Some form of internal storage in an Amiga 500?

Snowwie · 29 June 2018, 06:03

Hi there everybody,

I am an old school Amiga 500 owner and I just work with plain old floppy discs. All fun and game and I have a nephew who does it too and we create like this same kind of social aspect we had in the 90s.

One thing just annoys me a little, I have two programs that I use very often:
- XCopy Pro
- ADF Transfer Utility Disk

Especially number two takes a long time to load.

Now I know there can be a harddrive mounted to the left side of the Amiga. But I don't want to spend that much money looking for an old A590 or GPV drive. Is there any easy cheap sollution that uses the side port to create an internal drive option? Sort of SCSI to IDE option?

And then attach such like this to it:
https://tweakers.net/pricewatch/5774...specificaties/

Cheap, reliable and with 256MB more then enough for Workbench 1.3 with some tools.

In these times were many custom Amiga hardware is created something like this should exist right? Who wants clumsy hardware to the left port of their A500?

ajk · 29 June 2018, 06:27

There are lots of solutions both internal and external, I am surprised if you have not seen at least some of these around

Not everything is always in stock (this stuff tends to be built in batches) so you may need to look into the used market if in a rush, but:

The ACA500/+ for an external solution

MKL's various products for internal expansion

kipper2k's similar products also internal

The Vampire line of accelerators - although these are significant upgrades and not cheap

There are probably others too that I'm forgetting here. Do some searches here on this forum, and on AmiBay, and also YouTube for reviews and experiences.

Snowwie · 29 June 2018, 06:41

The ACA500/+ for an external solution
- Which I don't want, an external solution. :-)

MKL's various products for internal expansion
- This website does not show a clear 'product' for 'easy installation', with clear selling points or does look user friendly at all. Hmmm

kipper2k's similar products also internal
- This one looks the most promising of all, question is, is it still available?

The Vampire line of accelerators - although these are significant upgrades and not cheap
- Indeed not cheap, but a great product. But for only WB 1.3 and some classic Amiga 500 games too much overkill, even if it were cheaper.

ajk · 29 June 2018, 07:42

MKL's and kipper2k's adapters are roughly the same in function, his website is indeed a bit of a mess but at least the adapters seem to be available: http://www.amibay.com/showthread.php...600-CF-adapter

kipper2k may have moved onto other things now, not really sure, but the adapters come up for sale from time to time regardless.

There is also of course the option of a USB floppy drive emulator, there are various kinds around. Probably the cheapest is a Gotek drive from eBay and the FlashFloppy firmware to go with it. It's not a hard drive, of course, but instead of floppies you can use a memory stick which is quite convenient.

duga · 29 June 2018, 12:57

Wicher 500i for internal installation in Amiga 500/500 Plus. https://retro.7-bit.pl/?lang=en&go=p...ame=wicher500i

Amiga4000 · 29 June 2018, 13:24

And there's this board which I just ordered (not arrived yet) and already out of stock again. They usually sell in batches of 10 which sell out quit quickly and come up about every 30 days. Just keep checking for stock every day. Real nice and compact solution.

https://sordan.ie/product/583/turbo-...ide-amiga-500/

Hewitson · 29 June 2018, 14:36

It's not that compact when you consider that the HDD, ribbon cable, and power cable, will have to be external to the A500 case. Looks like a great product, but the final result would be a bit of an eyesore in my opinion.

ajk · 29 June 2018, 14:39

If it doesn't need to be an actual hard drive, it's easier. I stuck a CF adapter in the trapdoor slot when facing a similar situation. Keeps it accessible yet out of sight. Here's a thread with some photos.

Amiga4000 · 29 June 2018, 15:29

This is what it looks like inside the A500...... sorry, linked pic is big. Looks fairly small to me & completely internal & I don't see how it could be an eye-sore & no power cable or ribbon cable needed & it comes with the CF adapter for free.

Hewitson · 29 June 2018, 15:58

What's the point of having a CF card that you cannot easily remove and reinsert. Surely the main benefit of having such a solution is that you can easily transfer data from a Mac/PC to the Amiga.

