pouët.net

Relaying from my InBox (thought it would interest Pouet community) :

Hello,

My name is phil.

Me and my friends have launched a new Kickstarter campaign to manufacture new cases for Amiga 1200 computers.
So i'm just trying to find as much amiga fans i can around the world to push our campaign.

We've also launched a Special Limited Edition of the case Signed by Lukhash , the renowned C64 electronic composer.

Our Kickstarter page:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/a1200housing/new-a1200-housings-pressed-from-new-molds

You can follow us on our FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/a1200housings

As well as on our Landing page:
http://www.a1200.net

My Skype account: a1200housings (Open From 2pm to 4pm (GMT +1) French and English language)

Some links:

IndieRetroNews: http://www.indieretronews.com/2015/07/new-a1200-computer-housing-project.html
Vintage is the World: http://www.vintageisthenewold.com/new-a1200-computer-housing-project-are-you-ready-for-the-awesome-kickstarter-now-live/

Press Release: http://www.a1200.net/A1200KickstarterPressRelease.pdf


Thanks a lot for your awesome support ;)
#AmigaRulez

Best regards,
Phil.

For the lazy:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/a1200housing/new-a1200-housings-pressed-from-new-molds
https://www.facebook.com/a1200housings
http://www.a1200.net
http://www.indieretronews.com/2015/07/new-a1200-computer-housing-project.html
http://www.vintageisthenewold.com/new-a1200-computer-housing-project-are-you-ready-for-the-awesome-kickstarter-now-live/
http://www.a1200.net/A1200KickstarterPressRelease.pdf

Some clumsy wording like "My friends and I are maybe IT specialists now, but we’re still kids when talking about A1200 and retrogaming.", but if I was one of those "AAAAMMMIIGAAA" oneliner yellers, I'd choose the imprint Lukhash transparent special edition :D

How many A1200s are kicking around that still work but need a new case that desperately? Would be more interesting if they manufactured replacement circuitry. A tiny 1-chip A1200 would be boss.

jmph: From what I've heard, Jens Schönfeld from Individual Computers is working on just that, a replacement AGA board which will fit inside a standard A500 case. Look up "Amiga Reloaded".

is that a lukhash realdoll? how much for a golden one?

I was thinking one thing Phil of that kickstarter could do to add a better functionality -a "feature" (other than the likeable smell of new plastic case they refer to ala Proust madeleine) would be to try to strengthen the hold of the AC power socket on the A1200 side. On my A1200, this is where it seems a false contact usually happened. Someone else also confirmed this more or less to me, so it might be an issue. If the plastic design mold for the case is not yet unmodifiable, it might be of interest to add a subtle plastic outgrowth for better hold/fitting.

Has someone ever had same false contact experience with the A1200 A/C socket Amiga side ? If so, do you think it would be a good idea to submit to Phil maybe ?

Amiga, even 1200, may work without the case. The case, in contrary, is useless without the working amiga motherboard inside. I wish smbdy find some 30-years old amiga chips hidden somewhere and make a new amiga batch... :)

> A tiny 1-chip A1200 would be boss.
the problem is that amiga chips are hard to emulate. For example, Rink A Dink: Redux works somewhat failing on winuae and has gross bugs when run on Minimig (at least when I saw it last time on Minimig).
Another cool way to reproduce amiga is to reverse engineer that mighty amiga chipset, like it's done with 6502, z80, i8080 and so on.

will someone PLEASE make a cost effective 68060 with FPU!!!!

FPU with all the trigonometry and transcendency please, without emulation traps.
And with 64bit mul/div also! :)

Do you guys mean those 3 unreleased Amiga chipsets : AAA
Hombre & Ranger ?

Huge thanks to Algorithm, SnC and Cyb0rg4 for working on the Voyage Amiga intro that will go unnoticed for exclusively reserved to 30 lucky backers of New A1200 Housings kickstarter campaign.

@any demoparty organizers : if you seek free cases to hand out as prizes (starting January/2016) - please email me (fast since limited stock) ! Thank you/

So, who will pirate that intro first? Everybody who doesn't is a lamer.

if you'll forgive me for being blunt, this whole "a1200 case" kickstarter seems like something that was cooked up to try to make a profit without ANY actual work apart from making the source object / mold.

Hi Farfar,



I think it is untrue to assume that either a) this kickstarter was "cooked up to try to make profit" or that b) there wasn't "ANY actual work" done.

First off it is in the continuation of the previous new cases earlier this year done for C-64. Secondly it has also been verified to be Amiga reloaded from IndividualComputers compliant coming Q1/2016. "Much like the C64 Reloaded, the Amiga Reloadedwill be a new Amiga motherboard using original MOS/CSG chips. [...] The target price of the main board with AGA chips is under 200,- EUR.".

This all means, more or less you can get an Amiga reloaded A1200 (reading the reloaded specifications seems a lot of people would want to program on it and it is not a simple accelerator card beefed-up mobo or merely some rip-off pc offshoot with just the logo campaign you get every 5 years or so...) for around 279 euros. It sounds to me as something worthy of a 30 year anniversary : mid-priced (new boxed A1200 go for 600-700 euros on ebay - was lurking there yesterday for a friend), innovative (new demos ?) yet somewhat retro-compatible even with original Amiga state-of-mind (imho).

