Amiga 1200 A1200SDE+ 8MB Fastmem board and internal Gotek
 

Hi All,

So in the last few weeks we have been busy putting the finishing touches on the A1200SDE+ and creating a few more projects which i am very excited about and i think most people here will be. As always i wont reveal any info on upcoming projects yet until we are a fair ways through. (Save your pennies :).

Today i am going to show you 2 new completed projects, the A1200SDE+ which has selectable 4/8MB 0 waitstate RAM, Internet connectivity with the onboard SPI header. There is no need to drop down to 4MB fastmem now in order to use the internet as the SPI connection allows you to surf using the full 8MB fastmem. The Ethernet modules are dirt cheap on Internet so no spending lots of money to be able to surf and transfer files from PC > Amiga etc





The board also has SPI SD card capability and accepts Fat16 and Fat32 micro SD cards. Initializing the FAT16 SD card is pretty well instant, The FAT32 takes about 12 seconds. We are looking at adding a second SD card to the JP1 Header, no promises but it is hopeful.

With the 8MB fastmem you should now be able to run all WHDLoad games so all looks good :). It doesn't play videos, we will leave that for the big boys, this is intended to be a nice cheap affordable board for the masses who would just like to play games.

The board also has an onboard RTC clock for those people that need it and requires a coin battery to save time. The board also has an onboard INT 7 header so you can run HRTMON or other freezers and it works awesome!

.....

Next up.... The Internal Gotek Floppy Emulator,

After a long period of trying to make the Gotek more friendly on the Amigas, I decided to change it a little bit.

There are 2 components, Mother and Baby.

Mother connects to the Amiga and requires no cables for the A1200 or the A500 as the board will sit on both the 34 fin floppy header and the 4 pin power header. The A600 will require the 4 pin power connector in order to work. There is a 12 pin 1mm FFC cable that connects mother to Baby that provides all the necessary signals. There is also a I2C header for future OSD usage, (but more on that later). Mother has by default the latest Flash floppy firmware and updates on it and every unit sold will have $1 donated to charity (more on that later). Mother also has all the Flash Floppy advanced options set up on the PCB so it is future friendly. I did not hook up the encoder (The header is available) as holding down the up/down button will advance the listing just as quick. Mother will also accept Jeffs HXC Firmware so you have a choice


Baby -

Baby is the visible portion of the emulator. It sits on top of the casing in a nice 3D printed case, (Feel free to design your own ... AND share). I will provide the STL files i created for people to laugh at later. The lower portion of the case is held to the Amiga by 2 nylon tie wraps. They hold Baby secure and no holes are needed to be drilled as the wraps fit through the vents. The FFC cable is long enough to open the case and not worry about no room to separate it from the bottom.

Baby holds the OLED display which is the newer 2 line type and even old blind people like me can read it. There are 3 buttons also, UP, DOWN, and EJECT that you can use to cycle through the directory listings. There is also a LED activity light so you can see when the disk is being accessed. Mother has a speaker onboard so you can hear it also unless you turn the option off. The upper casing is a friction fit to the lower casing so no screws required and of course easy to swap out.

I intend on using a distributor for N. America sales and mabbe a few European sales. There are a couple of people in the UK that will probably come forward and supply for the European market for both of these items. (and our future ones mabbe :)

Time for some pictures, this is on my purple case that was painted using a nice purple plastic compatible spray paint, The motherboard itself was rescued from the scrap heap with a few traces burnt, (look for the blue wire).

Pictures are of both the A1200SDE+ and the floppy emulator. My camera is soso, quality isn't too bad.



http://www.kipper2k.com/gotek/combo01640.jpg

http://www.kipper2k.com/gotek/combo02640.jpg

http://www.kipper2k.com/gotek/combo03640.jpg

http://www.kipper2k.com/gotek/combo04640.jpg

http://www.kipper2k.com/gotek/combo05640.jpg

http://www.kipper2k.com/gotek/combo06640.jpg

Your floppy drive can still remain in the case, (unplugged)

Thank you kipper2k, both products are now available for sale. PM respective parties.

Update On Price for A1208 8mb Fastmem SD+Eth boards: 05/06/2018.

First come first served so pre -order asap. price is 100GBP with RTC, 95 GBP without RTC. (US: 134$/ CA: 173$ give or take a dollar).

