Upgrading my Amiga 500 from OCS to ECS (and you should too!) Episode 119 

It is pretty useful, really. A lot of people never realized about the Non Interlaced modes. It is great for Workbench and productivity programs!

Good memories I hope!

Thanks so much! Glad to have you back using an Amiga again for sure!

Lots of options out there! Amiga 500's are not too hard to find, and emulation is OK too! Check out the Raspberry Pi 400 and PiMiga! It's an inexpensive way to play with this stuff.

If you are in Europe, they are everywere and still cheap enough to get hands on. If you are in North America, then it is some times cheaper to import from Europe. Even when import fee are calculated into the final price. And the best part is that you get a Pal machine. Those have the hoghest number of the good games. A Pal machine inside North America, are stupidly expensive.

I finally found one after 22 years of searching. Might have gone overboard on upgrades, lol. I feel ya

@@joshuarichards2421 Congrats. 👍

@@brostenen "Highest number of GOOD games"? Not sure about that one... Most really good games were also available NTSC. Mostly it was the low cost stinker games that were never converted over.

My goal in life is to convince people that the Amiga is not and never was solely a gaming machine. It's a real computer, that was more capable than any other computer in any similar price range in its day. Gaming's great, and I own a ton of them, but the Amiga was used for so much more.

@@10MARC well said Sir!! Plus if was good enough for NASA to run the challenger missions telemetry too, James Cameron the list goes on & on!! Only Amiga makes it possible!

ECS really did shine with 2.0 - Good old Workbench 1.3 did not do much with the new chips. I really liked 2.0 on my Amiga 3000

Glad you enjoyed it

Wonderful to hear! She is an amazing chip with a great name!

Thanks so much! Not many computers of the day could switch between them so easily. Only Amiga...

Interesting! I will try that Euro36 mode out and see what it does! As far as just jumping from NTSC to PAL, I always thought a reboot was required to go from 60 to 50 kHz. I will have to experiment with that one and see if it changes the frequency.

@@10MARC nah no reboot needed. At least on Amiga 1200. In fact I’ve even switched from 50 to 60hz in assembly code with help of the Amiga hardware reference manual. It’s only one single instruction and boom Denise knows what to do

My pleasure!

ECS should be the native mode now. Which video mode are you looking for? The new ones like "Multiscan" and "DBLNTSC" are located in sys:storage/monitors. Move the ones you want to sys:devs/monitors and reboot. They should then appear in the list

@@10MARC Got the modes in and now I can see them. I could not see my Save and Use buttons. I had to figure out what the shortcut keys were. Now I got it working. I am using the DBLNTSC mode for hi-res no flicker. Wish it had more than 4 colors for the desktop though. What do you recommend for NTSC? I have the Amiga 500 hooked up to a Dell P2222H 1080p monitor that supports 15kHz on VGA.

They really were pretty cool and really pushed the limit of what the early Amigas could do. They were more powerful than EGA on the PC in my opinion, but not nearly as good as VGA. It was a lot less expensive than a VGA card in 1990, though!

I believe you really do. They MIGHT work with just the Super Denise, but I suspect not.

with just the Super-Denise plugged in I get some artifacts ont he screen and only about 1/2 the desktop, but see no mouse movement etc. so i suspect the new Agnus chip is needed

Great point! Thanks for mentioning it. I assumed it defaulted to whatever mode the timing chip was. The monitor is an NEC Multisync 1970

@@10MARC Thanks for the monitor info =D It defaults to NTSC I think, which isn't a problem when going from 8370 =D

It is the Denise that has Hold and Modify support, but ECS and OCS chip sets both have it. The mode that the very first Denise in very early Amiga 1000's did not have was EHB or Extra Half Bright 64 color mode.

Wow! That's some old school stuff there! I have not heard about that mod since like '91!

@@10MARC I have Kickstart switcher in there also to swap between 1.3 and 2.04. IIRC there were a few good games I stubbornly wanted to play that only liked 1.3.

Nah. The DBL modes have been available to ECS machines for decades. They just are limited to 4/64 colors. They work at a nice 31.5 (or so) kHz.

Yes, the Amiga can be connected to any 15 Khz capable VGA monitor - They even make them today. Acer has a nice one. I did a video on 15Khz monitors a few years back. With the ECS or AGA chipset you can use 31.5 Khz monitors with several display modes.

@@10MARC Great stuff, thanks for the detailed reply! I'll find that previous video and will look out for a suitable monitor. I guess most NEC Multisync models would do the trick? I used to have a Commodore 1084s monitor but my parents threw it out at some point. It wasn't working but I am sure it could have been fixed. At least the A500 was saved though, looking forward to fire it up again! :)

There is an NTSC and a PAL version of it, but I think they work on both types of machines

Yep. There is a guy that makes them in England I am thinking of ordering one from. What an awesome time to be alive!

@@10MARC May be gone now but a German guy had made six. with shipping about $370 US. fair but too steep for me.

