A new, low-cost CD32 Expansion?

[Paul_s]

Originally Posted by Cammy

Good idea, let's all talk about wives. Why won't any of your wives let you fill your houses with Amigas and play games on the main TVs? Are they boring or something? Did you marry the wrong person? Do you regret it?

When I eventually get married I'm having Amiga usage included in the bloody vows!

[Zetr0]

Hopping back on topic,

as this wifely discussion is far to close to my home LOL, technically speaking a production run of CD32 expansions wont be as expensive as you might suggest.

Firstly you only need ONE 182MCA adapter (although you can use a cut down 200MCA) I will find some links.

anyway, that to one side the port you use after can be anything, even a PCI port, which has plenty enough signal lines for CPU/Ram and IDE/SCSI upgrade. as you can see the benfit of creating a 182MCA to a common interface will make upgrades much cheaper instead of using 2 per upgrade.

still 5000 units.... its a lot to buy unless you had a definite market.... that is... unless you could tool the ports yourself...

still i am under the idea of getting a regular 200MCA port and cut it down ... much easier...

develop a simple interface board to say PCI or AGP and then develop your additional cards based on that premise...

I have a 200pin port cut down to 182, I just need time (its almost like gold dust atm!!) to dev up the adapter board.

[alexh]

Originally Posted by Zetr0

Firstly you only need ONE 182MCA adapter (although you can use a cut down 200MCA) I will find some links.

It doesn't really matter if you use one or two because you'll have to buy at least 1000 of either and I doubt you'd make that many.

Originally Posted by Zetr0

as you can see the benefit of creating a 182MCA to a common interface will make upgrades much cheaper instead of using 2 per upgrade.

Sure. The SX32, SX32 Pro, SX32 MKII and CD32fWSI already use this technique. They have a backplane consisting of two 182-pin MCA connectors which turn the expansion connector 180 degrees. The expansions themselves do not have connectors they are just PCB card edges and are the same price to produce whatever they are plugged into.

The only reason not to use two 182-pin MCA connectors would be if you planned to sell more units than 1/2 the MOQ of this part.

Originally Posted by Zetr0

still i am under the idea of getting a regular 200MCA port and cut it down ... much easier...

Can you get them with no MOQ? Or sub $1 pricing? That is what you'd need.

[FOL]

Originally Posted by Cammy

Good idea, let's all talk about wives. Why won't any of your wives let you fill your houses with Amigas and play games on the main TVs? Are they boring or something? Did you marry the wrong person? Do you regret it?

LMFAO, I married the perfect women. She does'nt mind my amiga's, she even plays lotus and pinball on them, .

So no, I dont regret anything, .

Back on topic. I love the idea of a CD32 Expansion.

[gulliver]

I was thinking RTC is worthless to an Amiga user, and it wil add complexity and cost to the design.
On the other hand, an A1200 style clockport header, should enable to optionally build a RTC and provide users the posibility of using Delfina soundcard and even better subway USB thingy, which will enable lots of expansion devices.

My 1 cent

[alexh]

Originally Posted by gulliver

an A1200 style clockport header will enable lots of expansion devices.

Not impossible. You'd have to recreate the missing logic using a CPLD but sure. All the information is freely available including the address offsets you'd need to re-create the chipselects.

http://www.ianstedman.co.uk/Amiga/am...lock_port.html

[Charlie]

FWIW:
My CD32 remains my favourite and most used Amiga - if you don't count hardware butchering...

I would buy such an upgrade in a (compact)flash! (har-har!)

I'd go with Alexh on the subject of RGB rather than battery backup, though if one could have both...
(personally I have no complaints about the CD32's S-Video)

Question:
I realise this may push such a project into the hobby-zone rather than 'for sale'...
The expense of the edge-connector is the stumbling block here..? (Oh, and someone's got to design it)

Most Amiga edge-connectors can be butchered-together from ISA/PCI connectors which are rather more available.
Same true of the CD32 one?

or

Does one have to use the edge-connector at all?
If we're talking (semi)DIY couldn't the necessary signals not be obtained direct from the mobo?
Either via sockets as per many of the current upgrades or if need-be directly soldering to pins..?

[Stedy]

Hi,

Digikey have the 182 pin connectors @ $9.70 each with an MOQ of 50.
Search for 302-182-520-201

Sorry to be retro but what about adding a floppy drive interface?
I remember there was a design to add one to the CD32 on Aminet, if you connector via the expansion ports, it should be easier.

Ian

[alexh]

Originally Posted by Stedy

Digikey have the 182 pin connectors @ $9.70 each with an MOQ of 50. Search for 302-182-520-201

Damn good find.

When it says "price break" 50, do you really have to order 50?

Very cool. There is nothing standing in the way of making and selling some sort of CD32 addon now.

[tonyyeb]

Originally Posted by alexh

There is nothing standing in the way of making and selling some sort of CD32 addon now.

Crack on then!

[alexh]

I've got an SX-32 for my CD32 and a home-brew 4Meg RAM expansion and some spare MCA connectors in the draw. I'm good thanks.

[chiark]

Digikey don't rigidly adhere to the minimum order quantity, either... They have a minimum order of 18 for Spartan 3 chips, however I managed to order 3

[musashi5150]

Originally Posted by alexh

...you play the odd game between soaps and occasionally say "So what did you do today love?"

I like your style alexh

[alexh]

That black-hole dude, Stephen Hawkins has it made. He just has a load of pre-programmed wife "questions and answers" and rattles through them...

[musashi5150]

...in a random order to make him seem interesting and different. He probably has fit nurses to look after him too

[Graham Humphrey]

Can we drift back on-topic please

[Deaths_Head]

Cool... Well If this happens I'd be up for buying an expansion so long as its affordable.

[lolafg]

Hello,
I am waiting a cd32 with floppy drive extension bought from analogic computers , i just wanted to know what i'll be able to do with this extension and would like to know how i could put an hdd in or out the cd32 ?
Thanks in advance!!

[alexh]

Originally Posted by lolafg

i just wanted to know what i'll be able to do with "a cd32 with floppy drive extension bought from analogic computers"

Play CD32 games from CD. Play Amiga games from floppy disks. Listen to CD's through your TV

Originally Posted by lolafg

and would like to know how i could put an hdd in or out the cd32 ?

Sell your analogic floppy drive extension and buy an SX32 instead?

i.e. What I mean is you cannot connect a HDD to a CD32 using an analogic floppy drive extension.

[lolafg]

Hi Alexh,
thanks for your answer , so if i can't plug an hdd to this floppy drive extension , i won't be able to play games with whdload...something comes to me , would it be possible to install whdload in a workbench disk an run whdload games from a cd ?