Has anyone tried the Raemixx500?

[RetroNinja]

This is a replacement motherboard for Amiga 500+. I'm sure chasing down the 8375 chip will be pricey. I've stared soldering again but I'd like some first hand opinions if the board works and how big a hassle it actually is. Or, if there are better boards/projects.

Thanks!

 

[Pinback]

havent got any experience with it first hand, but from my pov:
it´s the only open source project for an a500 pcb, schematics etc are available. with more and more ppl adding up to the project, it could get really great (sounds already great).

what ive found on github of user SukkoPera regarding V1 of the board:
"Dec 2021: This version of the board was finally tested and is working fine, apart from a couple of very minor issues. The bottom line is: while I don't recommend using this version of the board, it works fine."

havent seen any new releases of the board's gerber files elsewhere while quicksearching. but on its github page and the development page V2 of the board is presented.

Rämixx500 - Amiga 500+ Mainboard

Many Amiga 500+ computers are suffering an early death because of the built-in barrel battery that powers their internal real-time clocks. Such batteries have long exceeded their planned lives and in many cases have started to leak alkaline liquids over the mainboard, corroding copper traces and...

hackaday.io

 

[SukkoPera]

V2 was thoroughly tested as you can read on the project blog linked by @Pinback, it is working very well.

V1 is currently being sold assembled by a well-known seller, but I don't know if he is fixing the issue we found. He also claims to be supporting the authors of the project he sells but he actually never even ever bothered to get in touch with me, so I don't recommend buying from him.

V2 is being sold by quite a few sellers on eBay but they are all unauthorized, and since V2 switched to a noncommercial license, they are all breaching the license and going against my will. I tried to ask some of them politely to stop and basically no one did, I'll spare you how infuriating those conversations were, but PLEASE DO NOT BUY FROM ANY OF THEM.

There is one authorized seller of V2 though and that would be Sordan. They are on eBay but I'd suggest buying directly from their website as it's going to cost you less. They agreed to keep a price I deem fair and sent me a donation which I will forward to research against cancer at the end of the year.

After a few years I can say that the Amiga community doesn't seem much interested in open source stuff. Only some selfish people seem to be, so that they can squeeze easy money from instinctive buyers who do not care to check whether they are supporting the author of what they are buying or just some arrogant shark. This all disheartened me a lot, which is why V2 hasn't seen a formal release and why I won't do any further work on it or in general for the Amiga.

 

[Pinback]

first of all thx so much for the PCB and your time and effort. also thx for the additional information. i will build one.

it makes me sad to hear, that there is the same trouble as always and as to be expected. this is nothing special with the amiga community only. but this community is willingly spending a lot of money, the prices for amiga hardware are insane IMHO. so some could be more tempted to rip off someone else's work.
maybe since "we" are the only generation, who have nostalgic feelings towards the amiga, the time is running up to earn money. i would love to see the people losing interest.

i am interested in the arguments you had with the guys. may i ask you, what do you expect from someone using your work and what did they reply?

 

[SukkoPera]

The only reason I contacted them is because I believe there is very little understanding of the open source concept. Maaaaany people just think that open source = do whatever you want with it, they have no idea that there are different open source licenses, granting different privileges and having different requirements.

So I contacted them trying to explain that maybe they didn't read the conditions and that V2 has a noncommercial requirement. Some just blocked me, others said "I'm just selling a couple, I don't mean to compete with you" (I'm actually selling none, so they have already outsold me to begin with) but the most common excuse is that what is commercial and what is noncommercial is open to interpretation or that I would have a hard time trying to prove that the use they are making is commercial, whatever that means (BS to me: you have a shop, you buy something at X and resell it at Y > X, that is commercial use to me).

What is really infuriating is that they all try to dictate their conditions to me, as if it was me who owed them something!

But there's worse: some have taken my board, completely removed the credits and pretend they are the authors. Let me tell you: any A500 board with round corners you see on sale is derived from my work, even if it doesn't say so (and of course I have other "secret telltale hints" here and there to confirm that).

 

[qz3fwd]

Sorry to hear that but being in the Amiga for less than 3 years I very quickly noticed just how toxic and dysfunctional it is which seems to go all the way back to the bankruptcy of Commodore. Very sad situation indeed. Thanks for sharing your board and sorry for the douchebags.

 

[Pinback]

some serious kid's logic from those sods. it is a bit disturbing, how often this happens, but there we are. we are an overrated species.

id like to have a V2 board, so buying it at Sordan. do you have something like a "flatter" button or "spend me a coffee" somewhere?

 

[SukkoPera]

I have a ko.fi account but I'd rather you donate something to a charity of your choice. I usually suggest research against cancer but anything is fine depending on your sensibility.

 

[Pinback]

 

[SukkoPera]

That is very much appreciated, @Pinback! I really wish more people were like you.

Danke schön .

 

[Pinback]

caution, what you wish for. the world would end even faster than it is already doing.
it can be considered certain, that throwing some bucks is much easier than engineering raemixx and giving it to the public.

 

[SukkoPera]

Heh, I wish it was that easy to just get people to behave. Do you know that I also got criticized for asking for a charity donation for commercial use of V1?

