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Author Topic: From NEWS today in my home town..1980s computer controls GRPS heat and AC  (Read 2195 times)

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Offline giZmo350Topic starter

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A500: 2MB Chip, 8MB Fast, IndiECS, MiniMegi, IDE4ZorroII on Z-500, KS1.3/KS3.1, WB3.1&BWB
 
A2000HD: 2MB Chip, 128MB Fast, P5:Blizz 2060@50MHz, PCD-50B/4GBCF, XSurf100, RapidRoad, IndiECS, Matze RTG, MiniMegi, CD-RW, SunRize AD516, WB3.9
 
A1200: 2MB Chip, 64MB Fast, 4GBCF, GVP Typhoon 030 @40MHz w/FPU, Subway USB, EasyNet Ethernet, Indi AGA MKI, FastATA MK-IV, Internal Slim CD/DVD-RW, WB3.5

Surfing The Web With AMIGA Is Fun Again!
 

Offline Matt_H

So they're looking at a $1million+ replacement? The Amiga price-to-performance ratio continues to hold after all these years!

I almost want to buy them a couple of spare A500s to save them from their own wasteful spending...
 

Offline Oldsmobile_Mike

Love it!  We need to fill up their comment forum with praise for the Amiga, maybe they don't realize you can still buy them on ebay, etc.?
Amiga 500: 2MB Chip|16MB Fast|30MHz 68030+68882|3.9|Indivision ECS|GVP A500HD+|Mechware card reader + 8GB CF|Cocolino|SCSI DVD-RAM
Amiga 2000: 2MB Chip|136MB Fast|50MHz 68060|3.9|Indivision ECS + GVP Spectrum|Mechware card reader + 8GB CF|AD516|X-Surf 100|RapidRoad|Cocolino|SCSI CD-RW
 Amiga videos and other misc. stuff at https://www.youtube.com/CompTechMike/videos
 

Offline giZmo350Topic starter

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Quote from: Oldsmobile_Mike;790992
Love it!  We need to fill up their comment forum with praise for the Amiga, maybe they don't realize you can still buy them on ebay, etc.?


That's a good idea! There's already some good comments on there...


Detroit Public Schools are inquiring if they can buy this computer when it is replaced.

Atari computer down at road commission office that runs the game "frogger" 24/7 controls all the walk/don't walk signals in town.

:lol:
A500: 2MB Chip, 8MB Fast, IndiECS, MiniMegi, IDE4ZorroII on Z-500, KS1.3/KS3.1, WB3.1&BWB
 
A2000HD: 2MB Chip, 128MB Fast, P5:Blizz 2060@50MHz, PCD-50B/4GBCF, XSurf100, RapidRoad, IndiECS, Matze RTG, MiniMegi, CD-RW, SunRize AD516, WB3.9
 
A1200: 2MB Chip, 64MB Fast, 4GBCF, GVP Typhoon 030 @40MHz w/FPU, Subway USB, EasyNet Ethernet, Indi AGA MKI, FastATA MK-IV, Internal Slim CD/DVD-RW, WB3.5

Surfing The Web With AMIGA Is Fun Again!
 

Offline Oldsmobile_Mike

I missed that last one, that's good!  :roflmao:
Amiga 500: 2MB Chip|16MB Fast|30MHz 68030+68882|3.9|Indivision ECS|GVP A500HD+|Mechware card reader + 8GB CF|Cocolino|SCSI DVD-RAM
Amiga 2000: 2MB Chip|136MB Fast|50MHz 68060|3.9|Indivision ECS + GVP Spectrum|Mechware card reader + 8GB CF|AD516|X-Surf 100|RapidRoad|Cocolino|SCSI CD-RW
 Amiga videos and other misc. stuff at https://www.youtube.com/CompTechMike/videos
 

Offline weirdami

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Quote from: Matt_H;790984
So they're looking at a $1million+ replacement? The Amiga price-to-performance ratio continues to hold after all these years!

I almost want to buy them a couple of spare A500s to save them from their own wasteful spending...


Yeah. It looks like they're itching to spend money where it doesn't need it.
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Offline Oldsmobile_Mike

Methinks they need an X1000 or three.  That should last them at least another 30 years!  ;)
Amiga 500: 2MB Chip|16MB Fast|30MHz 68030+68882|3.9|Indivision ECS|GVP A500HD+|Mechware card reader + 8GB CF|Cocolino|SCSI DVD-RAM
Amiga 2000: 2MB Chip|136MB Fast|50MHz 68060|3.9|Indivision ECS + GVP Spectrum|Mechware card reader + 8GB CF|AD516|X-Surf 100|RapidRoad|Cocolino|SCSI CD-RW
 Amiga videos and other misc. stuff at https://www.youtube.com/CompTechMike/videos
 

Offline nOw2

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Quote from: Oldsmobile_Mike;790992
Love it!  We need to fill up their comment forum with praise for the Amiga, maybe they don't realize you can still buy them on ebay, etc.?


