Setting up a Mediator 1200TX

TreacleWench · 11 February 2014, 17:36

Hi all,

I thought I would share my recent experiences of setting up the Elbox Mediator 1200TX. Hopefully it will prove useful to anyone about to make or thinking of making a similar upgrade, as well as perhaps gaining me some feedback and advise from other users.

First, an overview of my system. I have an Amiga 1200 with Blizzard 1230-IV 50MHz accelerator fitted in an EZ-Z4 tower. I am currently running Classic Workbench ADVSP 3.1 v28 but will soon upgrade that to 3.9.

Mediator 1200TX

Purchased from Amigakit. Delivery was fast, I even got a one hour delivery window emailed to be by the courier! Thanks guys

The manual states that if you have a Blizzard card like mine, the Config jumper on the Mediator should be set to Open. The included Medconfig configuration program could not detect my device at all and suggested I set the Config jumper to Closed. Doing this caused my Amiga to no longer boot. Later I realised that the Amiga was constantly reading the CD in the drive upon boot and as soon as I pressed eject, it booted up fine!

ATi Radeon 9200 256MB

Purchased from a Hong Kong seller on eBay for £26. Delivery took nearly two weeks but the card is immaculate, I don't think it has ever been used!

Card worked flawlessly straight away. It just took me a while to figure out how to use Picasso96. The MM_CD_UP2.1 package contains a useful document that gives the settings for various screenmodes. This helped me quickly get a truecolor 1080p screenmode set up, it just took me a while of wondering why I was getting no picture to realise I had to go into the Screenmode prefs and select the new mode once created!

Workbench looks glorious in 1080p! Windows draw and update very quickly, sometimes icons appear a little slowly but I think this is more due to the Amiga trying to catch up reading the directory, its still quicker than AGA!

One strange thing I have noticed though is that there is a grey background behind all icon text where as in AGA screenmodes the text background is transparent. A similar coloured grey outline also appears around the mouse cursor. Maybe I need to fiddle with the pallette settings?

I also need a new wallpaper as the retro wallpaper that comes with Classic WB is quite lores and gets tiled about six times on my Workbench!

I have outputs from the Radeon and Indivision AGA mk2 going through a HDMI auto-switcher. When I first turn the Amiga on, the AGA output is displayed with Workbench switching screenmodes later in the boot sequence. In theory, the auto-switcher should then switch to the Radeon output but it doesn't because, although the AGA output goes black, it seems to be still outputting a signal meaning I have to manually change to the Radeon output everytime I boot. Wish I could fix this.

Sound Blaster 128

I bought this off eBay for about £5 two years ago in anticipation of getting a Mediator. It took me a long time to get round to it!

Again worked straight away with the included Mixer program. I have an RCA to 3.5mm cable connecting the motherboard's audio out to the line-in on the SB and the sound passes through fine. I can use the Mixer to adjust volume and balance levels. Will try Ghostmix later.

Fast Ethernet Card

Purchased from Amigakit with the Mediator.

Can't get this one to work.

It is detected by pciinfo. I add it as a device in MiamiDX by selecting SANA-II driver then entering the path 'DEVS:Networks/FastEthernet.device and Unit 0 but when I try to go online I get the message: 'Can't open FastEthernet.device unit 0'.

Anyone have any ideas? Maybe I will try moving it to a different PCI slot to see if that helps.

Within the next month I plan to order a Spider II USB card from Elbox and will report back on my experience getting that up and running.

All in all I have found the Mediator a very worthwhile purchase so far, I just hope I can get the network card working as, at the moment, if I need something from Aminet I am downloading it on my PC then burning it to a CD!

Thanks, will post some pics later.

fitzsteve · 11 February 2014, 17:42

Nice, glad to hear things are working out for the most part. I was always pleased with my Mediator 1200 and was easy enough to setup, well until Warp3D

(don't worry it's no use ton you with an 030)

Re:

Quote:

Can't get this one to work.

It is detected by pciinfo. I add it as a device in MiamiDX by selecting SANA-II driver then entering the path 'DEVS:Networks/FastEthernet.device and Unit 0 but when I try to go online I get the message: 'Can't open FastEthernet.device unit 0'.

Anyone have any ideas? Maybe I will try moving it to a different PCI slot to see if that helps.

I don't recall using the SANA-II option, I chose Ethernet/LAN and then entered 'FastEthernet.device' and all was well.

Trying another PCI slot if this fails is also a goo d idea

The USB can be a pain to setup, there;s a guide on Amibay by johnim, I recommend reading it

TreacleWench · 11 February 2014, 18:05

Thanks for the advice fitzsteve. Maybe I will try the MiamiInit program as I think that has an Ethernet/LAN option. I've been trying to do a manual config and it seems to require you enter a device type and the only options are SANA-II or MNI!

I have seen some of johnim's guides, they are very good.

TreacleWench · 13 February 2014, 11:17

Got the Ethernet working!

Strangely, I didn't do anything different that I know of! Miami just suddenly started recognising FastEthernet.device. I connected to my network and at first couldn't get on the internet until I read the Miami user guide and figured out how to enter the DNS Server IPs.

I tried A-Web with Picasso in 1920x1080 and the application only seems to use just over half the width of the screen. Maybe it was designed with a maximum horizontal resolution in mind. I'm going to create a 1280x720 screenmode and see how that looks.

xraynorm · 22 December 2014, 02:25

Hi.

Im thinking of buying a mediator. My setup will very similar to yours blizzard 030 and indivison aga, but I have voodoo pci waiting and a scsi kit.

How stable is your setup, are you still happy with it?

With rtg can you view large jpegs which are not viewable on aga due to lack of chipram?

Does the Sound Blaster 128 decode mp3s so playback is possible on a 030?

