A4000 - current good upgrade choices? - Page 2

Leon Besson · 11 May 2022, 23:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by nogginthenog

Same here. I have a bootable ADF with RoadShow, SMBFS etc that I can use to connect to my network and restore my system pretty quickly.

Any step by step guides on how to do this Bromigo?!

nogginthenog · 12 May 2022, 20:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leon Besson

Any step by step guides on how to do this Bromigo?!

Not too difficult. Create a bootable floppy and copy the necessary files from your harddrive. My 'floppy' has:

Code:

 C (dir)
   AddNetInterface  Assign           Copy             CPU              dir              Execute
   info             Install          lha              List             ping             SetPatch
   smbfs
 Devs (dir)
	  Networks (dir)
		x-surf-100.device
	  NetInterfaces (dir)
		xsurf
	  Internet (dir)
		groups           hosts            name_resolution  networks         protocols        routes
		rpc              servers          services         users
 S (dir)
   startup-sequence
 L (dir)
 Libs (dir)
   68060.library      bsdsocket.library  icon.library       mmu.library
HDToolBox       HDToolBox.info

startup-sequence (no user-startup):

Code:

C:SetPatch QUIET NODRIVELEDPATCH
C:CPU CHECKINSTALL

FailAt 21

Assign >NIL: ENV: RAM:
Assign >NIL: T: RAM:T
Assign >NIL: LIBS: SYS:Classes ADD
Assign >NIL: SAMBA: RAM:

run <> nil: roadshowcontrol set tcp.mssdflt = 1460
AddNetInterface DEVS:NetInterfaces/~(#?.info) QUIET

Stack 80000
run <>NIL: SMBFS USER xxx PASSWORD xxx service //myserver/myshare
assign z: SMBFS: defer

That's enough to get me attached to my SMB server.

Leon Besson · 13 May 2022, 02:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by nogginthenog

Not too difficult. Create a bootable floppy and copy the necessary files from your harddrive. My 'floppy' has:

Code:

 C (dir)
   AddNetInterface  Assign           Copy             CPU              dir              Execute
   info             Install          lha              List             ping             SetPatch
   smbfs
 Devs (dir)
	  Networks (dir)
		x-surf-100.device
	  NetInterfaces (dir)
		xsurf
	  Internet (dir)
		groups           hosts            name_resolution  networks         protocols        routes
		rpc              servers          services         users
 S (dir)
   startup-sequence
 L (dir)
 Libs (dir)
   68060.library      bsdsocket.library  icon.library       mmu.library
HDToolBox       HDToolBox.info

startup-sequence (no user-startup):

Code:

C:SetPatch QUIET NODRIVELEDPATCH
C:CPU CHECKINSTALL

FailAt 21

Assign >NIL: ENV: RAM:
Assign >NIL: T: RAM:T
Assign >NIL: LIBS: SYS:Classes ADD
Assign >NIL: SAMBA: RAM:

run <> nil: roadshowcontrol set tcp.mssdflt = 1460
AddNetInterface DEVS:NetInterfaces/~(#?.info) QUIET

Stack 80000
run <>NIL: SMBFS USER xxx PASSWORD xxx service //myserver/myshare
assign z: SMBFS: defer

That's enough to get me attached to my SMB server.

Excellent! Thanks!

MarkT · 08 June 2022, 22:24

Hi all,

A quick update on where I am: -

Motherboard re-capped
PSU re-capped (but more on this in a sec... )
Both floppy drives serviced/cleaned
OS 3.2 ROMs ready to go in
Plastics on case retrobrighted
Have started retrobrighting keyboard
ZZ9000 graphics card on order
NOS CD-ROM drive on order

However, and I'm smarting as I type this, whilst replacing the PSU fan I managed to have a complete lapse of concentration and in a quick off-load test managed to short the 12V supply to the fan out. There was a small release of 'magic smoke' from that corner of the board and I'm figuring out what to do next

I haven't dared energise it again, and I think what I've done is damaged SCR1 (this is a Skynet PSU and I believe it to be the SCR to be of type BT151). A test between anode and cathode using the diode setting on my multimeter shows the same conducting value in both directions, so I'm fairly sure it's cooked unless there's something influencing it parasitically from elsewhere in the circuit.

