anthony@batserver.cs.uq.oz (Anthony Lee) (11/03/89)
I got this message from a friend: :********* **** **** ****** ******** ****** **** ***** **** **** : *** ** *** *** *** *** ******** ****** *** *** *** *** : *** ** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** : *** ** ********** *** *** ****** *** *** *** *** ***** : *** ** ********** *** *** ****** *** *** *** *** ***** : ******** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** : *** *** *** *** *** ******** *** ****** *** *** *** : **** **** **** ****** ******** **** ****** ***** **** **** : : : The Replacement MotherBoard for the Amiga 1000 : ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ : : : Commodore have been working on the Enhanced Chip Set (ECS) for months now. : You must have heard about it. One megabyte of chip RAM, Blitter operations of : up to 32x32K (a 1024 times improvement), a PRODUCTIVITY mode of 512 lines : (400 NTSC) non-interlaced, a SUPER-HIRES mode of up to 1280 pixels across : the screen on a standard monitor. : The software (KickStart 1.4) and hardware to make all this possible is soon : to be released. Fantastic, right? : : Wrong. : : Commodore have now made it official that the Amiga 1000 has been dropped. : The ECS will not work in the 1000. A500/A2000 only. YOU know the 1000 is a : great machine, I know the 1000 is a great machine, but Commodore? : : So now you are considering your options. One megabyte of chip RAM means you : can now run your drawing program in the 640x512 16 colour mode, and still : have the undo and alternate page options available to you. 32x32K blits means : faster operations in graphics programs, games, and any operations that make : use of the Blitter. And the only way all this is possible is if you sell your : old, faithful 1000, and buy a 500 or a 2000. : : Not so. : : Andrew Wilson, the original developer of the popular Proton memory boards, : now making the even more popular 8-meg memory board, has a design plan for : a REPLACEMENT Amiga 1000 MotherBoard. : : The PHOENIX BOARD will include : : : - FULL SUPPORT for the ECS Chip Set. : - The ability to use your existing expansion connector peripherals. : - Up to 2 Megabytes of switchable RAM on the main board. : - Up to 10 megabytes of INTERNAL, switchable autoconfiguring RAM using : an 8 Meg daughterboard. : - INTERNAL Real Time Clock and Calendar (500/2000 compatible). : - Provision for up to three INTERNAL KickStart ROMs, allowing : SWITCHING between KickStart 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4, including provision for : INTERNAL KickStart EPROMs allowing customised KickStarts. : - INTERNAL Disk Drive Connector allowing internal fitting of DF1:, DF2:, : and DF3: (if fitted in a larger case.) : - Drive swap switch to allow booting off other disk drives. : - A500/2000 style switchable Audio Filter. : - INTERNAL space for a 68881 maths coprocessor. : - FULL B2000 style VIDEO SLOT. : - One Amiga 2000 slot, allowing an 2000 board to be plugged in, or a : 2000 type multi-slot backplane to be used. (Only in a bigger case) : - Provision for a SCSI Port for Hard Disk, CD ROM etc. : - BOARD FULLY SOCKETED. : : 1 OF 3 1.05 : : : : OTHER FEATURES THAT WILL BE INCLUDED TIME AND SPACE PERMITTING : : - Support for 68020/030 and 32 bit RAM/ROM. : - KickStart in RAM as per existing 1000. : : If you have other features that you think should be included, please : write them down and send to the address below. We will not be able to : put much more on the board but simple, useful things will be of : benefit to all. : : The expected price of the PHOENIX BOARD is $600 with 1 Meg of RAM. The board : will also be available bare if possible. A trade-in on the old A1000 is also : a possibility. The A1000 chips such as the 68000 processor, Denise and Paula : custom chips and CIAs will be reused to reduce costs, all other chips will : be supplied. : The PHOENIX BOARD will be a complete drop in replacement for the existing : motherboard and will enable you to continue to use your existing external : hardware. We will maintain the position of the 68000 chip in relation to the : case internal fittings so that internal memory boards should still work but : actually trying these will depend on their availability to us. The advantage : of retaining the A1000's keyboard, power supply and mouse will be apparent to : all who have compared theirs to the 500/2000 setup. : There is a possibility of a local installation point in each state, so you : will be without your computer for the least possible time if you do not feel : confident to install the board yourself. We welcome inquiries from suitably : skilled individuals or organisations to do this work. : The PHOENIX Board will suit all model Amiga 1000s, not just the NTSC versions, : and is a local, AUSTRALIAN MADE product. : : There is one hitch. Andrew Wilson currently has over twenty products in : development, including an Audio/Video Digitiser, Colour Splitter, FAX Board : for the Amiga, SCSI Board, 68020/68881 Board, A500 Internal 2 Meg board, : and a Board allowing Workbench in ROM. As well as all this, he is also : struggling to keep up with the demand for