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Amiga 600 FPGA Conversion
- LeoPanthera 8y agoI've always loved the computer-in-a-keyboard format of 80s home computers. Are there any PC cases available today for home build PCs where the PC and the keyboard are one unit?
- ekianjo 8y ago> Are there any PC cases available today for home build PCs where the PC and the keyboard are one unit? Laptops are like that :) You could just remove the screen off a laptop and connect with the video out. More seriously there are things like that: https://www.cybernetman.com/en/keyboard-pc https://www.cybernetman.com/en/keyboard-pc
- LeoPanthera 8y agoHaha well yes, I suppose I described a laptop, but really I was looking for a case I could put my own components into, so I could make something workstation class.
- rpiguy 8y agoCommodore c64x was just such a case, but they go for 300 dollars or more now.
- alexchamberlain 8y agoI think the fashion has been moving the PC into the monitor , so that the keyboard can be wireless.
- digi_owl 8y agoOr behind it, by attaching a case were the wall mount would go.
- xenomachina 8y agoI have a NUC which came with s VESA mount, and would love to attach it to the back of its monitor, but the monitor (and actually, every monitor I own with a VESA wall mount) uses the wall mount as the attachment point for the stand.
- unixhero 8y agoSo... duct tape then? :) Philips 40-43" has a foot stand!
- xenomachina 8y agoI am actually considering attaching it using double-sided tape, or maybe Velcro.
- dasloop 8y agoI have doubts about the ergonomics of the keyboard, now days I'm used to almost flat keyboard (Apple ones). Sometimes I miss my A500, but not for the keyboard :)
- tonyedgecombe 8y agoI've been wondering if you could squeeze a Raspberry Pi into one.
- ekianjo 8y agoIt's been done for multiple retro-computers actually. And consoles, as well.
- wanderfowl 8y agoThis is excellent, and these sorts of projects are wonderful to see, as they're nice reminders that although our modern computing tools are more powerful, there's much to be learned from studying the past.
- klippoteket 8y agoRespect! Amiga rulez! Awesome project!
- stesch 8y agoAmiga Fever infects all!
- stesch 8y agoI programmed my first BBS on an Amiga 500 with 2 disk drives. Those were the times.
- klippoteket 8y agoWith the Amiga 500 I as a teenager learnt assembler - which was mostly about controlling hardware (graphics, disc drive, sound, etc.). It gave me a solid foundation in understanding bits and bytes, hex and octal. And last but not least, as a programmer always make programs fast and memory efficient. Today we always assume there is a lot of memory. Back then we were counting bytes and processor cycles. It would be beneficial for the whole computer industry if every programmer get a year where they have to develope under similar constraints as we were under.
- eboyjr 8y agoIt’s been a good amount of time for me seeing custom mouse cursors (maybe since the days of MySpace). Very fitting. Thanks for taking me back, amigalove.com
- function_seven 8y agoI used to spend ungodly amounts of time making my own cursors in the Preferences page in Workbench 1.3. I was a terrible designer when I was 8. My creations were usually a large box with an “X” connecting the corners, and the hotspot in the center. Hot pink, electric blue, and bright yellow where the 3 colors I settled on. My Amiga 1000 handled all my computing for a decade, and it was still a downgrade in 1995 when I begrudgingly switched to a 486.
- mvexel 8y ago> My Amiga 1000 handled all my computing for a decade, and it was still a downgrade in 1995 when I begrudgingly switched to a 486. Yes. Many Amiga owners I knew, and I myself, felt that way when it became clear around 1993-4 that the Amiga's future was not looking bright. I had invested quite a bit into my A1200 setup (HD disk drives, 68030+68882, MacGyvery external HD using a 2.5" to 3.5" IDE cable) and it could do most things I needed and wanted to do. But the need to collaborate with fellow students on papers, projects (SPSS, AutoCAD) drove me to get a (admittedly low end) 286 PC. I hated it, but it got the job done. I kept my Amiga around for many years after that, and used it, mostly for gaming, well into the 2000s. I finally got rid of it only fairly recently when I moved abroad. I tried Amiga gaming on emulators, but not having a native joystick (Suzo Arcade!) makes that no fun whatsoever.
- snvzz 8y ago>But the need to collaborate with fellow students on papers, projects (SPSS, AutoCAD) drove me to get a (admittedly low end) 286 PC. Considering your Amiga's specs, couldn't PCTask or some other PC emu have done the job?
- 8y ago
- hotdog97 8y agoThe MiSTer FPGA project is fun and easy to get started with. You need: 1. The FPGA board from Terasic (Linux ARM host, has USB, HDMI) for $130 https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/terasic-inc/P0496/P0496-ND/6817231 https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/terasic-inc/P0496/... 2. To run the cores for the vast majority of supported systems you need a custom 32 MB SDRAM board. For timing reasons the DDR3 memory on the FPGA board can't be used. https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Main_MiSTer/wiki/SDRAM-Board https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Main_MiSTer/wiki/SDRAM-Board I bought mine for about $30 from someone in the MiSTer forum - there are a bunch of hobbyists that sell them there. 3. Some of the more complex cores (Amiga etc) need a custom IO board (VGA, SD card slot, etc): https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Main_MiSTer/wiki/IO-Board https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Main_MiSTer/wiki/IO-Board This one also seems to go for around $30 in the forum.
- snarfy 8y agoAs far as emulation goes, how is this better/different than running an emulator on my pc or raspberry pi? I really want one for the cool factor but am unsure of how practical it is. FPGA dev sounds fun.
- adrianmonk 8y agoI haven't ever actually used any of these FPGA emulators, but just wanted to point out that their wiki has an article on just that question: https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Main_MiSTer/wiki/Why-FPGA https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Main_MiSTer/wiki/Why-FPGA
- jacobush 8y agoWell, you can't beat the booting times of the FPGA. Also, if you want a monster Amiga hard to emulate, check this out: http://orders.apollo-accelerators.com http://orders.apollo-accelerators.com
- raphlinus 8y agoEmulators add a lot of extra latency, both on input and on display. Actually it isn't so much the emulator as the host os, with its compositor etc. An FPGA has the possibility of running with dramatically better latency. Similar issues go for startup time.
- unixhero 8y agoCan I buy it?