How have you boxed your external IDE drives?

DDNI · 24 June 2006, 21:48

Hi all,

I intend to hook up a CDROM 2.5 and 3.5 IDE HDD to the A1200 IDE interface via a buffered cable. I will power the CDROM and 3.5" drive with an old PC PSU.

This of course is going to look like an unholy mess!

I really dont want to go down the tower route just yet, so I would love to see how any of you have boxed/powered external IDE drives for the A1200.

keropi · 24 June 2006, 21:52

I had an a500 psu and that gave enough juice for an a1200+sd/ff+4x-ide+3.5"HD+normal 32x cdrom....

DDNI · 24 June 2006, 22:00

Keropi, I use an A500 psu too, but how do I power the CDROM and 3.5" HDD which need molex connectors?

keropi · 24 June 2006, 22:05

that is a good q... I do not remember! the 4x had a molex input and a molex output, I used a Y cable to output to cd+hd , but I cannot remember where I got the input from... damn! i sux

Smiley · 25 June 2006, 00:32

Can you not just rewire a A500 PSU to a molex 3 way cable?

The pinouts are availible on the net

keropi · 25 June 2006, 00:35

no, there was another way, I did not hack the psu... damn it, I really don't remember!

maybe I got it from the floppy power connector on the a1200 motherboard?

Smiley · 25 June 2006, 01:19

You could always get an a few molex/floppy extender cables and run them out of the case....bit cheap though.

Or you can solder the molex extenders on the pcb next to the power output bit.....wasnt there a thread about this?

EDIT: http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=23887

T_hairy_bootson · 25 June 2006, 03:03

This is what mine looked like before I finished it and attached a power cord for the A500/A1200. Originally it was a SCSI box as yuou can see by the 25pin connector on the back. It houses an AT PSU and a dvd-rom for the 1200 atm.

[IMG]

[/IMG]

[IMG]

[/IMG]

DoctorQ · 25 June 2006, 10:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by keropi

maybe I got it from the floppy power connector on the a1200 motherboard?

I believe most users uses the floppy power connector on the motherboard. It's just a matter of cutting the existing floppy power cable, and then soldering a wire with the needed connector in between, so you have 2 x floppy power ports connectors, and 1 x 3.5" power port connector.

A more clever solution would be to solder the wires to the motherboard at the actual power connector.

AMIGAZ · 25 June 2006, 11:46

Like this, thru my Micronik PSU

DDNI · 25 June 2006, 12:08

Guys brilliant replies thanks!

I especially like hairys box ( ooooerr mum!!)

I dont want to solder onto my amiga mainboard, or cut floppy power cables.
I take it that it is possible to power the A1200 with my normal A500 psu, then hook up the IDE CDROM and 3.5"hdd to the Buffered IDE interface and power those from a separate pc psu? Perhaps even housing and powering them in my PC case with ribbon cable to the amiga???

T_hairy_bootson · 25 June 2006, 12:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by DDNI

Guys brilliant replies thanks!

I especially like hairys box ( ooooerr mum!!)

I dont want to solder onto my amiga mainboard, or cut floppy power cables.
I take it that it is possible to power the A1200 with my normal A500 psu, then hook up the IDE CDROM and 3.5"hdd to the Buffered IDE interface and power those from a separate pc psu? Perhaps even housing and powering them in my PC case with ribbon cable to the amiga???

Use the PC PSU to power the miggy, you just need a dead A500/A1200 PSU to cut the cable from.

DDNI · 25 June 2006, 13:29

Ok opened up an old 1200 psu. 5 wires RED BROWN BLACK WHITE YELLOW. I assume they need to be connected to the corresponding PC PSU mainboard plug wires as shown here http://pinouts.ru/Power/atxpower_pinout.shtml
No indication on amiga psu as to which wire carries what voltage. Other end is a moulded plug so cant compare based on the picture here http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=250734&postcount=30

Anyone wanna talk me through it?

lopos2000 · 25 June 2006, 14:48

Here is a website which tells you what to do.
Amiga Power Supply Hacks

coze · 25 June 2006, 16:13

unfortunately the wires on the amiga PSU are not color coded. So you have to measure which cable goes to which pin.

Btw, hairy, where did you get that box from ? did you make it yourself ? or was it available like that ?

DDNI · 25 June 2006, 21:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by coze

unfortunately the wires on the amiga PSU are not color coded. So you have to measure which cable goes to which pin.

Damn I aint got a voltmeter!!!

DoctorQ · 25 June 2006, 21:52

@DDNI

Then use the description in the link provided by lopos2000. I used it myself in my A1200T.

