wdao@girtab.usc.edu (Walter Dao) (10/09/90)
Recently, a message had been posted on how to install the 1meg agnus and on what the modifications were . Now I need a little clarification. (no I havent opened my amiga yet). but in the manual with the amiga schematics, the jumpers JP 2 look like ---------O O--------- ------------------------ ------------------------ on the old machines. Now the mods say that the bottom 2 traces have to be cut out and the top one to be added . does it mean that it is going to look like ---------O-----O------- ----------- ---------- ----------- ---------- ? Also what are the modification to be able to jump from ntsc to pal back and forth with a little switch ? (I think it also involved the JP2 jumpers.) any help welcome. Thanks Walter. "I want to see COMA and CEBIT in their full glory of exploding Sights and Sounds" 8-) ps : The only time I have ever opened my amiga was to forever disable the Audio filter and put a little connection (wirewrap) so that the <power> led still turns on and off . (many program plays with it , blinking it etc...)
chanson@isis.cs.du.edu (Chris Hanson) (10/13/90)
We (Progressive Peripherals & Software) got a fax the other day from
Commodore. No explanation of it has followed, and I presume other dealers
and developers got it. (At least, I hope so.)
It reads as follows:
{---cut here ---}
One Megabyte Agnus use in
Commodore A500 Computers
Commodore Business Machines does not support the One Megabyte
addressing feature of the Fat Agnus 8372 IC in A500 Computers.
Regardless of the version of Fat Agnus, all A500's have been factory
jumper set to be functionall identical.
8370 Fat Agnus chips are used on rev 5 boards with 256K x 1 DRAMS.
8372 Fat Agnus chips are used on rev 6a boards with 256K x 4 DRAMS.
The boards are functionall interchangable. Each will support 512K of
chip RAM and 512K of expansion RAM with an A501 installed.
Enabling the One Megabyte feature, at the customers' request, will
void the warranty. Instructions detailing implementation of the One
Megabyte addressing have been circulated without Official Approval
and Commodore does not assume any liability for damages resulting
from this mode of operation in the A500.
{---cut here ---}
I have retyped it, exactly as it was sent, with all capitalization and
page/line formatting intact. You go figure. I don't get it either.
Chris - Xenon
--
#define chanson Christopher_Eric_Hanson || Lord_Xenon || Kelson_Haldane
I work, but you don't know who I work for. And they don't know I'm here.
::I'm @ chanson@nyx.cs.du.edukoleman@pnet51.orb.mn.org (Kurt Koller) (10/13/90)
PAL/NTSC Switch.
Someone please post this to some FTP plavce or whatever...
How to install the NSTC / PAL switch into your Amiga 2000
===========================================================
This modificiation will work on a default NTSC or PAL A2000.
First off take the cover off your machine and remove the drive and
Power supply chassis ( disconnect the power supply and the disk
drive ribbon cable from the motherboard...make sure you remember
which end of the cable goes to which pins!!! ). Then remove the
whole unit from the machine and set it aside...
A. Now look for the FAT AGNUS chip on the motherboard, it should
say FAT LADY near the chip....now check the number on top of
the chip, You MUST have the new 1 Meg Agnus (Super Agnus part
#8372).
B. Move motherboard jumper J300 from the factory default position
of pins 1-2 to pins 2-3. This jumper is located under the power
supply.
C. Locate jumper PADS (no pins) labeled J102 and cut a trace
between the 2 pads. BE CAREFUL!! The pads are located right
next to the AGNUS on the left hand side ( if you are PAL
default no need to cut the trace..since PAL is already cut)
D. Mount a SPST switch in a convient place on the outside of the
Amiga, perhaps next to the power on LED.
E. Run 2 wires from the switch to the 2 pads of J102 (1 wire to
each pad).
That's it. With the switch closed (on position), you'll boot in
NTSC. With the switch in the open position (off), you'll boot in
PAL.
NOTE: Most monitors will only require a minor adjustment in vertical
sync and/or size to work in this manner. Composite monitors will
NOT work.
You must re-boot for the change to take effect, since the jumper
is only checked at power-up. If you have problems with Genlocks
that go in the video slot, run a SPDT switch to the J300 jumper
to allow you to switch timing between Power supply and Video
section sources.
Call my BBS - Alt-3 - (612) 228-0127
Koleman
Don't call the BBS.
