Newbie Oldie Fan

KarlM · 20 June 2016, 00:13

Hi all!

I used to own an A1200 many, many, many years ago. I didn't think I'd ever see one again - until yesterday I made an impulse purchase and now have an almost as good as new A1200. It's still really white and I'm confident it hasn't been rewhited - I think it's just been well looked after.

The seals are all intact and it's as standard, no HD, no additional memory - just the standard 2MB and one floppy drive with a handful of disks (inc. original workbench, Dennis, Oscar & Wordsworth).

Anyway, to the point...

I drove many miles today to pick it up - saw it in action on the former owner's flatscreen TV (their main room's TV) and it worked flawless.

So I got it home and eagerly put it to my TV.

And after tuning in the old analogue tuner to around 490ish (if memory serves), it's just really quite fuzzy.

On the back of the classy RF modulator, there's a tiny dip-switch and a tiny screw that can be adjusted with a flat-head precision screwdriver.

Now, I've not meddled yet - but can that screw perhaps help with minor adjustments to the RF modulator's frequency, perhaps?

Is the switch for NTSC/PAL or something quite different?

Does anyone have any ideas as to why it's got a few spots & fuzz on my screen but was crystal clear on the previous owners TV?

That's it for now...

Oh, and thanks for having me

Cobe · 20 June 2016, 01:00

Probably he didn't use RF. Use comp. that is right beside RF.

Oh and welcome

KarlM · 20 June 2016, 01:13

Aye, I had wondered that. But it came with an RF cable - and that's what he had used (as far as I could tell, at least).

ReadOnlyCat · 20 June 2016, 07:58

Welcome.

You should really not use RF or composite, they really result in much lower quality image.
What kind of inputs does your TV have?

If it has S-Video, or RGB component you should buy the corresponding cable and use these (the latter being better).

KarlM · 20 June 2016, 17:52

Yes, I've been looking at some Amiga to SCART ...

Would this be the one I'm looking for?

http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...roducts_id=226

Cobe · 20 June 2016, 19:16

Yup, that's the one

KarlM · 21 June 2016, 22:52

Okies, I've ordered the above cable...

Now, recommendations & opinions?

Do you think I'd be better to keep my original Commodore brand Amiga 1200 in it's original condition (although, I've since noted it's using an A600 PSU) and purchase another one to add to and keep this one in top-notch nick OR d'ya think I should get over it and add stuff to this one?

Can I get some advice on upgrading my RAM?

I understand Kickstart 3.0 will not run Workbench 3.1 - it seems all the CF cards are 3.1... any suggestions on getting around this issue?

What about networking - can the A1200 get online in this day & age? (I bought the Amiga emulator and one of their variants does enable it to go online, but by gosh it's dire!)

KarlM · 29 June 2016, 19:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarlM

Okies, I've ordered the above cable...

Now, recommendations & opinions?

Do you think I'd be better to keep my original Commodore brand Amiga 1200 in it's original condition (although, I've since noted it's using an A600 PSU) and purchase another one to add to and keep this one in top-notch nick OR d'ya think I should get over it and add stuff to this one?

Can I get some advice on upgrading my RAM?

I understand Kickstart 3.0 will not run Workbench 3.1 - it seems all the CF cards are 3.1... any suggestions on getting around this issue?

What about networking - can the A1200 get online in this day & age? (I bought the Amiga emulator and one of their variants does enable it to go online, but by gosh it's dire!)

Well, the cable arrived - and OMGosh it's lovely seeing the ol' gal picture perfect. What a bomb.

Any input on the above in quotes?

emufan · 29 June 2016, 23:39

you can use one of the pcmcia wifi cards offered here.
if you still can wait, you can consider geting a Vampire for your a1200.
this will have plenty of ram combined with a fast cpu Sd storage and hdmi output.

amigakit.com · 30 June 2016, 00:24

We stock EasyNet network cards here for the A1200:

http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...ywords=EasyNet

Cobe · 30 June 2016, 04:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarlM

Do you think I'd be better to keep my original Commodore brand Amiga 1200 in it's original condition (although, I've since noted it's using an A600 PSU) and purchase another one to add to and keep this one in top-notch nick OR d'ya think I should get over it and add stuff to this one?

