• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here

Would Buying This Be Stupid..?

I think you can get a pristine A1200 for less if you are willing to wait. The real question is how likely the ebay A1200's hard drive is to be actually working and if anything interesting is on it. Getting the Amiga is the easy part; getting software over to the Amiga takes a bit more effort.
 
Yeah, it's a standard 2.5" ide drive inside IIRC but getting install media might be more of a pain and the missing key is a turn off heh.
 
Yeah but that one is in Italy and has a $90 shipping to me. :p

At that rate I should have just bought the $500 Amiga 4000 unofficial tower with $16 shipping... I don't think I should spend more than $200 on the base machine by itself, and that shipping.. I could afford it but I can't justify it.
 
Seeing that the 1200 has a composite monitor output, the seller could have hooked the computer up to a TV to see if it booted to a Workbench screen. Could be one of those sellers who found the machine laying around and is just trying to make a quick buck off of it based on past auction values. My reasoning for bypassing a stock 500/1200 and going for a "big box" machine was the same as yours. Once I found the needed RAM and storage upgrades, the cost becomes a wash.

The 2000/2500 and 3000 machines are reliable enough that unless they have battery corrosion, most "untested as-is" units on ebay can easily be brought back into service. Unless you have a stockpile of ZIP style memory for a 3000, the 2000s will generally be cheaper to upgrade memory on. Also when buying an Amiga, ALWAYS get a photo of the battery area of the motherboard. The only exception to this rule is the 500 (but not the 500+), 600, and 1200 as they didn't come stock with a RTC.

Hang around Amibay and browse the listings and post a wanted request in the appropriate forum. Eventually the machine you want will pop up here in the US. Shipping from Europe is cost prohibitive at this point, plus the machines come with 240VAC power supplies which have to be swapped out for 120VAC units.... which adds to the price.
 
After an epiphany moment I went to the international section proper on eBay, and found lots of ripoffs, but eventually came across a 1200 in good condition from the UK at a price that isn't retardedly high. I bought it, and a step-up/step-down (yeah, both) converter from Amazon. Will start a new thread to discuss my new machine. :D
 
Last edited:
My 4000 has a jumper on the motherboard to switch the default boot mode between PAL/NTSC, which really just means 50/60Hz since it doesn't have any composite output. Holding down both mouse buttons on power up brings up the "Early Startup" menu which allows you to soft switch between 50/60Hz as well. Both can be overrided by selecting "NTSC" as the monitor type in the Workbench control panel. The AGA chipset can output VGA compatible graphics on Workbench, but most games will force you to 15Khz mode, requiring a scan doubler. I'd hunt down a 15khz RGB compatible monitor, or make a cable for one if you already have one laying around.
 
Missing keys on the keyboard takes the price down to "spare parts" level for me. Also, if the seller can't be bothered to connect it to a tv to post a screenshot, means they're in it for the money and probably don't give a crap whether it's working, or can be made to work again. Not worth the money IMO.

===Jac
 
I agree. I'd pass on anything from this era on Ebay that costs me more than $20, without concrete proof of function. I suggest you pick up an external diskette so you can access the system should the internal drive of your new 1200 be / go bad.

My 1200 works but the harddrive I have is too tall and I can't close the lid. I prob have a replacement drive but I have not bothered to find and install one yet.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top