A1200 Flash is here!

[amigakit.com]

A1200 Flash Expansion is here!
www.amigakit.com/a1200flash




AmigaKit Ltd is pleased to announce our new A1200 user writable flash expansion card with Fast Memory and 40Mhz FPU option.

Flashing is easy
No more burning ROMs, custom ROM images are now possible and easily put together with the powerful software. Flash the card and the software is available instantly as soon as you power on your Amiga 1200!

Load Configurations Fast
Configurations can then be easily and quickly selected by holding down F1 during reset and selecting the image from our custom Early Boot Menu.


Low Cost- High Quality
We work hard to produce new and innovative hiqh quality products at great prices.


The card has other great features such as Real Time Clock option and second clockport.


Features:
8MB 32-bit Fast RAM to boost total system memory to 10MB
4MB NAND Flash - writeable to make software available on boot
Flash Configuration Tool included (requires MUI to be installed)
Memory auto configures with no drivers required
Second clockport header to give computer more expandability
Floating Point Unit socket accepting optional 68882 PLCC FPU up to 40Mhz
Memory can be configured to 4MB, 5.5MB or 8MB Fast RAM using on-board jumpers or early boot menu.
PCMCIA compatible in 4MB or 5.5MB mode**
Header for optional Real Time Clock module: available installed at special price
New version 2.0 (November 2020)




Product Links:

UK
USA
Europe
Canada
Australia
New Zealand

[DDNI]

Nice. The links don’t point to the A1200 flash though.

[amigakit.com]

Thanks fixed!

[xraynorm]

Hi

Looks good.

With the appropriate modules installed in the NAND Flash would it be possible to boot from CD on an A1200?

Thanks

[demolition]

Looks like a nice product. Can the FPU actually run @40MHz? I thought the FPU was always running from the same clock as the CPU which in this case is always 14MHz?

[amigakit.com]

@xraynorm

I dont forsee any reason why not.

@demolition

Thanks, yes the FPU runs at 40MHz.

[eXeler0]

Interesting thing about the expanded CD32 flash. In theory, could an expansion for the cd32 use the same "hack"? How does the software know the new "memory space"?

[FOL]

Originally Posted by xraynorm

Hi

Looks good.

With the appropriate modules installed in the NAND Flash would it be possible to boot from CD on an A1200?

Thanks

I have been exploring this possibility for years. Ive been playing around with it. No progress yet.
If you have atapiismajik in flash, from what I have been told, 3.1.4 looks for that and if seen it activates second IDE channel and you can mount CDROM. I have tested it and it seems to work. Just running mount, mounts CDROM. So you still need to run mount and have a valid mount list for it on HDD.
Spose if you have HDD (which Im sure, every one has these days), you can set it up the way I have my old setup. It checks for CD32 disc and boots it if found.

Apparently 3.1.4 improvments can use SCSI for ATAPI devices. Its just a case of getting it to mount at boot.

Originally Posted by demolition

Looks like a nice product. Can the FPU actually run @40MHz? I thought the FPU was always running from the same clock as the CPU which in this case is always 14MHz?

You can run any speed FPU with the correct external crystal. Its only limited to CPU speed, if it shares CPU crystal.

Originally Posted by eXeler0

Interesting thing about the expanded CD32 flash. In theory, could an expansion for the cd32 use the same "hack"? How does the software know the new "memory space"?

Allready discussing it, .

[Predseda]

Originally Posted by FOL

Just running mount, mounts CDROM. So you still need to run mount and have a valid mount list for it on HDD.
Spose if you have HDD (which Im sure, every one has these days), you can set it up the way I have my old setup. It checks for CD32 disc and boots it if found.

Squirell SCSI works somehow like this - it mounts CD, checks if it is present and if yes, tries to boot from it. Otherwise it boots from HDD.

If this expansion card would allow something similar, then it could be in theory possible to boot CD32 games and store saves in in-built NVRAM.

[FOL]

Originally Posted by Predseda

Squirell SCSI works somehow like this - it mounts CD, checks if it is present and if yes, tries to boot from it. Otherwise it boots from HDD.

If this expansion card would allow something similar, then it could be in theory possible to boot CD32 games and store saves in in-built NVRAM.

