jhc00614@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (01/18/90)
Addendum to the above external power supply to Trumpcard 500 hack.
DON'T forget to move the two internal jumpers in the right-back corner of
the inside of the Trumpcard box so the power supplied to both drive and
card will come from the external source through the din 5 plug.
Also, I strongly suggest getting a 3" muffin fan to slap on the left
side of the Trump box at the vents. It's noisy but it keeps it cool.
Lastly, I have to say the more I use the Trumpcard, the happier I am
with it. It outperforms the Impact for a lesser price. You don't have to
purchase a slow 20 meg SCSI as with the A590 (and it doesn't have any
compatibility problems). Lastly, it costs less the the Xetec and you don't
have to boot off of an OFS partition. Speedwise, I have heard the Xetec is
faster but people on PLink have told me the Trumpcard is designed "cleaner"
than the Xetec, whatever that means. (Note, if you wan't to add memory,
the power supply will cost extra, and if you add a muffin fan (outrageously
priced at $15 from RadioSchack), it comes pretty much near the price of the
Xetec. Who knows, maybe the Infinity Machine by MAST will someday put
my system to shame, but life is short...
Also, if you decide to do what I have done, call IVS. The guys there
were very helpful. And, if you want to save even more money, forgo the
hard drive case and just buy an XT power supply which supplies 150 watts
and costs around $45 dollars (though where you are going to put the thing
beats me).
Later
Jasoneberger@godot.psc.edu (Ed Berger) (01/18/90)
In article <111400078@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu> jhc00614@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu writes: > > Addendum to the above external power supply to Trumpcard 500 hack. > Lastly, I have to say the more I use the Trumpcard, the happier I am >with it. It outperforms the Impact for a lesser price. You don't have to >purchase a slow 20 meg SCSI as with the A590 (and it doesn't have any >compatibility problems). Just about any hardrive system will make the Amiga much nicer, after you get it working and setup: Having all your Workbench and Extras files on line kills the insert volume nnn syndrome. Having your productivity software online makes it more likely to be used, especially with room for both demos and your own projects. Having space to download big files, or keep all your PD utilities in one place is a great feature... PDC is much nicer on a hardrive. Glad to hear your success with the Trumpcard500. I would have bought one if the RAM expansion costs were less. Correction on the A590: ------------------------- Its a slow XT drive not a SCSI. You can still add 7 fast SCSI drives if you want externally (of course), or sell your XT drive to Clone owner with the appropriate machine, and put a fast SCSI 3.5" inside. Re: compatibility problems: --------------------------- If the owner installs Workbench 1.3.2 the "location 0" problem should dissapear. Software that breaks with this problem is likely to crash in the future with other software that writes to this location. It was a wrong presumption that it would not be anything but 0. The software should be fixed as owners of new A590s and possibly A2091s will have this problem, and other software can and will cause these crashes. I have had no troubles but I have reformatted, and repartitioned my drive several times with WB1.3.2. (VirusX works fine) The A590 software is very easy to use, and does not use or require a stagnant list of drive parameters for formatting, etc. I think CBM did it right this time. -Ed Berger eberger@b.psc.edu
jhc00614@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (01/21/90)
Are you looking just to argue? It seems your messages definitely are
slanted that way.
If you're looking to argue "my system's better than your system", my
response to your response clearly shows how the Trumpcard is a superior
system.
As long as we're correcting each other, you are wrong that the A590's
being sold now have an ST-506 drive. They WERE old Epson st-506 drives
but now they are Western Digital 80ms 20 meg scsi's if the information I
received out of a magazine review is correct.
If you were comparing your 20 meg scsi to the Trumpcard, you lose.
If you have the even older 20meg ST-506, you're an even bigger loser (w/
hard drives I mean, not you personally (let's hope this stays at the lowest
level of my system's better than yours" and not get any lower with personal
insults, eh?))
So, boys and girls, as a recap, A590 is a 20meg 80 ms SCSI with 2 meg
of 256kx4 ram for about $900 plus tax? The Trumpcard system I got is
a Trumpcard 500 with a !!!48 meg!!! !!!28ms!!!! drive, with 2 meg of
!!!!80ns!!!! !!!!SIMM!!!!!, w/ both being compatible with the A2000, let
alone the A500!!, along with a power supply with case for expansion (what
are you going to do with your A590 when you want to add another hard drive,
leave the drive outside, and powered with +5v of your imagination?)
Sorry, if you feel $100 bucks is not worth the extra space, speed,
expandability, and compatibility, then there's not much anybody can help you
with.
Flame on!