What version of the OS are you using? The mouse was working before? Is it a standard AMIGA Mouse? And lastly, hold down left AMIGA and use the cursor keys and see if the mouse moves with the keyboard

@@10MARC I have the kickstart 3.1 installed, OS 3.2. Original Amiga Mouse and it was working before I swapped the ICs for the ECS upgrade. There are some artifacts at the top middle of the screen. If I right click, I see the workbench menu bar change, so I know the mouse is working. Holding down the left AMIGA key and using the cursor keys does nothing. No mouse pointer still. I should add my Amiga 500 is REV 5

@@10MARC Update. I put back the original Denise and removed the Super-Denise and the mouse works again. The Super-Denise I have it is in PLCC package so I have an adapter that it plugs into, wondering if there is an issue with the PLCC one. Any suggestions?

Best computer ever! What a wonderful machine

Paula is fine - no changes necessary. Check you Denise and see if she is an 8362 (OCS) or and 8373 (ECS) - that's probably the only chip you need to swap. Your machine already sees 1 MB of CHIP RAM?

@@10MARC machine sees 512k of chip, 512k of trapdoor. Generally enough to do what I need to do, and I have no intentions of soldering on ram chips to fill up the empty spots on the board as I don't want to set my house on fire. This essentially turns the 500 into a 500+, minus the RTC junk?

IIRC, A500+ had even fatter agnus :) - 8375 and different trace layout around its socket, 'cause they have different pinout (not compatible). iComp uses this agnus in the 2Mb chipram upgrade. My A500 rev. 6A also has 8372A, and the 512k trapdoor ram upgrade is shown as slow ram.

@@ATMFoxtrot there is an adapter kicking around somewhere that lets you drop a 8375 in to the slot for the 8372A, but that costs about a hundred bucks. And I don't think the Rev6A board can have 2mb soldered on to it. Not sure that a $100 adapter for a 1mb chipram upgrade is worth it. I'll stick to just dropping in my 500+'s Denise, Paula, and the Kickrom.

@@stumblepuppy606 Well, I am waiting the iComp 2Mb chip ram upgrade. It actually disables the motherboard and trap door RAM and uses its own 2Mb chip + 8375. :) Yeah, it's darn expensive - well over $100, in fact I had to spend 185 Euros including shipment... I know it's insane, but I like iComp products. :) The Super HiRes Denise is also on the way. You do not need to swap Paula - it's exactly the same in a500 and a500+.

Yup! You are correct!

Really? So that generation only works with 512KB CHIP no matter what? I guess I only found references for Rev 5 and Rev 6a boards. Interesting. There is probably a workaround theoretically possible... I know some of the very earliest Amiga 2000 boards even use the old style DIP Agnus and cannot be upgraded.

@@10MARC correct, @LinuxJedi have a new 2MB Chip Ram board for all versions of A500. I will test that out when it arrives.

@@maded2 Yes, that looks like a nice one! He makes some great products.

I keep thinking I will keep one machine Amiga OS 1.3, and then I upgrade them anyways! I have been planning a Workbench 1.3 tutorial for like two years now!

Boot with no startup sequence, type very carefully delete sys:prefs/env-archive/sys/screenmode.prefs and reboot with 15khz or capable screen/adapter+screen attached.

Although how could you see the screen to boot with no startup sequence hmmm good question. My answer is therefore don’t break stuff :)

Vicky is correct, and when the Amiga boots, she boots in 15 kHz mode. So doing the two finger salute while it is connected to a 15 kHz monitor and deleting the file she says fixes it. That just resets the prefs to defaults.

Yes - That will handle a 1 MB Agnus and ECS Denise if you find the chips. It needs some minor mods done to recognize all the RAM - but it's not hard to do at all.

I love to tease my European friends!

Yes and no. 60hz is superiour in terms of technology. And cheap upscalers work better with 60hz. But there are like 5 times more good games for Pal than NTSC. And after RGBTOHDMI have been introduced to the market, you will not see any quality difference between Pal and NTSC. Basically.... The best is the one with the highest number of awesomme games. And that have always been Pal.

@@10MARC With RGB-TO-HDMI, you have the best and the same video output quality. With that upgrade, Pal have become the best machine, because of the higher number of programs and games. Back before that upgrade were avaliable, then Pal were the best for games, and NTSC were best for programs. All because the cheaper external upscalers work best with 60hz.

Here is the irony of that. I never use an ESD wrist strap. And I have not used one in my nearly 30 years of working on computers. Yesterday I'm working on my Amiga 4000 and I decide to finally do the video wearing an ESD wrist strap. And while wearing it, I lose both my warp engine accelerator and very possibly my Amiga 4000 motherboard. I don't think it was due to static electricity, it's just funny that the one time I decide to use protection like that is the time so my components get fried! Ouch!

It's mostly pal and mostly NTSC when it switches. I think there's a couple of chips that the timing is off so not everything is 100% perfect, but it's like 98% perfect.

