How to use Amigas

Demo-designated Amiga 1200

• In own bin, has accelerator with RAM, nice white case, has RJ50 tail
  • Very careful handling if no bottom trapdoor (usual if accelerator inside, which is usually)

• Stored with mouse, nice PSU, DB23 video -> circular pigtail

• Recommend with FrameMeister, Taiwanese box "ok", FPGA technically best but finnicky (also TBL mode), XRGB-1 (ntsc)

  • Taiwanese box requires power cycle to change ntsc/pal (doesn't have detection)
• Turn on framemeister with remote, decide on hdmi or dvi mode based on resolution desired
  • If blank screen, push and hold safety button and get shitty common resolution
  • Are on "RGB" input
  • If OCD like Keith, may want to tweak pixel offsets or processing mode or scaling
    • processing: Can use "standard" processing mode, probably use "picture" that we think avoids deinterlacing
    • scaling: probably want standard
    • zoom/offset: don't touch but can mess with overscan amount if crap visible during demos
  • If flips its shit due to a mode switch (shouldn't happen, ever, but Keith saw once)
    • Then hit RGB button again, and it will rescan
• Turn on amiga, (power switch on PSU when there is one)
• If happy, goes blar lar lar rainbow line thing sometimes, if video mode is conducive
  • Angry is please insert disk - hard disk probably fell off
  • Blank screen probably angry, could mean bad video mode (but shouldn't happen with framemeister)
• Reboot is ctl-amiga-amiga
  • If hold down BOTH mouse buttons during reboot (real quick after keystroke), get early startup control menu
    • Lets you press a key to toggle between NTSC and PAL (good for diagnostic, should never need in usage)
    • Given the workbench set-to-pal config, menu mainly useful for video diagnostic
• Our workbench is configured to always switch to pal, nomatter setting in early startup menu
• Demos are under "Work"
  • All ones previously setup have an icon
  • EXCEPT: Tint
    • Requires too much chipram, (we have too little because tables of fastram - have lots - go in chipram)
    • Don't open drawers (windows)

    • Type WhiteAmiga-E (OR, right click anywhere and get menubar, then use Workbench->Execute command)

    • Run command "cli", hit OK
    • Navigate to directory with script with icon

      • "cd Work:Demos/Tint"

    • execute run.demo
    • Drops you back at cli, can type "endcli" to exit or reboot
• Exiting demos: ESC, F10, mousebutton (most common; left or right), printscreen, spacebar, enter
  • Most demos leave in OK state, but reboot to be safe?
    • WHDLOAD ones are particularly well behaved
• Some demos require floppies (ex: state of art, except best on 500)
  • If one of our premade scripts, will prompt for disk
  • To make replacement disks if die or lost, go in DemOFloppies dir and run a script that makes floppy!
• Occasional blizzard misbehavior
  • Might crash, or Tint behave weeeeirdly
  • Vigorously turn off, unplug eeeeverything, flip over, wiggle and reseat RAM and (mainly) cardedge

=== Amiga 500 ==

• Generally much easier
• Same video converters should work
• Usually just stick in demo disk, since we've tried to make them all bootable
  • Typically write these disks with the 1200
• Ignore weird sounds from floppy drive (???)