Amiga 600 Floppy Emulator Mod (with LCD)

Steve X2

Thought I'd start a thread about this mod I'm doing on my Amiga 600.
I'm installing a floppy drive emulator internally and also mounting a small basic LCD screen into the case.

All images clickable
This is the emulator:



It didn't come with any wires or anything like that so its up to the user to sort out any extensions or mods to the lcd or buttons. After a super fast order from the ever reliable SK Pang (which arrived today) I hooked up some solder free wires and extended the LCD(solder free for the moment).



A quick tidy up on the wires and time to see how she'll sit inside the A600:
(You can see the basic idea I'm going for with the lcd and buttons. They will be mounted inside the case so the lcd pcb wont be showing or anything like that)



Another option:



SD card slot will need cutting as well:



That's really it for the moment. I've got another empty A600 case coming from the UK and it should be here this week.
So I have a second chance in case I feck up the cutting

.

Steve X2

Or if I want to go a bit crazy :

The Last Bandit

Hmm, not liking them buttons. I'm sure 'paddles' could be made that fit on the PCB switches and just protrude out the side of Amiga for a cleaner look. Or even replaced with right angle PCB switches altogether.

With careful cutting and placement the LCD could look factory fit though

What the CF card for ?

Steve X2

The Last Bandit wrote: »

Hmm, not liking them buttons. I'm sure 'paddles' could be made that fit on the PCB switches and just protrude out the side of Amiga for a cleaner look. Or even replaced with right angle PCB switches altogether.

With careful cutting and placement the LCD could look factory fit though

What the CF card for ?

I know what you mean about the buttons. I have a selection of them to try and see what works best.
What do you mean by "paddles" exactly? Just so I can check it out.

The CF card is my Amiga hard drive.

The Last Bandit

Just a strip of plastic glued onto the switch that would stick out the side 10mm or so, nicely sanded and painted of course
Pressing down on them slightly should be enough to active the switches - or replace the existing ones with right angle ones.

Steve X2

The Last Bandit wrote: »

Just a strip of plastic glued onto the switch that would stick out the side 10mm or so, nicely sanded and painted of course
Pressing down on them slightly should be enough to active the switches - or replace the existing ones with right angle ones.

Ah, I get you.
I think I prefer the buttons to be honest. Maybe not the buttons I've shown above but I have others that might be a bit better once installed into the case a bit so they aren't sticking out.
With the emulator you need to be able to access the buttons a lot and easily do long and short holds on them for various functions. There is an on-screen app you can use but I prefer using the LCD once it's all been set up properly.

TechnoFreek

Pardon my ignorance Steve but what does a floppy emulator have over a CF card used as a hard drive?

Steve X2

TechnoFreek wrote: »

Pardon my ignorance Steve but what does a floppy emulator have over a CF card used as a hard drive?

Well they can exist together as a normal floppy drive does when you install a hard drive in an Amiga. On a basic level when you boot up an Amiga with a hdd it uses a good amount of resources to load up workbench and whatever else you have going on.
With the floppy drive you can have more resources for games etc when booted directly from the floppy. It's slower to load but you have more mem available.
Thats just one reason, the floppy emu has its own menu system on the mini lcd or on-screen to choose what disks to load. The floppy disk emulator is also a bit cleaner to use when loading games as you just pick what game disk you want and load away, no messing with whdload on the hard drive.
I'll use both of them and its just kind of a funky thing to have. Plus you can hook it up to a load of other systems that never had a hard drive like an Amstrad CPC464 or even a industrial knitting machine, it's very flexible

The way I have it setup now is the same as if you had a normal floppy and hdd. If I stick the sd card in with all the disk images it will boot from whatever I select or used last on the card. If I boot up with the sd card out it will boot to the hdd as it normally would if you removed the floppy disk.



Anyway, I did a bit of work on the case this evening and have the screen in as well as the sd card port setup. It's only roughly done and will need some fine sanding and more cutting work to get everything perfect. I've not even screwed the case closed as I'll be doing more tomorrow.

docentore

nice mode. congrats. I'm thinking of doing similar mod to my Atari once I get the sd2sio adapter for it.

Steve X2

docentore wrote: »

nice mode. congrats. I'm thinking of doing similar mod to my Atari once I get the sd2sio adapter for it.

Cheers, It'll be nice once its a little bit more polished looking.
I think the lcd that comes with the sd2sio is the exact same model as this one.

Pyongyang

Looks like it's shaping up nicely. Oddly it reminded me of a project I saw recently where yer man replaced the HDD in his Sharp X68000 with a CF card and board, effectively making the X68000 storage an SSD drive!

Very impressive stuff. I'll see if I can dig up the video.

Steve X2

Pyongyang wrote: »

Looks like it's shaping up nicely. Oddly it reminded me of a project I saw recently where yer man replaced the HDD in his Sharp X68000 with a CF card and board, effectively making the X68000 storage an SSD drive!

Very impressive stuff. I'll see if I can dig up the video.

