Checkmate A1500 plus case - accelerator issue

[Richy2000]

I've recently received the new Checkmate A1500 case from the kickstarter and have just started to put my A1200 motherboard in. I discovered to my horror that my GVP accelerator is too wide and won't fit in the case.

I don't really want to spend a fortune on a modern accelerator that does fit. I've looked for some sort of expansion slot adapter that would allow the card to plug in the opposite way but can't see anything online that would do this.

Has anyone seen something that might fit the bill?

[Magic]

Which GVP accelerator is it that does not fit?

[Richy2000]

It's the GVP A1230 Turbo+ Series II

https://www.bigbookofamigahardware.c...ct.aspx?id=132

[Daedalus]

The A1200 accelerators are a tight fit, but it *should* fit the Checkmate case as other full-sized cards like Blizzards do. Have you tried fitting the accelerator to the motherboard before fitting the motherboard into the case?

[Richy2000]

Yes, it's just that bit too big. Very annoying!

[Lord Aga]

Can we see a pic of the mobo inside the case?

[Magic]

Wow this isn't good. Sorry to hear about that. You could probably sell the GVP and buy an ACA if you really wanted to stick with that case. Anyway good luck.

[Richy2000]

I really don't want to sell it if I can get away with it, it's a full 40MHz 68030 with FPU and 32MB of RAM.
I could probably get a small fortune for it on Ebay but I've had the card since the early 90s when I bought it in Silica shop

I've attempted to attach the picture of the board and case below.

[grelbfarlk]

That's a real shame. I wonder what other Accelerators don't fit? I guess you can follow the proud tradition of alternative A1200 cases and *cut a hole in your brand new case*.

[Magic]

Does that mean that the Phase 5 1260 and Blizzard PPC cards won't fit either? That is quite an oversight IMO.

You could put the A1200 - GVP in one of the new Kickstart cases and build second system with a different accelerator in the Checkmate case. That way you would have the best of both worlds.

[Richy2000]

I thought about that briefly but the case is solid steel and build like a tank!

[Richy2000]

Originally Posted by Magic

Does that mean that the Phase 5 1260 and Blizzard PPC cards won't fit either? That is quite an oversight IMO.

You could put the A1200 - GVP in one of the new Kickstart cases and build second system with a different accelerator in the Checkmate case. That way you would have the best of both worlds.

As it happens I do have a second uncapped A1200 and also an A500, A500 plus and A600.
I wouldn't know which one to stick in. Also, A1200 accelerators are expensive and hard to come by. A500/A600 ones are relatively cheaper and more common.

[Daedalus]

That must be an unusually long accelerator board - is there any special manoeuvring required to fit it in a standard A1200 case? By the location of the SIMM socket, it certainly looks longer than the Blizzard cards, which are about as long as you can fit in the stock A1200 without additional faff.

[Richy2000]

Card goes into trapdoor at a slight angle, I push the card onto the expansion connector and then the card is level. The part of the card furthest away from the connector is right up to the edge of the trapdoor bay.

In the example attached, a card (not mine) is in the slot, my GVP card takes up the whole area (the example card and the space in red).

[JanHolbo]

Originally Posted by Richy2000

I really don't want to sell it if I can get away with it, it's a full 40MHz 68030 with FPU and 32MB of RAM.

I would suggest to reach out to Stephen Jones - there might be others out there with a similar problem, so he might have a solution.

I would imagine a backplane similar to the one for ACA500(+) plus a few spacers could solve the problem.

Jan

[Argo]

Damn, I have the same card for my A1200 and am getting a Checkmate 1500+ case, though not for the 1200 It would be a nice option should anything happen to my original A1200 case

[Richy2000]

Originally Posted by Kaddu.dk

I would suggest to reach out to Stephen Jones - there might be others out there with a similar problem, so he might have a solution.

I would imagine a backplane similar to the one for ACA500(+) plus a few spacers could solve the problem.

Jan

I have indeed reached out to Stephen Jones. He's asked to borrow my card and I will let you all know what happens.

[Daedalus]

Originally Posted by Richy2000

Card goes into trapdoor at a slight angle, I push the card onto the expansion connector and then the card is level. The part of the card furthest away from the connector is right up to the edge of the trapdoor bay.

In the example attached, a card (not mine) is in the slot, my GVP card takes up the whole area (the example card and the space in red).

Yeah, that looks longer than A1200 cards should have been - there's supposed to be a small gap at the end to press it home without leaning on the parts or removing the cover. So the largest a card can be is to fill the bay before it's pushed onto the connector, which is the size of the Blizzard 1230/40/60 boards.

The PPC boards are longer than that IIRC, so they may also have trouble fitting the case.

[lord of time]

sell it and put the money towards the new vampire 1200!!!

[Richy2000]

Originally Posted by lord of time

sell it and put the money towards the new vampire 1200!!!

I'm too attached to the card and it is really well specced!
The Vampire 1200 is going to cost a small fortune I guess.