DDNI · 25 June 2006, 22:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoctorQ

@DDNI

Then use the description in the link provided by lopos2000. I used it myself in my A1200T.

Ok all done, I have built a box similar to Hairys. Installed a 3.5"HDD and CDROM and ATX PSU with Amiga PSu cable connected to Spare molex connector and -12v from ATX PSU MoBo plug....
All powers up, but still waiting for my buffered IDE cable to come b4 hooking drives to A1200.

Many thanks guys!

Will post pics of it when I have tidied the box up ...

PS where can I buy 1metre 40pin ribbon cables? Is there a length limit?

adgloride · 25 June 2006, 23:27

I bought a boxed dvd rom drive a while ago from

http://www.vesalia.de/

Don't know if they still sell them. It comes in a case with a dvd rom drive inside, its a normal pc dvd rom drive. Everything is in the case and its just a case of plugging a lead into the mains. You also got a IDE 4 way interface with it and use the IDE interface for the amiga 1200 harddrive to run it. With having a tower, I maybe looking to part with it soon as I no longer need it.

Secret Vampire · 08 July 2006, 14:33

When I did it I used an old full height enclosure that used to contain a floppy drive attached to an RM nimbus 186 machine.
I didn't have a buffered interface at the time, so I hacked an extension onto the 2.5"-3.5" adapter by sandwiching an additional length of cable into the 3.5" plug, so I could keep the 3.5" hard drive inside the A1200, with the IDE cable coming out of a small slot cut into the back of the case.
Power was supplied by a seperate lead from the PSU, the stock one wasn't beefy enough for the 040 accelerator, so I'd already replaced it with a small 65W PC one which I was able to cram the innards of into the standard amiga PSU case, along with the fan, IEC power inlet, and switched outlet for the monitor. I added a 5 pin DIN socket and used a length of telephone cable with the appropriate plug on each end to connect to a matching socket on the enclosure, then I crossed the 12v and 5v wires, and fried the CD-rom

After getting a replacement drive (friend of a friend worked for software warehouse, so I managed to get one cheap) and fixing the cable, it all worked well, though meant that the A1200 and enclosure were permanently attached.

Later, I got a buffered interface, and took the time to fix the nasty cable job inside the machine, connecting the hard drive to one port, and a short length of cable with a 40 pin socket (the kind with locking tabs) soldered to the end and mounted in the now enlarged slot in the back of the machine to the other port. The cable on the enclosure was then fitted with the appropriate plug enabling me to separate the two. Around this time, I also fitted an LS120 drive into the enclosure, in the vain hope that it might enable me to read PC format HD disks. It didn't, but then my main machine didn't have a floppy drive anyway, so if I needed to transfer anything to the 1200 it meant writing it to a PC formatted Zip on my G4, then reading it with an external SCSI Zip on A2000 and writing to DD floppy for transfer to the A1200.

24 June 2006, 21:48	#1
DDNI Targ Explorer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 5,431	How have you boxed your external IDE drives? Hi all, I intend to hook up a CDROM 2.5 and 3.5 IDE HDD to the A1200 IDE interface via a buffered cable. I will power the CDROM and 3.5" drive with an old PC PSU. This of course is going to look like an unholy mess! I really dont want to go down the tower route just yet, so I would love to see how any of you have boxed/powered external IDE drives for the A1200.

25 June 2006, 03:03	#8
T_hairy_bootson Workbitch 1.3 Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Melbourne, Australia Age: 46 Posts: 2,084	This is what mine looked like before I finished it and attached a power cord for the A500/A1200. Originally it was a SCSI box as yuou can see by the 25pin connector on the back. It houses an AT PSU and a dvd-rom for the 1200 atm. [IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG]

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24 June 2006, 21:52	#2
keropi . Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Ioannina/Greece Posts: 5,040	I had an a500 psu and that gave enough juice for an a1200+sd/ff+4x-ide+3.5"HD+normal 32x cdrom....

24 June 2006, 22:00	#3
DDNI Targ Explorer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 5,431	Keropi, I use an A500 psu too, but how do I power the CDROM and 3.5" HDD which need molex connectors?

24 June 2006, 22:05	#4
keropi . Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Ioannina/Greece Posts: 5,040	that is a good q... I do not remember! the 4x had a molex input and a molex output, I used a Y cable to output to cd+hd , but I cannot remember where I got the input from... damn! i sux

25 June 2006, 00:32	#5
Smiley Amiga-less! Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: UK Posts: 1,350	Can you not just rewire a A500 PSU to a molex 3 way cable? The pinouts are availible on the net

25 June 2006, 00:35	#6
keropi . Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Ioannina/Greece Posts: 5,040	no, there was another way, I did not hack the psu... damn it, I really don't remember! maybe I got it from the floppy power connector on the a1200 motherboard?

