Return to the Amiga 1200 - My Journey

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RetroMatt

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Hey folks.

Not sure if this is the done thing, or the norm or anything like that - but, I wanted to keep a record of my journey back into the retro Amiga scene by creating a blog of sorts on what I'm up to with my newly acquired Amiga 1200.

No doubt there will be some mess up's along the way and some questionable choices for mods but wanted to create something for posterity and this forum seemed the perfect place.

So - without further ado, I'll kick off with my first update on purchasing my Amiga 1200 :)


- - - Updated - - -

Part #1: Sourcing & Purchasing my Amiga 1200.

While trawling through Facebook Marketplace, I came across perhaps the most depressing pictures of someone advertising an Amiga 1200. The pictures were terrible and I couldn't really make out everything included. The seller had taken photograph's of pictures of the computer taken on a tablet. Alarm bells rang a little bit that this could be a scam, but with the seller being listed as only located 15 minutes from where I worked I thought worst case, I could always go and pop to see it. If it was a bag of spanners I could always walk away.

amiga1.jpg amiga2.jpg

They had it listed for a reasonable price - I thought I could likely barter some money off and if it was in full working order it could be something I was interested in. I could see it at least booted and output to the TV if that picture was to be believed - so I bit the bullet and flew a message off to the seller to first see if it was available - then get a little bit more info as to what was actually included.

The seller got back to me almost straight away. I was in luck - the system was still available. It was actually her husbands and they were having a clear out of their garage. It had been tucked away in a box for years and they'd only got it out for him to take a picture of it to sell. She wasn't tech savvy which is why she'd done the pictures the way she had, but she was more than happy to tell me that along with the Amiga 1200, it had an external floppy drive (she didn't know if it worked), power supply, Quick Shot joystick, a mouse and cables needed to connect it up. There were a few other things in the box, including some games - but she was going to sell the games separately but I was welcome to everything else.

My interest was peaked - other things in a box and it had an external drive, which definitely wasn't in the pictures that I could see. With my haggling skills I was sure I could snag a bargain, so arranged a time to pop around one evening after work and have a look (whilst observing social distancing measure in place of course!).

Fast forward to the evening in question. I'd finished work for the day and set off to their house. I arrived promptly on time and knocked on the door. An elderly lady appeared at the window and cracked it open - we spoke briefly and she told me I had been chatting to her, but her husband was in the garage if I wanted to head around and he would meet me there.

Now at this point, I was fearing the worst. A computer in a garage, in a box for years - it could be rotten inside, but hey - I'm here, let's go have a look. Well - this was no normal garage. This guy, must have been in his late 70's and there were aerofix models everywhere. Clearly he had pride in his garage and it was really well looked after. He had a plastic box on one side with a few bits and pieces in and the Amiga already hooked up to the TV. My first thought as I entered was - OMG - it's been stored in an air tight container. I asked him if it had and he confirmed the same. Result !

A few quick demo's later and it became apparent the CTRL+AMIGA+AMIGA soft reset didn't work - but other than that, everything else we checked worked fine. Internal & external disk drives span up lovely and we could boot games from each. All the lights worked, PSU and Amiga looked in great condition - there was some yellowing to one side, but he explained it was where the light came in from one of the windows when he used to play it and had yellowed that bit. The rest of the system overall was in good condition.

When we got to the box of bits, there were two items of note which caught my eye. The first, a Techno Sound Turbo dongle - we didn't have the wires of S/W to test it, but he did say it was working when he last used it. Unfortunately he had misplaced a box of floppies which the software was in (along with Workbench discs, annoyingly) and only the big box games were what he'd been able to find - I was welcome to have it along with everything else, except the Big Box games - which I could look through and buy separately (I passed on the games in the end - nothing really there which took my fancy - lots of flight stuff - the aerofix models kinda gave that one away lol). The second, was a Slik Stik joystick. I recall back in the day that was a joystick of choice for many. Unfortunately the fire button was missing and a screw had come loose - but again, he said I was welcome to have it. (Update: I've already bought the bits to fix it.)

After a bit of haggling, we finally settled on a price which worked for us both. I knew I would be getting it recapped and worst case, would have to swap the membrane on the keyboard so with that in mind and the extra bits included I thought I hadn't done too bad on the deal. It was a working Amiga 1200 after all ! They even threw in the Steve Davis game.