Does anyone have any advice on how I can proceed please? My electronics skills are somewhat rusty - hence I got here, I suppose - and I have very little access to diagnostic equipment.

I've found a link to the PSU schematic here: http://amiga.serveftp.net/Schematics...schematics.pdf

Thanks.

Mark

alexh · 09 June 2022, 13:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkT

ZZ9000 graphics card on order

Good luck with that. Some of the parts needed to make them are on back order 2024

matt3k · 09 June 2022, 15:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkT

Hi all,

A quick update on where I am: -

Motherboard re-capped
PSU re-capped (but more on this in a sec... )
Both floppy drives serviced/cleaned
OS 3.2 ROMs ready to go in
Plastics on case retrobrighted
Have started retrobrighting keyboard
ZZ9000 graphics card on order
NOS CD-ROM drive on order

However, and I'm smarting as I type this, whilst replacing the PSU fan I managed to have a complete lapse of concentration and in a quick off-load test managed to short the 12V supply to the fan out. There was a small release of 'magic smoke' from that corner of the board and I'm figuring out what to do next

I haven't dared energise it again, and I think what I've done is damaged SCR1 (this is a Skynet PSU and I believe it to be the SCR to be of type BT151). A test between anode and cathode using the diode setting on my multimeter shows the same conducting value in both directions, so I'm fairly sure it's cooked unless there's something influencing it parasitically from elsewhere in the circuit.

Does anyone have any advice on how I can proceed please? My electronics skills are somewhat rusty - hence I got here, I suppose - and I have very little access to diagnostic equipment.

I've found a link to the PSU schematic here: http://amiga.serveftp.net/Schematics...schematics.pdf

Thanks.

Mark

Hello Mark,

Welcome!

Looks like you took some great steps with your 4k.

I will offer my thoughts to you as well:
* Running OS4 on Amiga Classic PPC is way to slow to do much of anything. I would really avoid wasting time on this as I did. Buy a cheap Mac or MOS compatible system for that and MOS. The browser and email client alone make MOS a great option. MOS is so much better and far cheaper than AOS4 at this point, I never use AOS4.
* As suggested PPC on the Classic Hardware really only works for games and drawing your background quicker. No other applications use WarpOS at this point.
* I would stay away from Cyberstorms, I owned 2 of them (one mark III and one PPC). They are just too fragile. I had their sockets fixed at twice. When they work, especially with the SCSI III they really fly, but imho they are too big of a risk to sink that kind of money into. The MK III failed and was to hard for me to get fixed so I sold it. I sold the PPC that ran fine because I didn't play games. Be prepared to spend over 2k easily for a CS PPC. The Mediator based PPC boards are cheaper, but realize that even a Ragnarok is still going across Zorro III and to my eye certain 68k things seem to slow down (could have been my crazy setup or not having something tuned right though). Again, PPC is so very limited, I would spend money else ware.
* The 4000 has garbage IDE and Memory access, so I would focus on bypassing them for performance. Great 040/060 options recommended. I would get an 060 with a later rev and see what you can get to put it on. The Warp Engine is a great choice since they are easy to over clock, very fast, and most of all built like a tank with no special firmwares or issues. The other new options all look great as well. You could get the new 4091 as a option to help as well, depending on which way you go...
* replace your power supply with a modern ATX with a converter. Power supplies are way to problematic to just recap them. They will fail and may even damage your system.
* The ZZ9000 is a great video card, the Mediator with a Radeon 92xx will be on par with it if you can't wait for the ZZ. Note that if you really start using HD screens with these cards, you are going to have to start getting the 060 to dance a bit faster for decent performance.
* Make sure you have a Super Buster Rev 11.

Good luck!

MarkT · 12 June 2022, 14:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexh

Good luck with that. Some of the parts needed to make them are on back order 2024

I was shocked when I read that, as there had been no mention of such delays on the website when ordering it. However, on checking I see that Batch 9 is now expected to be delivered in August/September?

MarkT · 12 June 2022, 14:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt3k

Hello Mark,

Welcome!

Looks like you took some great steps with your 4k.

