#ATonce 286 card ?
28 messages in this thread
{ATonce The {{ATonce board fits on the 68K processor in an A500. It
presently will not work with a 1000 (we are looking into an adapte{r). The
2000 adapter will be available in January and will allow use of the PC
slots for VGA boards etc! It will also have a 80287 socket on it.{ The A500
product will be available from Dec 1{. I will an{t(swer aw3ny d{etailed
techniw3cal questions or send you info if you mail me. There are also plans
to provide a special adapter for the A3000.{{{_ {R{eihardt, VORTEX
PLEASE DO make the A3000 adapter!
— Ethan
Looks as if you are plauged with line noise.
I have a question concerning your ATONCE board. Since it plugs into the
68000 slot – will this work in conjunction with a CSA Mega-Midget Racer
68030 board? The 030 board has a slot for the 68000 to switch between the
030 and the 68000 CPU via software-switch.
Hear, Hear ! I second that !
Reinhardt:
Will the A2000 version of the ATonce board be compatible with the 2630
card? according to your ad in AmigaWorld it sounds like it uses the same
connector as the 2630, is this a misprint? Is there any reason it can't be
used in a 2000 the same as in a 500? Is the adapter board just to allow use
of the PC slots? Any info you can give me would be appreciated.
-Mike Schiller
In sunny Fort Lauderdale
Also consider for 2000 and 3000 users a true Bridgeboard clone which
would utilise the PC slots. With a ribbon cable, you could still use 68000
access.
FL
How about an adaptor for a 2500 series machine? I'd *love* to trash my
bridgeboard… need them slotz! <grin>
BBS->Williams.Ben[AA7AS]
I'd much rather see a true Bridgeboard clone which supports Janus and PC
Slots.
I have a friend with an Amiga500 that would like to run MSDOS WordPerfect
on it, and since I "work with computers", I should be able to find out how,
right? The 500 has 2 3.5" floppies and about 350(?)K showing as free. Would
your board allow MSDOS to be run? Any info would be great. Thanks.
ATonce is designed mainly for the A500 as an inexpensive yet powerful PC
emulator. While the PC bridgeboards from Commodore do offer some advantages
they cannot be used with the A500. ATonce is therefore principally an A500
product, although there will be an adapter for the A2000 that will allow it
to behave like a bridgeboard. This should come after Christmas. The A3000
and the A1000 are currently not supported.
For more info MAIL 100016,2545 Reinhardt, VORTEX
When can we buy this marvelous little gadget? I'm ready now.
Ben
Amateur Radio Callsign is A A 7 A S
Ben, Be patient….we should have it available in US stores during the
first two weeks of December. It has been available in Europe for some weeks
now and we hope that the US version will be well tested and proven in the
field. Reinhardt, VORTEX
Reinhardt,
Has the unit been FCC approved already??
Don
I'm patient already. :^) Good to hear they are "out there". Love to hear
more about it – is it true that it will run as a well behaved task in it's
own window? Can you do a CGA screen? How about processor loading on the
AMiga side during gfx ops? I presure er, presume that it is not on the chip
bus, and so that gfx emulation is quite different from the "bridge"?
Ben
Amateur Radio Callsign is A A 7 A S
By the way, Reinhardt – the machine I want ot install this in is a PAL a500
– does that make any difference?
Ben
Amateur Radio Callsign is A A 7 A S
Ben,
I believe that if you are planning to use it in a 2000 you will have to
remove or plan never to use the CPU slot as the "adaptor" fo the ATonce
will use that slot.
wmc
Nope – in a PAL a500 is where I want to put it.
Ben
Amateur Radio Callsign is A A 7 A S
Wayne:
I was told in Email from the ATonce people that they're rethinking their
2000 product, and it will probably be a board that fits where a bridgeboard
would fit, but have the same functionality as their A500 unit. I assume by
that that the board would still use Amiga ram rather than totally separate
ram, and still allow the use of more memory than 640K as extended (or is it
expanded??) memory on the PC side. They further said the 2000 board would
probably have a socket for a math coprocessor as well. They (he) will have
more details after the first of the year.
I'm not sure, but from the sound of it, the 2000 unit will be all
contained on the one card, and not require replacing the 68000, although I
don't know for sure.
-Mike Schiller
In sunny Fort Lauderdale
Mike,
Your description of the A2000 version of the ATonce is much more appealing.
Did they say anything about price?
wmc
Wayne:
No. I suspect that will be in the "more info to follow after the first of
the year" that they mentioned to me.
-Mike Schiller
In sunny Fort Lauderdale
$398 list.
Cheers, Paul (WA1OMM)
The advantage to using a card is that it'll probably work with the
A3000, unless it relies upon some timing stuff it shouldn't.
— Ethan
The add I saw said $399. It also implied that the A2000 version used a
special plug to replace the 68000 on the motherboard, since the 68000 is on
the card already. They might need a different version for the 3000. I
wonder if it'll work with the 2500 ?
Not really a special plug, merely a 68000 mounted upside down on the bottom
of the circuit board!
Cheers, Paul (WA1OMM)
Ethan …
I dropped in in the middle of this, but if you're still talking about the
ATonce card, the info says it won't work with the A1000 or the A3000.
Marion
Reinhardt, I think you are limiting yourself if you push the ATonce as
an A500 product, and here is why: Most Amiga owners would like IBM
compatibility if the price is right. Commodore price isn't. The 2088 is to
slow and the 2286 costs WAY to much, over $1,000. The 2286 also takes up
TWO slots because it was designed so badly. If they could get a 9.xxMHz
whatever it is you use with support for XT/AT slots without taking up any
slots and for only $400 street price, they'd buy it.
I know I would. Especially if it would support a hard drive and CGA and
any addon video cards. However I have an A3000. How difficult would it be
to come up with a 68030 adaptor?
— Ethan
The problem is one of supply and demand. In order to make ATonce work with
an 030 we need to make some significant cahanges, maybe even the ASIC chip.
The whole matter is currently under debate and if there is a way or a
demand or preferably both I am sure that our engineeers can come up with
something. Do you know how many A3000'ds there are in the US? Reinhardt,
VORTEX
The A3000's are apparently doing quite well. The fall quarterly report
from Commodore showed a 20% increase in Amiga sales, I believe the number
was, over the prior year quarter. that can only be accounted for by the
A3000.
I guess it is taking a chance, but you should consider that the A3000 is
the high-end future of the Amiga.
— Ethan