Cheers, those CF hard drive adapters are really handy.
Cheapest SSD's around
You can also get SD card versions now.

Steve X2

I just put the screen in properly there now.
I used white Sugru to hold it as its a good solid hold but I can remove the screen easily enough at a later date should I need to without breaking anything.

Next up is a bit of soldering which I'm rubbish at I need to solder on the wires for the externally mounted buttons.
Still not sure what way to go about the buttons but the wires need to be put on anyway.

Pyongyang

Here's the X68000 CF aka SSD mod:

http://gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=x68000:internal_scsi_and_cf_card_mod

CiDeRmAn

So Steve, if I had a bare, nervous, virginal A600 and wanted to lay it to waste like you did with yours, how much would I be looking at for the works?

Steve X2

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

So Steve, if I had a bare, nervous, virginal A600 and wanted to lay it to waste like you did with yours, how much would I be looking at for the works?

79.94 EUR for the board and lcd.
http://www.lotharek.pl/product.php?pid=13

Or make an offer on ebay:
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/170875821782?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Takes about a week and a bit to arrive from Poland. You'll need some other bits and pieces to do what I did but that was only a few euro from SK Pang and a lot of people might have what they need already.

Steve X2

I'm very undecided about what type/size/colour of button to use on this mod (as well as the positioning on the Amiga 600 case itself).
I've got the screen and pcb properly installed inside the case and the button wires soldered up and ready to go. Everything is working as it should and I've connected up 3 buttons temporarily for testing.

This is how the internals are looking now (clickable pics):




These are the types of buttons I have at the moment.
Obviously I wont be using the Sanwa type as it's much to large but its just there for size comparison.



I've ordered a few different variations of this type as well in case I go with the very small and discrete button option.


http://www.ebay.ie/itm/180732232689?var=480039435269&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

So, anyone have any ideas to help me along?
I was thinking that maybe a black and white colour scheme so as not to clash too hard with the white of the case. Maybe two whites for the Next and Previous buttons and a black one as the centre Select button?

Someone else's A600 mod with buttons:



.

mickgotsick

It's quite a while since I used an Amiga but would you need all the F keys?

ArthurG

Wow. Getting major pans of nostalgia. I wonder whatever happened to my old Amiga 500.

Steve X2

mickgotsick wrote: »

It's quite a while since I used an Amiga but would you need all the F keys?

Yeah, need them all.

Myrddin

Rather than drilling holes in the case, could you not route the wiring through the grill & use buttons that has a bolts on the back to tighten into place?

Steve X2

EnterNow wrote: »

Rather than drilling holes in the case, could you not route the wiring through the grill & use buttons that has a bolts on the back to tighten into place?

I think I'd still need to cut the grills a bit to have the buttons sitting right. Or am I not getting what you mean?

Myrddin

Steve SI wrote: »

I think I'd still need to cut the grills a bit to have the buttons sitting right. Or am I not getting what you mean?

Hmm, perhaps. It depends on the type of buttons I suppose. I'd avoid cutting the case at all costs, especially the forward facing part of it - the cut for the sd card I wouldn't mind.

What about routing the buttons to the back of the Mig, where there's a detachable blanker that covers an expansion slot I think. On Andrews Mig I routed his external power cables to feed out of the console from there, meaning to access the cables he just has to remove the panel.

You could drill & mount the buttons into that panel. If you ever decide to remove the mod you could source a replacement panel leaving no holes.

Steve X2

EnterNow wrote: »

Hmm, perhaps. It depends on the type of buttons I suppose. I'd avoid cutting the case at all costs, especially the forward facing part of it - the cut for the sd card I wouldn't mind.

What about routing the buttons to the back of the Mig, where there's a detachable blanker that covers an expansion slot I think. On Andrews Mig I routed his external power cables to feed out of the console from there, meaning to access the cables he just has to remove the panel.

You could drill & mount the buttons into that panel. If you ever decide to remove the mod you could source a replacement panel leaving no holes.

Not sure what expansion slot you mean at the back. It's on the bottom of the a600.
The thing is as well, the buttons will be used a lot for going through directories and stuff like that so you sort of need them up front from a usability point of view.
I do have a spare case coming this week so worst case scenario I can start again on that.

Myrddin

Steve SI wrote: »

Not sure what expansion slot you mean at the back. It's on the bottom of the a600.
The thing is as well, the buttons will be used a lot for going through directories and stuff like that so you sort of need them up front from a usability point of view.
I do have a spare case coming this week so worst case scenario I can start again on that.

Ah my bad I was thinking of the 1200

If you've a spare case coming then thats cool as you can swap the donor cover on & keep that minty white one safe & free of holes

Steve X2

EnterNow wrote: »

Ah my bad I was thinking of the 1200

If you've a spare case coming then thats cool as you can swap the donor cover on & keep that minty white one safe & free of holes

Having the spare case on the way takes a little bit of the pressure off.
I'm sure whatever I do wont be to everyone's taste but it's my first go at this particular mod so it's all a learning experience.

