At this point I think I'm going to call it quits for now. Feels like a never-ending rabbit hole of chasing this or that which might fix X but break Y. This kind of stuff can burn me out - it's what made me leave PCs in the late 90s.
Well, crap. Looks like if I want to find out it'll require open heart surgery.
At this point I think I'm going to call it quits for now. Feels like a never-ending rabbit hole of chasing this or that which might fix X but break Y. This kind of stuff can burn me out - it's what made me leave PCs in the late 90s.
At this point I think I'm going to call it quits for now. Feels like a never-ending rabbit hole of chasing this or that which might fix X but break Y. This kind of stuff can burn me out - it's what made me leave PCs in the late 90s.
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obitus1990
- USA
Yes, it has one of Matze's RTG cards.
I am considering the Freeway Pro card as I just learned that there will be no more RapidRoad USB adapters.
Due to another upgrade of my A2000, I have some more slots free and want to fill them up...well, not literally all. I just want to expand it a little more.
The A2k has a GVP '040 and X-Surf.
No known issues with the Freeway Pro apart from the '060 trouble?
My immediate plans would be to use a keyboard and mouse, but I wouldn't limit it to just those. I was curious about a USB ZIP drive as well, although I could go the more proven route with a SCSI version of the drive.
Due to another upgrade of my A2000, I have some more slots free and want to fill them up...well, not literally all. I just want to expand it a little more.
The A2k has a GVP '040 and X-Surf.
No known issues with the Freeway Pro apart from the '060 trouble?
My immediate plans would be to use a keyboard and mouse, but I wouldn't limit it to just those. I was curious about a USB ZIP drive as well, although I could go the more proven route with a SCSI version of the drive.
I've got a Freeway Pro in my A2000 v4.1 system and it works great. Actually, the system is configured like this:
2MB chip RAM expansion
ICD Ad FlickerFreeVideo II
Picasso II RTG graphics board w/2MB on the ZII bus
X-Surf 100 network card on the ZII bus
Prelude ZII Replika AHI 16-bit audio card with MPEGIt MP3 Decoder daughterboard on the ZII bus
Freeway Pro USB card on the ZII bus
Vortex Golden Gate 486SLC bridgeboard on the ZII+ISA Bus
Hercules Dynamite 1MB VGA on the ISA bus
SnarkBarker SoundBlaster 1.0 remake on the ISA bus
Phase 5 Blizzard 2060 on the local bus – Rev 1 68060 50MHz + SCSI + 128MB Fast RAM
I have no compatibility issues with the Freeway Pro and I can also use the Freeway's flashrom to inject Poseidon plus some other little ROM tags at boot up.
2MB chip RAM expansion
ICD Ad FlickerFreeVideo II
Picasso II RTG graphics board w/2MB on the ZII bus
X-Surf 100 network card on the ZII bus
Prelude ZII Replika AHI 16-bit audio card with MPEGIt MP3 Decoder daughterboard on the ZII bus
Freeway Pro USB card on the ZII bus
Vortex Golden Gate 486SLC bridgeboard on the ZII+ISA Bus
Hercules Dynamite 1MB VGA on the ISA bus
SnarkBarker SoundBlaster 1.0 remake on the ISA bus
Phase 5 Blizzard 2060 on the local bus – Rev 1 68060 50MHz + SCSI + 128MB Fast RAM
I have no compatibility issues with the Freeway Pro and I can also use the Freeway's flashrom to inject Poseidon plus some other little ROM tags at boot up.
Very nice! That is one expanded A2K you have there.
I'm glad you mentioned the Picasso II. An RTG card was another addition I am considering. Nothing too far out there like the ZZ9000. That seems like overkill for my setup. At the same time, I used a Picasso II in an A3000 in the 90s and was not impressed by it at all. It could have been the Zorro II bus speed or the underdeveloped drivers back then. However, when the Picasso IV was introduced, I got a hold of one and the experience was just the opposite. Oh how I wished I had held onto all that stuff.
The trouble today is you have new designs that are more than I need and costly, and the legacy hardware is even costlier and may not be provide enough benefit from the native graphics.
I do have something now that I did not have in the past, however-- an '040 processor. I know that may or may not make much difference with a Zorro II based card. I would be happy with just a speedy 800x600 8bit screen mode.
How is your Picasso II working out?
I'm glad you mentioned the Picasso II. An RTG card was another addition I am considering. Nothing too far out there like the ZZ9000. That seems like overkill for my setup. At the same time, I used a Picasso II in an A3000 in the 90s and was not impressed by it at all. It could have been the Zorro II bus speed or the underdeveloped drivers back then. However, when the Picasso IV was introduced, I got a hold of one and the experience was just the opposite. Oh how I wished I had held onto all that stuff.
The trouble today is you have new designs that are more than I need and costly, and the legacy hardware is even costlier and may not be provide enough benefit from the native graphics.
I do have something now that I did not have in the past, however-- an '040 processor. I know that may or may not make much difference with a Zorro II based card. I would be happy with just a speedy 800x600 8bit screen mode.
How is your Picasso II working out?
Picasso II is just meh...
The card to get is probably the GBAPII++ - I feel like it's the sweet spot of RTG cards for a 2000.
It's a batch produced modern remake of (mainly) the Piccolo card.
Like freeway , you sort of have to be around when some individual or shop produces some.
The card to get is probably the GBAPII++ - I feel like it's the sweet spot of RTG cards for a 2000.
It's a batch produced modern remake of (mainly) the Piccolo card.
Like freeway , you sort of have to be around when some individual or shop produces some.
One point for anyone using a USB card in an Amiga - the Zorro bus has lower power limits than USB, so a powered USB hub is really useful if you want to plug in more than a couple of devices. I would honestly use a powered USB hub generally. While you can plug in and out, the electrical contacts while a USB device powers up can be quite electrically unstable - modern gear uses arrays of capacitors and diodes to smooth this out, but 30 year old gear may be quite sensitive.
Thanks for sharing! I half remember reading about this one. It does seem like a nice fit for my setup. But, it also appears to be unobtainium at the moment.
The original shop that sold some is probably long out of the stock. I did find another shop but then read some negative remarks about improper builds
I see this is Matze's project and he does not necessarily revisit them for new batches.
Is there a legit Amibay thread even if not active? So far, I have only found "wanted" posts.
The original shop that sold some is probably long out of the stock. I did find another shop but then read some negative remarks about improper builds
I see this is Matze's project and he does not necessarily revisit them for new batches.
Is there a legit Amibay thread even if not active? So far, I have only found "wanted" posts.
fastrobplus wrote: ↑Thu Mar 02, 2023 9:09 pmPicasso II is just meh...
The card to get is probably the GBAPII++ - I feel like it's the sweet spot of RTG cards for a 2000.
It's a batch produced modern remake of (mainly) the Piccolo card.
Like freeway , you sort of have to be around when some individual or shop produces some.
Last edited by jdryyz on Fri Mar 03, 2023 9:20 am, edited 1 time in total.