Here's a couple of pictures below of my new baby when I got her home:

ami1.jpg ami2.jpg

So - first post done - the purchase of my new(old) Amiga 1200. I'll add another update soon with the next leg of my journey back into the Amiga :)

Best regards,
Matt.
 
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Part #2: Recapping & Initial Repairs.

We left my last post with me getting my new purchase home and showing pictures of it. Now, obviously the first thing I did was test it some more as soon as I walked through the door. Unfortunately the lack of software and disks available to me at the time prohibited me from doing as an extensive a test as I would like (eg. testing the Techno Turbo adapter)- so I set about checking what I could and researching on the internet for what I knew I was going to need (and start making a list of my wants).

Following on from a fuller inspection, the only fault I could find mirrored that from when I purchased it - the CTRL+AMIGA+AMIGA keys didn't work. I did note when output through the composite port the initial Kickstart screen had a slight flicker but that didn't persist when loading into a game. A quick internet search later showed this was a common issue when connecting to newer screens and that using an RGB > SCART Adapter was a great solution here. One item for my shopping list already.

I'd toyed with how to approach repairs and recapping on the drive home. Now whilst it's not something I would be averse from doing myself in time and with a lot more research and re-familiarisation with the Amiga there's no arguing the fact that a recap is a major job for a beginner. With me myself being new back to the Amiga scene I decided that I'd rather not risk breaking it, so decided the best approach was to get a seasoned professional to do it for me. I'd be fixing the joystick in anycase - an easy enough beginner-repair I thought - so would leave the first major rework to a pro.

So - now I was armed with my initial requirements to get my base Amiga 1200 operational and ready for upgrades, I set about researching the best way to tackle this.

After reading a few forum posts on the topic around and about the world wide web with a few mouse clicks later I had a short list of potential repairers and recappers - but from my research one name seemed to stand out from the rest - Steve Clifford from Amiga Passion. This is in by no means a slur on anyone else who provides recapping and repairs, only that from my limited research, his was the most promiment name which kept popping up. Anyway, I found his website and after reviewing his prices and services decided to drop him a message to inquire further.

At the time of sending my initial inquiry I didn't really want to touch the Amiga. I'd wanted to just package it up and send it off for recap and keyboard repair and outlined that in my message to Steve. To Steve's credit, he responded within 24 hours however, as I'm sure most of you can appreciate having the Amiga sitting around was just too much temptation for me not to crack open the case and have a look. My initial thoughts were that the CTRL+AMIGA+AMIGA keyboard reset issue could be down to a loose cable or a dirty connection - so before Steve had opportunity to respond, I'd had the case open and armed with some IPA had set about giving it a darn good clean. Unfortunately despite my best efforts the keyboard issue remained so I knew I was going to leave this in the hands of a professional.

When Steve's message got back to me, he articulated the basic recapping service to me and increased shipping costs associated for sending the whole Amiga back rather than just removing the motherboard and shipping that. He also said that he would take a look at the keyboard and it might be a quick fix but worst case would be a new membrane - but he would take a look at it if I did go ahead with the recapping with him and get back to me with costs of the repair. If he couldn't fix it cheaply, he'd just go with the replacement keyboard and not charge my for the fix attempt, so I wouldn't be out of pocket. Another result - an honest repairer who wouldn't charge for unnecessary repairs. His reputation had indeed preceded him ! (At the time of writing, Steve still has both keyboard & motherboard, so I can't comment on the quality of his work - but his reputation in the community certainly suggests it will be to a high standard. I'm sure once it's back in a subsequent update post I can provide more info there for any people looking for a recapper or repairer).

With me essentially having the Amiga 1200 now lying in bits around me following on from my cleaning frenzy, I knew I could remove the additional shipping costs from sending the whole unit as they were no longer required. The good news there was that as I would be saving on shipping, I could now spend a little extra and opt for the Premium Recapping service. This fit with my budget and because return shipping costs were included, it was a no brainer.

A few further e-mails backwards and forwards and I'd purchased the recapping service on his website, packaged up my motherboard (in its heat shield for extra protection) & keyboard in a ridiculous amount of bubble wrap and got it out in the post with Royal Mail for him to work his magic on once received.

