Getting an A600, Have Questions

[Tempest 2084]

So I'm getting back into the Amiga scene after downsizing my collection a few years back. A friend of mine is selling me his recapped A600 with an ACA630 accelerator, 32B SDD with WHDLoad, and tank mouse for $450USD but I think I can talk him down to $400. I think this is a good deal and it's in really nice shape. I guess the PiStorm has replaced a lot of accelerators, but from what I can tell the ACA630 was a really nice one when it was released (this is the 25Mhz 32MB model).


One thing I didn't think about until recently is that I'm going to have to figure out a monitor solution. Before I always had big box Amigas with scanline doublers so I'm not sure what the best solution is for a compact Amiga like the 600. I have a few monitors that might work:


1. Dell 2001FP - This was my main monitor on my PC until I upgraded about 8 years ago. Amazingly I've found out that early versions can sync down to 15Hz and work whit an Amiga (mine is October 2004 so it should work). Other than needing an Amiga to VGA adapter, is there any downsides to using an old LCD monitor like this? Will I get jailbars? Will the refresh rate be too low for fast paced games? I've read that the interlaced modes flicker pretty badly when using the VGA port. Someone suggested using the S-Video port instead.

2. I have an Amiga 1080 that I use with my C128, although I'd need to get the proper cable to hook it up to the 600. Only downside I can see (other than needing to find another monitor for my C128) is that it's a lot smaller than the 2001FP. Of course it's a proper CRT monitor which is always nice.

3. I have several CRT VGA monitors, but I'd need a scanline doubler to hook them up to the A600. What are some good ones to use for this? Any downsides?


I plan on getting a 1MB Chip RAM upgrade which should pretty much max out the system at 32MB Fast RAM and 2MB Chip Ram with an 030. I only plan on playing games on it so other than maybe investing in a PiStorm for RTG capability (or HDMI) I can't see what else I'd need. I know there's a board that can add AGA graphics but those are way too expensive.

[donnie]

Since you probably are american, getting pal to work is probably the biggest difficulty. It must be really challenging to find crt monitors that can display pal? Does american pvm models accept pal? Most american tv dont even have rgb.

I dont know for sure.

But i think retrotink4k can transform pal signal to vrr.

It also has exellent crt simulation. Then use a good modern oled screen atleast.

[Tempest 2084]

Originally Posted by donnie

Since you probably are american, getting pal to work is probably the biggest difficulty. It must be really challenging to find crt monitors that can display pal? Does american pvm models accept pal? Most american tv dont even have rgb.

I have a few PVMs that will take PAL and RGB signals, but I'm using them for other things at the moment (my entire classic console setup is plugged into a PVM 20M4U for example). I do have some PVMs that take composite and s-video and I think do PAL, but not RGB. I really need to get one RGB modded...


Actually not that I think about it, I have a JVC TM-H1750C which does both RGB and PAL modes. Maybe that would be the best way to go? Then again, won't most PAL games run too fast even if they display properly on the screen or can WHDLoad fix some of that?

[donnie]

Pvm is the best solution for amiga gaming.

[ant512]

I use a PAL A600 in the US. I pass the 600’s RGB output into the SCART socket of an OSSC, and from that into a normal HDMI monitor.

There’s an RGB2HDMI upgrade for the 600 that clips onto the graphics chip and gives you perfect HDMI output. I’ve got one in an A500 and it is excellent. I haven’t tried the A600 version; I’ve heard that the method for attaching it to the graphics chip is fragile and temperamental (I’ve found the same to be true of the Indivision in my 1200 that attaches in the same way). The OSSC is good enough.

There’s no such thing as an AGA upgrade for a non-AGA Amiga.

The PiStorm is an incredible upgrade. It would replace your accelerator, hard disk and ROM chips, and give you RTG and WiFi. Probably overkill if you just want to play games. If you didn’t have an accelerator I’d recommend it as an essential purchase, but you’ve already got something that works.

I’d recommend getting a PCMCIA CompactFlash adaptor so that you can easily transfer files between your modern PC and the 600.

[Tempest 2084]

Originally Posted by ant512

There’s no such thing as an AGA upgrade for a non-AGA Amiga.

I didn't think so either, but there's this:


http://www.apollo-computer.com/manticorev4.php

[aeberbach]

If you can get the cable then use the 1080 - seems this would be by far your best option. What a great monitor to own!

Yes, for A600 rgb2hdmi would be my first choice if I had no monitor. I think the attachment method is not bad. It does rely on an upside-down socket but also fastens with two bolts (through the HD sled foot holes) so it doesn’t just pop off like a Furia might.

Second choice is one of the modern LCDs that display Amiga modes like the Philips 221S9A (unsure whether this is available in your area but it is current, bought one a month ago). I have a Lenovo that works too.

Third choice would be a scan converter, retrotink, gbs, ossc etc. gbscontrol gives good bang for buck if you can do the mods yourself.

Fourth choice, treat yourself to a CRT! Original Amiga monitor, NEC Multisync, PVM. (Hope you’re rich)

You probably will see the jailbars unless you get a buffered interface converting Amiga 23-pin video to HD15 VGA. See https://www.amibay.com/threads/amiga...hable.2445149/