Exactly. This is exactly what I did. I thought I was using IDEFix CD32 Emu, when infact I have been using Squirrels.
I dont have Squirrel connected, but I modified startups , etc etc to mount internal CDROM and boot if disc present.

[Bren McGuire]

Kind of confused about what the NAND flash can do here. Can it boot any Amiga software on power up directly? The description is very unspecific/weirdly worded/confusing.

Say I want to boot into DOpus, can I put it in flash and boot into it?

Originally Posted by amigakit.com

Flashing is easy
No more burning ROMs, custom ROM images are now possible and easily put together with the powerful software. Flash the card and the software is available instantly as soon as you power on your Amiga 1200!

Load Configurations Fast
Configurations can then be easily and quickly selected by holding down F1 during reset and selecting the image from our custom Early Boot Menu.


Low Cost- High Quality
We work hard to produce new and innovative hiqh quality products at great prices.


The card has other great features such as Real Time Clock option and second clockport.


Features:
8MB 32-bit Fast RAM to boost total system memory to 10MB
4MB NAND Flash - writeable to make software available on boot
Flash Configuration Tool included (requires MUI to be installed)
Memory auto configures with no drivers required
Second clockport header to give computer more expandability
Floating Point Unit socket accepting optional 68882 PLCC FPU up to 40Mhz
Memory can be configured to 4MB, 5.5MB or 8MB Fast RAM using on-board jumpers or early boot menu.
PCMCIA compatible in 4MB or 5.5MB mode**
Header for optional Real Time Clock module: available installed at special price
New version 2.0 (November 2020)

[FOL]

Originally Posted by Bren McGuire

Kind of confused about what the NAND flash can do here. Can it boot any Amiga software on power up directly? The description is very unspecific/weirdly worded/confusing.

Say I want to boot into DOpus, can I put it in flash and boot into it?

DOpus5. Explain, what is it. I have to ask as it never interested and still doesn't to this day.
If its on a bootable floppy disk (also supports 1.7mb ADF images), you can replace the install disk image and boot from that. If its a ROM, you can also boot from that.


You can have multible configs, Amiga Test Kit ROM, KS1.3, KS3.1, KS3.1.4.
One can be set as default, or you can alter it via F1 boot menu. There you can swap between configs created in flashtool.

Basically, you can stick anything on the flash as storage.
If its a ROM, it will use it.
If its ADF image, it will boot from it.
If its kickstart modules, it will use them.
If its just a plain old file it will Store it.
If you want USB stack on boot, it will do it.

[Bren McGuire]

still kinda confused sorry. So it will only work if I make an ADF out of it? No file structure? How do you access the storage stuff?
You can put modules there without merging them into your custom ROM? Is there a limitation?
How does this even get mounted into the OS? Is it a device? Does it have a filesystem? how much memory footprint does this device take and can we disable it by hardware?

I feel like we need a lot more info about it. Sounds very interesting if I am understanding it correctly but maybe I am not.

Originally Posted by FOL

Basically, you can stick anything on the flash as storage.
If its a ROM, it will use it.
If its ADF image, it will boot from it.
If its kickstart modules, it will use them.
If its just a plain old file it will Store it.
If you want USB stack on boot, it will do it.

[FOL]

It's not a file system. You use the flasher program to transfer back and fore to it.

It works exactly like deneb does.

Sent from my I3113 using Tapatalk

[Bren McGuire]

you havent really answered a single thing i asked, and why would i know how a device i dont own works?

Originally Posted by FOL

It's not a file system. You use the flasher program to transfer back and fore to it.

It works exactly like deneb does.

Sent from my I3113 using Tapatalk

[FOL]

Originally Posted by Bren McGuire

you havent really answered a single thing i asked, and why would i know how a device i dont own works?

Ill ask if we can get the manual uploaded.

Originally Posted by Bren McGuire

still kinda confused sorry. So it will only work if I make an ADF out of it? No file structure? How do you access the storage stuff?
You can put modules there without merging them into your custom ROM? Is there a limitation?
How does this even get mounted into the OS? Is it a device? Does it have a filesystem? how much memory footprint does this device take and can we disable it by hardware?

I feel like we need a lot more info about it. Sounds very interesting if I am understanding it correctly but maybe I am not.

Standard ADF files work. 880kb and 1.7mb.