Jasoneberger@godot.psc.edu (Ed Berger) (01/22/90)
In article <111400084@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu> jhc00614@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu writes: > > Are you looking just to argue? It seems your messages definitely are >slanted that way. I do not mean to argue, I only want more people to realize that the A590 is out there and a good product. > As long as we're correcting each other, you are wrong that the A590's >being sold now have an ST-506 drive. They WERE old Epson st-506 drives >but now they are Western Digital 80ms 20 meg scsi's if the information I >received out of a magazine review is correct. More information deleted..... > So, boys and girls, as a recap, A590 is a 20meg 80 ms SCSI with 2 meg >of 256kx4 ram for about $900 plus tax? ... he politely points out that the WD drive in my A590 is not connected to the internal SCSI connector, but to the XT connector. The Trumpcard system I got is >a Trumpcard 500 with a !!!48 meg!!! !!!28ms!!!! drive, with 2 meg of >!!!!80ns!!!! !!!!SIMM!!!!!, w/ both being compatible with the A2000, let >alone the A500!!, I don't live in the world of nanoseconds when I want to load a program. The A590 is peppy enough for now, and the forseeable future. Other people shouldn't be put off by the slow spec. Test drive your software on it at a local dealer, and decide that it is too slow. Don't just look at numbers, and pass it by... >what are you going to do with your A590 when you want to add another hard drive Well that depends... What size is it. How much current does it draw at 5V How much current at 12V? I'd better leave that up for when it happens... -Ed Berger eberger@b.psc.edu
jhc00614@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (01/23/90)
Hey buddy, when I put up my messages concerning the Trump, it was to
help other people. Not to be dissected paragraph by paragraph and critiqued
and condescended on as you seem so well at doing. If we are going to discuss
the merits of each system, fine. But, you make it sound like Trump card
buyers are buying the cheapest system available and paying the piper later
when they expand. I did do my homework ahead of time and bought my system
accordingly. Yes, I do believe my system that probably cost I figure about
$100 more (I'm approx. since I have not learned what you paid for your system)
is definitley worth it since I get 28 meg more space and a SCSI drive to boot.
As for what may or may not be condescending, may be a matter of opinion,
but I felt your comments at points were.
For example, I wrote I was happy with the Trumpcard. You dissect that
part out and say, well of course you're happy, gee whiz, you moved from a
floppy system to a hard drive system, for heaven's sake. Yeah, I really need
that kind of comment.
If you want to write messages to inform people about hardware in the
future, leave it at that. Don't dissect other people's subjective comments
and define it for them, eh? Make the effort. You'll find people will find
you less abrasive. As for me being abrasive, I plead guilty, but if you
read my replies, it's starts off very courteous to your first response, but
ends with acrimony after your condescending second response.
Later
p.s. I can't wait to see this dissected. Dissect to your hearts content
and enjoy yourself.jhc00614@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (01/23/90)
"He politely points out his drive is connected to the xt controller"
Well, I guess it's your second nature to dissect and critque and your above
comment implies I contradicted myself on the hard drive used in the A590?
Well, in case you haven't taken English 101, a contradiction is when
is when arguments run contrary or there is some discrepancy or incosistency.
There was none.
In the first section you dissected, I mentioned the A590's used to use old
Epson st-506 20 meg drives. But according to a magazine review (I believe
it was INFO mag), they are now using 20 mg 80ms Western Digital SCSI drives.
In the second section, I recapped buy saying that the A590 is a 20
meg 80 ms. SCSI drive.
Where is the contradiction there? When comparing the Trump to the A590
at the end, I'm not going to compare it to the old ST-506's since it wouldn't
be fair. You have to compare it to the system as it is being sold now,
improved with a SCSI drive.
Lastly, since you have deigned to inform us you have the old ST-506
drive, then you have the older model. My condolences.
Also, I'd like to point out that we still don't know what you paid for
your A590 and that's put me at a disadvantage since you know what I paid for
my system. Please humor us little people with a dollap more of your wisdom
and tell us what you paid, oh master.
Your humble servant,
Jason
and Yes, the above message was meant to be sarcastic and condescending as
possible. Please dissect away and respond so we can see how much more
intelligent you are. Of course we all know its against your character to
dissect out of context to reveal how much more intelligent your responses are
than us mere mortals who do not take sentences out of context.eberger@godot.psc.edu (Ed Berger) (01/23/90)
I appologize for my previous posts.
I did not mean to offend the author I was replying to, or badmouth IVS.
I simply wanted to point out that the A590 is an excellent alternative,
to the hassles of "hacking your own system".
The A590 NEVER used an ST506 it uses an XT drive (which is not the same)
Look in the Radio Shack catalog at IDE/smartdrives. This is the type used
by the A590. (OK maybe some really early ones did but the first in PGH doesn't).
The A590 is extremely well built. If you have a problem in a few years,
you'll be able to take it to your local authorized service center.
The software is VERY, VERY, Good!
I've setup old-Cltd/scsi-dos3.3 system, and a Supra ByteSync, and I find
the A590 software a joy to use in comparison)
Many people want to buy just the hardrive first. But they will probably find
out that they then need ram expansion to make up for the losses of due to
partitions (which are very convenient to have). You can add just 512K to
an A590 for $40 in chips. (I was glad I didn't have to spend $150 for just
the privledge to add RAM)
The TrumpCard500 offers the following Advantages
- You can have an AMAX partition (VERY important for some people)
- You can add 4M of RAM expansion (if you buy their ram board)
- The Card can be taken out and inserted into an Amiga2000
(This is great for upgrades, or just portability of your hardrive)
- The Controller is available without the drive.
(This allows you to decide how much you are paying for each part of
the system you are putting together, and shop around)
Its Disadvantages are just the same as any non CBM hardrive system
- Lack of Local Support via Amiga dealers (Your area may be different)
- It doesn't look as nicely integrated with the A500 (Very Subjective)
- These apply to the Supra, CLtd, GVP, Xetec, etc. as well.
I wish the manufacturers' ads were more informative as to requirements to
hack your own system together, showing all the pieces neccessary, or included.
I guess that would scare too may people off.
The A590 is a complete system. Its a user's product, not a hackers product.
You plug it in and it works. It doesn't cost much to add ram in the future.
Its easy to add a "mac-external" drive if you want more drive space.
CBM isn't about to go under. (I was considering Cltd, and especially the CMI
multiport/SCSI 500 if it would ever show up).
If the MAST Infinity machine ever turns into a real purchasable product,
It will be THE hackers solution for the A500. I didn't have time to wait
either.
-Ed Berger
eberger@b.psc.edu