Help me with my Vampire 600

[Xanxi]

Hi.

Long time no see on Amibay!

After several years (about 5) with very little amiga activities (only my A4000 was still on my desk) due to too much work, i am about to return to serious retrocomputing.
I own a Vampire 600 V2 since 2015 but got no time to use it. I bought it directly from kipper2k. It has been in storage until now. I have just found my Amiga 600 in my junk and it is now time to rejuvenate it (i have to replace the ACA accelerator by the Vampire but it already has IndiECS and Subway).
However, i need a bit of help about a few things:

- when i bought the Vampire, kipper2k asked me to send him my 3.1 ROM in order to incorporate it in the card. I can read this in my email archives now, but i can't remember a thing about this and i don't know if it has been done or if it is required to operate the card. Do you have any idea about that? Of course i have a genuine 3.1 ROM in this A600.

- it seems that the Vampire V2 card has to be secured to the mobo with screws which should be delivered with the board. I don't have these screws right now and i am unsure that i got them when i bought the board. What should i do? Where can i find them? Alternativly, i have seen this on Ebay https://www.ebay.fr/itm/Amiga-600-V...880727?hash=item364b14af17:g:CUwAAOSwft9axk3T , is it ok to secure the board?

- about the HDMI output : should i ditch the Indivision? I am not sure if the HDMI can output the native amiga chipset or if it is just an output for the RTG?

- about the OS: can i just replace the accelerator as is, or do i have to install a new fresh OS? I have seen something called Vampire OS but i am unsure of what it is.

Thanks for your help

 

[Rakeim132]

Hello Xanxi, welcome back (bienvenue).

1) You don’t need the ROM3.1 anymore in your Amiga. It’s now built in the Vampire

2) If you don’t have the screws and small 3D print posts to secure the Vampire then the bracket on eBay is a good idea. For installation in the Amiga the key is to clean thoroughly well the component on which you’ll clip it.

3) For the OS some drivers are required for the SAGA drivers in order to use the HDMI output with the workbench. Since you got the card long time ago I suggest you update the core of the FGPA to the latest revision. For that the best is to download Coffin OS from Apollo team. It will automatically update the core on the first start. You will need a 32Gb CF card for Coffin, the big advantage is that everything is installed, ready to go.

3) The native frequencies don’t go through the HDMI yet with the current core, so you can keep the Indivision in. However, there is no clean solution to have both HDMI and VGA at the back of your 600 only with the RF modulator removed. What I did is I’m using the HDMI on a monitor (coming from the RF modulator and I plug a 1084 on the Amiga RGB for native. This hopefully will change in the future with new core.

The core 3 which should deliver AGA as well is a beta only. You can still have a go at it but I understand lots of things will not work properly so I stay with the latest core 2.1x for now.

Have fun! The Vampire is an amazing piece of hardware. Allowing as well for internet connection. Check the Wikipedia page!

 

[Xanxi]

Thanks Rakeim132.
I'm going to buy that printed part then.
Going to use Coffin OS too, even if than name is poorly choosen in my opinion (we will all be in a coffin soon enough).

 

[protek]

The screw posts are standard nylon parts that can be found on PCs and such. Just measure the height of the socket on the Vampire and get ones of that height with some nylon nuts.