pa1158@sdcc13.ucsd.edu (Viet Ho) (10/23/89)
I know squat about electronics but is it safe to use an IBM power supply
to run the A500? I know of two people who've attempted this, one ended with
a smoked A500 board and the other had no problems with it. These 150W
beamer's powersupply can be had for as low as $25 at some swapmeets.
The reason I ask is because a buddy of mine is putting together a small
A500 mini tower made of sheet metal and vacuum formed plastic face plates and
a DETACHABLE keyboard case.
The dimensions of the box is close to that of the A2000's chasis but
with more room. So far the design supports two 3.5" floppies and two half
height 5.25" harddrives (or 1 full height) mounted on their sides). We also
allocated room for a LUCAS/Frances board configuration. (BTW: It works fine
<so far> on the A500 @ 20Mhz w/the super Agnus and OS1.3 in 32bit memory).
As for mass storage, we are using Palomax's ST506 design interface hooked up
to dirt cheap IBM harddrives. There's ample room for a Supra modem also.
The unit is designed to be rugged and portable. We've integrated
everything so no wires hang out. Just unplug two cables (power & monitor)
and you're off. We've left the A500 case unscathe in case we ever want to
return the board to its original configuration.
The case is pretty much completed now. Unfortunately the vacuum formed
plastic parts do not offer as much detail and sharp edges as would a more
expensive injection formed model.
This case design should address most of the problems facing the A500
(ie. undetachable keyboard and no room for harddrives or 2nd drives. Maybe
some 3rd party manufacturer who has access to injection plastic forming
machines can market the design.
-Viet Ho
vho@ucsd.edu