4 Oct
2016
4 Oct
'16
10:13 p.m.
A buddy located this just in time, it was out at a scrapyard and we are
about to get hit with a hurricane over here in florida. Picked up a
commodore amiga 2000 with the keyboard, no mouse or monitor. I hooked it up
to a tv via composite and get to the boot screen. It appears to have a scsi
hard drive controller in it.
I figured this would be the place to ask... It looks as if PC compatibility
boards can be added to the machine, boards with a 286, 386, or 486 and
some memory on a board, capable of running MS DOS. IF i were to install
such a board, what kind of graphics capability would the dos side of things
have?
I just got started with the machine, im still trying to get it to boot up,
but if it would be pretty capable with dos then i will keep an eye out for
one of the cards.
any suggestions to get started would be appreciated.
--Devin
4 Oct
4 Oct
10:35 p.m.
A buddy located this just in time, it was out at a
scrapyard and we are
about to get hit with a hurricane over here in florida. Picked up a
commodore amiga 2000 with the keyboard, no mouse or monitor. I hooked it up
to a tv via composite and get to the boot screen. It appears to have a scsi
hard drive controller in it.
I figured this would be the place to ask... It looks as if PC compatibility
boards can be added to the machine, boards with a 286, 386, or 486 and
some memory on a board, capable of running MS DOS. IF i were to install
such a board, what kind of graphics capability would the dos side of things
have?
I think the generic bridgecard might give you something like CGA, but the
way the bizzare Amiga 2000 was created the bridge card (that is a PC on a
board) sits in like the middle where there is a Zorro Slot and an ISA
slot. So that bridge card then enables/drives all of the ISA slots, so you
then add your VGA card into an ISA slot. Then connect a good monitor
(Anything VGA is good compared to staring at a 15khz TV :-) and then
you've got this crazy contraption on your desk with one keyboard, one
computer that technically has a 2nd computer in it hooked to two monitors
:-)
This is just me, but the spirit of having an Amiga 2000 (which don't get
me wrong, is cool, I gave mine away and slightly regret it!) is running
Amiga software. I'd go for a NewTek Toaster before going for the
bridgecard. There is also software (I don't think hardware is involved) to
run Mac software on Amigas as well.
SCSI card is a great start, none of mine ever had those.
--
Ethan O'Toole
10:53 p.m.
The toaster looks interesting but i have a stockpile of sgi gear that keeps
me busy in the whole CG department. the video toaster, interesting
hardware, but not something practical i would end up using much...Thanks
for the info. if i can just cram any old vga card in there then that is
what i will do. i will admit it looks horrible on a tv screen, but im
thankful i did not have to buy a commodore monitor just to see if the
machine worked.
--devin
On Tue, Oct 4, 2016 at 10:35 PM, <ethan at 757.org> wrote:
A buddy located this just in time, it was out at a
scrapyard and we are
about to get hit with a hurricane over here in
florida. Picked up a
commodore amiga 2000 with the keyboard, no mouse or monitor. I hooked it
up
to a tv via composite and get to the boot screen. It appears to have a
scsi
hard drive controller in it.
I figured this would be the place to ask... It looks as if PC
compatibility
boards can be added to the machine, boards with a 286, 386, or 486 and
some memory on a board, capable of running MS DOS. IF i were to install
such a board, what kind of graphics capability would the dos side of
things
have?
I think the generic bridgecard might give you something like CGA, but the
way the bizzare Amiga 2000 was created the bridge card (that is a PC on a
board) sits in like the middle where there is a Zorro Slot and an ISA slot.
So that bridge card then enables/drives all of the ISA slots, so you then
add your VGA card into an ISA slot. Then connect a good monitor (Anything
VGA is good compared to staring at a 15khz TV :-) and then you've got this
crazy contraption on your desk with one keyboard, one computer that
technically has a 2nd computer in it hooked to two monitors :-)
This is just me, but the spirit of having an Amiga 2000 (which don't get
me wrong, is cool, I gave mine away and slightly regret it!) is running
Amiga software. I'd go for a NewTek Toaster before going for the
bridgecard. There is also software (I don't think hardware is involved) to
run Mac software on Amigas as well.