Now that the base Amiga restoration was in hand, I set about finding the RGB > SCART cable I'd need to connect it to a modern TV (I've since re-imagined how/what I'll be connecting my Amiga 1200 too, but I'll follow up on that in a later post once I have all the bits in hand and tested my solution). Again an internet trundle later and I settled upon an adapter supplied by AmigaKit. (I also purchased a PCMCIA CF Adapter from them, as I knew I'd need to transfer files on and off of the Amiga and this seemed like a good quick solution).

So - there you have it. Initial repairs in hand and first couple of minor mods. I have a more extensive list of things I've researched and placed orders for, but I'll save that for future updates :)

I'll leave you with a picture of my Amiga shell in bits, awaiting return of its keyboard and motherboard:

IMG_20200518_104636.jpg

Best regards,
Matt.
 
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Nice story - look forward to the future instalments - its always cool to see someone getting back into the AmigaWorld. :)

Have you considered a blog here on Amibay ? - that's what I ended up doing.

Good luck with it all.
 
Hi. I'll definitely be looking to Blog, but it says I need 10 posts before I can convert the posts to a Blog. Only a few more to go - but I don't want to SPAM to get the post count up. I'm a responsible forum member <nods>

Thanks for the kudos :)
 
#3) Initial Requirements & First Stage Mods

Two posts in one day - well, there's been a lot going on..

At the time of writing, my Amiga is still in the same state it was from my previous update - in bits awaiting return of the recapped motherboard & repaired keyboard. This is still in hand with Steve and I'll post more information there as I have it.

They say the devil makes work for idle hands and I can certainly state that he's certainly made a dent in my bank balance. It's easy to get carried away with upgrades and mods. I'm trying to be sensible in my approach here, so I listed out exactly what I wanted to be able to do initially. I'll break each item down and comment on the progress of each. No doubt I'll expand on each in future update posts.

Initial requirements:

1) Get some games & some floppy disks !

2) Add a HDD

3) Get an Internet Connection to the Amiga 1200

4) Sort out initial peripheral upgrades (Joysticks & Mice)

5) Explore different Video/Audio output options to configure into my existing setup

As you will see as I cover some of the items, they ended up being a little bit of a rabbit hole and I did my best to spend as little ££'s as possible whilst being as efficient as I was able. If anyone has any recommendations for things I can do differently, which don't overstretch the budget, please reply and let me know.

So - let's break each aspect down a little further and update on my progress to date.

1) Get some games & some floppy disks !

I didn't want to break the bank on this one. There was one game above all others I knew I wanted to grab an original copy of - Eye of the Beholder. This was by far and away my favourite game on the Amiga back in the day. A little bit of research found they'd released an AGA version for the 1200. Armed with this knowledge, it was off on another internet hunt for a copy of this at a reasonable price. At the time of writing I have sourced a copy in great condition, but am awaiting it being delivered. Once my Amiga is back and re-assembled, rest assured this will be the first set of disks in it.

I also knew I would need some blank floppies and having a few more disk-based games wouldn't hurt. At the time I'd been looking for the Amiga on Facebook Marketplace, I'd come across another listing from a chap selling off a pretty large collection of disks. There were a few big boxed games in there and I could spy at least one workbench disk on zooming in. Most of the disks weren't visible, but I could see a good few hundred in the pictures combined with some originals poking their heads out. He didn't want much for them as he just wanted to get rid - so I bit the bullet and reached out to him. It seems I was in luck again - they were still available and he was willing to post. Due to the weight though, postage was another - on top - but, for a bundle of this size and with their being some big box games there, I snapped his hand off. One PayPal payment later and I had the tracking number in hand (Update: According to the tracking it's on its way to the local courier - so it might be here today or tomorrow!).

Here's the picture I had to go on:

disks.jpg

With that said - whilst doing some research it became clear the best modern method of playing games was either:

i) Grabbing a Gotek Drive and running ADF images from it
or
ii) Adding a HDD mod and using WHDLoad to play games from there.

As I was already considering getting a HDD, I decided to go that route instead - and from subsequent research it looks like for an Amiga 1200 that's the go-to option for many.

2) Add a HDD

Well, this was to be my first rabbit hole. My initial thoughts were to add a standard HDD back from what I could have sourced for the Amiga 1200 back in the day. The costs back then were far too high for me as a meagre student so I'd never bitten the bullet and got one but had always envied those who did - so it was high on my list. However, as I'm sure most folks here know, there's quicker/cheaper solutions available which do the same job and with a much higher capacity - a CF Flash Card & IDE Adapter.

