Would you cut into your A3000D case?

[tonyyeb]

Hi all

I'm playing about with adding a DVD ROM to my A3000D. Some (alexh for one! ) may ask why bother adding an optical drive to an Amiga that has CF? And the answer is, because I want to!

I enjoyed modding my CF adapter so much I'm tempted to try something else. Here is a mock up of what it may look like:



The question is: Am I stupid to cut up my A3000D case for this mod? I'm thinking at some point I will sell my A3000D on... will I be harming the value seriously? Will a DVD ROM increase the value? I was going to do the A1200 DVD ROM mod but this has been done may times and I use my A3000D more than my other Amigas.

Thoughts?

[keropi]

paint the cdrom drive white, and somehow cover the cf-floppy holes... other than that it looks OK

[tonyyeb]

Yeah was thinking about spraying the drive. I will have to swap the CF and floppy so that the IDE cable will reach. But covering the hole with a fake floppy button would be a nice touch.

[mfilos]

yeah babeh acoustic guitar with the pick on the 1st fret = classic :P

Nice mod btw if you paint it right. I would prefer a slim IDE slot-in drive though.

Cheers

[tonyyeb]

Originally Posted by mfilos

yeah babeh acoustic guitar with the pick on the 1st fret = classic :P

Thanks!

Originally Posted by mfilos

Nice mod btw if you paint it right. I would prefer a slim IDE slot-in drive though.

Do you mean a slot loading drive? So you could only see the thin slot like a Mac? Nice idea... I'll keep that in mind when buying the drive.

[ma693541]

Nice mod you have there tonyyeb. I think that a DVD Rom would increase the price if you can get one in nearlly or same colour as the A3000D.

[tonyyeb]

Originally Posted by ma693541

Nice mod you have there tonyyeb. I think that a DVD Rom would increase the price if you can get one in nearlly or same colour as the A3000D.

I think you mean "Nice mod idea you have there" It is only a mock up of how it could look for the moment. But yes I think it will look good when it is done.

[Dizzy]

Look nice, but as the other said, the color look kind of stupid

[alexh]

Originally Posted by ma693541

I think that a DVD Rom would increase the price if you can get one in nearlly or same colour as the A3000D.

I think that a butchered case will decrease the price no matter what it is.

If you ARE going to do it. Try to get a laptop DVD drive with a slot loading mechanism then you can keep the cut to a bare minimum.

If you were clever and knew what you were doing then you might even be able to wire up the slot-loading eject button to the spare floppy disk eject?

[tonyyeb]

The only problem with the slot loader is the price. They seem to be quite a bit more than a tray. It would look a lot better with a slot though...

Originally Posted by alexh

If you were clever and knew what you were doing then you might even be able to wire up the slot-loading eject button to the spare floppy disk eject?

I don't class myself as clever and dont always know what I'm doing but this interests me!

[mfilos]

This is the drive I got for my A4000 (in custom bracket) and my A1200.
http://www.e-shop.gr/show_per.phtml?id=PER.331676 (Spare the Greek ofc lol)
It works like a charm with an slim IDE Adaptor of course. Alexh's idea is really neat if you can manage doing it

Good luck and keep us posted with pr0n

[alexh]

Originally Posted by tonyyeb

I don't class myself as clever and dont always know what I'm doing but this interests me!

If you take the bezel off a slot loading drive I suspect you could get away with an even smaller cut in the A3000 case. (Not sure how thick the A3000 plastic is).

The eject button and activity LED's will probably be highly visible and you can see where and how it is connected to PCB. It almost certainly could be replaced with a microswitch & LED on remote wires that could go to the unused floppy.

You really need a cheap (perhaps dead?) slot loading drive to experiment on.

[tonyyeb]

I think i'm tempted by the slot choice. Hacking the button is the next level in my modding skills progress I think.

This is the cheapest slot loading drive I can find (not looked that hard yet):

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=250287667023 - But it says Apple? Will that work? I've e-mailed the seller for a picture of the rear.

[musashi5150]

Originally Posted by tonyyeb

I've e-mailed the seller for a picture of the rear

Shouldn't you make friends first?

[alexh]

Is that a slimline drive? If not and you cannot remove the bezel then it will require cutting a large slot.

Unsure about compatibility. An IDE Atapi drive is an IDE Atapi drive I thought?

Perhaps a drive from a MacMini would be best?

[Dizzy]

Originally Posted by musashi5150

Shouldn't you make friends first?

gimbal would love it

[tonyyeb]

Originally Posted by ebay item description

12.7mm Height

Sounds slimline to me?

[tonyyeb]

Originally Posted by musashi5150

Shouldn't you make friends first?

Tut tut! And I thought this thread was getting away without any childish sniggering from the back!

[alexh]

I think this is a cheaper slot loading drive?

Here is an expensive one but it has nice photos with and without bezel. You can see the eject microswitch and the LED.

[rkauer]

Two possible solutions:

1- Use a slot-in device aligned will the grill in the undermost part of A3000

2- Put the tray to the right of the case, cutting the metal.

Those ways you don't ruin the look of the A3000, who is one of the most beauty ones C= did (for me is the second, the first is the A1000).