Kurt "Koleman" Koller - amdahl!bungia!orbit!pnet51!kolemanetxtomp@eos.ericsson.se (Tommy Petersson) (10/13/90)
How is the installation procedure for the 1meg Agnus on a B2000? I don't have the motherboard rev. right here (if it matters), but I think it's something like 4.3 (the machine is about 2 years old) Tommy Petersson
DXB132@psuvm.psu.edu (10/14/90)
That stuff about the 1MB Agnus "not supported" in a A500 is the most ludicrous pea-brained marketroid nonsense I've heard in a long time. Does anyone disagree ? I'd like to know the IQ of the person who thought of this. It must be tremendous. Probably worked at IBM before he/she/it came to C=... -- Dan Babcock "Kill all the lawyers" -- Shakespear "Kill all the short-sighted marketing people" -- me
jeremym@brahms.udel.edu (Jeremy A Moskowitz) (10/14/90)
In article <90286.132554DXB132@psuvm.psu.edu> DXB132@psuvm.psu.edu writes: >That stuff about the 1MB Agnus "not supported" in a A500 is the most ludicrous >pea-brained marketroid nonsense I've heard in a long time. Does anyone disagree >? I'd like to know the IQ of the person who thought of this. It must be >tremendous. Probably worked at IBM before he/she/it came to C=... >-- Dan Babcock > >"Kill all the lawyers" -- Shakespear Ok, relax everybody, it's no big deal. I think all that means is this: The Agnuses are put into the A500's. But, unless they have the built in one meg they are not activated. That's all. This means, that if you bought your machine from the time the agnus was out till the time the a500s came out, your agnus is still only reading the first 1/2 meg of chip or fast or whateverthehell it is. So, don't be alarmed. You really think commodore is going to start putting in old agnused into the 500's?? C'mon get on the ball people. // Ok.. Contacts, right: THE NET: jeremym@brahms.udel.edu // Compuserve : 73055,665 // or (73055.665@compuserve.com) \\X/ Amiga's rule, but then again, who doesn't really know this?? Know what I hate most? Rhetorical questions.
etxtomp@eos.ericsson.se (Tommy Petersson) (10/15/90)
In article <1990Oct13.140016.15067@ericsson.se> etxtomp@eos.ericsson.se writes:
-What is the installation procedure for the 1meg Agnus on a B2000?
-I don't have the motherboard rev. right here (if it matters), but
-I think it's something like 4.3 (the machine is about 2 years old)
- ^^^
!-- Just checked, Rev 4.4
-Tommy Petersson
-
I'm interested in hering both about the hardware installation part,
eventual "Startup-Sequence calls of nifty utilities that enhance",
software incompabilities etc.
I have an A2620 with 2Meg on + a 2Meg 16-bit card in the machine.
Tommy P.manes@vger.nsu.edu (10/15/90)
In article <90286.132554DXB132@psuvm.psu.edu>, DXB132@psuvm.psu.edu writes: > That stuff about the 1MB Agnus "not supported" in a A500 is the most ludicrous > pea-brained marketroid nonsense I've heard in a long time. Does anyone disagree > ? I'd like to know the IQ of the person who thought of this. It must be > tremendous. Probably worked at IBM before he/she/it came to C=... > -- Dan Babcock > I disagree. Like it or not Commodore needs to "seperate" the A500 from the A2xx/A3xx series machines, espeically now that the A500 is becoming a mass-marketed machine. Dealers have a difficult time selling the higher-end Amigas because the 500 and the 2000 seem so much alike. Dealers try to sell 2000s by using the "expandability" sales tactic. Now that A500s can expand, by using 2000 boards and even have the ability to run the IBM software, the margin of difference between the two is extremely narrow. It is now down to the box and the slots. Consider that R&D costs a lot, and the world is not demanding another consumer-level computer from Commodore, what would you do to stimulate the dealers? And Commodore's pockets? The answer is two fold in my opinion. #1 - Seperate the product line a500 and a2xxx. Simple to do: Don't allow the 1 meg agnus and don't upgrade A500s to 2.0. Doing this will make the seperation more than obvious. People who want to buy 500s for the kids can be quite happy with 512k of chip and Workbench 1.3. They people who want this machine will not care (need?) dealer support. The customer who does not want a machine that looks like a c128. (Sorry) and wants a machine that can do "professional" type applications (whether it can be done on the consumer 500 is not a issue since we are talking marketing not techie) on a tight bugdet will go the computer dealer and purchase a A2000 (A1500?). #2 - Create a Amiga 1500. (A now PC slot, one/two slot A2000, low profile case, etc.) By creating a Amiga 1500, the need for dealers to keep 500s is gone. A500s could go to the mass markets without upseting the computer dealers. Even with the current A500P and A500 seperation it is not enough to keep the dealers satisfied. Though it may upset 500 owners, it does make sense. It is the bottom line gentlemen. Change that there box a bit and make it LOOK different. You will sell a ton. FYI: This is simply OPINION. I am not basing my OPINION on any special relationship with Commodore. I am simply using the speculation on the net and my own personal thoughts. Ok.. let the games begin... > "Kill all the lawyers" -- Shakespear > "Kill all the short-sighted marketing people" -- me -mark= +--------+ ================================================== | \/ | Mark D. Manes "Mr. AmigaVision" | /\ \/ | manes@vger.nsu.edu | / | (804) 683-2532 "Make up your own mind! - AMIGA" +--------+ ==================================================