My research into this is actually still ongoing. In time I'll likely expand and upgrade further here and build my own custom CF image, but for now I opted for an Out-of-the-box solution which also included Workbench 3.1. This would save me a lot of time at the minute whilst I concentrated on other aspects of this project. Another spot of internet researching later and I settled for a solution supplied by AmigaOne Haven - touted as being the first person to bring the CF HDD to the Amiga, so again - I trusted I would be in safe hands.

I do want to upgrade and expand further here and use things like Magic Workbench & Amiga Games Booter - but I'll get to that in time. My order was placed and the kit arrived only a few days later. It's now sitting majestically in my "box of bits" awaiting return of my motherboard to be able to fit.

Whilst doing further research into this area it became quite clear that for better game compatibility it was advised to procure and fit an expansion card - however, this was yet another rabbit hole, so I decided for now to hold off and do some further research into that area once I'd got through my initial list to ensure I got one fit for my purpose before parting with any more money.

3) Get an Internet Connection to the Amiga 1200

Yet again I took to Google to find a good solution here. There were many posts in forums on this topic and a lot of suggestions, but in the end I opted for one which had a complete tutorial created. Big thanks to AmigaToday for this. For anyone interested, the tutorial is here: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/k7yF340BwUM9z3bVBLW

I've purchased the exact same Netgear PCMCIA WiFi card - which also arrived only a few days after ordering - and this is another item in my "box of bits" waiting to be fitted once my motherboard wings its way back to me. No doubt the tutorial will come in tremendously useful as it's quite comprehensive and walks you through the process step-by-step. I'll be sure to post how I get on in a subsequent update once I tackle it.

An interesting point I did note whilst doing my research into this area was that 8MB expansion cards can and do conflict with PCMCIA devices. I was pleased I'd held off purchasing an expansion card with this in mind, so added it to my notes for when looking to purchase one and things to be aware of. It was also noted that Kickstart 3.1 ROMs or later also had addition fixes in this area and was a recommended upgrade. So - another item added to the list of upgrades to perform.

4) Sort out initial peripheral upgrades (Joysticks & Mice)

Joysticks:

What appears to be a simple task on face value again turned into another rabbit hole. I'll definitely be posting a further update on this topic, but below is my current approach.

As a kid, the Competition Pro vs Zip Stik argument had already been played out and won for me. I'm a Zip Stik fan boy - always will be. However, I do remember one of my friends from school having a Suzo "The Arcade" and when I'd played with it, I liked it - but as I had a Cruiser also back then I didn't really need any more joysticks for 2 player action with my old man. Now I'm back into the Amiga Scene though and have a little bit more disposable income I could add this to my setup. There are mixed reports on reliability here, but I knew I would be getting a Zip Stick in anycase - and add the Slip Stik into the mix once repaired if all goes to plan I'd have 3 worthy joysticks for my setup.

At the time of writing, I'm managed to source the Suzo - shout out to Amiga Scene in the Netherlands for that. Not the cheapest purchase I've made, but definitely won't be the most expensive I'm sure.

For the Zip Stiks, I've sourced two "questionable" ones. One of them is declared as faulty, the other has been in a loft for some time. After doing a little bit more research and watching the excellent YouTube videos from Ms Mad Lemon on fixing them, I've also gone ahead and bought some Zippy Microswitches - I'll be refurbing both joysticks in anycase. If I can get both working I may sell on one of them. Watch this space !

For the Slip Stik - this was the more difficult one to find parts for. I've struggled to find a component list (if anyone has one - please share!) so have gone with a few cheap items and found a tutorial on upgrading the fire button to a microswitch. As I don't have a fire button, it seemed like a logical upgrade.

I've also gone ahead and purchased a 9 Pin DB9 Joystick Tester. Shout out to pondu67 from Norway on Ebay for this.

I'm still awaiting delivery on all of the above - once received and I get to refurbing and fixing, I'll be sure to post an update on how I get on.

Mice:

I want to replicate my childhood setup as much as possible for that retro/nostalgia feeling - and the mouse is a HUGE part of that. The mouse that came with this machine is a Primax MU525. It works and there's nothing wrong with it, but it just doesn't feel the same. Back in the day I had the Amiga 1200 mouse which had the bigger left mouse button so set about sourcing one of those. You may have seen I posted on the Wanted section of these forums looking for one, but have since struck gold - twice !