SCSI card is a great start, none of mine ever had those.
--
Ethan O'Toole
10:55 p.m.
On Tue, 4 Oct 2016, devin davison wrote:
I figured this would be the place to ask... It looks
as if PC compatibility
boards can be added to the machine, boards with a 286, 386, or 486 and
some memory on a board, capable of running MS DOS. IF i were to install
such a board, what kind of graphics capability would the dos side of things
have?
Depends on the board, and its bundled software.
Not to be more flippant than usual, PC-DOS/MS-DOS has no graphics
capability (80x25 text). But, it can launch programs that do access
graphics hardware.
(such as games, graphics oriented software, or Windoze)
In order to get basic compatability, they probably implement the CGA
capabilities that are in the PC BIOS, which goes to 640x200 B&W.
If they want to, they could simulate the presence of Hercules
(720x348), EGA (640x350) or VGA (640x480) hardware.
If they really want, they could simulate a pseudo VGA up to whatever the
hardware resolution is.
8 Oct
8 Oct
11:42 a.m.
On 5 October 2016 at 04:55, Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> wrote:
Not to be more flippant than usual, PC-DOS/MS-DOS has
no graphics capability
(80x25 text).
Doesn't DOSShell count?
--
Liam Proven ? Profile: http://lproven.livejournal.com/profile
Email: lproven at cix.co.uk ? GMail/Twitter/Facebook/Flickr: lproven
Skype/MSN: lproven at hotmail.com ? LinkedIn/AIM/Yahoo: liamproven
Cell/Mobiles: +44 7939-087884 (UK) ? +420 702 829 053 (?R)
5 Oct
5 Oct
12:32 a.m.
Since you would be using the Amiga for video it would be emulated CGA or
mono. I think you can install a VGA card in an ISA slot (and you can expand
all the slots to 16 bit if you solder in the header).
Most people used an ISA network card to get around the more expensive Zorro
Amiga boards (100+ I think).
Anyway the XT and 286 Bridgeboards are not that expensive but anything
faster sure is.
Not sure why you would want to turn an Amiga 2000 is into a DOS machine
anyway, I had a 286 Bridgeboard and currently user an XT bridgeboard in one
of my A2000's just for the heck of it. Mostly I use the Amiga for gaming.
-----Original Message-----
From: devin davison
Sent: Tuesday, October 04, 2016 10:13 PM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Picked up Commodore Amiga 2000
A buddy located this just in time, it was out at a scrapyard and we are
about to get hit with a hurricane over here in florida. Picked up a
commodore amiga 2000 with the keyboard, no mouse or monitor. I hooked it up
to a tv via composite and get to the boot screen. It appears to have a scsi
hard drive controller in it.
I figured this would be the place to ask... It looks as if PC compatibility
boards can be added to the machine, boards with a 286, 386, or 486 and
some memory on a board, capable of running MS DOS. IF i were to install
such a board, what kind of graphics capability would the dos side of things
have?
I just got started with the machine, im still trying to get it to boot up,
but if it would be pretty capable with dos then i will keep an eye out for
one of the cards.
any suggestions to get started would be appreciated.
--Devin
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
12:58 a.m.
Congratulations on rescuing the 2000! I wanted one pretty badly when I was working in an
Amiga dealership in the late 1980s, but had a 1000. I still don't have a 2000, but
I've scratched that itch with a 3000 that I got a couple years ago. I still have my
old 1000, but haven't powered it up for a very long time. It's overdue for a
cleaning-up and resurrection.
On Oct 4, 2016, at 21:32, TeoZ <teoz at
neo.rr.com> wrote:
Anyway the XT and 286 Bridgeboards are not that expensive but anything faster sure is.
The Bridgeboards were indeed an odd kludge. I don't remember if we actually sold any
in the store I worked in, but I think we had at least one installed in an Amiga 2000 for
demo purposes.
I quit looking for Bridgeboards over a year ago when eBay and I started seeing other
people, but at the time I had little luck finding any. I wouldn't mind having any
working Bridgeboard to try out in my Amiga 3000 just for kicks, but I wouldn't expect
it to be of much practical use. So if there's a hidden source of cheap XT and 286
Bridgeboards out there, I might like to acquire one. Devin would get first dibs on any
that turn up, of course.