To me A1200 is for adding stuff and making it most powerful Amiga you have.
I'm waiting for Vampire. Maybe purchase some earlier model and keep it as is or maybe CD32 or both

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarlM

I understand Kickstart 3.0 will not run Workbench 3.1 - it seems all the CF cards are 3.1... any suggestions on getting around this issue?

WB3.1 runs on Kickstart 3.0. Works just fine on my 3.0 A1200.

klx300r · 01 July 2016, 04:20

@ KarlM

welcome back

eXeler0 · 03 July 2016, 03:20

Welcome back ;-)
3.1 ROMs are fairly cheap and will give you better upgrade options..
Should you decide to get the Vampire 1200 when the day comes, you'll need 3.1 anyway. (If you haven't seen the Vampire thing, its an expansion based around an FPGA that contains both a 68k compatible CPU that's much faster than a 060 + gives you RTG graphics, so you can actually output RTG through HDMI)

Also, if you want to go online, WB3.9 will make your life easier and that one also wants ROM 3.1
An unexpanded 1200 with 3.0 will not be a very enjoyable online experience ;-)
If you want something that's mostly a RAM expansion, the ACA 1221 card is fairly affordable (if available). Gives you RAM and a faster 020.

KarlM · 06 July 2016, 23:22

Thanks all for the ideas

So far, I've settled for a new TV cable (the RF was just a smidge on the fuzzy side), a CF 8gb with WB3.1 & a lot of games/demos/etc. on it (see other thread re problems) and an 8MB memory expansion.

I saw a youtube with Dan Wood (I think?) showcasing the vampire for the A600 - OMG! What a monster! So yes, definitely looking forward to a similar A1200 addon.

KarlM · 07 July 2016, 01:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by amigakit.com

We stock EasyNet network cards here for the A1200:

Nice! And what about the accelerators? Every time I visit your site it's out of stock (I've popped by frequently over the last year or so)

StarQuake · 08 July 2016, 15:15

I saw this thread, and I'm also a (soon to be) new Amiga user so I decided to register, introduce myself and follow this thread for some beginners info. :-)

My first computer was a ZX spectrum. After that we got a PC. A friend of mine had an Amiga. I think it was the 500. I was really jealous of all the pretty colors and sounds.

A few weeks ago I came across a complete C64 set with floppy drive and joysticks and stuff. Nice computer! Looking around for stuff about the C64 I watched a video from Dan Wood about his A1200. Tried to suppress the urge to buy one myself... Unfortunately I failed..

So I bought my first Amiga a few days ago on eBay. It's an A1200 with kickstart 3.1 and a 32GB CF card. There's also a mouse and RGB to scart included. Can't wait for it to arrive! In the meanwhile I've been training my Amiga skills with FS-UAE.

The reason I bought it is I really like playing old DOS games. I discovered most of the Amiga versions are better versions of those great old DOS games I like so much. I also like platform games a lot and there seem to be quite a lot of good platform games for the Amiga.

It's also nice to be able to finally afford an Amiga! Now I can finally brag about owning one!

DamienD · 08 July 2016, 15:17

Welcome to EAB StarQuake

Anubis · 08 July 2016, 20:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by StarQuake

It's also nice to be able to finally afford an Amiga! Now I can finally brag about owning one!

LOL

It is sad that everything to this day Amiga related is much more expensive than anything else. Just for example, above mentioned Vampire card @ 150 pounds, with 128MB memory and CF card... bit more then 35 dollar Raspberry Pi.