I've sourced two of these mice. Now - one of them is fully upgraded to a new laser setup. Another not-so-cheap upgrade, but if you take into account buying the mouse yourself then upgrading it, I actually saved money here. That said, I'm not sure if the look/feel will be what I'm after - but I'm sure performance will be much better.

Before I found that, I'd already gone ahead and put an offer in on another mouse - same larger left mouse button, but this was stock original. I was exploring upgrading this to a laser, but then dropped on the pre-built one. For now, I'm reserving judgement on which will be the mouse I end up opting for - but no doubt once I've made my choice I'll be selling off the other one.

As I'll be doing some 2-player action on some all-time classics such as Rainbow Island, Bubble Bobble & Pang etc. with my better half, I also opted for a cute little mod - an auto mouse/joystick switcher with LED so I don't have to faff about switching between the two. It's amazing the mods out there now for the Amiga !

5) Explore different Video/Audio output options to configure into my existing setup

I'll try and keep this update short and to the point and post a more comprehensive update on this later. I mentioned in my initial post I've changed tack and was exploring an alternative solution for wiring up my Amiga 1200 to a screen. This in itself has turned into a little bit of a rework of my desk space & technology area in my back bedroom (which has no bed and is really just some tech space for me). I'll cover the desk mods in another post, but to update on my initial config / working theory.

I presently have a Mini ITX PC (built myself / configured from component parts) hooked up to a HP monitor. I also do the occasional stream for some PC Games I play and can/do hook up my PlayStation through a USB TV Capture card. Having looked in more detail at the specs for the RGB > SCART adaptor it's clear I can actually wire this through my USB TV Capture card and use my capture S/W in Full Screen as the "monitor" for the Amiga 1200. I'm hoping with good results.

This is all working theory at the moment, but I've tested it out with my portable DVD player outputting through my intended solution and that worked.

Here's my plan:

Amiga 1200 >> RGB/SCART Cable for Amiga >> SCART Male & Female to 3 RCA Phono Sockets + 4 pin Mini Din SVHS Switch Adapter >> 3 RCA Cable >> TV Tuner

Until I've got the Amiga fully assembled and taken delivery of the RGB/SCART cable for the Amiga, this is still a working theory, but I'm confident it will work. I may throw in an upscaler at some point and move to HDMI but this was the least expensive option for now and in theory lets me wire the Amiga into my existing setup.

Unfortunately I have run out of desk space - so have made some upgrades there - but that's for another post as I highlighted.

For the Audio - that's still a WIP. I have a full audio setup with Mixer, Technics SL1210 MkIII Turntables and an Amp - so once I figure out the Techno Sound Turbo card fully, I'll likely rewire all of that too. For now though, stock sound through my existing PC setup via the Tuner Card will be ok.

Anyway - quite a bit of an update there. To leave you, here's a picture of all of the bits that have arrived / will be used so far:

IMG_20200518_161358.jpg

Until my next post !

Best regards,
Matt.
 
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Oh I remember the excitement of this stage!

Many of us started the same way, and it's easy to get carried away.

Personally, with an a1200, I wouldn't be too bothered with a gotek, and just use whdload and the cf card. You will need extra ram or an accelerator to make the most of it, and you may struggle to use the wifi card without one as well (personally I use a wired pcmcia card).
 
Thanks for the advice.

I've pretty much conceded to the fact I need some more RAM or an accelerator card - it's another rabbit hole though and can get super expensive.

A forthcoming post will provide more of an update there now I've settled on one :)
 
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Thanks for the advice.

I've pretty much conceded to the fact I need some more RAM or an accelerator card - it's another rabbit hole though and can get super expensive.

A forthcoming post will provide more of an update there now I've settled on one :)
Oh dont I know. I started off like you and cannot tell you how much I have spent [emoji1787][emoji1787]
Having said that my blizzard 1260 is a great card....
 
Some great stuff! I started much like you (and am also called Matt!), and the bug has ended up with me buying an Apollo 1260 from here, after getting through successive 1230s (still tempted to keep hold of the Blizzard board as that's what I had back in the day!).

I'd suggest giving WinUAE a go to have a play using the CF card and transfer downloaded files.

I haven't managed to get online with my A1200 yet- although I have put a laptop CD-Rom in!
 