steve@digibd.com (Steve Wahl) (10/24/90)
In article <62.2719a8e6@vger.nsu.edu> manes@vger.nsu.edu writes: >In article <90286.132554DXB132@psuvm.psu.edu>, DXB132@psuvm.psu.edu writes: >> [ not supporting 1MB Agnus in A500 is "pea-brained" idea] >> -- Dan Babcock >I disagree. >Like it or not Commodore needs to "seperate" the A500 from the A2xx/A3xx >series machines, espeically now that the A500 is becoming a mass-marketed >machine. >Dealers have a difficult time selling the higher-end Amigas because >the 500 and the 2000 seem so much alike. Dealers try to sell 2000s >by using the "expandability" sales tactic. Now that A500s can expand, >by using 2000 boards and even have the ability to run the IBM software, >the margin of difference between the two is extremely narrow. It is >now down to the box and the slots. >#1 - Seperate the product line a500 and a2xxx. > Simple to do: Don't allow the 1 meg agnus and don't upgrade > A500s to 2.0. > >#2 - Create a Amiga 1500. > (A now PC slot, one/two slot A2000, low profile case, etc.) > >It is the bottom line gentlemen. Change that there box a bit and >make it LOOK different. You will sell a ton. > > > -mark= [mark stated his opinion; this is mine and is NOT a flame] [ well.. not intended to be. ] No! No! No! 1. Not allowing 2.0 or 1MB Agnus in the 500 could cause lots of damage to the product line. The segregation of the Amiga line into two parts would mean that software developers have their choice of developing for 2.0 and it's market, or developing stuff that's compatible with 1.3 and 2.0, not taking any advantage of the new 2.0 features. Given that the 500 is the bigest part of the market, *I believe* that most developers would go for 1.3 compatibility. This could seriously cripple software development for our new, shiny, 2.0 operating system. This is my single bigest wory about OS 2.0. I hope C= supports upgrading ALL possible amigas at least to 2.0 (even without 1MB chip or productivity mode video) so that the 2.0 software base can be as profitable as possible, to provide as great a growth rate as possible. (O.K., point 1 didn't touch the 1MB agnus chip much. See point 2.) 2. (from what I've heard) The 500 motherboard was (like the 2000) designed to handle the new Agnus chip and 512K of ROM. Disallowing upgrading the machines to full potential would be a serious mistake. And it seems quite contrary to C-A's direction in the past. It seems the only reason C= doesn't support 2.0 on the 1000 is that there's not enough room in the kickstart RAM; the new Agnus also doesn't fit in the Agnus socket on the 1000, either (not to mention there's probably a few traces missing). Personally, I'm at a loss as to why they wouldn't support 1M chip on a 500. It doesn't even affect software compatibility unless you've got something that takes that much chip ram. Perhaps Commodore has been having problems with this modification being done incorrectly, causing rumors of flakey Amigas? If anyone knows the REAL reason they sent this memo, please speak up! Has anyone who has a 1MB chip-mem modified A500 had any problems? 3. Even though I own a 2000 (now upgraded with a 2630, etc..), I have always thought that the difference in price between the 500 and the 2000, for what is essentially the same machine, is too great. If they could lower the price of the 2000, to put it's price/performance better in line with the 500, I think it would be the best thing to do. But I guess I don't have details on what it costs to manufacture either system, or wholesale prices. Boy, oh boy. This posting is more ranting and raving than I want to do. So I'll stop. AND THERE WAS MUCH REJOICING. --> Steve -- Steve Wahl steve@digibd.com DigiBoard Inc. St. Louis Park, MN (612) 922-8055
jerry@truevision.com (Jerry Thompson) (10/30/90)
I have been using a 1 meg Agnus in my 500 for about a year now. It was great having all the chip RAM... for about 3 days. Now I need 2 meg! :-) There was only one program that I recall having any problem. I ran the KillChip (?) program and it worked fine with that. -- 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."
etxtomp@eos.ericsson.se (Tommy Petersson) (10/30/90)
In article <499@epicb.com> jerry@truevision.com (Jerry Thompson) writes:
-I have been using a 1 meg Agnus in my 500 for about a year now. It was great
-having all the chip RAM... for about 3 days. Now I need 2 meg! :-)
-There was only one program that I recall having any problem. I ran the
-KillChip (?) program and it worked fine with that.
---
-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."
I have a few programs that don't work since I installed the 1Meg Agnus
in my A2000B. If the Killchip programs works, I would be glad to get
hold of a copy. I haven't had time to read the different c.s.a groups
lately, so I may have missed it if it was posted.
I wonder about a hardware solution, what would be involved. Is it
enough to have a switch (like the PAL/NTSC switch) at jumper pad J500,
or is an installation of a three-way switch at jumper J101 necessary?
Tommy Petersson