I do have something vaguely Bridgeboard-esque: I have one of the SunPCi cards in my Sun
Ultra 60. I think I set up DOS and NT virtual disks for it, but I haven't found any
practical use for it. It's just a neat example of the wacky things that were kludged
together for folks such as engineers who needed a UNIX workstation for their main job, but
also needed access to a PC for things like Word. Now that I think of it, I haven't
exactly found a practical use for the Sun it's installed in, either. :)
--
Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net>
http://www.nf6x.net/
10:29 a.m.
Congratulations on rescuing the 2000! I wanted one
pretty badly when I
was working in an Amiga dealership in the late 1980s, but had a 1000. I
still don't have a 2000, but I've scratched that itch with a 3000 that I
got a couple years ago. I still have my old 1000, but haven't powered it
up for a very long time. It's overdue for a cleaning-up and
resurrection.
All you Amiga heads watch out for those motherboard batteries! Especially
on the A3000! A3000s are probably going to be very rare due to all the
destroyed motherboards (Someone should reproduce one with sockets for the
original chips.)
- Ethan
--
Ethan O'Toole
11:09 a.m.
Congratulations on rescuing the 2000! I wanted one pretty badly when I
was working in an Amiga dealership in the late 1980s, but had a 1000. I
still don't have a 2000, but I've scratched that itch with a 3000 that I
got a couple years ago. I still have my old 1000, but haven't powered it
up for a very long time. It's overdue for a cleaning-up and
resurrection.
All you Amiga heads watch out for those motherboard batteries! Especially
on the A3000! A3000s are probably going to be very rare due to all the
destroyed motherboards (Someone should reproduce one with sockets for the
original chips.)
11:16 a.m.
On Oct 5, 2016, at 07:29, ethan at 757.org wrote:
All you Amiga heads watch out for those motherboard batteries! Especially on the A3000!
A3000s are probably going to be very rare due to all the destroyed motherboards (Someone
should reproduce one with sockets for the original chips.)
Quite true! My A3000's motherboard was damaged by battery leakage, but luckily was
repairable. I replaced the original battery with a remote battery holder to get the new
battery away from the motherboard:
https://twitter.com/nf6x/status/696269909014159360
--
Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net>
http://www.nf6x.net/
12:15 p.m.
Yeah, on the note of that battery, it looks fine, but is going to be
replaced asap. Ive had a couple of apple computers turn to trash over that
battery going bad in there.
I know it is not really practical to turn it into a dos machine, but it
would be a nice setup to me. If i can find a 286 and a vga card I am all
set then.
That is not to say that i would use it strictly as a DOS machine, but it
would be a useful feature to run a couple games or utilitys i use
frequently that run on dos.
Thanks for the advice, ill post back with some pictures once i get it all
cleaned up and running.
On Wed, Oct 5, 2016 at 11:16 AM, Mark J. Blair <nf6x at nf6x.net> wrote:
On Oct 5, 2016, at 07:29, ethan at 757.org
wrote:
All you Amiga heads watch out for those motherboard batteries!
Especially on the
A3000! A3000s are probably going to be very rare due to
all the destroyed motherboards (Someone should reproduce one with sockets
for the original chips.)
Quite true! My A3000's motherboard was damaged by battery leakage, but
luckily was repairable. I replaced the original battery with a remote
battery holder to get the new battery away from the motherboard:
https://twitter.com/nf6x/status/696269909014159360
--
Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net>
http://www.nf6x.net/
1:42 p.m.
On Wed, Oct 5, 2016 at 1:30 PM, Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> wrote:
On Wed, 5 Oct 2016, devin davison wrote:
turning an Amiga 2000 into a DOS machine is like turning a car into a boat.
you technically can do it, but then you're driving a car on the water not
made for serious boating.
I know it is not really practical to turn it into
a dos machine, but it
would be a nice setup to me. If i can find a 286 and a vga card I am all
set then.
