Amiga & Commodore find

[johnvosh]

Reposting this from the other server!

So I went to our local refuse transfer station today and saw a box with a bunch of floppy disks in it so I grabbed it. Got home and this is what I found in it. I know the disk drive is for a Commodore 64/Vic 20, but can anyone tell me about the other stuff from looking at the pictures. what system(s) would I need to get to see if the stuff works. Thanks!

The one disk says it boots Amiga 2000. But those fancy models are hard to find NTSC... I can't say from experience if our 1084 monitors accept 50hz RGB.
Joysticks are usually standard, many work on Atari 2600 or similar.

Disk drive is a later 1541. Intended for the white C64 not that it matters.

Nice find :-)

Here's another question... What is a good price for an Amiga 500 system? I found one on eBay in it's box for $140 plus $90 shipping as I'm in Canada. This is the description... "Commodore Amiga 500 starter system. Comes with lots go games. Untested, but original owner said works great. Coloring of computer has yellowed from age. Both starter and original boxes in great shape"

I forgot I had this card as well, but I've also got a PC Emulator A2000 card.

[Gamevet]

A lot of that is hard to see on my laptop. If I was at home I could view it using my desktop monitor.

It looks like you have a lot of those Amiga disks that were included with the UK Amiga magazines. They'll actually work on a NTSC Amiga, as I've used several of those on my Amiga 500 over the years.

I also see that you have an Amiga mouse, kickstarter disk (you'll need that to boot your Amiga) and several joysticks that will work with an Amiga, C-64 or Atari 2600.

The price of that Amiga sounds pretty good, but I'd be wary of the seller that doesn't know if it works or not.

[Ze_ro]

The disk drive is a 1541-C... basically a later-model 1541. Pretty good drive overall, though there are better/later ones (a 1541-II or 1571 would have been better, but the 1541-C is a good choice for a C64 user). On top of the drive, I see a grey cable with one round end and one metal end... That cable is NOT for a C64. It's hard to tell exactly what it is, but I think the previous user was hooking this drive to an Amiga and using that C64 Emulator disk to run C64 software. That's a fairly odd setup. The other two cables on top of the drive look to be a power cable (for the drive, though it's a generic cable) and a regular C64 IEC cable, which you would need to hook the drive to a C64.

The disks are pretty much worthless. A bunch of magazine cover disks full of demo software, and a few (obsolete) apps. The Workbench disks are probably the only ones of any value whatsoever, though they'd be an older version. The "A2000 Boot Disk" is probably just another Workbench disk that the guy used for normal work, as the 2000 didn't use a Kickstart disk (Only the 1000 and 3000 did that).

I don't recognize the thing in the top right of the second image... At first I thought it might be a modem (completely worthless), but the cables sitting with it wouldn't really support that theory. The Amiga (all models) used a special mouse, not compatible with any other computers... so that's worth something (maybe $10-15). The joysticks are nothing special.

The disk drive is the most valuable thing in that lot, worth maybe $20 or so if it works. If you want to test it, you'd need a VIC-20 or C64 and some 5.25" disks, preferably ones that are already GCR formatted so you can tell if the drive is properly aligned.

Don't blow $230 on an A500 just to test those disks.

--Zero

[Ze_ro]

I don't recognize the thing in the top right of the second image... At first I thought it might be a modem

I was right, it IS a modem. The Commodore 1680 to be specific. 1200 baud, which is very slow even for the time period.

--Zero

[johnvosh]

That cable is NOT for a C64. It's hard to tell exactly what it is, but I think the previous user was hooking this drive to an Amiga and using that C64 Emulator disk to run C64 software. That's a fairly odd setup.

--Zero

Here is a pic of the two cables...

[CRTGAMER]

several joysticks that will work with an Amiga, C-64 or Atari 2600.

Two very nice Joysticks in that pile, a Wico and that beautiful EPYX stick with nice tactical click switches on the stick and fire button. The Wico uses either button as the same 2600 fire button. It can be modded to work as a 7800 two fire button stick.

The off grey 1541 disk drive is a newer model designed to match the appearance of the newer Commodore 128 and "slim" C64 computers.

[Ze_ro]

Here is a pic of the two cables...

Whoops, I was wrong. Those are monitor cables to hook an Amiga up to a 1084S monitor.

--Zero

[Neb6]

Stardust demo disk - fun fun fun.

Music-X - a powerful sequencer for its time.
Even though it's a cover disk, I think this is the full version of the program.

More game demos (Total Carnage, KQ VI, Benefactor, ...).
All good games that you can find in ADF format and decrunch to Amiga diskettes.

Workbench disks -- of course.

Ami-Back - a utility that I never really found a use for.

Not sure how good PrintMaster Plus is. Apparently there were better similar programs on the Amiga.

Fonts disks - tons of fonts available free in the Aminet archives.


For the Amiga 500 itself, the price seems about right.

Ideally, you'd want to find a Magnavox/Commodore 1084 monitor (it can handle both 50 and 60Hz).
And an extra 3.5" diskette drive is really nice to have.

[johnvosh]

Stardust demo disk - fun fun fun.

Music-X - a powerful sequencer for its time.
Even though it's a cover disk, I think this is the full version of the program.

More game demos (Total Carnage, KQ VI, Benefactor, ...).
All good games that you can find in ADF format and decrunch to Amiga diskettes.

Workbench disks -- of course.

Ami-Back - a utility that I never really found a use for.

Not sure how good PrintMaster Plus is. Apparently there were better similar programs on the Amiga.

Fonts disks - tons of fonts available free in the Aminet archives.


For the Amiga 500 itself, the price seems about right.

Ideally, you'd want to find a Magnavox/Commodore 1084 monitor (it can handle both 50 and 60Hz).
And an extra 3.5" diskette drive is really nice to have.

Thanks! What are some helpful tips and things I should look for when purchasing or looking for an Amiga 500/2000 system?