A1200 upgrades

[digii3]

I just got an A1200 (Workbench 3.0 and original 3.0 ROM) with the DKB Cobra 030 accelerator and would like to know if my ideas will work... I connect it to an old 32" LCD HDTV via an external box that converts Amiga video to HDMI and it works great - Amiga HI res with no flickers. I also have a few amiga formatted harddrives and hundreds or thousands of floppies that may or may not be good that I want to access and transfer to my home NAS. Below are some ideas I have for this system so I can better use it in today's enviroment.

1. Remove the DKB and replace with the PiStorm 32lite and the RasberryPI 4B, and extend the USB and video to the expansion cover on the back.
2. Install a mouse port to USB adaptor to use wireless mouse.
3, Install wireless HDMI so I can use the A1200 without the cord to the monitor.

Questions:

1. Is there a way to connect the IDE to external or is the PiStorm able to access amiga formatted harddrive installed in an USB external enclosure and be accessed by the PiStorm USB port?
2. If not, is there a way to get the IDE port to the outside to try to access Amiga formatted harddrive.
3. How good/bad is it to use the HDMI port from the PiStorm on the A1200?
4. I have the original EMPLANT card and software by Jim Drew from the 90's. I remembered that the software no longer needed the card anymore, so I would like to run Emplant on it and install MacOS 9 on it for some of my Mac softwares from back then as well. Is Emplant compatible with PiStorm and in RTG?
5. I would really like to connect the A1200 to the internet, what simplest way to do so? Would upgrading to 3.2 ROM and run Workbench 3.2 to make this simple?
6. With PiStorm, can I access the internet port and use it as the internet connection for the A1200 or should I get a PCMCIA ethernet card <- Which card is best?
7. How would this A1200 compare to my old A4000, that, unfortunately, does not work due to blown battery - might get repaired unless I find an affordable A4000 motherboard.
8. How useful is the A1200 for use today for web browsing (I used I-Browse from the 90's, but I am sure it is not usable in today's web enviroment)?
9. Other than what I plan to do with the A1200, what else can I do what would not require me to cut or break the case and would not need any sodering? I do not know how to solder.

Separate, not critical question:

1. Is there a battery or battery enclosure that is like a thin profile that will sit under the A1200's profile that we can use on the A1200 so I can eliminate the power cord

Note that this unit is not my primary unit. I use Commodore OS Vision 3.0 and MacOS 15.6.1 as my primary systems. Commodore OS for work and MacOS for browsing. The A1200 is main for playing and trying things our of the ordinary (much like what I did with my A4000 in the early 90's), but if it can be used for web browsing, that would be most ideal.
Thanks.

 

[Boing-ball]

To answer these the best I can from my point of view:

1. Is there a way to connect the IDE to external or is the PiStorm able to access amiga formatted harddrive installed in an USB external enclosure and be accessed by the PiStorm USB port?

The PiStorm uses the Pi SD card reader/writer that is connected up. This is required to setup EMU68 emulation first then be able to boot a Amiga OS. If you need access to this then a SD card reader/writer extender can be used.

2. If not, is there a way to get the IDE port to the outside to try to access Amiga formatted harddrive.

Again using something like a IDE to SD card reader/writer using 44 pins and a SD extender.

3. How good/bad is it to use the HDMI port from the PiStorm on the A1200?

The HDMI port on the PiStorm will only handle RTG P96 output. This will not work with Native Amiga output that a lot of games, Demos and most made Amiga programs may depend on.

4. I have the original EMPLANT card and software by Jim Drew from the 90's. I remembered that the software no longer needed the card anymore, so I would like to run Emplant on it and install MacOS 9 on it for some of my Mac softwares from back then as well. Is Emplant compatible with PiStorm and in RTG?

Not sure. I know that shipshifter can be used. The Pi Stirm emulates a very fast 68040 CPU.

5. I would really like to connect the A1200 to the internet, what simplest way to do so? Would upgrading to 3.2 ROM and run Workbench 3.2 to make this simple?

You can. But Remember that the PiStorm doesn’t directly access the onboard ROMs. Instead you have to place the ROM file on the SD card for the PIstorm to use. The Pi4B etc. also has Wi-Fi that an be used, so no need for extra Network adapters, unless you want to go wired. You will need to purchase a TCP/IP stack software. Recommend Roadshow.

6. With PiStorm, can I access the internet port and use it as the internet connection for the A1200 or should I get a PCMCIA ethernet card <- Which card is best?

Not sure. But you can use the Pi’s Wi-Fi instead.

7. How would this A1200 compare to my old A4000, that, unfortunately, does not work due to blown battery - might get repaired unless I find an affordable A4000 motherboard.

With a PiStorm, about 1000 times faster! (maybe exaggeration, but you get the picture).

8. How useful is the A1200 for use today for web browsing (I used I-Browse from the 90's, but I am sure it is not usable in today's web enviroment)?

I-Browse is still in development using the latest SSL certs. But it is still not a CSS compatible browser. So only Amiga friendly sites are accessible.

9. Other than what I plan to do with the A1200, what else can I do what would not require me to cut or break the case and would not need any sodering? I do not know how to solder.

Pi-Storm is an all in one package. You can still connect devices to the PCMCIA port. But as found out, with the Pi-Storm this can be a bit picky. For example a Surf-Squirrel SCSI with com port wouldn’t work, but the lesser Surf-squirrel SCSI would work. Not sure if this has changed?

Separate, not critical question:

1. Is there a battery or battery enclosure that is like a thin profile that will sit under the A1200's profile that we can use on the A1200 so I can eliminate the power cord

If you are on about a RTC (Real-time clock)? Then the A1200 board has a built in Clockport header. Or I do believe if you went Pi-Storm with CM4 and breakout adapter there is a RTC port on that too. If you choose the former, then you can easily purchase a RTC Clockport card with cell coin battery for not a lot of money.

 

[digii3]

Thank-you for your response. Regarding note #7 on A1200 v A4000. If I do not plan to play games, but have quite a few cards that I used to use on my A4000, wouldn't it be better to run A2000 with PiStorm then? The A2000 is in storage somewhere... This just means I do not need to fix the A4000... This assumes that I'll just use the A1200 for all AGA and other stuffs that does not need the expansion boards.

Below is a quick list of my Amiga boards...

1. Video Toaster 4000
2. Emplant Mac Emulator
3. A2286 (or was it A2088?) PC board
4. A2091
5. A2065
6. Genlock (forgot which one, but it has the external sliders)
7. DPS Time base corrector
...

Some others that I forgot (in storage with A2000 I bet).

Thanks.