Don’t know why or how, but somehow I am back on the classic 68k PPC hype train! Enjoy watching me rip my hair off my head trying to get this PPC board going in my A4000 in the future!
I am back in the Amiga classic 68k PPC club again
Daily soup of Amiga Custom Chips
Bought a rotten non working Amiga 1200 motherboard recently and spent the evening desoldering and cleaning up the Amiga custom chips. TBH I was only after the Alice chip… hope it works!
Update on the Amiga custom chips: 2026-02-01
Amazingly, all chips was confirmed working! Especially considering the motherbaord that I desoldered the chips from looked like this (warning):
This is how I tested the Amiga custom chipset, I have an ReAmiga 1200 with sockets for the custom chips so I could just swap the chips on it and give it a go in Diagrom. I bought this Amiga 1200 motherboard built by someone else. I do not recommend building it with sockets, but for testing purposes it is fine.
Amiga 2000 EATX CPU board stabilizer
I have noticed that the N2630 CPU card in my A2000EATX sagged a bit. This is not an uncommon problem in modern PC builds that have large and heavy graphics cards. Less so in vintage Amiga gear.
As you can see on the picture above, the CPU card, the N2630 is sagging a bit on the right side. While not really a huge problem, it was enough of a problem to irritate me.
These days there are plenty of solutions for graphic card stabilizers on the PC market but not all of the solutions would work in an Amiga setup. One solution I found on AliExpress was this aluminium VGA support bracket that you screw on the back of the case. It has a rubber dome that the VGA card, or in this case, the 68030 CPU card would rest on.
Here the card stabilizer is installed. It was simply screwed on to the bracket screw holes for the card slots. As you can see the CPU card sits more straight with the stabilizer than without. The stabilizer is made of sturdy aluminium so it can support a heavy graphics card (or any type of card).
A closeup of the card stabilizer. It is not an optimal setup if cards go in and out constantly because you would have to remove it. But this setup is pretty much done so I won’t really touch the Zorro cards anymore.
Some A4000TX maintenance
Here is my A4000TX (find out more about the project over at Amibay) as it looks today. The A4000TX is an A4000CR clone in a standardized ATX/EATX form factor. I am running this setup as my primary Amiga. I decided to do two fixes to the system today, quiet the fans and place the ZuluSCSI on the Re4091 SCSI 3 board.
A4000TX cooling with Noctua fans
I am running an old 120mm Noctua fan as the intake and a small 40mm Noctua fan on the turbo card. I wanted to make them more quiet. I solved it by adding an old Zalman Fanmate to the turbo card fan and running the fan on the slowest setting. I added a Noctua fan silencer on the intake fan. The case is nowhere silent but a lot better than running the fans stock.
While you could argue a 120mm intake fan is a bit overkill I think that it wont hurt in the long run as a colder computer lasts longer.
There is a third fan in the PSU but it rarely spins up as the system consumes so little power compared to a modern PC.
A4000TX Zorro cards and cable chaos
Here is a closeup of the cards I am running. The upper card is the ZZ9000AX sound card, then we have the ZZ9000 graphics card, then barely noticeable is the GottaGoFaZt3r memory card, under that a Zorro-LAN-IDE card providing the clock port for the Solas on the Solas ISA carrier in front of it and finally the ReA4091 on the bottom slot.
I managed to fit both the ISA Solas carrier and the ZuluSCSI that is fitted to the 4091, there is not even a mm space left between them. Before I had the ZuluSCSI mounted on the case back, but it looks much better fitted directly to the 4091 card. Since getting the 4091 working with my 100MHz BFG 9060 I decided to keep it in this system.
As you can see there are quite a lot of cables all over the place. No doubt this can be improved.
Some Amiga activites I have worked on in December
I have worked on some small things here or there on my Amiga computers. Here are some noteworthy things that has kept me busy.