Snowwie · 29 June 2018, 18:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amiga4000

And there's this board which I just ordered (not arrived yet) and already out of stock again. They usually sell in batches of 10 which sell out quit quickly and come up about every 30 days. Just keep checking for stock every day. Real nice and compact solution.

https://sordan.ie/product/583/turbo-...ide-amiga-500/

That seems the ideal option. Not to pricey, gives some powerboost too and some extra memory. I will keep an eye on this one. Thanks.

Edit: Now I have checked this item even more, and I think it's the IDEAL solution for what I seek.

nogginthenog · 29 June 2018, 21:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hewitson

What's the point of having a CF card that you cannot easily remove and reinsert. Surely the main benefit of having such a solution is that you can easily transfer data from a Mac/PC to the Amiga.

Think of it like a hard drive. You wouldn't remove your hard drive to plug into a PC right?

Amiga4000 · 29 June 2018, 22:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by nogginthenog

Think of it like a hard drive. You wouldn't remove your hard drive to plug into a PC right?

Just in case you wanted to try it out as it's fairly cheap, AmigaKit also sells this to make the CF card conveniently removable.... (would require using a cable though & NOT hot-swapable).

http://amigakit.amiga.store/product_...oducts_id=1216

Hewitson · 30 June 2018, 15:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by nogginthenog

Think of it like a hard drive. You wouldn't remove your hard drive to plug into a PC right?

No you wouldn't. But hard drives aren't designed to be removable devices, CF cards are.

Paulee_Bow · 24 July 2018, 23:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hewitson

What's the point of having a CF card that you cannot easily remove and reinsert. Surely the main benefit of having such a solution is that you can easily transfer data from a Mac/PC to the Amiga.

It’s 6 screws, I can get my A500+ open in 30 seconds.
I open it up every week or so to transfer files I’ve been using in WINUAE.

I am so happy with the HC533, it’s incredible.

Methanoid · 25 July 2018, 00:08

Wicher also has SPI which means network port and more... Ordered mine yesterday!

grelbfarlk · 25 July 2018, 02:15

I realize you said you don't want to pay for expensive vintage hardware, but these days with all these fancy new internal solutions people are often unloading their sidecar controllers relatively cheaply, which you could drop a SCSI2SD or something similar in. If you keep an eye out you might find something inexpensive that would work out for you.

Part of the problem is that you have to be careful with any of the new stuff to make sure they autoboot with Kickstart 1.3 if that's what you're running. Kipper's IDE originally didn't autoboot Kickstart 1.3, maybe it does now. Also I'm not sure if you intend to use WHDLoad with this HDD you're looking for but you might need some FastRAM to go with it.

29 June 2018, 06:03	#1
Snowwie Registered User Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Veendam, Netherlands Age: 47 Posts: 53	Some form of internal storage in an Amiga 500? Hi there everybody, I am an old school Amiga 500 owner and I just work with plain old floppy discs. All fun and game and I have a nephew who does it too and we create like this same kind of social aspect we had in the 90s. One thing just annoys me a little, I have two programs that I use very often: - XCopy Pro - ADF Transfer Utility Disk Especially number two takes a long time to load. Now I know there can be a harddrive mounted to the left side of the Amiga. But I don't want to spend that much money looking for an old A590 or GPV drive. Is there any easy cheap sollution that uses the side port to create an internal drive option? Sort of SCSI to IDE option? And then attach such like this to it: https://tweakers.net/pricewatch/5774...specificaties/ Cheap, reliable and with 256MB more then enough for Workbench 1.3 with some tools. In these times were many custom Amiga hardware is created something like this should exist right? Who wants clumsy hardware to the left port of their A500?

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29 June 2018, 06:27	#2
ajk Registered User Join Date: May 2010 Location: Helsinki, Finland Posts: 1,341	There are lots of solutions both internal and external, I am surprised if you have not seen at least some of these around Not everything is always in stock (this stuff tends to be built in batches) so you may need to look into the used market if in a rush, but: The ACA500/+ for an external solution MKL's various products for internal expansion kipper2k's similar products also internal The Vampire line of accelerators - although these are significant upgrades and not cheap There are probably others too that I'm forgetting here. Do some searches here on this forum, and on AmiBay, and also YouTube for reviews and experiences.