Thanks for the words of encouragement. Expansions cards is definitely a topic I'll be revisiting at some point in the future. Cost is somewhat prohibitive to me at the minute as I'm trying to do this on a budget - but satisfy my basic needs without getting too carried away, yet...

Another update posting incoming..

- - - Updated - - -

Part #4 - All things Floppy !

Well, today's update as the title suggests is Floppy Disk related. As I hinted in the previous update, the courier tracking was indicating the collection of disks I picked up for peanuts was due for delivery imminently and sure enough, it landed today.

Imagine my delight to unbox this beauty:

IMG_0255.jpg

Now - first thing I need to do is add a caveat. As my Amiga 1200 is still in bits and off for recap/repair, I have no way to test any of this haul yet - but, I will of course be doing so as soon as I'm able.

There will very likely be a number of these - especially the originals - that if they work I'll be selling on. I'm keeping the disk box and some floppies though for obvious reasons.

The rest of this post really is just a record of what I've received. If I can identify what it is from the disk itself, I'll note it down. Everything as I highlighted will be tested though to confirm it works and what the contents are before I approach selling on some of this.

So, without further ado, onto the list:

Complete Originals:

Boxed - Rise of the Robots - AGA Version (Box is crushed)
Boxed - Mortal Kombat (Box is crushed)
Workbench 2.0
Dennis - Desktop Dynamite Bundle Version

Incomplete Originals:

Oscar - Desktop Dynamite Bundle Version (Missing Disk 2)

Official PD Disks:

Home Management - Anglia PD
Speccy Game Disk 3 - KT's PD
Speccy Game Disk 5 - KT's PD
Numpad 37.3 (Add A600 Numpad)
Languagr Tutor - Software 2000
C64 Boot & Utils - Software 2000

Complete Copies:

Workbench 3.0
Sensible World of Soccer
Sensible Soccer '92
Impossible Mission
Coala
Virtua Cop
Worms
Syndicate
Deliverance
The Word (Issues 7, 8, 11, 12)
Behind the Iron Gate
Grapevine Disk Mag 21
Prince of Persia
Gloom AGA
Rick Dangerous 2
Hero Quest
Super Foul Egg
Zeewolf
Multigame Disk: Stuntcar, Arkanoid, Hypercat, Rick Dangerous
Kingpin
Manchester United Europe
Pinball Dreams
Thunder Hawk
Theatre of Death
Panza Kick Boxing
Hunter
Hybris
Alien Fish Finger
Total Species
Leading Lap
Alien Bash 2
Batman
21 Games Compendium
Octamed Pro v5.4
Various Copy Utils (1 Disk)
CD32 Games (1 Disk)
Copiers (1 Disk)

Incomplete Copies:

Lure of the Temptress (Missing Disk 3)
Battle Isle (Missing Disk 3)
Civilisation (Missing Disk 1 & 3)
Dune (Missing Disk 3)
Eye of the Beholder (Missing Disk 1)
Road Rash (Missing Disk 1)
Pinball Prelude (Missing Disk 1)
Odyssey (Missing Disk 2)
Universe (Missing Disk 1, 2, 4 & 5)
Alien Breed 3D 2 (Missing Disk 1 & 5)
Tower of Souls (Missing Disk 1, 2, 3 & 4)
The Clue (Missing Disk 1 & 2)
Secret of Monkey Island (Missing Disk 1)
Hellbound (Missing Disk 2)
Hired Guns (Missing Disk 1, 2, 3 & 5)
Speris Legacy (Missing Disk 2 & 4)
Legends of Valour (Missing Disk 3)
Obsession (Missing Disk 1)
Flight of the Amazon Queen (Missing Disk 2 & 3)
Virtual Karting (Missing Disk 1)
Gloom (Missing Disk 1)
Pinball Prelude (Missing Disk 2, 3 & 4)
Flashback (Missing Disk 2, 3 & 4)
Chaos Engine 2 AGA (Missing Disk 2 & 3)
Black Viper (Missing Disk 1 & 2)
Cannon Fodder (Missing Disk 1 & 2)
Amigadeus (Missing Disk 2)
Kindword (Missing Disk 1 & 2)

Demo Disks / Cover Disks:

Amiga Format 69a (Photogenics)
Amiga Format 59a (Interbase) x 2
Amiga Format 65
Amiga Computing April 95
CU Amiga 81
Amiga Format 107b
Amiga Format 68
Amiga Format 74
Amiga Format 72
CU Amiga 96
Amiga Computer Bars & Pipes
Amiga Format 71a
Amiga Format 73a

Misc / Blank:

Adult themed, blank, or indistinguishable: 30

Total number of disks: 203

When I get these tested, these numbers may change but on face value I'm happy and got this haul cheap enough. I'll be pulling all of the branded ones out regardless and using them as my bank of blanks - new labels & sticker removal spray are already on order.