Thanks

Hewitson · 22 December 2014, 07:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by TreacleWench

I'm going to create a 1280x720 screenmode and see how that looks.

It'll look terrible. Try IBrowse.

NovaCoder · 24 December 2014, 14:04

Or NetSurf RTG

Hewitson · 26 December 2014, 12:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by NovaCoder

Or NetSurf RTG

Pretty sure that wouldn't be too enjoyable on an 030.

11 February 2014, 17:36	#1
TreacleWench Amigaaaarrrrgghhh Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Cranfield, Bedfordshire, UK Age: 45 Posts: 95	Setting up a Mediator 1200TX Hi all, I thought I would share my recent experiences of setting up the Elbox Mediator 1200TX. Hopefully it will prove useful to anyone about to make or thinking of making a similar upgrade, as well as perhaps gaining me some feedback and advise from other users. First, an overview of my system. I have an Amiga 1200 with Blizzard 1230-IV 50MHz accelerator fitted in an EZ-Z4 tower. I am currently running Classic Workbench ADVSP 3.1 v28 but will soon upgrade that to 3.9. Mediator 1200TX Purchased from Amigakit. Delivery was fast, I even got a one hour delivery window emailed to be by the courier! Thanks guys The manual states that if you have a Blizzard card like mine, the Config jumper on the Mediator should be set to Open. The included Medconfig configuration program could not detect my device at all and suggested I set the Config jumper to Closed. Doing this caused my Amiga to no longer boot. Later I realised that the Amiga was constantly reading the CD in the drive upon boot and as soon as I pressed eject, it booted up fine! ATi Radeon 9200 256MB Purchased from a Hong Kong seller on eBay for £26. Delivery took nearly two weeks but the card is immaculate, I don't think it has ever been used! Card worked flawlessly straight away. It just took me a while to figure out how to use Picasso96. The MM_CD_UP2.1 package contains a useful document that gives the settings for various screenmodes. This helped me quickly get a truecolor 1080p screenmode set up, it just took me a while of wondering why I was getting no picture to realise I had to go into the Screenmode prefs and select the new mode once created! Workbench looks glorious in 1080p! Windows draw and update very quickly, sometimes icons appear a little slowly but I think this is more due to the Amiga trying to catch up reading the directory, its still quicker than AGA! One strange thing I have noticed though is that there is a grey background behind all icon text where as in AGA screenmodes the text background is transparent. A similar coloured grey outline also appears around the mouse cursor. Maybe I need to fiddle with the pallette settings? I also need a new wallpaper as the retro wallpaper that comes with Classic WB is quite lores and gets tiled about six times on my Workbench! I have outputs from the Radeon and Indivision AGA mk2 going through a HDMI auto-switcher. When I first turn the Amiga on, the AGA output is displayed with Workbench switching screenmodes later in the boot sequence. In theory, the auto-switcher should then switch to the Radeon output but it doesn't because, although the AGA output goes black, it seems to be still outputting a signal meaning I have to manually change to the Radeon output everytime I boot. Wish I could fix this. Sound Blaster 128 I bought this off eBay for about £5 two years ago in anticipation of getting a Mediator. It took me a long time to get round to it! Again worked straight away with the included Mixer program. I have an RCA to 3.5mm cable connecting the motherboard's audio out to the line-in on the SB and the sound passes through fine. I can use the Mixer to adjust volume and balance levels. Will try Ghostmix later. Fast Ethernet Card Purchased from Amigakit with the Mediator. Can't get this one to work. It is detected by pciinfo. I add it as a device in MiamiDX by selecting SANA-II driver then entering the path 'DEVS:Networks/FastEthernet.device and Unit 0 but when I try to go online I get the message: 'Can't open FastEthernet.device unit 0'. Anyone have any ideas? Maybe I will try moving it to a different PCI slot to see if that helps. Within the next month I plan to order a Spider II USB card from Elbox and will report back on my experience getting that up and running. All in all I have found the Mediator a very worthwhile purchase so far, I just hope I can get the network card working as, at the moment, if I need something from Aminet I am downloading it on my PC then burning it to a CD! Thanks, will post some pics later.

22 December 2014, 02:25	#5
xraynorm Registered User Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: UK Posts: 84	Hi. Im thinking of buying a mediator. My setup will very similar to yours blizzard 030 and indivison aga, but I have voodoo pci waiting and a scsi kit. How stable is your setup, are you still happy with it? With rtg can you view large jpegs which are not viewable on aga due to lack of chipram? Does the Sound Blaster 128 decode mp3s so playback is possible on a 030? Thanks Last edited by xraynorm; 22 December 2014 at 02:33.

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11 February 2014, 18:05	#3
TreacleWench Amigaaaarrrrgghhh Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Cranfield, Bedfordshire, UK Age: 45 Posts: 95	Thanks for the advice fitzsteve. Maybe I will try the MiamiInit program as I think that has an Ethernet/LAN option. I've been trying to do a manual config and it seems to require you enter a device type and the only options are SANA-II or MNI! I have seen some of johnim's guides, they are very good.

13 February 2014, 11:17	#4
TreacleWench Amigaaaarrrrgghhh Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Cranfield, Bedfordshire, UK Age: 45 Posts: 95	Got the Ethernet working! Strangely, I didn't do anything different that I know of! Miami just suddenly started recognising FastEthernet.device. I connected to my network and at first couldn't get on the internet until I read the Miami user guide and figured out how to enter the DNS Server IPs. I tried A-Web with Picasso in 1920x1080 and the application only seems to use just over half the width of the screen. Maybe it was designed with a maximum horizontal resolution in mind. I'm going to create a 1280x720 screenmode and see how that looks.

24 December 2014, 14:04	#7
NovaCoder Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Melbourne/Australia Posts: 4,400	Or NetSurf RTG

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