29 June 2018, 06:41	#3
Snowwie Registered User Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Veendam, Netherlands Age: 47 Posts: 53	The ACA500/+ for an external solution - Which I don't want, an external solution. :-) MKL's various products for internal expansion - This website does not show a clear 'product' for 'easy installation', with clear selling points or does look user friendly at all. Hmmm kipper2k's similar products also internal - This one looks the most promising of all, question is, is it still available? The Vampire line of accelerators - although these are significant upgrades and not cheap - Indeed not cheap, but a great product. But for only WB 1.3 and some classic Amiga 500 games too much overkill, even if it were cheaper.

29 June 2018, 07:42	#4
ajk Registered User Join Date: May 2010 Location: Helsinki, Finland Posts: 1,341	MKL's and kipper2k's adapters are roughly the same in function, his website is indeed a bit of a mess but at least the adapters seem to be available: http://www.amibay.com/showthread.php...600-CF-adapter kipper2k may have moved onto other things now, not really sure, but the adapters come up for sale from time to time regardless. There is also of course the option of a USB floppy drive emulator, there are various kinds around. Probably the cheapest is a Gotek drive from eBay and the FlashFloppy firmware to go with it. It's not a hard drive, of course, but instead of floppies you can use a memory stick which is quite convenient.

29 June 2018, 12:57	#5
duga Registered User Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Sweden Posts: 528	Wicher 500i for internal installation in Amiga 500/500 Plus. https://retro.7-bit.pl/?lang=en&go=p...ame=wicher500i

29 June 2018, 13:24	#6
Amiga4000 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: The Ford Galaxy Posts: 214	And there's this board which I just ordered (not arrived yet) and already out of stock again. They usually sell in batches of 10 which sell out quit quickly and come up about every 30 days. Just keep checking for stock every day. Real nice and compact solution. https://sordan.ie/product/583/turbo-...ide-amiga-500/

29 June 2018, 14:36	#7
Hewitson Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Melbourne, Australia Age: 41 Posts: 3,772	It's not that compact when you consider that the HDD, ribbon cable, and power cable, will have to be external to the A500 case. Looks like a great product, but the final result would be a bit of an eyesore in my opinion.

29 June 2018, 14:39	#8
ajk Registered User Join Date: May 2010 Location: Helsinki, Finland Posts: 1,341	If it doesn't need to be an actual hard drive, it's easier. I stuck a CF adapter in the trapdoor slot when facing a similar situation. Keeps it accessible yet out of sight. Here's a thread with some photos.

29 June 2018, 15:29	#9
Amiga4000 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: The Ford Galaxy Posts: 214	This is what it looks like inside the A500...... sorry, linked pic is big. Looks fairly small to me & completely internal & I don't see how it could be an eye-sore & no power cable or ribbon cable needed & it comes with the CF adapter for free.

29 June 2018, 15:58	#10
Hewitson Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Melbourne, Australia Age: 41 Posts: 3,772	What's the point of having a CF card that you cannot easily remove and reinsert. Surely the main benefit of having such a solution is that you can easily transfer data from a Mac/PC to the Amiga.

25 July 2018, 00:08	#16
Methanoid Retired Quartex Sysop Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Roman Verulamium Age: 58 Posts: 1,873	Wicher also has SPI which means network port and more... Ordered mine yesterday!

25 July 2018, 02:15	#17
grelbfarlk Registered User Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: USA Posts: 2,902	I realize you said you don't want to pay for expensive vintage hardware, but these days with all these fancy new internal solutions people are often unloading their sidecar controllers relatively cheaply, which you could drop a SCSI2SD or something similar in. If you keep an eye out you might find something inexpensive that would work out for you. Part of the problem is that you have to be careful with any of the new stuff to make sure they autoboot with Kickstart 1.3 if that's what you're running. Kipper's IDE originally didn't autoboot Kickstart 1.3, maybe it does now. Also I'm not sure if you intend to use WHDLoad with this HDD you're looking for but you might need some FastRAM to go with it.

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