So while I wait for RAM for the Acorn Electron, I thought I’d see if anyone wanted to trade for some of my “spare” systems. I had an extra Atari STᴇ that I had already upgraded to the maximum 4MB of RAM, so I posted on one of my forums if anyone had a spare Amiga they wanted to swap for it.
One of the forum-goers was amenable and offered to swap an Amiga 600 for it. I readily agreed. A day later we had arranged the swap and I now own an Amiga 600.
I like this system for many reasons. Firstly, it’s pretty close to a “perfect” OCS/ECS Amiga, which gives it plenty of compatibility. Secondly, it’s VERY compact. While not having a numeric keypad can be seen as a limitation, the A600 is short enough to fit away where longer systems like the A500 couldn’t. (I’m currently working out if I can build some custom shelving for the longer systems like the 464 or the other STs). Finally, it’s quite a versatile system, capable of taking a HDD, extra “chip” RAM and even PCMCIA devices. Maybe I’ll finally test out that network card I have. 🙂
At the moment, it boots and waits for a disk that I can’t give it. I tried installing a hard disk, but had problems finding one small enough to actually work, without having to upgrade the Kickstart in it. While, down the track I am contemplating a Kickstart Switcher, I don’t have one right now. (I’m contemplating using a 27C160 EPROM, which is FOUR times the size of the normal ROM, and then putting on 3 different Kickstart images, plus a Diagnostics ROM all on the single chip)
I’ve ordered an adapter to allow me to install a Compact Flash card in instead of the HDD, and I have a suitably sized CF Card I can use.
I’ll replace the Floppy with a Gotek as soon as I order some more. That’ll have to wait for the tax return as that will involve ordering 5 drives, 5 OLEDs, 5 rotary encoders and 7 ultra small form factor USB sticks. That’s a big whack to get in one go.
I have also swapped out most of the yellowed keys for less yellowed keys, as the kind swapper had almost a full set of spare keys. I will, however, need to fake up a stabilising bar out of something suitable as none came with it.
Finally, while it supplies good voltages, the PSU currently trips the RCD occasionally, so I’ll want to replace that too. I plan to upgrade it with a MeanWell in the next few months.
Oh and there’s potentially a very exciting system coming in the next few weeks. If it arrives I will be extremely happy.
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