I will offer my thoughts to you as well:
* Running OS4 on Amiga Classic PPC is way to slow to do much of anything. I would really avoid wasting time on this as I did. Buy a cheap Mac or MOS compatible system for that and MOS. The browser and email client alone make MOS a great option. MOS is so much better and far cheaper than AOS4 at this point, I never use AOS4.
* As suggested PPC on the Classic Hardware really only works for games and drawing your background quicker. No other applications use WarpOS at this point.
* I would stay away from Cyberstorms, I owned 2 of them (one mark III and one PPC). They are just too fragile. I had their sockets fixed at twice. When they work, especially with the SCSI III they really fly, but imho they are too big of a risk to sink that kind of money into. The MK III failed and was to hard for me to get fixed so I sold it. I sold the PPC that ran fine because I didn't play games. Be prepared to spend over 2k easily for a CS PPC. The Mediator based PPC boards are cheaper, but realize that even a Ragnarok is still going across Zorro III and to my eye certain 68k things seem to slow down (could have been my crazy setup or not having something tuned right though). Again, PPC is so very limited, I would spend money else ware.
* The 4000 has garbage IDE and Memory access, so I would focus on bypassing them for performance. Great 040/060 options recommended. I would get an 060 with a later rev and see what you can get to put it on. The Warp Engine is a great choice since they are easy to over clock, very fast, and most of all built like a tank with no special firmwares or issues. The other new options all look great as well. You could get the new 4091 as a option to help as well, depending on which way you go...
* replace your power supply with a modern ATX with a converter. Power supplies are way to problematic to just recap them. They will fail and may even damage your system.
* The ZZ9000 is a great video card, the Mediator with a Radeon 92xx will be on par with it if you can't wait for the ZZ. Note that if you really start using HD screens with these cards, you are going to have to start getting the 060 to dance a bit faster for decent performance.
* Make sure you have a Super Buster Rev 11.

Good luck!

Hi. Thanks for the feedback! I'm probably going to get a TF4060 when they're available...I've managed to source a CPU so it should be a matter of just obtaining the card. That should solve the slow IDE problem too!

I do indeed have a Super Buster 11 :-)

grelbfarlk · 14 June 2022, 04:57

The partial list of applications which support WarpOS on a PPC card for a Mediator, are mostly games and emulators, which run really well. Emulators like Genesis/SNES/MAME/DOS run great.
There's a partial list here,
https://github.com/Sakura-IT/SonnetA...ary-version%29

alexh · 14 June 2022, 13:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkT

I was shocked when I read that, as there had been no mention of such delays on the website when ordering it. However, on checking I see that Batch 9 is now expected to be delivered in August/September?

The developer made lots of posts on Twitter about his problems securing components. He must have done very well to secure delivery this year. Or paid a lot for them. Either way you're the winner.

Consider saving for the Audio upgrade. They won't be available for long. Unlikely anyone will ever make them again. Yes it's another £100 but where are you going to get an Amiga soundcard for £100?

https://shop.mntmn.com/products/zz90...ion-for-zz9000

I paid £70 just recently for a Concierto (the Picasso IV soundcard addon) and that is no where near as good as this card.

MarkT · 19 June 2022, 22:59

I've come up with a suitable PSU solution...and I'm relieved to say it works! It's a hybrid of those documented by RMC ( [ Show youtube player ]) and the The Future Was 8 Bit (https://www.thefuturewas8bit.com/a4000psu-upgrade). My objective was to minimise electrical modifications after scaring myself last time around, plus eliminate metalwork modifications. Essentially, I wanted the new supply to be invisible from the outside and fully reversible with a little work.

I've gone with a bequiet! 300W SFX PSU, and checked on their website to confirm that it does indeed have a separate 5V DC-to-DC Converter so should offer excellent voltage stability. The standard 80mm fan it has was an easy direct replacement for the existing one. To take the supply to the motherboard I purchased an A4000 ATX PSU adapter from AmigaKit.

To avoid any metalwork modifications, I made a small adapter plate using a polycarbonate sheet and some hardware I had lying around. The sheet I had was too thick to fit into the notch at the rear of the PSU box so I glued on a foot instead. The SFX PSU sits on top of it after being removed from its original case. The mains cabling has been lightly modified to remove the switch from the mains circuit - the A4000 power button now operates the ATX low voltage on/off signal instead.