Speaking of RPi, I can't remember last time I took mine Amiga out of box, using RPi 3 + RetroPi + UAE4ARM + ClassicWB + WHDLoad - mix of best things and all the size of cigarette pack.

What RPi and RetroPie are great for - you can adjust it, so you can copy files directly from PC to emulated Amiga, as both are on the same network.

Enjoy your miggy and you are right - you can brag about owning one...

KarlM · 10 July 2016, 01:28

Welcome SQ and thanks for joining my thread lol.

Did you buy that from eBay? I was about 10 minutes too late buying that precise set up... Yes, I know I have one, but I wanted one pristine and one beefed up. LOL

KarlM · 10 July 2016, 02:19

Is it worth purchasing these items?

Are they easy to fit?
3.1 ROM chips
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...products_id=62

ACA Card
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...oducts_id=1251

Does anyone know, if I buy the card above, it offers upgrades - what they cost (no cost is mentioned... worryingly)

20 June 2016, 00:13	#1
KarlM Registered User Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: West Mids Posts: 28	Newbie Oldie Fan Hi all! I used to own an A1200 many, many, many years ago. I didn't think I'd ever see one again - until yesterday I made an impulse purchase and now have an almost as good as new A1200. It's still really white and I'm confident it hasn't been rewhited - I think it's just been well looked after. The seals are all intact and it's as standard, no HD, no additional memory - just the standard 2MB and one floppy drive with a handful of disks (inc. original workbench, Dennis, Oscar & Wordsworth). Anyway, to the point... I drove many miles today to pick it up - saw it in action on the former owner's flatscreen TV (their main room's TV) and it worked flawless. So I got it home and eagerly put it to my TV. And after tuning in the old analogue tuner to around 490ish (if memory serves), it's just really quite fuzzy. On the back of the classy RF modulator, there's a tiny dip-switch and a tiny screw that can be adjusted with a flat-head precision screwdriver. Now, I've not meddled yet - but can that screw perhaps help with minor adjustments to the RF modulator's frequency, perhaps? Is the switch for NTSC/PAL or something quite different? Does anyone have any ideas as to why it's got a few spots & fuzz on my screen but was crystal clear on the previous owners TV? That's it for now... Oh, and thanks for having me

10 July 2016, 02:19	#20
KarlM Registered User Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: West Mids Posts: 28	Is it worth purchasing these items? Are they easy to fit? 3.1 ROM chips http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...products_id=62 ACA Card http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...oducts_id=1251 Does anyone know, if I buy the card above, it offers upgrades - what they cost (no cost is mentioned... worryingly) Last edited by KarlM; 10 July 2016 at 02:35.

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20 June 2016, 01:00	#2
Cobe Registered User Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Belgrade / Serbia Age: 41 Posts: 1,004	Probably he didn't use RF. Use comp. that is right beside RF. Oh and welcome

20 June 2016, 01:13	#3
KarlM Registered User Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: West Mids Posts: 28	Aye, I had wondered that. But it came with an RF cable - and that's what he had used (as far as I could tell, at least).

20 June 2016, 07:58	#4
ReadOnlyCat Code Kitten Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Montreal/Canadia Age: 52 Posts: 1,178	Welcome. You should really not use RF or composite, they really result in much lower quality image. What kind of inputs does your TV have? If it has S-Video, or RGB component you should buy the corresponding cable and use these (the latter being better).

20 June 2016, 17:52	#5
KarlM Registered User Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: West Mids Posts: 28	Yes, I've been looking at some Amiga to SCART ... Would this be the one I'm looking for? http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...roducts_id=226

20 June 2016, 19:16	#6
Cobe Registered User Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Belgrade / Serbia Age: 41 Posts: 1,004	Yup, that's the one

21 June 2016, 22:52	#7
KarlM Registered User Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: West Mids Posts: 28	Okies, I've ordered the above cable... Now, recommendations & opinions? Do you think I'd be better to keep my original Commodore brand Amiga 1200 in it's original condition (although, I've since noted it's using an A600 PSU) and purchase another one to add to and keep this one in top-notch nick OR d'ya think I should get over it and add stuff to this one? Can I get some advice on upgrading my RAM? I understand Kickstart 3.0 will not run Workbench 3.1 - it seems all the CF cards are 3.1... any suggestions on getting around this issue? What about networking - can the A1200 get online in this day & age? (I bought the Amiga emulator and one of their variants does enable it to go online, but by gosh it's dire!)