Try for a 386, or at least 386SX. Too much "modern" software demands it.
2 p.m.
>> I know it is not really practical to turn it
into a dos machine, but it
>> would be a nice setup to me. If i can find a 286 and a vga card I am all
>> set then.
On Wed, 5 Oct 2016, william degnan wrote:
turning an Amiga 2000 into a DOS machine is like
turning a car into a boat.
you technically can do it, but then you're driving a car on the water not
made for serious boating.
Totally impractical. But, sometimes it can be FUN!
(cf. Amphicar, and the crazy guys 40 years ago who were cutting the roof
off of VWs, waterproofing them and putting a propellor on the crank
pulley!)
2:22 p.m.
On Wed, Oct 5, 2016 at 2:00 PM, Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> wrote:
I know it is not really practical to turn it into a
dos machine, but it
Yup something like that. Illustrates my point nicely. But is that what
the original poster really wants? I would think not.
>> would be a nice setup to me. If i can
find a 286 and a vga card I am all
>> set then.
>>
> On Wed, 5 Oct 2016, william degnan wrote:
turning an Amiga 2000 into a DOS machine is like
turning a car into a
boat.
you technically can do it, but then you're driving a car on the water not
made for serious boating.
Totally impractical. But, sometimes it can be FUN!
(cf. Amphicar, and the crazy guys 40 years ago who were cutting the roof
off of VWs, waterproofing them and putting a propellor on the crank pulley!)
2:22 p.m.
I would by no means ignore the commodore amiga software side of things. IM
pretty excited to get to mess around with workbench. That FPGA graphics
card project is impressive.
On Wed, Oct 5, 2016 at 2:00 PM, Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> wrote:
I know it is not really practical to turn it into a
dos machine, but it
>> would be a nice setup to me. If i can
find a 286 and a vga card I am all
>> set then.
>>
> On Wed, 5 Oct 2016, william degnan wrote:
turning an Amiga 2000 into a DOS machine is like
turning a car into a
boat.
you technically can do it, but then you're driving a car on the water not
made for serious boating.
Totally impractical. But, sometimes it can be FUN!
(cf. Amphicar, and the crazy guys 40 years ago who were cutting the roof
off of VWs, waterproofing them and putting a propellor on the crank pulley!)
5:26 p.m.
On Wed, Oct 5, 2016 at 10:29 AM, <ethan at 757.org> wrote:
All you Amiga heads watch out for those motherboard
batteries! Especially on
the A3000! A3000s are probably going to be very rare due to all the
destroyed motherboards (Someone should reproduce one with sockets for the
original chips.)
I have several motherboards in various states - many functional, one
or two are probably total losses and will become parts donors.
I also lost an A4000 to a leaky Varta battery - I thought I'd removed
it. I was sadly wrong. I think it's repairable. The deconstruction
is almost complete, then the cleaning and reconstruction can begin.
And yet another one is a Commodore Colt - it _may_ be repairable, but
I'm going to get some practice on a simpler repair first.
Those 90s NiCd batteries have destroyed a lot of hardware.
-ethan
1:50 p.m.
On Oct 4, 2016, at 7:13 PM, devin davison <lyokoboy0 at gmail.com> wrote:
It looks as if PC compatibility
boards can be added to the machine, boards with a 286, 386, or 486 and
some memory on a board, capable of running MS DOS. IF i were to install
such a board, what kind of graphics capability would the dos side of things
have?
Frankly, um, who cares?
It?s an Amiga. You can install Amiga boards (including
<https://github.com/mntmn/amiga2000-gfxcard
<https://github.com/mntmn/amiga2000-gfxcard>>) and run Amiga software and games
on it. Way different than PC clones and honestly, way better, especially for the period.
-- Chris
2878
days inactive
2881
days old
17 comments
10 participants
participants (10)
-
billdegnan＠gmail.com -
cisin＠xenosoft.com -
cmhanson＠eschatologist.net -
ethan.dicks＠gmail.com -
ethan＠757.org -
lproven＠gmail.com -
lyokoboy0＠gmail.com -
nf6x＠nf6x.net -
spectre＠floodgap.com -
teoz＠neo.rr.com