I've not taken all of the LV cables out of the PSU case, as they won't all fit. However, there's more than enough connectors to power everything that fit inside the A4000's compact dimensions. I'm hoping to figure out how to upload some pics so it makes more sense!

One downside of my solution is there's lots of 'excess' cabling left in the case, and therefore I think it'll be difficult to fit the second 'Power XL' floppy drive I have back in. I may just go for a Gotek in the same bay instead as I predict it'll be much more useful.

Now I'm onto setting up my CF card. The 32GB SanDisk Extreme I have works fine in WinUAE and boots into a clean OS3.2 install. Annoyingly the real hardware doesn't boot at all and just sits waiting for a floppy disk! However, it'll have to wait as I've expended a lot of time on this project already. I'll see how I get on over the next couple of weeks.

MarkT · 19 June 2022, 23:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexh

The developer made lots of posts on Twitter about his problems securing components. He must have done very well to secure delivery this year. Or paid a lot for them. Either way you're the winner.

Consider saving for the Audio upgrade. They won't be available for long. Unlikely anyone will ever make them again. Yes it's another £100 but where are you going to get an Amiga soundcard for £100?

https://shop.mntmn.com/products/zz90...ion-for-zz9000

I paid £70 just recently for a Concierto (the Picasso IV soundcard addon) and that is no where near as good as this card.

Fingers crossed it does turn up in a reasonable timeframe. And I have ordered the sound card too: as you say, other options seem to be extraordinarily expensive.

AlfiesGames · 31 July 2022, 03:31

If the excess cabling is bothersome you could eliminate the adapter and solder the stock a4000 psu wires into your new psu but hey if it's working may as well leave it.

mousehouse · 02 August 2022, 22:37

The ZZ9000 is a super nice card - and by buying it you also support the further development of it (and Amiga stuff in general), which is something I like personally.

You want to get the Roadshow TCP/IP stack, it's so much nicer than the botched Miami, Genesis, etc. IMHO. (Disable when you want to run whdload).

And maybe check out the BFG9060... Open source 68040/68060 accelerator that fits a 3000D as well. I'm seeing them online assembled for ~ 350 euros excl. the CPU. Given the shortage of the CLPLD parts that is to be expected, but you could opt to use a 68040 for now to save some money.

mousehouse · 06 August 2022, 11:00

To add,

The best thing to do with the A4000 IDE port is to kill it, go and spend 4 euro on an IDE terminator such as this one : https://amigastore.eu/716-amiga-ide-...r-40-pins.html. Even a basic Zorro2 SCSI card like an A2091 will make your life much more enjoyable.

However, as you seem to have some funds for this, I'd search for a proper accelerator with SCSI on it. A3640/A3660 do not have memory or SCSI, pretty useless. WarpEngine is awesome, even the 040 @ 40MHz performance is really good IMHO and the SCSI works great on it. Have not seen many on sale though. Cyberstorms are ridiculously expensive for some reason... An occasional GVP TRexx2 or similar comes along every now and then, I have one of those and it's great value.

As for a drive, for the desktops I use SCSI2SDv5. Saves a lot of heat, the old drives tend to die a bit quickly now and it's nice and speedy enough.

alexh · 06 August 2022, 13:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by mousehouse

The best thing to do with the A4000 IDE port is to kill it, even a basic Zorro2 SCSI card like an A2091 will make your life much more enjoyable.

I disagree. The availability of cheap IDE solid state drives or CF cards outweighs any SCSI performance benefits. Add in the complexities of SCSI termination on top the expense of SCSI media and IDE is a clear winner. When you have an 040 or 060 the IDE PIO overhead is minimal and performance is beyond Zorro II DMA speeds. Especially with the PIO2 GAL upgrade.