25 June 2006, 01:19	#7
Smiley Amiga-less! Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: UK Posts: 1,350	You could always get an a few molex/floppy extender cables and run them out of the case....bit cheap though. Or you can solder the molex extenders on the pcb next to the power output bit.....wasnt there a thread about this? EDIT: http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=23887

25 June 2006, 11:46	#10
AMIGAZ Amiga-Mad Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Sweden Age: 46 Posts: 1,286	Like this, thru my Micronik PSU

25 June 2006, 12:08	#11
DDNI Targ Explorer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 5,431	Guys brilliant replies thanks! I especially like hairys box ( ooooerr mum!!) I dont want to solder onto my amiga mainboard, or cut floppy power cables. I take it that it is possible to power the A1200 with my normal A500 psu, then hook up the IDE CDROM and 3.5"hdd to the Buffered IDE interface and power those from a separate pc psu? Perhaps even housing and powering them in my PC case with ribbon cable to the amiga???

25 June 2006, 13:29	#13
DDNI Targ Explorer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 5,431	Ok opened up an old 1200 psu. 5 wires RED BROWN BLACK WHITE YELLOW. I assume they need to be connected to the corresponding PC PSU mainboard plug wires as shown here http://pinouts.ru/Power/atxpower_pinout.shtml No indication on amiga psu as to which wire carries what voltage. Other end is a moulded plug so cant compare based on the picture here http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=250734&postcount=30 Anyone wanna talk me through it?

25 June 2006, 14:48	#14
lopos2000 Zone Friend Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Cider is best In The West Posts: 1,238	Here is a website which tells you what to do. Amiga Power Supply Hacks

25 June 2006, 16:13	#15
coze hastala vista winny vista Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: mt fuji Age: 46 Posts: 1,335	unfortunately the wires on the amiga PSU are not color coded. So you have to measure which cable goes to which pin. Btw, hairy, where did you get that box from ? did you make it yourself ? or was it available like that ?

25 June 2006, 21:52	#17
DoctorQ What?? Who?? DoctorQ!! Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Rødding/Denmark Age: 43 Posts: 314	@DDNI Then use the description in the link provided by lopos2000. I used it myself in my A1200T.

25 June 2006, 23:27	#19
adgloride Amiga Mod Chipper Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: UK Age: 51 Posts: 229	I bought a boxed dvd rom drive a while ago from http://www.vesalia.de/ Don't know if they still sell them. It comes in a case with a dvd rom drive inside, its a normal pc dvd rom drive. Everything is in the case and its just a case of plugging a lead into the mains. You also got a IDE 4 way interface with it and use the IDE interface for the amiga 1200 harddrive to run it. With having a tower, I maybe looking to part with it soon as I no longer need it.

08 July 2006, 14:33	#20
Secret Vampire Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Birmingham UK Age: 42 Posts: 214	When I did it I used an old full height enclosure that used to contain a floppy drive attached to an RM nimbus 186 machine. I didn't have a buffered interface at the time, so I hacked an extension onto the 2.5"-3.5" adapter by sandwiching an additional length of cable into the 3.5" plug, so I could keep the 3.5" hard drive inside the A1200, with the IDE cable coming out of a small slot cut into the back of the case. Power was supplied by a seperate lead from the PSU, the stock one wasn't beefy enough for the 040 accelerator, so I'd already replaced it with a small 65W PC one which I was able to cram the innards of into the standard amiga PSU case, along with the fan, IEC power inlet, and switched outlet for the monitor. I added a 5 pin DIN socket and used a length of telephone cable with the appropriate plug on each end to connect to a matching socket on the enclosure, then I crossed the 12v and 5v wires, and fried the CD-rom After getting a replacement drive (friend of a friend worked for software warehouse, so I managed to get one cheap) and fixing the cable, it all worked well, though meant that the A1200 and enclosure were permanently attached. Later, I got a buffered interface, and took the time to fix the nasty cable job inside the machine, connecting the hard drive to one port, and a short length of cable with a 40 pin socket (the kind with locking tabs) soldered to the end and mounted in the now enlarged slot in the back of the machine to the other port. The cable on the enclosure was then fitted with the appropriate plug enabling me to separate the two. Around this time, I also fitted an LS120 drive into the enclosure, in the vain hope that it might enable me to read PC format HD disks. It didn't, but then my main machine didn't have a floppy drive anyway, so if I needed to transfer anything to the 1200 it meant writing it to a PC formatted Zip on my G4, then reading it with an external SCSI Zip on A2000 and writing to DD floppy for transfer to the A1200.

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