Installation of an 2.5″ angled CF adapter in my backup A1200
I found angled 2.5″ CF adapters on AliExpress. I have been looking for these for quite some time. They can not work if you have an Indivision AGA in your A1200 but if you do not have one they offer a great reliable way of running an internal compact flash drive in your Amiga 1200. There was only one problem:
They came with one pin blocked. I used a small drill to drill into the blocked pin and realised that it was only the top layer that was blocked. Next step: try it out in my backup A1200.
My backup A1200 has 3.1 Kickstart roms so I had to upgrade the Kickstarts before trying an Workbench 3.2 installation. So the next step was to flash some roms with AmigaOS 3.2.
Here are the FlashROMs. I decided to flash DiagROM and Kickstart to them as they can hold two ROM images. It is very handy to have DiagROM availble if needed.
My backup Amiga 1200 looks like a regular A1200 on the outside but inside it is a white ReAmiga 1200 that I built a couple of years ago.
Here the FlashROMs installed. But it failed to boot into the Kickstart screen, DiagROM worked though. So out came the T48 programmer and FlashROM adapter again. It was impossible to flash the FlashROM again. After 30 minutes of fail checking I realized that I used the wrong USB-A cable for the T48. After swapping cables the correct ROM image was flashed and everything worked.
The ReAmiga 1200 has a nice Kickstart switch feature that you can enable. If enabled you can chose between two different ROM images through a jumper. If you do this with a FlashROM you do not need to jumper the FlashROM. As you can see, I never bothered to solder on the fan headers.
Here is the CF adapter mounted on the internal 2.5″ port of the ReAmiga 1200. Booting off of a WB 3.2 installation it worked fine.
Making the ReA4091 work with a BFG9060 clocked at 100 MHz
I had problem with my ReA4091 SCSI card when running my BFG9060 68060 turbo card at 100 MHz. The Amiga 4000TX worked fine if the BFG was clocked at 50 MHz but at 100 MHz the system refused to run stable giving me filesystems error instantly in Workbench.
This is not a new problem as many other has had it. But at the same time, many have gotten A4091 and a BFG with a 060 clocked at 100MHz working without trouble.
I got a heads up about a thread on github discussing possible solutions to this problem. You can find it here. One suggestion there is to reprogram U305 with the file from here.
Apparently this fixed the problem for the user who suggested it on github with a drawback of 10% less SCSI performance.
I did not have anything to lose so I decided to give it a go by flashing the little PLCC chip with the file suggested. To my surprise it actually made my hardware setup stable again at 100 MHz! Now that I have put in a few hours in my system I can confirm that it runs stable (and now more than 6 months later I can confirm that it has been working great).
This particular build consists of an A4000TX, BFG9060 with a rev.6 68060, ReA4091 with a ZuluSCSI compact, there is also a ZZ9000 graphics board in the setup. It is my main setup.
Solas + ISA board installation in my A4000TX
I have a Solas LED controller in my A4000TX, it is hooked up to an ISA carrier and is connected to the clock port on the Zorro-LAN-IDE card. It took a while to figure out how to connect them together and to get sound into the Solas. But after tinkering with it for a few hours it is working fine now.
The sandwich card of the Solas carrier and Solas is too thick though, making it difficult to run a full size Zorro card over it, I am thinking of soldering them together to decrease the height of the card sandwich. It could either be the greatest thing ever or the greatest disaster ever, I will need to flip a coin on how to proceed with this idea.
Second A2386SX board built and tested
I like to build things I like in pairs that is why I did not hesitate when I was given the opportunity to build a second A2386SX clone again. You can see some more pics in the previous link. I do not think I will build more of these boards as they have given me a tough time both in getting them working and in sourcing components for them.
A4000T AT case mod
I did not hesitate to jump on the train when an A4000T replica PCB was offered for sale on Amibay a few years ago. Building it was a lot of fun and also fascinating. The A4000T is after all the final official 68k Amiga computer released.
I was too naive expecting a case to show up by itself. Now I realize it might never show up so I decided to look for solutions. There are ATX options but I wanted to try an old AT case first.