Exactly same as making a custom ROM. Ifs its not ment for ROM then it will not work.

It mounts the ADF as disk device. Works exactly like a floppy (except its read only).

Footprint, It uses around 280kb of RAM. So when Enabled, system uses 512kb of RAM.

Yes you can disable Flash via jumper on board. With RAM and desired config. You can set them in software temp until next cold boot. So you can switch to 5.5MB for using say PCMCIA slot, without having to open computer to alter jumpers.

[Predseda]

I would also welcome some practical guide showing advantages of this card on some examples. I hope someone will do one as I still have a feeling that this card provides nice features, but I have no idea how to benefit from them.

[FOL]

Originally Posted by Predseda

I would also welcome some practical guide showing advantages of this card on some examples. I hope someone will do one as I still have a feeling that this card provides nice features, but I have no idea how to benefit from them.

That would take time. Which at present I do not have.


It does have nice features.



ROM Images = Like MapROM, it loads ROM images.
DISK Images = Like ROMDisk, it adds another device, that is seen as trackdisk device (it does not mess with normal floppies)
ROM Modules = Like Remus, it lets you use modules ripped from ROM's as they are.


Flash is 4MB in size. So if you wanted to use it as storage, you can copy across any file (it wont do anything) but will just be stored.


It also supports configs. Using Flash tool, you can create say a 1.3 Config. Then for that config, drag Kickstart 1.3 ROM image into that config. Save it to flash. Then you can create another config, say Kickstart 3.1.4. Then while booting hold F1 to enter boot menu. Here you can select RAM values and which config to boot (if you set one as default, it will boot that every time, unless altered here). So you select 1.3, then tell it to boot. It will boot into Kickstart 1.3.


If you want to mess with ADF. You drag your ADF (created in WinUAE is fine) and disk device module into config. You can also add rom images, so if its WB1.3 and you have KS1.3 image in flash config. That config will boot 1.3 and WB 1.3 all from flash.



Rom Modules, exactly the same. Say your using 3.1 physical roms and you want to update the icon.library. You simply drop it into a config, then when ever that config is used, it will always boot with updated icon.library.

[S0ulA55a551n]

Originally Posted by FOL

That would take time. Which at present I do not have.


It does have nice features.



ROM Images = Like MapROM, it loads ROM images.
DISK Images = Like ROMDisk, it adds another device, that is seen as trackdisk device (it does not mess with normal floppies)
ROM Modules = Like Remus, it lets you use modules ripped from ROM's as they are.


Flash is 4MB in size. So if you wanted to use it as storage, you can copy across any file (it wont do anything) but will just be stored.


It also supports configs. Using Flash tool, you can create say a 1.3 Config. Then for that config, drag Kickstart 1.3 ROM image into that config. Save it to flash. Then you can create another config, say Kickstart 3.1.4. Then while booting hold F1 to enter boot menu. Here you can select RAM values and which config to boot (if you set one as default, it will boot that every time, unless altered here). So you select 1.3, then tell it to boot. It will boot into Kickstart 1.3.


If you want to mess with ADF. You drag your ADF (created in WinUAE is fine) and disk device module into config. You can also add rom images, so if its WB1.3 and you have KS1.3 image in flash config. That config will boot 1.3 and WB 1.3 all from flash.



Rom Modules, exactly the same. Say your using 3.1 physical roms and you want to update the icon.library. You simply drop it into a config, then when ever that config is used, it will always boot with updated icon.library.

So can you store an adf on it or other files , and have that adf boot on start-up and really really quickly ?

[utri007]

Originally Posted by FOL

I have been exploring this possibility for years. Ive been playing around with it. No progress yet.
If you have atapiismajik in flash, from what I have been told, 3.1.4 looks for that and if seen it activates second IDE channel and you can mount CDROM. I have tested it and it seems to work. Just running mount, mounts CDROM. So you still need to run mount and have a valid mount list for it on HDD.
Spose if you have HDD (which Im sure, every one has these days), you can set it up the way I have my old setup. It checks for CD32 disc and boots it if found.

This is how I build CD boot for my Amiga 1200

[ Show youtube player ]

It used romdisk device and CD32 emulator on rommed disk. Nothing more is needed than Amiga 1200 and CD-drive.