broader issue of how to broaden the Amiga product line (and also of when too). Yes, I like the idea of a cheaper/faster Amiga too. Steve (although I haven't repeated the details here) I like this idea/view. > _. > --Steve ._||__ DISCLAIMER: All opinions are my own. > Warren v\ *| ---------------------------------------------- > V {uunet,sun}!convex!swarren; swarren@convex.COM yours truly, Lou Cavallo. PS: for international consumption. An Amiga 3000 with 1950 monitor, 5Megs of RAM and 100Meg Quantum hard drive retails at one outlet here (i.e. Melbourne Australia) for AUS$9400 !! I hope this changes one day. :-( Yes we have reasonable discount schemes (however this outlet above says this is only for Secondary (non University) schools, but CBM Oz say foo on them!) but as a Recommended Retail Price (which I believe it is close too) I think it is too high. :-(