I think a PAL Amiga in NTSC actually outputs PAL60 rather than NTSC. When I use composite video in my PAL Amiga in NTSC mode on my Commodore 1084S monitor, the refresh rate does go to 60hz and is in colour but when I use a different video source for example my HDMI downscaler and put that in NTSC mode (which outputs a true NTSC signal) the display is 60hz but only in black and white. PAL and NTSC store the colour information differently. Many PAL only monitors can display PAL60 perfectly fine. I haven't read up on it but I'm also assuming NTSC50 is a thing too? One fun fact is the Amiga's CPU speed is a bit faster on NTSC machines than PAL I am not sure whether or not switching modes on an ECS/AGA machines also changes the clock speed of the CPU. Maybe someone can shed some light into this!

@@sacredbanana I don't think the clock speed changes, just the display. I believe that it makes sound playback just a bit too slow or to fast, depending on what side of the ocean you are on.

@@10MARC direct quote from the official Commodore Amiga Hardware Reference Manual 3rd Edition in my lap: “The Motorola MC68000 microprocessor is the CPU used in the A1000, the A500, and the A2000 The 68000 is a 16/32-bit microprocessor, internal registers are 32 bits wide, while the data bus and ALU are 16 bits. The 68000's system clock speed is 7.15909 MHz on NTSC systems (USA) or 7.09379 MHz on PAL systems (Europe). These speeds can vary when using an external system clock, such as from a genlock board.”

ECS does very little for gaming, but it was an incredible upgrade for us who used our Amiga's for stuff besides gaming. It really unlocked some great capabilities with Amiga OS 2.x!

@@10MARC Loading from floppy/gotek, then ECS is pointless. But with ECS and TF-536, you have a wonderfull setup for some sweet WHD-Loader action. 😋

Wow. That is pricey! Maybe the price shot up after the RGB2HDMI came out? Edit: yes the first few in an eBay search were from a vendor overcharging for them. Scroll down another 5 or 6 items and there is one for $27 and one for $37 (plus shipping) - those are quite reasonable prices.

@@10MARC I'll check again. I couldn't find any ECS versions for reasonable and 27-37 is way better. EDIT: The only ones that I could find on eBay that were $27 and $37 were the regular 8362 OCS Denise. Various search terms don't find anything with a price that is approaching sane.

@@10MARC Actually the Indivison ECS V3 is a FPGA ECS replacement. Not cheap (130€) but it has VGA-output in all modes, so you can use nearly every monitor with all modes (exept the A2022 Monitor, but I never heard of it before reading the instructions of the Indivison ECS anyway). So using this, you neither need an external converter nor RGB2HDMI (wich does not support the 31kHz ECS modes anyways). If you add the cost for ECS and special monitor or the cost for ECS-Denise+RGB2HDMI, you are nearly the same or even higher in price. For the comfort it is much nicer. Also you can use every VGA Monitor - including CRT. So you can go nostalgic without flicker... There is one point to mention: ECS Denise is not always a drop-in replacement. There is one pin nc on OCS Denise wich needs signal on ECS Denise from Garry. Some boards miss that connection, so you have to do it manually. Sadly I have a CDTV Board Rev 2.2.1 where neither ECS Denise nor Indivision ECS work; this might be the reason (no, it was not. Just the CPU was a bit loose - reseating it solved the problem ;-) . If you want to buy an indivison ECS used, make sure it is V3. Older versions need an original Denise.

Yes, the joys of needing glasses AND studio lighting!

That is very much appreciated! Thanks for watching! I have about a million more videos coming out.

Nope. Same 16 colors in Hi Res and 64 colors in Half Bright modes.

​@@10MARC oh.. I was sure that ECS also gave you more colors. Interesting. Thanks for a nice video though.

Yes, it is back and healthy. I had shorted one capacitor, and that sent like 12 Volts right to the CPU, killing it and the Agnus. It is now recapped, and I just need to replace those two chips, and all will be well with the world.

Yes, I have two of those Megachips! One in my A500/Vampire in my Checkmate and one in my Toaster/A2000 setup. They are awesome products and sell for a fortune now!

@@10MARC I'm looking to Vamp my A500 when things calm down and electronic components get back in stock.

@@svenkarlsen2702 If you have some soldering skills you could buy a broken vamp and fix it, lol. Got my vamp for $180 shipped. Broken ones pop up on ebay for 100-200 regularly

@@joshuarichards2421 If I had the time for troubleshooting (and surface mount soldering skills) I would seriously consider it. Thanks.

@@svenkarlsen2702 You don't need SMD skills. You stick 2 big ass electrolytics to the existing caps... It's way easier than the tutorials online make it seem :)

Too funny! Where's the beef! Most the chips are named after ladies. I think Gary is the only one that's actually named after a man. Lucky Gary gets to spend his life hanging around with Agnes, Denise and paula!

What about these dates? The part where I said '86? Ya... I was a year early. They were rumored in '86, not released until 87

@@10MARC I wasn't privy to the rumors...

I have no idea what that means, and Google Translate was not much help.