kudla@rpi.edu (Robert J. Kudla) (05/07/91)
Over the last year I've been scouring the ads in Amiga magazines for
what my options are regarding RAM and SCSI expansion on the 500. When
the price of Quantum hard drives dropped a lot in the last couple
months, I started looking harder. What I want is a board that'll let
me slap up to 8 megs (preferably in increments of 1M) on my 500 *and*
give me a SCSI connection. I see lots of the former (Supra's 500RX
series comes to mind) and some of the latter (there are SCSI
interfaces for the 500 in the ~$150 range) but it looks like the only
way to get both is to get one of those ungainly sidecar-type boxes by
GVP or Supra (or CBM for that matter) with memory expansion, SCSI, and
a rather unreasonably-priced low capacity hard drive all slapped on
the side of my 500.
Does anyone know of a product like what I'm looking for? That way I
could get a memory expansion and SCSI and worry about the hard drive a
few weeks/months later. I think MAST makes one but (1) it's probably
not shipping and (2) they use their own proprietary memory packaging
which they sell for $100 a meg. I don't think so, guys.....
If it turns out to be cheaper to go for Supra's memory thing and
someone else's 500 SCSI interface, so be it, but I'd much rather have
one unit that does both, particularly with a passthru since I intend
to pick up the 690 when it's available. If it had its own power
supply I wouldn't complain either.
Thanks in advance for any leads people might have!
Robert Jude Kudla <kudla@rpi.edu>
No more bars! No more cages! Just rollerskating, disco music, and
the occasional light show....lou@vaxsc (05/07/91)
This isn't a specific reply to anyone in particular, just an odd thought.
Looking through a copy of Amazing Computing last night, I noticed an add
for a DKB systems MegaChip, chip ram expander for the 2000. Now the thought
hit me that with the A500's problems in expanding chip ram, this seems to
be exactly what the 500 needs.
A 1.5 Meg, Chip ram expansion. - Taking the A500 to 2 meg chip ram.
It seems like it would be an easy expansion to build, and would let A500
users expand to 2 meg chip ram, without having to invalidate service work
by modifying the system board, etc. It appears that the A2000 chip ram
expansion is little more than a new Agnus, on a daughterboard with a
meg of memory, and some glue logic.
Is this a crazy idea? Would there be addressing conflicts that are
unresolvable? Or could something like this work? Worse yet, is it
marketable?
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-Lou Williams lou@vaxsc.niehs.nih.gov
Computer Sciences Corporation, Research Triangle Park, NC
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-Sometimes in order to feel better about yourself, you have to
make others feel bad, and I'm tired of making others feel good
about themselves. -Homer Simpson.
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I don't represent anyone other than myself, everything is only opinion.