I'll close with a picture of my disks all sorted into neat piles. I found it quite calming to sort through them all...

IMG_20200519_153003.jpg

Until next time !

Best regards,
Matt.
 
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I did wonder and should have flagged that up earlier, oops.

Anyway, what sort of cards are you looking at?

I did the usual of starting with an 8mb ram card but ended up going for a blizzard 1230 mk4 within weeks, and have had several since. They are still my favourite card although I no longer have one. Obviously they are pricy now however. [emoji25]

There are a number of recent and upcoming options however....
 
Part #5 - If the universe is ever expanding, what's it expanding into ?

Well, another day with two updates - but, I felt it prudent as I can approach the topic I've had the most comments on so far.. expansion cards !

OK - this is perhaps the BIGGEST rabbit hole of them all. My research into this is still ongoing as to what's possible - there's just so many options & choices out there. What I figured quite quickly was I needed to approach this the same way I did with my Mini ITX PC build when it came to configuring.

Let's separate this out into what I want, then look at what I need right now, and in the foreseeable future.

So, let's deal with what I want - let's imagine money is no object and work back from there into my needs.

The core of this is pretty simple. I want a nostalgic feeling with the Amiga 1200, keeping as close to the core original as possible but running fast enough for modern day needs. As I've outlined in earlier posts the primary purpose for me really is retro gaming. I may dabble with a bit of audio work at some point, but for now - getting games running fast and smooth is my main aim here.

So - with that in mind, apologies to those in the community who get their kicks out of this - I'm not really looking to Tower my 1200. I'd probably have gone the A4000 route if I was looking to go all out super upgrading - so all those mods are out. No fancy 060's for me ! Which also eliminates the Vampire stuff in actuality. Again, it's not really the direction I'm wanting to take.

With that in mind, what do I want ? An 030 processor really. It will improve performance no end and not run into any pesky compatibility issues I've read about with 040's and 060's. For what I'm planning for my Amiga 1200 an 030 really will be the bee's knees.

So - 030 Accelerator Cards. Another rabbit hole in itself. I could list out all of the options out there and what I looked at, but I'm not going to do that. I'll leave it for other people to do their own research - as honestly - it's half the fun. What I did settle on as my main want is...

<fanfare>

The Blizzard 1230 MK IV with 68030 Processor, 68882 FPU & 64MB RAM.

This removes compatibility issues with PCMCIA so I can use it quite happily with my Wireless Card and it gives a super huge kick to system performance.

Here's a picture of one, just to drool over:

blizzard.jpg

OK - money was no object for looking at my wants, but let's be realistic now. The Blizzard is *not* cheap. Even if I got one for half price, it's still way outside my budget for the moment. It looks like a thing of beauty and is definitely on my wants list but maybe at some point in the future. I could go MK2 or MK3, but this is my want - money no object - I won't settle for anything less, so those are out too. For now though, I'll have to settle for something functional which serves my immediate needs.

So - what do I actually need ?

Well.. I need enough of a boost to run the vast majority AGA WHDLoader games without issue but at the same time, can remove the pesky PCMCIA compatability problems encountered with 8MB expansion cards. For those interested, the problem as best explained by LaserBack over on another forum is:

The 8MB thing comes into play when an accelerator does not remap the 8MB of memory out of the Zorro-II window. As the A1200 accelerator bus only carries the first 24 bits of the address bus, the accelerator slot can only support 8MB of RAM. The more basic accelerator boards simply use this bus and so are also limited to 8MB RAM. The problem comes from the PCMCIA slot being mapped at an address 4MB into this 8MB window, so effectively it conflicts with the upper 8MB on the accelerator.

Still being realistic, all of the cheaper expansion cards are going to run into this problem - so getting one which has a jumper to switch between 4MB and 8MB is key at the minute. Let's not forget, I want the Blizzard, so this is all compromise for the moment.