With the TF4060 on the horizon no need to spend £££ on an old accelerator

mousehouse · 06 August 2022, 14:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexh

I disagree. The availability of cheap IDE solid state drives or CF cards outweighs any SCSI performance benefits. Add in the complexities of SCSI termination on top the expense of SCSI media and IDE is a clear winner. When you have an 040 or 060 the IDE PIO overhead is minimal and performance is beyond Zorro II DMA speeds. Especially with the PIO2 GAL upgrade.

With the TF4060 on the horizon no need to spend £££ on an old accelerator

The TF4060 would be nice indeed but I'm curious as to how long it will take to source the parts to build one. If you're able to source a good vintage accelerator instead, why not? They're not all that bad...

The IDE implementation on the TF4060 should probably be pretty good. But the IDE on the 4000 has only given me headaches, lost files and volumes and lousy performance. I've had zero termination issues on SCSI if you just stick to an internal drive or card and I do find it more enjoyable in every single way. But that's just me.

alexh · 06 August 2022, 14:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by mousehouse

The TF4060 would be nice indeed but I'm curious as to how long it will take to source the parts to build one.

They are sold ready assembled. TF cards are not open source anymore so you can't make your own. But I understand what you mean. Will they be for sale any time soon with the chip shortage? Who knows.

MarkT · 13 September 2022, 23:09

Evenin' campers,

Latest update on where I am...

The 32GB SanDisk Extreme CF card was fine. I was tired and had missed that the AmigaKit CF Card Adapter (fits onto the Zorro slot metalwork) needed a power supply! It does indeed work fine and has been partitioned into DH0/1/2. OS3.2 works just fine on it too.
Bought several SATA-to-Molex (HDD/CD-ROM) and SATA-to-Berg (floppy) adapters off eBay so that I can power everything off the SFX PSU cabling. Just be warned that one seller seems to confuse male and female SATA types so I ended up wasting some money.
Bought and installed a beige Gotek drive with rotary controller and speaker. Required much fiddling but eventually figured out that the Chinon FB-357A HD floppy (DF0) goes 'first' on the ribbon cable followed by the Gotek at the end (DF1). Note that the Chinon is set as DS0 on its jumpers and I didn't need to do anything to the Gotek, plus the motherboard jumper J352 is set to 'INT'. Cosmetically, I had to drill the Gotek's plastic case to make it line up properly with the front of the original FDD.
Installed the NOS CD drive (an LG CED-8120B CD-R/RW manufactured Aug 2001). Includes CD audio connection to the motherboard.
Connected the CD-ROM to a Buddha Flash 20-year anniversary edition, as I wanted to separate the two devices on different buses.

And the last bit is where my latest problems start. I tried just copying the CD0 device from Storage to DEVS/DOSDrivers and changing its .info text to point to 'buddhascsi.device', but to no avail. Also tried device numbers from 0-3 but it's still not detecting any CD. From what I've read OS3.2 has internal support for CDFS and this is all I need to do. I could be wrong though! Notes on what I've done...

I removed the Buddha's DOM and never used it, as I'd already set up OS3.2 and didn't need another install on my CF card.
Yes, I've definitely opened both power jumpers before connecting it to the CD drive and even the Zorro slot. The card is also reported as working in the Early Startup Menu.
My CF card is connected to the A4000's internal IDE port. It's the only IDE device on the internal port, and the CD drive is the only thing on the Buddha.
I've tried setting the CD drive to 'Master' but it hangs the machine on boot. Doesn't even get past initialisation as the floppy drives never respond (just a black screen). Boots fine in Slave or Cable Select though.
Probably a major clue: I opened up SysInfo and looked at the devices listed: buddhascsi.device isn't there...and nor are the other flavours of device found on different Buddha models (e.g. the ATAPI one).
The motherboard is fully re-capped and I have a brand new high quality power supply, so I feel that the excuse that this is somehow caused by ripple is implausible.

Does anyone have any ideas on what's going on please?!

Thanks.

Mark

vk3heg · 14 September 2022, 03:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkT

And the last bit is where my latest problems start. I tried just copying the CD0 device from Storage to DEVS/DOSDrivers and changing its .info text to point to 'buddhascsi.device', but to no avail. Also tried device numbers from 0-3 but it's still not detecting any CD.

Did you set the "Activate=1' option as well?

I've got a buddha, and cd's work fine.