With current prices on e-/Ami-Bay, it might work out cheaper to spend the $1,000,000.

I liked this bit:
"Parts for the computer are difficult to find, Hopkins said. It is on its second mouse and third monitor."

Just a 2nd mouse!! I must have gone through a dozen in 20 years..! I'm currently back using an original A500 mouse so it shows how tough those original Commodore bits can be.

Final comment: they kept say "80s" computer, but it's running at least OS 2 which puts it firmly post-1990 - but okay, it's an A2000 which was on sale from '87-'92.
 

Offline psxphill

Quote from: weirdami;790997
Yeah. It looks like they're itching to spend money where it doesn't need it.

I think everyone is too fixated on the Amiga. All the hardware in the solution is 20+ years old, you can't buy it all on ebay. It uses a 1200 baud modem hooked up to radio which interferes with their own radios.

I know someone who used a BBC micro to control stage lighting up until a few years ago. Ultimately it got replaced because the person who built it stopped being involved and the UI was clunky. What it was replaced with was not as good, but you could buy it off the shelf.
 
 It's sad when it happens, but it doesn't mean it's a bad idea.
 

Offline Brian

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Quote from: psxphill;791011
I think everyone is too fixated on the Amiga. All the hardware in the solution is 20+ years old, you can't buy it all on ebay. It uses a 1200 baud modem hooked up to radio which interferes with their own radios.

I know someone who used a BBC micro to control stage lighting up until a few years ago. Ultimately it got replaced because the person who built it stopped being involved and the UI was clunky. What it was replaced with was not as good, but you could buy it off the shelf.
 
 It's sad when it happens, but it doesn't mean it's a bad idea.


They could always make their own radiomodems to same some $.

This is one place who realy need to think about getting spares and not relly on day to day e/ami-bay prices.

Offline AdelaideAmiga

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Thanks for sharing this!
 

Offline Ral-Clan

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They are complaining about the Amiga being unreliable, but to me it seems the only parts that are problematic are external peripherals:

1. Mouse; replaced twice in 20 years (probably only needed a cleaning)
2. Monitor; heck, if they really can't get an Amiga compatible monitor, then any CRT or LCD TV with a composite in would probably work using the monochrome output of the A500 (it's actually pretty sharp compared with the A1200s colour composite mode).
3. 1.5 million?   Buy a couple more Amiga 500s, or buy a PC and run an Amiga emulator. WinUAE can use the PC's serial port (USB to RS-232 adapters are $3 each online if the PC doesn't have a serial port anymore).
 
Also, "1200 bit" modem?
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Offline Matt_H

I can think of much better ways to spend that kind of education money than replacing a functional, if quirky, computer system.
 

Offline Nlandas

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Quote from: ral-clan;791017
They are complaining about the Amiga being unreliable, but to me it seems the only parts that are problematic are external peripherals:

1. Mouse; replaced twice in 20 years (probably only needed a cleaning)
2. Monitor; heck, if they really can't get an Amiga compatible monitor, then any CRT or LCD TV with a composite in would probably work using the monochrome output of the A500 (it's actually pretty sharp compared with the A1200s colour composite mode).
3. 1.5 million?   Buy a couple more Amiga 500s, or buy a PC and run an Amiga emulator. WinUAE can use the PC's serial port (USB to RS-232 adapters are $3 each online if the PC doesn't have a serial port anymore).
 
Also, "1200 bit" modem?


We are catching that the 1.5 million is not just to replace the computer. Right? It will actually upgrade all of the control systems in the buildings with modern HVAC controls. The PC that will be set up to control them will likely be under $1K. There are likely to be other advantages to updating the HVAC controls themselves like finer control of boiler settings, etc.

This may result in more comfortable buildings or potentially energy savings.

All that said, look at how long this computer ran continually and the only parts replaced were peripherals as others have said. It made me nostalgic to see another innovative use of Amiga from 30 years ago that no one knew about at the time. Imagine what marketing could have done with that information if they had a clue how to market.

There was no reason that the Amiga could not have taken the entire computer world over, except they didn't know how to sell it's innovative uses.

-Nyle
I think, Therefore - Amiga....
 

Offline Bugala

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@Oldsmobile_Mike

Unfortunately I think it is more likely teh A2000 will be still running 30 years later than X1000.

If i have understood right, todays computers arent built from as lasting parts as 80s were, which is partly due to them having been simpler back in the day.