A2000 8mb fastmem with IDE install

[kipper2k]

Hi All...

I finally got a chance to unpack my A2000 and test it out. It's the first time i ever touched one. there were a few boards in there so i had to remove them, one was a 3.5" HDD board and the other was expansion ram, I never give them a chance to see if they worked, i just removed them.

The A2000 itself is a Rev 6.2 board with KS3.1 already in it. I had to check out the A2000 schematics to find oyt the options for connecting the 2 wires from the board and as it happens i got very lucky. (You'll see further down).

Ok, lets show some pictures.

First off, an angled view of the 8mb board in place, wires going to motherboard



Next view is a picture of the board showing the LED cable (Red/Black) that utilizes the A2000's LED. I removed the solder blob from the fastmem board, put in the 2 pin header and away it went .

Notice that the Int2 and OVR wire on the fastmem board is actually plugged into the header at the top of the board instead of where it normally is. I added a second header just in case. and it turned out to be very serendipitous indeed (look it up .




Angled view of board in place




Here is how i connected the 2 wires to the motherboard. Using the schematic i found that both required connections are available on the motherboard risers so no soldering to the motherboard required...




Here is how i done it, i sacrificed a video hybrid board by cutting off a small piece so i could make use of the pads...



I then soldered the 2 wires to the cut off part and then pushed it into the CN600 header... Pins 17 and 19 on the header are next to each other on the riser so i could simply push in my cutoff board at pins 17 (OVR) and 19 (Int2). A little bit of hot glue to make it semi permanent and all set.

Notice that the PSU and drive cage is back in place and there is clear space. 2 sets of risers were used for the board to clear the motherboard components




Peekaboo, showing the board below the drive cage





And finally... the boot up







Sysinfo reported...




I just looked up from typing and the cat was sitting on the motherboard while it was turned on... Anyone want a cat, damn thing is in heat too, she won't stop coo'ing

[Arnie]

How much postage for the cat to the UK?

[kipper2k]

Originally Posted by Arnie

How much postage for the cat to the UK?

lol, you'd have to take me too, as the wife would throw me out lol

[Turran]

Nice indeed. I've lost track of your progress. Wanted two cards for A500 and A2000. So they are the same card? Are they ready to be ordered yet? I -think- I signed up for two in a thread =)

Originally Posted by Arnie

How much postage for the cat to the UK?

I actually lolled =)

[kipper2k]

Originally Posted by Turran

Nice indeed. I've lost track of your progress. Wanted two cards for A500 and A2000. So they are the same card? Are they ready to be ordered yet? I -think- I signed up for two in a thread =)



I actually lolled =)

Hi, They are the same card. The board in the A2000 does not need a CPU adapter to relocate it, just 2 sets of risers (sockets) to give it clearance from the motherboard components.

You did sign up, and are about 7 - 10 days away from your board being done, as you can guess i am pretty swamped

For the wires on the A2000 i don't have anything that is plug and play so you can connect to the motherboard. Any old computer board that has the same pitch could be used if you want to do something like i did. I could make a professional little board that would plug and play so to speak but it would take up to 4 weeks, depend on demand, and be about $6 each. I can actually create an eagle file if someone wants to make their own homemade board. It would be a very easy homemade board to make as it only requires 2 pads and the board would be long enough to latch over the end of the socket to secure it in the right location and have 2 pads that you solder the wire onto. Easy