 

[ethan]

It is easy to "forget" the text, put your name or other text as a track in the ground layer. Most of them are not smart enough to change this...

Thanks out there to all of those suckers for killing other peoples projects. I was also thinking about this board. Maybe sometime in the future.

 

[Pinback]

damn, this is so frustrating.

 

[qz3fwd]

V2 was thoroughly tested as you can read on the project blog linked by @Pinback, it is working very well.

V1 is currently being sold assembled by a well-known seller, but I don't know if he is fixing the issue we found. He also claims to be supporting the authors of the project he sells but he actually never even ever bothered to get in touch with me, so I don't recommend buying from him.

V2 is being sold by quite a few sellers on eBay but they are all unauthorized, and since V2 switched to a noncommercial license, they are all breaching the license and going against my will. I tried to ask some of them politely to stop and basically no one did, I'll spare you how infuriating those conversations were, but PLEASE DO NOT BUY FROM ANY OF THEM.

There is one authorized seller of V2 though and that would be Sordan. They are on eBay but I'd suggest buying directly from their website as it's going to cost you less. They agreed to keep a price I deem fair and sent me a donation which I will forward to research against cancer at the end of the year.

After a few years I can say that the Amiga community doesn't seem much interested in open source stuff. Only some selfish people seem to be, so that they can squeeze easy money from instinctive buyers who do not care to check whether they are supporting the author of what they are buying or just some arrogant shark. This all disheartened me a lot, which is why V2 hasn't seen a formal release and why I won't do any further work on it or in general for the Amiga.

Sordan seller +1

 

[BrandonQuest]

I also would like to thank Sukko for the great work on the Amiga Raemixx500 and the other projects regarding to it!
I'd rather do a donation to Sukko Pera directly, but in respect to his wish I did an alternative donation.

I will download project files within the next days,
and still in the process of getting parts.
I stumbled over this site during my search for informations how reliable V2 might be - and I feel strengthened to built upon this Version.
Maybe in some weeks I can start.

 

[BrandonQuest]

And some further word to Sukko:

There may be a number of people who don't give your work the respect it deserves and will abuse it. But you didn't invent the project for these people either. There are so many guys out there you don't hear from whose lives and bank accounts
(
I speak from experience: the idea of a new Amiga - especially today, when the subject is much more popular among my contemporaries than it was 10 years ago, cost me a fortune, if you count in the site-effects for new equipment to gain all necessary skills - but I love it!
)
you've touched.

Don't focus on the bums looting your work. Consciously draw your satisfaction from the quiet community of honest enthusiasts who love you for your work, like I do!

 

[SukkoPera]

@BrandonQuest: Danke fur deine Spende and also for the donations you have made to me. I will turn them to some charity towards the end of the year.

Also thanks for your words, I really appreciate them. If only there were more people like you, Pinback and the others here...

 

[sillycon]

what i really want to do eventually is to build A1200 or A4000. but I came across your project lately and I have been thinking about sharpening my soldering skills on one of these Raemixx500 boards before doing SMD soldering later. I am not new to soldering but the more you do it the better you get at it, hence the idea.

few questions if i may:
1. i do not see these PCBs being available anywhere, besides i want it black matt and i don't suspect you have one of them spare?
2. i don't mind ordering few myself but pcbway that you link to from gitlab can do 5 of them for $200, so i am looking at making them at https://jlcpcb.com/ instead - i could use latest project from gitlab end export gerber files but is that going to work, considering Kicad spits some errors and warnings when running DRC? not an expert in these tools.
3. it would be just hobby project i can do with my kid and i don't mind contributing if I make such attempt. what do you consider as fair in this case?
4. can i salvage old non working A500, or is there going to be a problem with using FAT Agnus from it? it's marked MOS 8371 1688 21. I suspect chips are ok, and some passives blew.

btw @SukkoPera huge respect to your work

 

[RetroNinja]

what i really want to do eventually is to build A1200 or A4000. but I came across your project lately and I have been thinking about sharpening my soldering skills on one of these Raemixx500 boards before doing SMD soldering later. I am not new to soldering but the more you do it the better you get at it, hence the idea.

few questions if i may:
1. i do not see these PCBs being available anywhere, besides i want it black matt and i don't suspect you have one of them spare?
2. i don't mind ordering few myself but pcbway that you link to from gitlab can do 5 of them for $200, so i am looking at making them at https://jlcpcb.com/ instead - i could use latest project from gitlab end export gerber files but is that going to work, considering Kicad spits some errors and warnings when running DRC? not an expert in these tools.
3. it would be just hobby project i can do with my kid and i don't mind contributing if I make such attempt. what do you consider as fair in these case?
4. can i salvage old non working A500, or is there going to be a problem with using FAT Agnus from it? it's marked MOS 8371 1688 21. I suspect chips are ok, and some passives blew.

btw @SukkoPera huge respect to your work

Hey sillycon,
Depending on the cost of shipping I'm open to going in on a board order with you. I haven't seen them available on Sordan for awhile. I'm also open to adding a 'Sukko-thanks' to the total cost (direct money to him).