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Re: Amiga 500 Chicken Lips Edition

Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2019 7:11 am
by rpiguy9907
intric8 wrote:@rpiguy9907

What is the S/N on the bottom of your A500?
100812

Made in Germany.

Re: Amiga 500 Chicken Lips Edition

Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2019 7:31 am
by intric8
I’m starting to wonder if the C= key editions were German-only.

Re: Amiga 500 Chicken Lips Edition

Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2019 9:54 am
by rpiguy9907
intric8 wrote:I’m starting to wonder if the C= key editions were German-only.
According to Deskauthority the C= key was only ever on Amiga 500's with the fully mechanical "Space Invader" (Hi-Tek) keyboards. I can attest that these are wonderful to type on.

https://deskthority.net/wiki/Commodore_Amiga_500

If your Amiga 500 has the standard Mistumi/Samsung keyboards then it would not have the Commodore key.

So to get a C= key you need to have not only an early Amiga 500, but specifically one manufactured before the cost-reduced keyboard was introduced.

Also it is entirely possible that your Amiga 500 had the Space Invader keyboard but the keyboard was later replaced with the Mitsumi model as both fit. The Space Invaders are really finicky to clean and I imagine if something went wrong it was just cheaper for the service rep to replace it with the newer keyboard.

Re: Amiga 500 Chicken Lips Edition

Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2019 2:27 pm
by intric8
I wonder if the embossed C= had the A key if it was a US model, and the C= key if it was German. But I have no idea.

If I popped off a key, would it be easy to identify the kind of key switches mine has? Maybe that would help solve this mystery.

FWIW, this is from the same man's estate with the funky below-A500 FDD and PSU wackiness. (Which I want to show you guys soon.)

Worth noting that the example on that site is indeed a German one - with embossed serial number on the bottom! IIRC mine is a sticker. I'll take some pics tonight to show you and compare.

Re: Amiga 500 Chicken Lips Edition

Posted: Mon Jul 15, 2019 2:28 pm
by intric8
Looks like if I pop off a key and see one of these, then the mystery should indeed deepen, right?

Re: Amiga 500 Chicken Lips Edition

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 12:03 pm
by rpiguy9907
intric8 wrote:Looks like if I pop off a key and see one of these, then the mystery should indeed deepen, right?
Awesome you got one of the good keyboards! They are so great to type on. I guess the mystery does indeed deepen. My Amiga 500 has the embossing and the sticker like shown on Deskauthority.

I will forever be grateful for Commodore's brief moment in the sun, which changed my life, but man the more you realize how chaotic and undisciplined they were it is mind boggling.

Re: Amiga 500 Chicken Lips Edition

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 1:12 pm
by intric8
No, that was a screenshot from the resource you provided. I have the 2nd-stage keyboard apparently.

I took pics last night. Here we go!
IMG_2483.jpg
Hello, embossed 500. It's not yellow at all, despite this photo's bad sensor in a dim room.

IMG_2482.jpg
Flipping it over, you can see mine was made in the USA. (!) S/N below 25K, and gotta love that QA sticker held on with a piece of scotch tape!

IMG_2484.jpg
Removing a keycap, this is what my A2000 keyboards are like. This is not the HiTek keyboard. But it feels good IMO (it's what I'm used to).

IMG_2485.jpg
This case has never been opened. The machine did have a .5MB in the trapdoor, and a VARTA (nooo!). But! This board had been wrapped in a triangular "envelope" of solid metal, so the battery never was able to leak on anything at all. Probably an over the top early F.C.C. precaution for interference BITD. (Thank goodness!)


Re: Amiga 500 Chicken Lips Edition

Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:14 pm
by rpiguy9907
if I ever write a fantasy/sci-if novel the main protagonist will be Varta the Destroyer. Glad you dodged that bullet.

Re: Amiga 500 Chicken Lips Edition

Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 10:26 am
by intric8
Hey Guys!

I snagged a local Amiga 500 Chickenlips Space Invaders this weekend ($250). It's gorgeous.

I have a quick ask from each of you reading this.
I want to try and identify the various A500 cases. I'm putting together a video for the Chickenlips machine, and wanted to throw some of the other case badges in there really quickly as an aside.

I know there's the one Zippy Zapp has (really large case badge). ZZ, what is your machine's serial number and country of manufacture? Do you know what year that badge was introduced?

There is also the much more typical square C= badge. Does anyone here have one of those they can take a hi-res photo of, and also include the S/N?

Are there any other A500 cases out there besides the Chickenlips, square badge and ultra-wide badge?

Also, when did they start to use the green LED power light?

I wish I could create a genealogy tree for the A500, but I'm not even sure it's possible. So many variables involved.

Obviously, anyone's photos I use in the video will get full photo credits in the vid.

More soon...

Re: Amiga 500 Chicken Lips Edition

Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 11:06 am
by Zippy Zapp
@intric8, that sounds cool.
ZZ, what is your machine's serial number and country of manufacture? Do you know what year that badge was introduced?
I will look in my storage to see what the serial info is on that one. I know the board is not in it at present so I will need to look for that too. I think it was bad and I used it for spare parts. I don't know what year it came out as I got it in a lot of 4 A500s some years ago for pretty cheap and they were all in various states of functioning or not. I managed to mostly repair 2 of them and as time permits I will eventually get to the other 2.
Also, when did they start to use the green LED power light?
My very first A500 came with 1.2 and had the Revision 5 board. I think those typically came with the red LED. I sold it in 1988.

My personal guess is that the green LEDs were used on the newer A500s that came with 1.3 and Rev 6 motherboards. Often you would see them in the long bonus pack box that came with a few software titles (Carmen San Diego, TextCraft, Tetris, etc.), an A501 expansion and the modulator. The Rev 6 usually came with an 8372a Agnus, and only 4 DRAM chips with 4 empty spaces for DRAM. I believe the Rev6 MBs started showing up in late 1988 or early 1989

That was how I got my 2nd A500 in 1989/ early 1990. So I would say by 1990 all of them being sold with the newer boards had Green and Orange LEDs.