The universe was aligned with my third eye and suddenly an AT case manifested itself on a local trading place. But the struggle is real, nothing comes without pain and struggle. The A4000T motherboard is huge, it wont fit this case without some cut fingers on old sharp PC case sheet metal edges and serious case modding. And I hate hardcore sheet metal case modding and cutting my fingers on old shitty PC cases.
But once modded though, the 5.25 bays the case has wont be usable any more. It wont be able to take an AT or ATX PSU anymore either. But hey, when it is fully modded, at least I got a case for the A4000T where the daughter boards line up perfectly on the back of the case. I just need to figure out how to mod this case in the simplest way possible.
Mini-ITX case for Alicia 1200
I built my Alicia 1200 last month. It was time to decide what case to use. Alicia 1200 is an Amiga 1200 clone in a Mini-ITX form factor so it was only natural to try and find a suitable ITX case to mount it in. It is difficult to chose a case when you don’t know future configurations of the machine. I am expecting to add a CPU card in it but do not expect it to grow that much in height. Thats why I went looking for a low Mini-ITX case.
I chose to install the motherboard in a Morex 557 Mini ITX case. It is small case just slightly longer and wider than a 17 x 17 cm Mini-ITX motherboard. In these kind of cases you have to use a Pico PSU with an external adapter. Where I am from a genuine Pico PSU is quite costly but I was happy to find a reseller in EU who had genuine Pico PSUs for a very reasonable sum of money. I got two, one for the Alicia and one for the Denise in case I would need a better Pico PSU for it in the future instead of the cheap knock off.
The Pico PSU sits very tight against the case but it fits with a millimetre to spare!
I don’t think you can find a smaller size case than this and that is why I like Mini-ITX. The case is also well ventilated, perfect for passive cooling.
I already knew about this case since I use it for my Sam440ep. Maybe I will get a third one for my Denise.
Stop the press, ZZ9000AX is working!!!!
I wrote about the troubles I had with the ZZ9000AX soundcard for the ZZ9000 graphics board in a post a year ago. No matter what I tried I got a horrible distorted sound from Paula if Paula output was routed through the ZZ9000AX. That was just half the story, the other half was the insane bus noise the card picked up. I was not alone with this problem as I heard quite a few who had the same disappointed stories to tell about their ZZ9000AX Amiga sound cards. One chap I know called the card “an utterly terrible piece of sh*t hardware“.
An intense discussion with the creator of this card followed where it was concluded that the problem could not be confirmed, a pointer to the schematics of the card was offered – An electronics enginering degree was however not offered. Maybe then I could have found the error myself.
Patience rewards those who wait, that is something every Amiga user knows about, it is just a matter of time before Amiga will take over the computers of the world and become the no.1 computer again.. oh wait its not 1998 anymore back to the ZZ9000AX and 2025…
So I was hanging out in a Discord and noticed rumors about the ZZ9000AX now performing fine by doing a simple hardware modification to it. Apparently, removing the chip U4 from the ZZ9000AX would fix the insane sh*t quality (mildly speaking) output from the card. After further investigations it was brought up that this groundbreaking news was communicated on an IRC channel (yes, it is 2025) for the Amiga community to pick up on (why not post it on usegroups next time?).
I could barely keep my hand off my soldering iron – In 5 minutes the chip was removed from my ZZ9000AX never to be seen again. If the card failed in the process I could always retire it in the round archive (meaning, in the garbage where I had been tempted to put the card to rest for more than a year).
Would it work or not!?!?!
IT WORKS!!!!!!! The distortion and heavy background noise is gone.
But I can still hear some bus noise in the background when opening drawers, in comparison with how it was before, this is something I can live with.
Alicia 1200 – Amiga 1200 AGA clone in Mini-ITX form factor
Alicia is an Amiga 1200 clone in the popular Mini-ITX form factor. It is a nice DIY project you can buy as a semi built PCB. As I had previously built a couple of Denise A500+ clones, deciding to build the Alicia 1200 was a no-brainer and I think I was not alone in that thought as the interest around it has been great! Read more about the project here.
