Adding a PiStorm to your Amiga 2000
For people that are curious if it is possible to easily add a PiStorm setup to your Amiga 2000, and how difficut the process of doing so is, on this page i will describe some of the possibilities.
Upto now there's no real dedicated PiStorm design freely available for the Amiga 2000, and so we have to make use of a A2000 CPU relocator board and a PiStorm officially designed for the Amiga 500 / 500+
As we speak , there's a development in a native Pistorm for the Amiga 2000, the PiStorm 2k, but upto now that's not an open design, and lacks a rather usefull feature, that my CPU relocator card can provide to you, but more about that later on.
Why a CPU relocator for the Amiga 2000 ?
The Amiga 2000 is simply stated an expanded big box version of the Amiga 500, but with still minimal expansion space on the crucial places where Amiga 500 expansions would / could be added.
The CPU (or CoProcessor) Slot is one of the examples the big box Amiga 2000 gives you , for allowing you to add hardware to the machine.
Hardware that otherwise would not fit because of the limited space between the Motherboard and the Drivecage / power supply.
The CPU Slot ( and the relocator also) has all signals that are available on the 68000 socket, and then some, allowing you to change the location of the internal 68000 CPU or replace it completely with one of it's bigger siblings.
Which Pistorm options fit in an Amiga 2000 ?
The Pistorm that is used via a CPU relocator board is the same as you would use in your Amiga 500 or Amiga 500plus, though it offers more flexability to use a Raspberry Pi 3B+ on your Pistorm.
The amiga 500 has limited space between motherboard and keyboard and therefore cannot use risers.
Which versions of the Raspberry Pi are supported :
3A, 3A+,3B, 3B+, and now also the Zero II is (not yet officially) supported
The Raspberry Pi 3B+ will need risers to be used on a Pistorm Hat to fit properly, but at last there's no need to desolder the USB connectors on the Raspberry Pi 3B+
Which CPU Relocator for the Amiga 2000 with PiStorm
There are a few CPU Relocator boards available for the Amiga 2000, and they all do the same (more or less).
Some offer additional signals needed for a special piece of Add-On hardware, some are coming in different shapes and sizes.
the most basic CPU relocators will provide you with the exact same signals on the Socket on the board as the socket on the Motherboard.
This will allow you to relocate the CPU and that's it (and in most cases that is enough), others have additional signals available by jumpers or solderpads for any expansion that needs them.
The CPU Relocator that i have designed and built has an additional feature that is very welcome as addition to the PiStorm, it has an IDE / ATAPI interface option, allowing you to easily add a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive to your setup.
I also did test the option to have a FAT95 formatted CF card in a slot adapter so you can easily exchange data between your Amiga 2000 and your PC or Mac.
For more information on the IDE/ATAPI in combination with a CD-ROM / DVD-ROM side of the the CPU relocator you can visit this page.
But i already have a SCSI controller :
Finding a SCSI CD / DVD ROM drive will be hard to find/fund (Pick one, or both) and therefore it may notbe the best option.
My turboCard already has a SCSI / IDE option onboard :
Will it work with game 'X' , or with application 'Y' :
Hiowever with the demo's, previews, and apps that i tested it all worked flawlessly.
Why A Fat95 CF Card , I can transfer data via wireless to the PiStorm setup :
With the Fat95 formatted CF Card you cannot only easily transfer files from the PC, but it can also be used directly from that location as it is just an additional harddrive to the Amiga.
But i can copy files to the SD Card directly from PC :
The CF Card could be installed with a Slot Adapter , allowing you to insert the CF card without opening the amiga over and over again.
Does the PiStorm Provide CD-ROM drives directly :
When you find a CD-ROM somewhere , you just have to image it, transfer it, mount it, investigate it contents
When the CD is total crap, you can the unmount the image , delete the image and go on with your life....
Or you could put the CD in the CD-ROM drive, take a look at it, and if it's crap toss it directly in the bin.
For both ways there are pro's and cons 🙂
Will it work with Kickstart 1.3 :
If you want the CD-ROM to function a kick higher than 1.3 is needed, for CF card support 1.3 will suffice.
Pi 3B+ with a PiStorm Connected to the CPU Relocator board in A2000
Pi 3B+ / PiStorm sideview, with ide cable going to the DVD-ROM and CF Adapter
Front view of the DVD-ROM Drive that is conected to the PiStorm CPU Relocator
Rear view of the Amiga 2000 showing the CF slotadapter conected to the CPU Relocator.
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Good quality and good service. TOP !!!
Translated review from the Dutch Website : Goede kwaliteit en goede service. TOP !!!
The PCB is of a very good quality and so are the parts, they are soldered on nicely. Works like a charm! Good instructions are provided as well and the PCB has clear markings so you can't install it wrong. The CPU socket is one with the round holes so it's durable, even if you change the CPU often. And, very important, the packaging was tiptop so it couldn't get destroyed in the mail. I will definitely buy stuff from this site again!
Bought this interface to use a A500 Pistorm in the Amiga 2000 coprocessor slot.<br />
Nice additional feature that i could hook up a CD-ROM drive to the IDE part of the CPU-Relocator
