Building an Amiga 1200?

[Dreedo]

Ok, well i know the 600 has a PCMCIA port and the 500+ doesnt, so i was wondering that can be used for? Other than wired/wireless networking.

[amigakit.com]

The PCMCIA port can be used for EasyADF PCMCIA CF Transfer Kit and SRAM memory cards.

[ck1200]

Originally Posted by Dreedo

Ok, well i know the 600 has a PCMCIA port and the 500+ doesnt, so i was wondering that can be used for? Other than wired/wireless networking.

Can also be used as a means to transfer adf files from pc to amiga as well as a small hd if you wanted, you can also add a hd to an a500 or a500+ like the gvp hd8+ but it's an add on unit with a separate psu

[Dreedo]

I see, thanks everyone so far.

And A500's, what are the downsides to these ones? Because i could probably pick one up on ebay for like £10 if im lucky enough.

[Lorfarius]

It all depends on what you want your amiga for. You are on a budget and I suspect wont be in a rush to pay high prices to upgrade SRAM, memory etc so an A500 with a load of disks should do you fine for many months to come. If you want to spend a bit more with the chance ot do networking and some upgrading then go for the next one in price the A600 but be aware that it will cost quite a bit for upgrades. The next one up is the A1200 and its most likely going to cost you double the amount of the system for the likes of an accellerator/RAM card. The A500 is probably the best for you with such low funds.

[Dreedo]

Yeah i think your right, im mainly going to use it to play games on, i've got a pc for everything else.

Thanks.

[alexh]

Originally Posted by Dreedo

And A500's, what are the downsides to these ones?

They don't have AGA so a small percentage of games don't work.
They only have a 68000 CPU so a small percentage of games don't work.
They don't have an integrated hard drive controller so you have to use floppy disks. Or buy an extra hard drive controller.
They are very large. Huge with an external hard drive controller. Too large to be on display all the time in most living rooms.

Originally Posted by Dreedo

Because i could probably pick one up on ebay for like £10 if im lucky enough.

Easily. They are so common you could almost certainly find one on eBay locally (within a week) and save on the postage.

But if you play the waiting game, you could get a yellowed A600 for £10 locally on eBay. I did. I had to wait about four months but the right auction finally came along.

Collection only auctions usually go for the least amount of money. Do not discount them just because you do not live locally. Ask the vendor if they will box the items and print out a cover label. If they will then use http://www.parcel2go.com they collect on your behalf and deliver to you. Usually for the same price or cheaper than auctions where the vendor will deliver.

If the vendor does not have the flexibility to have the item collected from their home during the day (Parcel2go.com cannot give an accurate time) ask them if the item can be collected from their place of work. If they work in an office most are fine with this.

[Dreedo]

Im not worried about size, it'll hopefully be in my bedroom if allowed.

Kk i'll think about the other things, but my dad hates going to collect stuff, ideally i'd rather pay P&P and save the hassle. Some are offering free P&P on ebay anyway.

[alexh]

Like I said, don't discount collection only auctions which are not local to you. Use http://www.Parcel2go.com (blimey! I sound like an advert!)

[alexh]

Ask this eBay vendor how much for an A600 delivered to you

http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/yogibearstreasures/

While he has non on eBay now, he's tried to sell one for the last few months for £12.99 delivered.

[NovaCoder]

As others have said, you can sometimes pick up a 1200 a boot sales for next to nothing, a friend of mine got one for 5 quid once. Ebay can also have some cheap ones if you don't go chasing a 'win'.

If you get a used one then all you need to do is give it some TLC, buy a new keyboard and CF kit from AmigaKit and you'll have a nice little 1200

[Dreedo]

Ok thanks.

Its quite annoying, theres a few on ebay saying P&P is free, then when you look right at the bottom they say they'll be charging £20 P&P.

[alexh]

Originally Posted by Dreedo

theres a few on ebay saying P&P is free, then when you look right at the bottom they say they'll be charging £20 P&P.

Get their auction kicked. It is against eBay regulations to do that. It takes 2 seconds, just press REPORT ITEM on the right hand side. The item is almost certain to be relisted correctly in a day or two.

[Dreedo]

Your right

Originally Posted by ebayrules

Examples of prohibited behaviour include:

*

Entering an amount for P&P costs in the Sell Your Item form, and then indicating that you charge a different amount either in the item description or after the buyer has committed to buying the item.

[Lorfarius]

Originally Posted by Dreedo

Ok thanks.

Its quite annoying, theres a few on ebay saying P&P is free, then when you look right at the bottom they say they'll be charging £20 P&P.

I think you will be very hard pressed to find a system with free P+P. They weigh a lot, quite big and expensive to post. Sellers won't get rid of something for £10 then pay out £15 in P+P.

[Dreedo]

I know, i just dont like people saying its free then charging £20, all it is is a boxed A500, and it costs about twice as much as an unboxed A600 at the moment.

[Lorfarius]

Originally Posted by Dreedo

I know, i just dont like people saying its free then charging £20, all it is is a boxed A500, and it costs about twice as much as an unboxed A600 at the moment.

Thing is its incredibly heavy and large whereas the A600 is much smaller and lighter. The P+P is about right.

[Dreedo]

I suppose, still i dont think it'll do very well, its at £21 incl. P&P, a mouse, 520 RF out, joystick, scart lead, and box. Doesnt have a power supply though, or any games.

Theres a 500+ one at £21 incl. P&P as well, that does have all the needed items to start, plus a few games. As well a joystick, but no box.

The last one im looking at is another 500, at £18 incl. P&P currently, with a few games and boxed with mouse, plus it's white. :P

[alexh]

Originally Posted by Dreedo

Theres a 500+

If you intend to buy an A500+ then you must ask the vendor to test it before bidding. These systems have an on-board battery which leaks and can destroy the motherboard. When it arrives you will need to remove it which can be fiddly.

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?...t=a500+battery

While they are the most powerful A500 they are also the least compatible with floppy disk games as they have ECS, more than 0.5Mbyte ChipRAM and KS2.04. Most incompatibilities are resolved by fitting KS1.3 or a Kickstart ROM switcher.

A600's also suffer from the same "out of the box" incompatibilities but they have an integrated Hard drive interface and can use http://www.WHDload.de

[Dreedo]

He says the 500+ is in good working order in the description. How difficult is it to remove the battery? Im not too good with hardware things, im more into software. :P

Also are games region free on the floppy's? I don't know if floppy discs have regions.