I remember fondly when the Mini-ITX form factor was released to the public around the new millennium. It was a really exciting time in PC hardware and watching the new tiny form factor it grow and become an established platform has been a pleasure to see and experience since I have been on the Mini-ITX train many times since then.
But to be able to see, build and own Amiga systems in this small form factor with real Amiga chips is the icing on the cake – Amazing!
Denise, Alicias little Amiga sister
I have not written a lot about Denise, the A500+ clone, here on my blog even though I have wanted to do that for some time.
I “blame” the beginnings of my interest in this “wallet busting” hobby on this specific project, YOLO. So expect a better post later sometimes. I remember watching plenty of YouTube clips of doing SMD soldering with a soldering iron 5 years ago and asking myself, “can I really do it?”, then I ordered a Denise board and a package from Digikey. Unpacking the first 0805 capacitor, I questioned what I had gotten myself into back then.
Anyway, I think it could be interesting to show off my Denise build before moving on to the Alicia 1200.
The Denise is an Amiga 500+ clone in Mini-ITX form factor, it has all the regular chips the A500+ has and also two “dumb” (as in no Buster) Zorro 2 slots. The PCB is jam packed but everything is beautifully laid out on the board.
Point I wanted to make was that this has been a very stable Amiga and it is awesome to have an Amiga with a small graphics board, scandoubler, NIC and 030/HDD in a standardized small form factor – That it is Mini-ITX is just icing on the cake.
To think this kind of hardware was A2000 territory yesterday is crazy. Anyway, let’s move on to the Alicia Amiga 1200 AGA clone…
Approaching the Alicia 1200 Amiga 1200 clone build, what have I gotten myself into?!
Alicia 1200 is a kit, so one have to build it oneself. I have built a few Amiga kits myself as stated above so I did not expect any problem with the Alicia build. I usually build my projects from scratch, but in this case it has all the passives and common chips mounted. This saved a ton of time.
Lets talk PLCC sockets and chips
I decided to build my Alicia without PLCC sockets. I have a technique that works really well for soldering PLCC sockets without removing the inner part of the socket. In my experience soldering PLCC chips directly to the PCB makes for a more secure connection and eliminates any potential contact issue. I feel hot chips such as Paula, Lisa and Alice runs cooler when soldered directly to the PCB. I do have a few Amiga motherboards with full PLCC sockets for testing purposes.
Soldering the PLCC chips might be difficult if you are not used to doing them. I solder the PLCC chips with a relatively large hoof tip. Not saying the hoof tip is the definitive success factor. My success is probably from doing a LOT of PLCC chip soldering and getting used to a specific technique.
Difficult to find parts aka “ahh shieet here we go again…”
Most parts for the Alicia 1200 can be taken from an Amiga 1200 or can be found on Ebay, Amibay or from the “usual” places.
You will need the full Amiga 1200 chipset, including Motorola 68020, Budgie and A1200 Gayle. You will need an ADV101 or VP101 but you wont need the keyboard MPU. Memory can be taken from an Amiga 1200 too (but pay attention, some revisions come with incompatible memory that physically won’t fit). If you want to run the RTC you need a clock chip.
A 23 pin video connector is not needed and in fact can not be used, instead Alicia uses a regular VGA socket, so you have to make your own RGB cable if you plan to use it with SCART. You will need a PCMCIA connector, but that can also be take from an A1200 motherboard (hot air is your friend).
Everything else can be ordered from Mouser or Digikey.
So lets get the soldering iron warm…
The first parts I soldered was the Budgie and the Motorola 020 CPU, they are both surface mounted chips and where desoldered from an Amiga 1200 motherboard. I actually did not know if they worked or not, but as they are mounted in a good position on the motherboard I could always desolder them and replace them if they failed to work.
