My CD32 setup.

NoPyroNoParty

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I've more or less decided that my main machine will be the CD32. I first tried it with SX32Pro some years ago but I had issues setting up a big hard drive then so I had to push that aside-
Now with the Terriblefire accelerators I've started building up my setup again and will continue to develop it for a while. I'll try and post about random bits and bobs in my setup.

I have a few CD32s but the one that's my show off model is a boxed NOS machine I got this spring.
It's visually perfect. But there's the catch; it's an NTSC model.

So I sent it to Hese.

Starting from the internals here's what the motherboard looks like at the moment:

cd32mobo.jpg

The first thing you probably notice is the color scheme in the caps which gives away it's recapped with polymer caps.
The RF-modulator has been removed and the console has been converted to PAL.
Looking at the Sony video encoder chip you might notice there's something going on there.
The encoder has been changed to a higher quality one that produces a sharper composite image.
Finally, there's two kickstart roms so that the access is 32bit instead of 16bits with addressable space of 4mb.

So, that's the current state inside the console which will receive another upgrade in a few weeks.

Here are links about the video and ROM mods:
Highpuff's CXA2075m mod
Cosmos CD32 double ROM mod

 
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With the TF accelerator cards, the CD32 became a very desirable Amiga, full of potential, despite the lack of floppy disk.
Great thread!
Looking forward to reading and seeing more of it!
 
when i was looking for an Amiga last year,i was after an A1200 ,but due to the prices of them and accelerators i decided to buy a CD32 , and now ive had a chance to test it for for the last few months,im very happy with it,with the various upgrades
its an extremely capable Amiga, and has the benefit of having a built in cd-rom drive :)

Its been an amazing last few months playing all the old classics.


As for your NTSC CD32 ,it looks in fantastic condition, should make a great system once youve got it all setup how you want,i look forward to seeing how it goes.
 
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I first tried it with SX32Pro some years ago but I had issues setting up a big hard drive then so I had to push that aside-

I find this bit of kit very good on mine apart from it being power hungry, But the Goliath PSU keeps it happy. Only Issue I have is if I use Workbench 3.9 (ClassicWB) I got the Large HDD support but lost the CDrom, But the System will still boot Load the CD games.

Do you still have yours?

Its a shame the SX32Pro backplate is not compatible with the TF330 because then you would have a nice floppy interface too

Finally, there's two kickstart roms so that the access is 32bit instead of 16bits with addressable space of 4mb.

What does this do for the system? Increase speed? I'm intrigued

Is there any info online about this mod?
 
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I find this bit of kit very good on mine apart from it being power hungry, But the Goliath PSU keeps it happy. Only Issue I have is if I use Workbench 3.9 (ClassicWB) I got the Large HDD support but lost the CDrom, But the System will still boot Load the CD games.

Do you still have yours?

Its a shame the SX32Pro backplate is not compatible with the TF330 because then you would have a nice floppy interface too

It's a nice piece of kit. I am actually trying to get another one. I still don't know what the actual issue is but for some reason I don't know how to setup harddrives so that the CD32 likes them. I thought I did everything by the book. It was probably a file system problem but couldn't pinpoint it.
The disks worked perfect on my A1200 but not on my CD32 and the same thing happened with the TF too. Anyway solved this by using prefab images and not going to do anything about this ever again spent tens of hours of my life with the issue.


What does this do for the system? Increase speed? I'm intrigued

Is there any info online about this mod?

Access speed is faster and you have space to customize the rom. I'll try and install patched OS3.9 roms when I get new blank M27C160s hopefully next week.
I added links to the few mods to the OP if you want to read about them.
 
Very Interesting indeed will have to look into this mod when I finally get back home (Another Month to go) Cheers for the Links
 
cd32_ks39.jpg
Ok so it's been a while and I forgot one mod that was needed along the 32bit mod to make it a 4mb kickstart mod but now I have a custom rom running that doesn't require scsi.device to be loaded separately. Unfortunately this custom rom is based on 3.9 so even though there's space for it there's no workbench.library on the rom so that's something I need to take a look in a bit.
 
Nice thread! I will be following with interest!
I have a CD32 with a TF328, but I hardly use it :(
I bought it with intention of it being my one and only AGA machine but then came across an A1200...
I really need to get into it a lot more, this thread will definitely motivate me, nice work!!
 
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