Please help newbie with Buddha IDE

[rthorntn]

Hi,

I'm new to Amiga, please be gentle.

I got a Buddha from amigastore, please see attachment for the options I ordered.

I repaired an A2000 motherboard up to the point Kickstart asks for a disk (Kickstart 3.1), I don't have any real Amiga drives.

Can someone please talk me through getting the Buddha working, in lots of detail, I found an IDE cable but I'm worried about connecting it the wrong way (can't find a manual for the IDE CF adapter so no idea on which is pin 1), I also see this warning on amigastore:

(!): Caution, UDMA 80pin cables cannot used with this controller.

What does that mean, is it just because it has double the pins and so won't fit?

Also with the 4GB CF can that be powered by the IDE bus (same as the DoM)?

J2 and J3 "bus power" jumpers, is J2 for the first IDE port and J3 for the second?

Thanks.

Richard

[Daedalus]

Originally Posted by rthorntn

Can someone please talk me through getting the Buddha working, in lots of detail, I found an IDE cable but I'm worried about connecting it the wrong way (can't find a manual for the IDE CF adapter so no idea on which is pin 1)

Do you have a photo of the ataptor? Generally speaking, the adaptor will be straight through wired, with many of the pins 1:1 with their IDE counterparts. Pin 1 of the CF card is normally to the left when the card is label up and the connector is facing away from you, as if you were inserting it into something in front of you. Bear in mind that some CF cards have labels on both sides, with a specs label on the bottom and a main, usually coloured logo label on the top. On most IDE adaptors this means that pin 1 of the IDE connector is on the same side, i.e. to the left when the label of the CF is up and the CF's connector is facing away from you. There are plenty of pictures online if you're unsure.

I also see this warning on amigastore:

(!): Caution, UDMA 80pin cables cannot used with this controller.

What does that mean, is it just because it has double the pins and so won't fit?

No, 80-pin cables will physically fit, and are mostly backwards compatible. But a couple of pin assignments changed between 40-pin and 80-pin (in particular, cable select is implemented in the cable itself), so it's likely something to do with that.

Also with the 4GB CF can that be powered by the IDE bus (same as the DoM)?

Not usually, but in theory it's possible. Most 40-pin adaptors I've seen require a separate power connection - it's only 44-pin adaptors that power the CF card from the bus in my experience. Also:

J2 and J3 "bus power" jumpers, is J2 for the first IDE port and J3 for the second?

I can't answer that, but the Buddha Wiki page says that they should be open when using IDE cables. This is because pin 20 is used for DOM power, but it's a key pin for IDE, and could possibly be grounded, which would result in a 5V short across your motherboard, Zorro bus and Buddha, likely smoking several traces along the way. So I would be careful to only use those jumpers when you have a single DOM installed by itself, and then you can experiment to see which one associates with which port. But, given that one of the jumpers is beside each IDE port, I would guess they apply to the neighbouring port in each case.

[Jope]

Originally Posted by rthorntn

I found an IDE cable but I'm worried about connecting it the wrong way

A 40 pin IDE cable doesn't ruin anything if it's connected upside down. In any case, when looking towards the pins with the notch in the connector shroud pointing upwards, pin 1 (with the stripe on the cable) is towards the right.

Use this for reference: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/TRcAA...1P/s-l1600.jpg

What does that mean, is it just because it has double the pins and so won't fit?

Electrically incompatible, perhaps because of the built in cable select feature, perhaps something else. Just use a 40 conductor cable.

Also with the 4GB CF can that be powered by the IDE bus (same as the DoM)?

This depends on your CF adapter. Use a multimeter to find out which pin the J2 and J3 jumpers are connected to and check out whether the same pin is used by your adapter.

J2 and J3 "bus power" jumpers, is J2 for the first IDE port and J3 for the second?

Judging by the PCB, that's what it seems like.

[rthorntn]

Thanks Daedalus & Jope!

Ok after I get it cabled and plugged in properly...

My A2000 should automatically run something from the DoM.
Should I have the CF connected in the beginning?

[Wayne123]

Originally Posted by rthorntn

Thanks Daedalus & Jope!

Ok after I get it cabled and plugged in properly...

My A2000 should automatically run something from the DoM.
Should I have the CF connected in the beginning?

Yes, if everything is working correctly you will boot into a setup program and will be given an option to install the OS, you need whatever drive you want to use connected so you can install the OS on it.

I only have an early version of the new board and was unable to get any CF cards to work on mine, I only had one very old IDE drive that was recognized and my GVP accelerator card had to be removed to work at all for the install process. Supposedly I can flash an updated firmware for mine but it works fine once setup.

I have on order an updated version for one of my other Amigas that should work properly. Once everything is setup you remove the DOM and can plug something else into that 40 pin connector, I have a CDROM drive on mine.

I like it much better than the SCSI2SD board I was using, much better speeds although I am using a real spinning 80GB hard drive instead of a Micro SD card now.