Lets add some memory to the Alicia 1200
You may have built a ReAmiga 1200 and struggled with the memory, I have. It is difficult to do a good job when the chips sit so tight together. I am not a fan of using hot air to solder them. Thankfully on the Alicia 1200 the memory chips are generously spaced leaving plenty of space for my preferred hoof tip technique making this task very enjoyable. This shows in the clean result.
Lets add some PLCC chips
Now its time for some PLCC chips. I have nailed the technique for soldering PLCC chips. But the challenge is getting them aligned correct on the solder pads so the joints form a straight line. I got successful with the first chip at the top left, Gayle. If you fail to align the chip it will still work but may look a bit off. Depending on your level of OCD this might be totally acceptable though.
Here are all the PLCC chips soldered to the Alicia 1200 PCB. I think this was around 4 hours of work in total. No idea if it works and no way of testing it yet. Let’s hope it works.
And lets add some ports and connectors
I am not alone when I say there is an universal curse around BOM orders. It is an unofficial rule more than an exception that it is derigeur to miss to order some small part or important part. In this case, it was a small chip on the bottom of the PCB and the ATX power socket.
First test run of Alicia 1200 A1200 clone
Once I got the missing parts I was eager to try Alicia 1200 out and see if it was working. And it was here I stumbled upon a problem, I did not have a suitable screen or RGB-SCART cable to test it. I thought I could use a 23 pin to VGA converter and hook up my old RGB-SCART cable with a 23 pin connector, but it did not work.
Just to verity that it worked I opted to do a testrun with a temp solution: using my Indivision MK3 that I have in my Amiga 1200 so I could get HDMI output.
Update: I have since built a VGA to SCART cable according to the instructions in the manual and I recommend everyone to do that to test that the port is working.
And it works!!
DiagROM boots and all tests checked out fine! The image above does not do justice to the image quality of the Indivision MK3, I was almost ready to fork out cash for a second one! This is a beautiful hardware combo if you want AGA only.
Sound played fine on the Alicia 1200 when testing channels in DiagROM. I think the sound circuit is the same on the Alicia 1200 as on the Denise as i recognice a few of the parts on the motherboard here.
I would descibe the sound on the Denise as slightly tinny, metallic or a bit more clean than a regular Amiga 500 or Amiga 1200, it is an interesting attribute of these motherboards and adds another dimension to the sound output of the Amiga. Cant wait to try it out with the Sound Enhancer.
Lets finalize the Alicia 1200 Amiga A1200 clone build
Once Alicia 1200 was fully tested I could go ahead and add the final connectors including the PCMCIA slot (that I cut down to make it shorter since it sticks out a lot).
So let’s end this post with some features that Alicia 1200 has that a genuine Amiga 1200 does not have. First it has a real time clock. Then it has a video slot on top left side. There are no devices to connect here today, but there are rumors of scandoublers and other exciting stuff. Lets see what the future holds. I have suggested a 3DFX card numerous times lol.
The larger slot is the Tornado slot, as you can see on the image above it is converted into the Amiga 1200 slot. Hopefully someone will release a direct mount CPU card for the Alicia 1200, if not, we can just use the converter above and run our TF1260s or PiStorms or whatever will be available directly on that.
Next steps!
Let me follow up in the future what case I will chose and what CPU card I will use. I am leaning towards PiStorm, but the beauty of a 060 in this little system is very tempting, almost too tempting to resist. And with the way the CPU card is mounted, there is plenty of space to run a badass heatsink over the 060 unlike in an Amiga 1200… you can be sure I will follow it up here in the future!
Great work with this project everyone involved!
Hope it works…
Just finished the last bit on the AmiGUS I built this weekend. I don’t have an USB blaster so wont be able to program it yet… if it works I will build two more for my self and have two PCBs for sale.
My Alicia is ready for a test run, but I am missing two key parts, one IC I forgot to order and the ATX PSU connector. Hopefully it works because its going to be a challenge replacing some of the chips if not.
Don’t order the BOM in the middle of the night…
…because you will accidentially miss ordering a part in the BOM – As is derigeur whenever ordering a BOM anyways.