Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cbmvax!rutgers!mailrus!ncar!noao!asuvax!teroach!stan From: stan@teroach.UUCP (Stan Fisher) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: 020/881 for B2000!! Please! Message-ID: <1314@teroach.UUCP> Date: 17 Oct 88 18:34:36 GMT Reply-To: stan@teroach.UUCP (Stan Fisher) Distribution: na Organization: Motorola Microcomputer Division, Tempe, Az. Lines: 45 ---------------------- First I want to thank Brad Fowles for his dedication to the Lucas project, that (unfortunately) may never see publication (ala Transactor issue 3, fingers crossed), although it is still available directly from him. I ordered the Lucas project from Brad and while waiting for it to arrive, I made the decision to trade in my 1000 for a 2000, after receiving the Lucas board and having been advised by Brad that it probably wouldn't work in the 2000, I proved for myself that, no, it just won't fit. Disappointed that my inexpensive 020 upgrade would not be imediately realized, I sold it to a colleague for his 1000. (minor flames to follow:) Now to check into the alternatives to turbo my 2000... I called Ronin Engineering to check on prices for their 2000 '020 board, $1025 with chips (020/881) and $600 without. This board is not available in a bare board (kit) form, unfortunately. Excuse me, but can there really be that much more to a 'coprocessor board' for the 2000, than the Lucas project for the 1000?? I've seen the Lucas board, a nicely done PCB with 4 pals for $65, you build. You add the glue chips, processors and sockets/ connectors, etc.) Now I might believe there's enough hardware to cost $300 sans chips and still leave a handsome profit margin but wow! And tell me why can I buy a ProRam 2000 board (0K) that'll hold 8 Megs of RAM for only $179 and these people want $600 additional for a 4 Meg 32bit (0K installed) messanine board for their 020 board ??? $600 for a BARE MEMORY BOARD! Now I'm not just pickin' on Ronin, I understand this is around the going price from Hurricane for their 020 board AND for their 32 bit memory board option (0K installed), that is, $600 each. There just isn't that much to these boards! Do we try to get our Engineering costs recovered in the first run of boards or what? Does anybody know of an inexpensive 020 board for the 2000 either without processors or in a kit form with no components? Would someone please follow in the Lucas board footsteps and produce a Pub-Domain 020 for the 2000? I'd love to do it, but just dont' have the resources at hand. Just a form-factor change to the Lucas should do it, perhaps with a few timing tweeks. OH PLEASE, OH PLEASE, OH PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!! ___________________________________________________________________________ + Stan Fisher uunet!unisoft!nud!teroach!stan + Motorola Microcomputer Division, Tempe, Arizona - (602) 438-3228 + "...no no, let's wait for the A5000, MC88000 based Amiga with 536 Million + colors and 2K square graphics resolution, Yeah, that's the ticket.."