Have you tested that the DOM works or a HD from the buddha?

08 June 2022, 22:24	#24
MarkT Registered User Join Date: May 2021 Location: North Wales Posts: 42	Hi all, A quick update on where I am: - Motherboard re-capped PSU re-capped (but more on this in a sec... ) Both floppy drives serviced/cleaned OS 3.2 ROMs ready to go in Plastics on case retrobrighted Have started retrobrighting keyboard ZZ9000 graphics card on order NOS CD-ROM drive on order However, and I'm smarting as I type this, whilst replacing the PSU fan I managed to have a complete lapse of concentration and in a quick off-load test managed to short the 12V supply to the fan out. There was a small release of 'magic smoke' from that corner of the board and I'm figuring out what to do next I haven't dared energise it again, and I think what I've done is damaged SCR1 (this is a Skynet PSU and I believe it to be the SCR to be of type BT151). A test between anode and cathode using the diode setting on my multimeter shows the same conducting value in both directions, so I'm fairly sure it's cooked unless there's something influencing it parasitically from elsewhere in the circuit. Does anyone have any advice on how I can proceed please? My electronics skills are somewhat rusty - hence I got here, I suppose - and I have very little access to diagnostic equipment. I've found a link to the PSU schematic here: http://amiga.serveftp.net/Schematics...schematics.pdf Thanks. Mark

13 September 2022, 23:09	#39
MarkT Registered User Join Date: May 2021 Location: North Wales Posts: 42	Evenin' campers, Latest update on where I am... The 32GB SanDisk Extreme CF card was fine. I was tired and had missed that the AmigaKit CF Card Adapter (fits onto the Zorro slot metalwork) needed a power supply! It does indeed work fine and has been partitioned into DH0/1/2. OS3.2 works just fine on it too. Bought several SATA-to-Molex (HDD/CD-ROM) and SATA-to-Berg (floppy) adapters off eBay so that I can power everything off the SFX PSU cabling. Just be warned that one seller seems to confuse male and female SATA types so I ended up wasting some money. Bought and installed a beige Gotek drive with rotary controller and speaker. Required much fiddling but eventually figured out that the Chinon FB-357A HD floppy (DF0) goes 'first' on the ribbon cable followed by the Gotek at the end (DF1). Note that the Chinon is set as DS0 on its jumpers and I didn't need to do anything to the Gotek, plus the motherboard jumper J352 is set to 'INT'. Cosmetically, I had to drill the Gotek's plastic case to make it line up properly with the front of the original FDD. Installed the NOS CD drive (an LG CED-8120B CD-R/RW manufactured Aug 2001). Includes CD audio connection to the motherboard. Connected the CD-ROM to a Buddha Flash 20-year anniversary edition, as I wanted to separate the two devices on different buses. And the last bit is where my latest problems start. I tried just copying the CD0 device from Storage to DEVS/DOSDrivers and changing its .info text to point to 'buddhascsi.device', but to no avail. Also tried device numbers from 0-3 but it's still not detecting any CD. From what I've read OS3.2 has internal support for CDFS and this is all I need to do. I could be wrong though! Notes on what I've done... I removed the Buddha's DOM and never used it, as I'd already set up OS3.2 and didn't need another install on my CF card. Yes, I've definitely opened both power jumpers before connecting it to the CD drive and even the Zorro slot. The card is also reported as working in the Early Startup Menu. My CF card is connected to the A4000's internal IDE port. It's the only IDE device on the internal port, and the CD drive is the only thing on the Buddha. I've tried setting the CD drive to 'Master' but it hangs the machine on boot. Doesn't even get past initialisation as the floppy drives never respond (just a black screen). Boots fine in Slave or Cable Select though. Probably a major clue: I opened up SysInfo and looked at the devices listed: buddhascsi.device isn't there...and nor are the other flavours of device found on different Buddha models (e.g. the ATAPI one). The motherboard is fully re-capped and I have a brand new high quality power supply, so I feel that the excuse that this is somehow caused by ripple is implausible. Does anyone have any ideas on what's going on please?! Thanks. Mark