Now, for what probably concerns most here already lucky owners of an A1200 :

a) I don't think the initiator of this project (M. Philippe Lang) is making any money out of his kickstarter to be honest. From LinkedIn scrapping he's appears well-off programming Mappy or something as a real job, just that he is a fan and that this might be his first kickstarter if you read between the lines of his comments (for example "When setting the KS time frame, we did not realize that reaching all Amiga users would be such a challenge. Although we knew it would not been easy either"). Supposedly he explains he found back some A1200 and the cases were all yellow (even more if he is a smoker :P ) and somewhat cracked. I think he and his team are just honest Amiga fans :
"My friends and I are maybe IT specialists now, but we’re still kids when talking about A1200 and retrogaming."

The pricing of 79 euros (classic serie) for a case is well explained for in his Kickstarter FAQ "Why the campaign goal is so high ? the A1200 cases are plastic after all ?!?" :


Reading this and because "Amiga 1200 original casing molds are long gone", one can deduce the minimal charging price is 90000 Euros and the maximum is 150000 Euros, wether one decides to press/mold a single A1200 or a trillion A1200s.

When I first learnt that, I was tempted to think (once more) "where is Commodore when you need them ?" but history already took care of that "never respond" Bahamas fiscal evasion stunt management (if the Amiga died it was not because of a lack of commercial sucess ? Right ?).

So all in all I wouldn't be surprised if M. Lang even coughed up some of his own pocket money int the process, but that's his business and I don't have any proofs.

b) about the no "ANY actual work done" assumption, it seems unfounded as well because :
-he 3D the 3 molds (after running around chasing for them to find out they didn't exist anymore) ;
-he added many enhancements, some optional some not :
--standard ultra resistant anti-UV plastic (no more color fading/yellowish case with years) - always bright and shine ;
--optional HxC LCD Display using unused standard time chip pin (Amiga RTC if I understand correctly) ;
--standard HxC LCD Display 0.5 millimeter pre cut-out slot from inside with mounting points/invisible and robust outside if unused ;
--standard Gotekdrive port ;
--standard choice of colors (including transparent) specific models and limited editions but even a "Ghost" glow-in-the-dark case !
--standard case embedded signature of Commodore Amiga Technologies legends/gods Haynie, Petro Tyschtschenko and Carl Sassenrath (RJ Mical pending) ;
--standard Kipper2k external CF slot over PCMCIA ;
--standard new expansion door designed for airflow including 4cm fan ventilation screw holes ;
--standard 3 plastic rear trapdoors fits for DVI/HDMI and VGA ;
--standard 2 new usb slots with screw holed ;
--standard RF-Modulator Mk2 VGA output ready ;
--standard rubber feet ;
--proven compatible with all A1200 but also Amiga reloaded motherboards in 2016 ;

Last but not least, he's been pilling bonuses to try to reach KS goal :
-stretch goal #1 (aka goal #2) will not only unrelease all colors (excpet exclusive pre-empted ones like ours), but come withe full 3D model plans ;
-new keyboards and keyboard colors (even backlit) if goal or stretch goal #3 is reached ;

Lastly look at who else is backing them : Eric Cubizolle (wrote the Amiga Bible and will sign it for you), Haynie, Petro Tyschtschenko and Carl Sassenrath (RJ Mical pending) of Commodore and Amiga Technologies : would they be backing, to your knowledge, some venture "cooked up to make a profit without ANY actual work" ?.

Kind regards.

Can you elaborate ?
I'm curious ..

I'm the one doing the R&D for these molds. I'm curious about what you mean by saying this isn't work..

:D

In all fairness that's most of the actual work, and it's not really advertised as anything else...? :)

knowing a thing or two about injection moulding prices i'm pretty sure they're not going to make a huge profit on this particular kickstarter- baudsurfer's numbers make sense, molds will often cost more than a new car and plastic is only 10-15% of the price for such a small run (a fact that you can see confirmed by online injection plastic price calculators, or simply by asking your local plastics factory for a price quote)
having said that, whoever gets to keep the molds after the kickstarter has completed will have a nice cashcow for decades to come...

I backed because I want I want a new case for the reloaded Amiga mb anyway (this thing http://wiki.icomp.de/wiki/Amiga_reloaded) also as havoc points out, molds are usually whats expensive (And I doubt how much of a 'cashcow' this thing will after the kickstarter :)

...from *both* people each year who will need a new A1200 case after the initial run is done.

Updating thread with Amiga1200 cases goal modifications sent by email

Hi All,

We've added Raspberry Pi and Keyrah Support to our cases ;)

Enjoy,
Phil

hmm.. yes, I see that. I'm sorry, I take that back, of course it's "actual" work to make the cases.

Maybe it's that I don't see the point of this kickstarter. Why would you want a new casing for your Amiga? Are they falling apart? That's why I got the initial reaction that "er what.. is this just somebody trying to cash in on nostalgia?"

so enlighten me.. what's the point of this?