4MB is enough for WHDLoad and for basic internet connectivity and surfing. Performance won't be lightning - I've accepted that, but it will be functional and usable. I'm sure the more annoying it gets, the more likely I will be to start seriously looking for the Blizzard, but for now - it'll do.

Now my need is known, it was time to go trundling around the various cheaper end expansion cards. Again, there's a lot of choices out there, but I only want something cheap and functional. Fast forward a lot of googling later and I've finally settled upon the Amiga 1200 8MB Fast Ram Expansion from AmigaStore.eu

8mbexp.jpg

It fits the bill quite nicely - on a budget. It's got a jumper for 8MB/4MB mode, proclaims to be a great choice for WHDLoad and in 8MB mode has a 230% boost. Let's be conservative though and say in 4MB mode it gives me a 100% boost. Still plenty enough for now.

That Blizzard though...

Anyways, moving on. Having now made my mind up, I've gone ahead and ordered it. Whilst I was there, I also picked up some 3.1 Kickstart ROMs as they were relatively inexpensive. I did toy with 3.x ROMs, but at the minute it's overkill and standard 3.1's are more than enough for me.

More updates to follow as more things arrive.

Until next time !

Best regards,
Matt.
 
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Following with interest - I am undergoing a similar journey at the moment. My 1200 motherboard is also currently at Amigapassion awaiting recap. I am sticking with 3.0 ROMs at the moment as it means I can use a PCMCIA CF card for transferring files and all 8MB on my RAM expansion.

I went down the tower A1200 route in the early 2000s (I had a 1200 with hard drive and fast RAM in the 90s) which had a bus board, Picasso card, 060 accelerator, etc etc for a pittance and all I did was play games on it so I didn't fancy going that way again - I am happy with the fast RAM and SD card in the 1200 this time round.

Kind of wish I had stuck the tower in the loft rather than selling it for what I paid for it seeing the prices of this stuff now though.
 
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Kind of wish I had stuck the tower in the loft rather than selling it for what I paid for it seeing the prices of this stuff now though.

lol - hindsight - if only they sold it at the opticians !

I sold my Amiga 1200 back in the day to put towards a Voodoo 1 3DFX Graphics card for my PC build - I think around '97. It had been gathering dust so I decided to sell. I wish I'd have kept it now though. Back then, the sale of my 1200 only covered a fraction of the cost of the card (my old man gave me some money towards for Christmas too) - but nowadays, you can get 3 Voodoo's for around the same price as 1 Amiga 1200. Craziness !
 
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Remember with the blizzard you can softkick updated and homebrew roms...
 
Remember with the blizzard you can softkick updated and homebrew roms...

<more drooling>

It's an inevitability I'm going to end up getting one .. just need to save some pennies first. When I sell on some of the bits I've picked up as part of this project I don't need (some floppies, joystick, mouse etc.) I will no doubt put that towards it. I'll also sell on the 8MB Fast RAM card too when I do get one - so that's another few ££'s towards.

I'll be sure to let people know when I do bite the bullet - it doesn't hurt to keep my eyes open on the various marketplaces though just in case one comes up for a steal.

I loves me a bargain ;)
 
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It does become quite addictive once you get started! I thought I would be happy with my GVP 030 accelerator, but then I got the itch for a Blizzard and justified the price to myself when one came up on eBay.

But then a 1260 came up last week and the itch returned... Hopefully that’s it, although the Warp1260 cards are looking rather tasty...

I remember being interested with towering my A1200 back in 97, but then my mates got PCs and I quickly forgot about my pledge never to go over to the dark side due to my love of my Amiga.

I’ve also got a Surf Squirrel which doesn’t seem to work, but I can’t justify throwing more money at other cd drives just yet when I’ve got a working internal drive.

Tried a gotek , but I just love the sound of the drive clicking!

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and I meant to say keep an eye on here for accelerator cards, they can be a fair bit cheaper than eBay sometimes.
 
Yeah I was browsing amibay one night and saw a blizzard 1260 offered and despite the fact i was happy with my b1230 i took my chance and went for it. Woke up the next day and was slightly shocked at how much i had spent! Having said that it's worth double now so not such an issue, but at the time....
This hobby can get quite addictive...
 
@RetroMatt

I've edited the posts, removed all "offending" references and moved on.

I'll tidy up the thread shortly

Thanks - please continue
 
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