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14 June 2022, 04:57	#29
grelbfarlk Registered User Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: USA Posts: 2,902	The partial list of applications which support WarpOS on a PPC card for a Mediator, are mostly games and emulators, which run really well. Emulators like Genesis/SNES/MAME/DOS run great. There's a partial list here, https://github.com/Sakura-IT/SonnetA...ary-version%29

19 June 2022, 22:59	#31
MarkT Registered User Join Date: May 2021 Location: North Wales Posts: 42	I've come up with a suitable PSU solution...and I'm relieved to say it works! It's a hybrid of those documented by RMC ( [ Show youtube player ]) and the The Future Was 8 Bit (https://www.thefuturewas8bit.com/a4000psu-upgrade). My objective was to minimise electrical modifications after scaring myself last time around, plus eliminate metalwork modifications. Essentially, I wanted the new supply to be invisible from the outside and fully reversible with a little work. I've gone with a bequiet! 300W SFX PSU, and checked on their website to confirm that it does indeed have a separate 5V DC-to-DC Converter so should offer excellent voltage stability. The standard 80mm fan it has was an easy direct replacement for the existing one. To take the supply to the motherboard I purchased an A4000 ATX PSU adapter from AmigaKit. To avoid any metalwork modifications, I made a small adapter plate using a polycarbonate sheet and some hardware I had lying around. The sheet I had was too thick to fit into the notch at the rear of the PSU box so I glued on a foot instead. The SFX PSU sits on top of it after being removed from its original case. The mains cabling has been lightly modified to remove the switch from the mains circuit - the A4000 power button now operates the ATX low voltage on/off signal instead. I've not taken all of the LV cables out of the PSU case, as they won't all fit. However, there's more than enough connectors to power everything that fit inside the A4000's compact dimensions. I'm hoping to figure out how to upload some pics so it makes more sense! One downside of my solution is there's lots of 'excess' cabling left in the case, and therefore I think it'll be difficult to fit the second 'Power XL' floppy drive I have back in. I may just go for a Gotek in the same bay instead as I predict it'll be much more useful. Now I'm onto setting up my CF card. The 32GB SanDisk Extreme I have works fine in WinUAE and boots into a clean OS3.2 install. Annoyingly the real hardware doesn't boot at all and just sits waiting for a floppy disk! However, it'll have to wait as I've expended a lot of time on this project already. I'll see how I get on over the next couple of weeks.

31 July 2022, 03:31	#33
AlfiesGames Registered User Join Date: Jul 2022 Location: Canada Posts: 4	If the excess cabling is bothersome you could eliminate the adapter and solder the stock a4000 psu wires into your new psu but hey if it's working may as well leave it.

02 August 2022, 22:37	#34
mousehouse Registered User Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: Netherlands Posts: 107	The ZZ9000 is a super nice card - and by buying it you also support the further development of it (and Amiga stuff in general), which is something I like personally. You want to get the Roadshow TCP/IP stack, it's so much nicer than the botched Miami, Genesis, etc. IMHO. (Disable when you want to run whdload). And maybe check out the BFG9060... Open source 68040/68060 accelerator that fits a 3000D as well. I'm seeing them online assembled for ~ 350 euros excl. the CPU. Given the shortage of the CLPLD parts that is to be expected, but you could opt to use a 68040 for now to save some money.

06 August 2022, 11:00	#35
mousehouse Registered User Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: Netherlands Posts: 107	To add, The best thing to do with the A4000 IDE port is to kill it, go and spend 4 euro on an IDE terminator such as this one : https://amigastore.eu/716-amiga-ide-...r-40-pins.html. Even a basic Zorro2 SCSI card like an A2091 will make your life much more enjoyable. However, as you seem to have some funds for this, I'd search for a proper accelerator with SCSI on it. A3640/A3660 do not have memory or SCSI, pretty useless. WarpEngine is awesome, even the 040 @ 40MHz performance is really good IMHO and the SCSI works great on it. Have not seen many on sale though. Cyberstorms are ridiculously expensive for some reason... An occasional GVP TRexx2 or similar comes along every now and then, I have one of those and it's great value. As for a drive, for the desktops I use SCSI2SDv5. Saves a lot of heat, the old drives tend to die a bit quickly now and it's nice and speedy enough.

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