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[DigitalQ]

Okay, it's not much; I'm sure I'll add more in the future. At least it's something, and I feel my trusty crusty Amiga 500 deserves a tribute page; it was (and still is) a great machine. I hope you all enjoy the pictures; they enlarge when you click on them!

My Amiga 500 Tribute Page

[ral-clan]

Ah! The Amiga 500! Nice page.

This was the first computer I purchased with my own money, at the World of Commodore show in Toronto. I soooo wanted it. It was a great computer. Tons of games, capable. Even got me through university writing essays, etc.

I have a fondness in my heart for the A500. Love the wedge case. It's a very robust machine too. Basically it's an A2000 without the slots, so great build quality.

Oh, and that slingshot attachment you have is a nice and useful find!

I love the A500 *almost* as much as my VIC-20! But not quite!

[TjLaZer]

Nice page! I also had a 500 around that time and can relate, I then got a 2000, then a 4000 before I moved on to a PC.

You might want to fix the typo on the HD size! There were no 20Gb HDs back then!!

[gdanko]

nice looking 500!

[DigitalQ]

There were no 20Gb HDs back then!!

Oops! I don't know why I keep on doing that! Thanks for pointing it out.

I also love my Vic 20, but not in the same way as my Amiga 500. I love the Vic like I'd love the company of an old pet dog; whereas I love the Amiga like I love the company of an old friend. Some people may not see a difference between the two, but I do. Dogs can't talk.

[Steady]

Nice page!

That is one seriously clean A500. You looked after that baby well.

[Andeda]

Very nice :-)

I cant forgive myself because i sold my A500 10 years ago..

[ral-clan]

Oh, the <back to home page> link at the bottom of the screen doesn't seem to "link".

[swift240]

Yes a nice page that, never had a 500, did get a 500+ once though.
Its nice to see some one doing a page like that.

Mike. :-) :-)

[DigitalQ]

ral-clan wrote:
Oh, the <back to home page> link at the bottom of the screen doesn't seem to "link".

That's because it's still a work in progress. I plan on creating a main Amiga home page which will link to various resources (ie; the Tribute page, the battery replacement page). The back to home page link is just there as a placeholder.

Thanks for pointing that out, though!

[scuzzb494]

Paul

Great first entry that. Just left me wanting to read more. Couple of real items of interest for me there... The Slingshot... Not come across that before. Certainly shows the many ways the A500 could be expanded. Who made that and could you take a pic of it on its own... Make and manufaturer details etc. Nice collectors piece. Also the box is one that I am not familiar with. Where did you buy your A500 from... How much etc. What do you you think you paid for your kit over the years. Also that stand to your monitor is just magical. Just left me wanting to see more of what you had. Like do you still have all the bits and pieces from inside the box and what were the contents..

Just excellent. Watch the old cheese 501 cus there is a dreaded battery in there that is probably leaking.

Well done and simply excellent... More pages please.

scuzz
http://www.commodore-amiga-retro.com

[Caius]

That is one seriously clean A500. You looked after that baby well.

That was my first thought too. Are you sure you haven't manipulated those pictures? Haha.

And the blue WB1.x colour scheme. Really nasty! But it sure brings back fond memories.

[DigitalQ]

Well, I certainly don't want to leave anyone wanting... :-)

I put the Slingshot expander on my scanner and grabbed a couple of scans for you:




As you can see, it's a remarkably simple yet effective device made by Prespect Technics, Inc. I picked it up used for $20 back in the early 90's, and only ever used it with an A2090 card. I would like to test it with a GVP RAM and SCSI card I just recently won on evilBay; but I digress. Back to your questions.

The box is fairly common, I think, in where I live from the early days of the Amiga 500 release. I live in Canada, so if you're in a different country, that would explain the difference. I have seen them in much better shape at the local flea market; remember, this one's been hauled from one place to another with my A500 system over the years!

As for price, I can't remember exactly what I paid for the A500 and 1084s; all I remember is that I bought them both from a store in Peterborough, Ontario, after I sold my entire C64 system for $400. It might have been $800 for both. The A590 was an xMas gift, but I recall it being around $200. The 1011 drive was definitely $250. These are all pre-1990 prices.

The "Stand" on the monitor is built into the 1084s monitor; it flips down. An earlier version of the 1084 monitor has two "Legs" flip down from behind, allowing the monitor to "Prop up" on the flat vented spot of the A500 (though it "Fits" better on a Commodore 128).

As for the "Cheese" 501, I'm not too worried about it; as I have acquired a Supra RAM expander with a Lithium battery for free. I may pop open that old A501 to salvage the RAM chips.

I do plan on doing more. So far, I have this, along with this page which shows my A2000 system and explains how I replaced its clock battery. Eventually, I'd like to have a bunch of material on the A500/A2000 duo (my all-time favourite Amigas) accessible from a main "Home" page.

As for the pictures, they were not retouched...just photographed in a manner to show a yellowed A500 at its best. :-D

[Caius]

Damnit, your A2000 is even prettier!

[DigitalQ]

The A2000 is, aside from the minor battery problem, absolutely mint. It looks as though it had never been used in the past 20 years, and doesn't show the slightest bit of yellowing; even on the keyboard. I can't really make a "Tribute" page to it, since I just got it this past December at World of Commodore. I do plan on getting a lot of use out of it, however.
:-D