his 8 megabyte memory boards, : hard drives, and other products. At present, Andrew is doing all the work : himself, and as a result, development has a low priority. Of course, the : PHOENIX BOARD is on the top of the list, but if present trends continue, it : could never eventuate. That's why we need YOUR help. : : We have formed a company, SPANDUCT PTY. LTD., soon to be renamed PHOENIX : MICRO TECHNOLOGIES PTY. LTD., that will employ people to assemble, test and : market Andrew's present products, leaving Andrew to work on development. : The first project of the company will be the PHOENIX BOARD. Development time : for the PHOENIX BOARD is expected to be three to four weeks from commencement. : If you would seriously be interested in investing in the PHOENIX BOARD, : and increasing the potential of your Amiga 1000 to beyond that of even the : Amiga 2000, please consider helping us. : : Place a $100 deposit on the board with us, and in less than three months, you : could have a new computer sitting on your desk. Of course, if enough people do : not place this deposit with us, the board will never eventuate, and the : A1000 will fade into insignificance. People placing deposits with the company : will receive a 20 percent discount on the price of their PHOENIX BOARD. : Orders will be filled in the order in which they are received, ie first come : first served. A closing date for deposits has been set at the 30th of November : 1989 at which time we will be able to assess demand and make a decision on : the viability of continuing with the project. : All deposits will be refunded if, due to lack of response, we do not go : ahead with the PHOENIX BOARD project. Once work has started no refunds will : be possible. : The sooner you place your deposit, the sooner it will all happen. : Please consider helping us. You will really be helping yourself. : : 2 OF 3 1.05 : : : : : Contact Andrew Wilson on : (08) 293-3960 (6.00-7.00pm Except Friday) : : or write to : 2 Meredyth Avenue : Millswood : South Australia 5034 : : Send Deposits and Orders to : Spanduct Pty Ltd : P.O. Box 41 : Goodwood : South Australia 5034 : : : ***** : : TO ENSURE THAT THE AMIGA 1000 SURVIVES INTO THE NEXT DECADE, PLEASE : CONSIDER THE ABOVE PROPOSITION. AND PLEASE DISTRIBUTE THIS DOCUMENT AS : WIDELY AS POSSIBLE. : : ***** : : : ROSS MOLDEN. : : : JONATHAN POTTER. : : : ANDREW WILSON. : :10/10/89 Version 1.05 Subject to upgrade and improvement as the project advances :Prices are approximate but should not vary by more than 10%. : :------------------------------------------------------------------------------ :Please complete this form and forward with your payment to the above P.O. Box. :------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : :I, _____________________________, wish to register an interest in the : :PHOENIX BOARD project by placing a deposit for ___ PHOENIX BOARD(S) at $100 : :each. I enclose a cheque/money order for $______. : : Yours sincerely, : : _______________________ : : : Address : ___________________________________________ : : ___________________________________________ : : Phone (work) : ___ _______ (home) : ___ _______ : :------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : : 3 OF 3 1.05 : Sounds good doesn't it but before I spend money I would like to know if anyone else have heard of this before. Better still anyone in South Australia care to comment or to ring Andrew Wilson. Please reply by email I might followup later if there's enough response. cheers Anthony Anthony Lee (Humble PhD student) (Alias Time Lord Doctor) ACSnet: anthony@batserver.cs.uq.oz TEL:(+617) 3712651 Internet: anthony@batserver.cs.uq.oz.au (+617) 3774139 (w) SNAIL: Dept Comp. Science, University of Qld, St Lucia, Qld 4067, Australia
anthony@batserver.cs.uq.oz (Anthony Lee) (11/09/89)
anthony@batserver.cs.uq.oz (Anthony Lee) writes: [a lot of stuff deleted about the Phoenix board] >: Contact Andrew Wilson on : (08) 293-3960 (6.00-7.00pm Except Friday) >: >: or write to : 2 Meredyth Avenue >: Millswood >: South Australia 5034 >Please reply by email >I might followup later if there's enough response. I am so stupid, I didn't realised that so many people would be interested. Please don't send me anymore email, if you are interested why not ring Andrew Wilson youself, I haven't try to ring him yet but I'll today. If I find out anymore then I'll let everybody know, alternatively if you ring him then tell us what he said. What I am worry about is that if I have to pull out chips from my old board, which one do I need, and would I have to do any soldering. Would there be someone in Brisbane who will be willing to do the work for a small fee ? cheers Anthony P.S. I just find out that one of the author of the article got email access, his address is jonathan_potter%680.805@fidogate.fido.oz. I don't know him, and I don't know how much he like being bombarded with email. Anthony Lee (Humble PhD student) (Alias Time Lord Doctor) ACSnet: anthony@batserver.cs.uq.oz TEL:(+617) 3712651 Internet: anthony@batserver.cs.uq.oz.au (+617) 3774139 (w) SNAIL: Dept Comp. Science, University of Qld, St Lucia, Qld 4067, Australia