The Amiga 2000 EATX is a project by Jason Beer and is an open source Amiga 2000 PCB in the EATX form factor. EATX is an ATX variant that defines larger PCBs, measuring 12 x 13 inches (305 × 330 mm). These are referred to as Extended ATX, or, EATX. The length of Zorro II cards and the abundance of components on the Amiga 2000 makes EATX the best choice for this project.
There are one-to-one board replacement projects for the Amiga 2000, but none to change the layout to meet current form factor standards. In addition, the Amiga 2000 made use of connectors and custom parts that are no longer commercially manufactured. This often requires parts to be pulled from existing machines. As such, this project will make use of only actively supported components when possible.
In addition to a new board replacement option, I believe the ubiquitous EATX standard will bring additional interest to the Amiga as a hobbyist and retro-computing option. At the time or writting this, the Amiga operating system is still actively developed and supported. In addition, there is a substantial database of existing software and hardware add-on options and an active community.
(Amiga 2000 EATX Github)
Revision 2.2 is the current production board.
This revision adds a TICK header with three options for generating a TICK signal.
Hardware Supported: All Amiga 2000 specific and Amiga general hardware is supported. The only exception would be external video hardware that would rely on signals not supplied on the HD15 video connection (see Video). Here is a list of hardware tested and known to work:
A2630 68030 CPU Card
Supra WordSYNC SCSI Controller
A2090 SCSI Controller
Vampire V2+
PiStorm
RGB2HDMI
BuddhaIDE
GottaGoFastRam2000
Wireless keyboard adapter
A2286AT Bridgeboard (on ISA: SnarkBarker (soundblaster clone), XT-CF Lite and TsengLabs ET4000AX)
My Amiga 2000 EATX houses a Wireless Keyboard adapter (bottom right corner). This connects to U300 on the board. You remove the CIA chip and install the board. This board will not fit without raising the board up to clear the floppy connector. This was done by using two 40-pint sockets. I installed the sockets to the adapter board, installed the CIA and then installed the whole assembly into the motherboard.
As you can see the 68000 processor is removed. I had to removed it to accommodate the PiStorm 2K board in the CPU slot. Utilizing a PiStorm2K, you must remove the 68000. It will not boot with it installed. Attached to the PiStorm 2K board is a Raspberry Pi 3a+ running Emu68 and CaffineOS.
In the video slot, you will see the RGB2HDMI adapter. This is version 1 of the adapter. I’m planning on replacing it with version 2. Version 2 fixes the “sparkling” issue found on the earlier boards. Attached to the RGB2HDMI is a Raspberry Pi Zero 1.3.
Behind the PiStorm2k, you will find the Individual Computers Buddha IDE 20th Anniversary Edition. One IDE slot will be attached to a CF Card reader. This will allow me transfer files from a PC to the Amiga. The other slot holds a Disk On Module. This is essentially an IDE SSD.
The very last card in this system is an Individual Computers X-Surf 100 Ethernet board. This of course will be used to access the internet, telnet into BBSs, SMB into my NAS, etc…
Thoughts
Overall, I am excited to have one of these. The quality of the build, the ability to have new modern components, a new modern tower case, ATX power supply and USB keyboard is just a WIN for me.
I’m a big fan of the original Amiga 2000. It’s my favorite big box Amiga. The expansion possibilities it has are just growing. With my classic machines well over 30 years old, I’m worried about their functionality. With this, I don’t have have to worry about that anymore. With PiStorm, I get the benefits of a RTG Amiga system. I am very pleased!