Steve X2

I've mounted the buttons externally for now in a very expensive prototype box






Here's a video of the Amiga 600 loading up "Extreme Violence" using the Floppy Emulator.
You can see its slow when compared to loading from hdd but this is still just a floppy drive running at normal speed. I've not looked into how to speed it up yet and am happy enough with the normal floppy speed for now (there is a CF hdd inside as well after all). Plus, this is how it was when I got one as a kid. We didnt have any fancy hard drives back then. It was slow floppy disks all the way

The TV has loads of interference as I'm using really bad composite cables on it until some new RGB ones arrive (hopefully tomorrow).
My Amiga 1200 power accident melted my old Amiga RGB cable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUwS6KxAgJ8

Steve X2

Mostly complete now. I just need to decide if I want to disguise the buttons by painting them white or using some white Sugru to cover them up a little.

Something to protect the baby






Not everyone is going to like the buttons and button placement I've gone with but its how I wanted to do it this time.

safetyboy

Looks great! I just got hold of an Amiga 500 so I might look into this.

The Last Bandit

Looks excellent !!

Steve X2

safetyboy wrote: »

Looks great! I just got hold of an Amiga 500 so I might look into this.

I'd go with an internal CF Card hard drive first if I were you and then go for the floppy emu (can you stick a hdd inside a A500?).
The CF hdd will be cheaper to start with as well.

The Last Bandit wrote: »

Looks excellent !!

Cheers, not everything went as I'd like it but it was a learning experience and ended up ok.
I had to do a decent bit of soldering and I'm only getting to grips with that skill recently so I was hoping I wouldn't feck it up

Myrddin

It looks perfect, nicely done

Steve X2

EnterNow wrote: »

It looks perfect, nicely done

Thanks, it's not perfect but for my first go its pretty decent.
I'm all out of white sugru so I'm waiting on another batch and then I'll do a little bit of a tidy up around the LCD so it blends a little better into the case and has less light leakage around the sides. Small little job but I want it to be as good as possible.

On another note, can you (or anyone else) recommend a good non drip glue gun (has to be non drip and suitable for fine work)?
It's something I don't have in my modding arsenal.

Myrddin

Steve SI wrote: »

Thanks, it's not perfect but for my first go its pretty decent.
I'm all out of white sugru so I'm waiting on another batch and then I'll do a little bit of a tidy up around the LCD so it blends a little better into the case and has less light leakage around the sides. Small little job but I want it to be as good as possible.

On another note, can you (or anyone else) recommend a good non drip glue gun (has to be non drip and suitable for fine work)?
It's something I don't have in my modding arsenal.

I've never seen a glue gun that doesn't drip...nature of the beast really. Do they exist?

Steve X2

EnterNow wrote: »

I've never seen a glue gun that doesn't drip...nature of the beast really. Do they exist?

Surely for a price anything and everything can exist
I do see some on amazon that say non drip but then the reviews say that the do. Is it really bad when they drip? As in does it go all over where your glueing?
Also, how fast does the hot glue usually set?

Myrddin

Steve SI wrote: »

Surely for a price anything and everything can exist
I do see some on amazon that say non drip but then the reviews say that the do. Is it really bad when they drip? As in does it go all over where your glueing?
Also, how fast does the hot glue usually set?

Steve 'Every Man Has His Price' SI

I'd describe it more like seepage from the gun, rather than drip. It's viscosity is quite low meaning it won't run. It's very easy to remove the glue when its applied, but once its set it's damned tough to remove.

The seepage only occurs when the gun is static, when its up to running temp say, & you put it down for a moment. It's slow to happen too, & I find them quite user friendly. I like the fumes too :rolleyes::p

seandotcomm

Wow, nice job man. I have the 600 at home in the attic and was thinking of diggin it out soon. Would love to give this a go after I finish modding my N64

safetyboy

Steve SI wrote: »

I'd go with an internal CF Card hard drive first if I were you and then go for the floppy emu (can you stick a hdd inside a A500?).
The CF hdd will be cheaper to start with as well.

Can't find anything about a CF HDD online. Have you any links?

Steve X2

safetyboy wrote: »

Can't find anything about a CF HDD online. Have you any links?

No sure about the A500 but its a simple job on the A600/A1200.
Here's an Irish seller with freepost selling all the gear. You'll need to get a cf card for it and install workbench etc.
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/New-Full-Set-Compact-Flash-CF-Card-Amiga-600-1200-Atari-Falcon-Hard-Drive-/110790523148?pt=UK_VintageComputing_RL&hash=item19cba1390c

Or buy a cf card online already setup for you(I've bought from this guy before).
http://www.ebay.ie/sch/amiga-bay/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2654
Again, this is all A600 and A1200 stuff, you'll need to check out if the A500 can do it. And just to be clear, the floppy emulator works perfectly on the A500.

Edit:
Get a Transcend 133x CF card if you can. They work the best on Amiga's.