For Canada/US/ sales PM Kipper2k, there is a distribution agent planned for N.american sales, please pm for more info.
For UK/EU/Other sales PM solidcore

Ship in 2-3 weeks. Signed shipping is mandatory. Price of Shipping not included. See respective couriers.

Update 12/06/2018:
To avoid disappointment due to low inventory remaining, order yours now.

Here is addition picture of the Gotek sitting in the A600, as you can see it will need the 4 pin power connector.

http://www.kipper2k.com/gotek/a600gotek640.jpg

Hi. I've been waiting for something like this ever since I got my A1200. I was an unregistered lurker right up until the point where the call for intrest went out. :D

Fifty £2 pieces and a couple of weeks later...

https://i.imgur.com/1pz7hWY.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/SHEIJuR.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/mdcoaEy.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/oAIbUvu.jpg

I havn't had chance to play around with it much yet but so far I am impressed to see what FAST RAM can do just by itself in a A1200... Not that I'm that knowledgeable. I've mainly mucked around with A500/Minimig stuff until now.

Nice work Kipper2k.

I had an idea for an "external" Gotek type drive, internally would be a cradle with an attached passive PCB board replacing the floppy. This takes the signals and power from the motherboard via cables and headers and routes them to a slot connector aligned with the the slot in the case for the floppy disks. The slot connector would be recessed from the opening in the case. The external "cartridge" unit would have all the Gotek electronics on it and an edge connector to plug deep into the floppy case opening. Low profile components would go in through the floppy opening and taller components would remain outside the case (display, buttons, beeper etc.) A plastic "cartridge" housing for it would be nice. You could also have alternative "cartridges" with connectors (power + 34 pin header and/or 23 pin D-Type) allowing use of a internal style or external floppy drive to be swapped out with the Gotek drive.

Any thoughts?

Hi Ian,

So are you saying to make a hot swappable kind of connector (although turned off when inserting) that allows you to switch between a floppy drive or a gotek unit. there are quite a few possibilities that can be done.

I was thinking that the floppy and the gotek can co exist together so that you can choose between using a real floppy drive or a gotek. it wouldnt require too much circuitry to allow this i dont think. iOne thing about the standard gotek i dont like is the fact that buttons etc are on the right hand side so the display unit in my opinion belongs on top. There is room at least on the a500 and a1200 for the current design to coexist together and a rework would prob fix it. Is this what you were meaning ?

I have another little project on the go that should hopefully be done as soon as i get my new programmer :)

I considered the possibility of combining the Gotek and real floppy adaptor into one integrated unit but it may be too bulky, complex and power hungry. Using another PCB for the real floppy drive adaptor makes it simple and optional.

Is there a driver package for the SD IDE and Ethernet that is pre-compiled? For the SDE+?

Echoing the above question, please publish the SD/Ethernet drivers, or point us to where they can be downloaded.

Look here chaps: https://www.mike-stirling.com/2018/0...he-amiga-1200/

Wow... Kipper's been a busy boy ;) Nice work!

Switching between the Gotek and an internal floppy drive isn't that big an issue in itself. The _MTRx signal isn't available on the internal header so 100% switching isn't possible, but it's enough to swap the _SEL lines if you're happy with the floppy drive only working as DF0: (The Gotek can work as DF0: or DF1: ). Swapping them while the machine is in use isn't ideal however without being careful so perhaps if it's electronically controlled, it could be held off until the next reset.

Nice. Thank you.

I did a quick bash 3d design and print for the ethernet module that plugs into Kipper's SDE+. This is specifically for the HanRun HR911105A module but may fit others.

Print your own from thingiverse. More pics there. Not for commercial use.

What speeds are you getting with the SPI ethernet?

Nice work! :D

Memory switch mod
 

Simple memory switch moved to the edge of the PCB for easy de-mate free access for those times I need a CF card on the PCMCIA. Works a treat.

Wow, could you print this for a fee for me please?

It's fine, I managed to get it printed for £16 off-white ABS :)
I have plugged it all in but no lights on the Ethernet, what characteristics does it have? does it need to be telling the lan to access before it lights up?
I have no tcp/ip stack installed either, what do I need, maybe it's something to do with this?

16Gb SD still not recognised even shrinking, ordered a 4Gb - fingers crossed.

Anybody in North America makiing the 1200SDE?