EOI: AmigaRGB to HDMI converter

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Lizard1977

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#281554 25-Feb-2021 08:35

This one is for anyone who still has an Amiga floating around that they want to use with an HDMI display, but don't have an upscaler to hand (I realise this might be a very exclusive club, but figured it's worth a shot)

About 2 months ago, through a video on Youtube, I became aware of a project on GitHub called Amiga Digital Video. This is a nifty implementation of a board that converts video signals from older computers (BBC Micro, Atari, C64, Amiga etc) to HDMI. In the case of the Amiga, the board slots into the socket occupied by the "Denise" video chip, then Denise sits on that board. Finally, a Raspberry Pi Zero clips on top, and via the micro HDMI output you can get pixel perfect video output to a standard HDMI display. I like this approach because it's elegant and sits entirely within the case without need for modification of the case.

The person who has developed the Amiga implementation of this board is Reinhard Grafl, and he has kindly offered to assemble the boards for people who pay, and don't mind the wait. The updates from Reinhard over the past month show he is able to assemble about 16 of these boards every two days, and he has many hundreds in his reservation list - this guy deserves a medal for his dedication to the retro community! If you have the ability to solder 0.65mm pitch and can source the necessary components (I don't), you could do this yourself and order the PCB which is available from PCBWay. I chose to reserve one of the boards assembled by Reinhard, and after about a month long wait, I awoke this morning to the pleasant news that my reservation had come up, and I could now place my order for one or two of these boards.

I only have need for one, for my Amiga 500. But given the wait that anyone else would be facing to get one of these boards assembled by Reinhard, I figured it could be worthwhile ordering two if there is someone interested in buying the second one. The cost is 29 Euros each, plus 15 Euros for shipping. Based on current exchange rates this is about $72NZD. If I buy two, the shipping is a fixed cost, so the cost per unit comes down to $60.

I've decided to order two, and offer the second one here for cost - $60 - if anyone is interested. I expect there will still be a wait of anything up to six weeks, as he still has to assemble the board and ship it from Austria. If no-one from GZ is interested then I will put it on Trademe instead.

If you're interested, PM me and we will organise details there.

Lizard1977

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#2662559 25-Feb-2021 09:44

An update on the cost. I didn't realise PayPal would charge a fee on top of the currency conversion charges, so the cost would be as follows:

If purchasing a single board, it would cost $83NZD. I've purchased two boards for a total cost of $138NZD, so the second board can go for $69.

nztim

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#2662560 25-Feb-2021 09:45

OMG I remember having an A500 as a kid, those things go for good money now

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Lizard1977

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#2662564 25-Feb-2021 09:51

They do indeed. I followed an auction last weekend on Trademe where a stock A500 with a busted floppy drive and a 1084 monitor sold for $300 here in Palmerston North. Makes me glad I picked up my A500 from Cash Converters back in 2002 for $50 before people realised the rarity value of retro tech. But still sad that I had to sell my old A600HD back in the 90s.

The A500 I've got is still working well, and doesn't suffer the same capacitor issues as badly as other models do. So I'm determined to keep it working as long as possible. The HDMI upgrade is part of a range of things I've got planned to try and eke another 10 years out of a computer that is already 34 years old. I want my two kids to be able to grow up and have some experience with older computers as well as modern tech like iPhones and PCs. The next step will be to install a GoEx drive when they come back in stock, and secure a modern PSU to guard against the OG power unit failing.

xpd

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#2662572 25-Feb-2021 10:22

I picked up a huge amount of Amiga gear years ago for $25 off TradeMe. There was multiple computers (1200,600,500,2000' etc), screens, parts etc. Ended up selling it all a year later for $125 as didnt have time to fix it all (kids).

Now it wouldve sold for $$$$ :D

Still love the Amiga, hence my 200GB Amiga folder........

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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Lizard1977

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#2662574 25-Feb-2021 10:37

xpd:

I picked up a huge amount of Amiga gear years ago for $25 off TradeMe. There was multiple computers (1200,600,500,2000' etc), screens, parts etc. Ended up selling it all a year later for $125 as didnt have time to fix it all (kids).

Now it wouldve sold for $$$$ :D

Still love the Amiga, hence my 200GB Amiga folder........

Ouch!

I've been using FS-UAE on my PC for Amiga gaming, and it's nice - Warp Speed mode is especially great to zoom past the loading screens. But I still have a thing for the original hardware. While I would love to collect more I don't have the space or time for it, but I'm building a desk which is going to have a space just for the A500, and with an HDMI and GoEx drive, I'm hoping that it will be simpler to use it more often and demonstrate to my kids what older hardware was like.

Lizard1977

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#2666008 1-Mar-2021 08:21

I've got word that these boards are on the way (from Austria, so may still take a while). But the guy who assembled them has announced that he's come to the end of the reservation list that started back in December, and so he won't be assembling any more of these, meaning if you want one you would need to assemble it yourself. So if you're interested this will be a good opportunity to get your hands on one before they become hard to find.

If it hasn't gone by the time it arrives, then I'll probably put it on Trademe or look for a retro community page on FB or something.

bonkas

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#2670313 8-Mar-2021 22:33

Ahh these are not compatible with the A1200 as they have a later model denise chip. bugger.

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Lizard1977

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#2670371 9-Mar-2021 09:10

You're right. A500/A1000/A2000 only I believe. Maybe A600 I think? But later AGA machines use a different video chip so this doesn't work. Only OCS/ECS modes.

Lizard1977

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#2677731 20-Mar-2021 21:14

The adapter finally arrived yesterday, so today was a fun day installing it in my A500. It was indeed a very straightforward set up - just pop out Denise, install it in the adapter board then slot that into the original Denise socket, and plug in the RPi Zero on top of that. 15 mins all up. Only one buttock-clenching moment when I hadn't lined the Denise pins up quite right and one suffered a slight bend. I carefully and gently straightened it, re-aligned it in the socket, and it was fine. Now I have a crystal clear digital display for my Amiga.

Next step - GoEx drive from CenturionTech

400

maoriboy

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#2677921 21-Mar-2021 14:42

That is pretty bloody cool. I've got my old amiga 500 with some controllers and games sitting in the garage doing nothing. I've told myself many a time that I need to dust it off and see if it still runs.