29 June 2016, 23:39	#9
emufan Registered User Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: #DrainTheSwamp Posts: 4,545	you can use one of the pcmcia wifi cards offered here. if you still can wait, you can consider geting a Vampire for your a1200. this will have plenty of ram combined with a fast cpu Sd storage and hdmi output.

30 June 2016, 00:24	#10
amigakit.com Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: www.amigakit.com Posts: 2,028	We stock EasyNet network cards here for the A1200: http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...ywords=EasyNet

01 July 2016, 04:20	#12
klx300r Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,601	@ KarlM welcome back

03 July 2016, 03:20	#13
eXeler0 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Sweden Age: 50 Posts: 2,953	Welcome back ;-) 3.1 ROMs are fairly cheap and will give you better upgrade options.. Should you decide to get the Vampire 1200 when the day comes, you'll need 3.1 anyway. (If you haven't seen the Vampire thing, its an expansion based around an FPGA that contains both a 68k compatible CPU that's much faster than a 060 + gives you RTG graphics, so you can actually output RTG through HDMI) Also, if you want to go online, WB3.9 will make your life easier and that one also wants ROM 3.1 An unexpanded 1200 with 3.0 will not be a very enjoyable online experience ;-) If you want something that's mostly a RAM expansion, the ACA 1221 card is fairly affordable (if available). Gives you RAM and a faster 020.

06 July 2016, 23:22	#14
KarlM Registered User Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: West Mids Posts: 28	Thanks all for the ideas So far, I've settled for a new TV cable (the RF was just a smidge on the fuzzy side), a CF 8gb with WB3.1 & a lot of games/demos/etc. on it (see other thread re problems) and an 8MB memory expansion. I saw a youtube with Dan Wood (I think?) showcasing the vampire for the A600 - OMG! What a monster! So yes, definitely looking forward to a similar A1200 addon.

08 July 2016, 15:15	#16
StarQuake Registered User Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: The Netherlands Age: 42 Posts: 81	I saw this thread, and I'm also a (soon to be) new Amiga user so I decided to register, introduce myself and follow this thread for some beginners info. :-) My first computer was a ZX spectrum. After that we got a PC. A friend of mine had an Amiga. I think it was the 500. I was really jealous of all the pretty colors and sounds. A few weeks ago I came across a complete C64 set with floppy drive and joysticks and stuff. Nice computer! Looking around for stuff about the C64 I watched a video from Dan Wood about his A1200. Tried to suppress the urge to buy one myself... Unfortunately I failed.. So I bought my first Amiga a few days ago on eBay. It's an A1200 with kickstart 3.1 and a 32GB CF card. There's also a mouse and RGB to scart included. Can't wait for it to arrive! In the meanwhile I've been training my Amiga skills with FS-UAE. The reason I bought it is I really like playing old DOS games. I discovered most of the Amiga versions are better versions of those great old DOS games I like so much. I also like platform games a lot and there seem to be quite a lot of good platform games for the Amiga. It's also nice to be able to finally afford an Amiga! Now I can finally brag about owning one!

08 July 2016, 15:17	#17
DamienD Banned Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: London / Sydney Age: 47 Posts: 20,420	Welcome to EAB StarQuake

10 July 2016, 01:28	#19
KarlM Registered User Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: West Mids Posts: 28	Welcome SQ and thanks for joining my thread lol. Did you buy that from eBay? I was about 10 minutes too late buying that precise set up... Yes, I know I have one, but I wanted one pristine and one beefed up. LOL

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