Amiga 1200

The Commodore Amiga 1200 is a 32-bit home computer, based on the Motorola MC68EC020 processor. It was produced by Commodore International from 1992 to 1994. Following Commodore's bankruptcy in 1994, the Amiga 1200 was produced by Amiga Technologies until 1996. Other names by which the Amiga 1200 is known are: A1200, Amiga A1200.

I've wanted to add a Commodore Amiga 1200 to the collection for a while. In the past, I had come across one in my hands that, however, was not working and the repair would have been really expensive. So, I set up a search on eBay and saved it. From time to time, I would see notifications from eBay about listings of different Amiga 1200s. I finally found this, which was quite attractively priced.

This Commodore Amiga 1200 is not perfect: it has some yellowing on the keys. The mouse is from the previous series and was eaten by a dog... or a cat (since it is a mouse!), in fact it has obvious teeth marks on the top and bottom. The power supply isn't exactly right: it must have been dismantled and, to close it, the seller used a wooden board instead of the bottom panel.

Regarding the operation of the vintage computer, the Amiga1200 is in order. In this video, I describe the tests I performed through AmigaTestKit.

Technical specifications of the Amiga 1200

CPU: Motorola MC68EC020, 32 bit data path, 24 bit addresses, 14.18758 MHz (PAL) or 14.31818 MHz (NTSC) + optional coprocessor for floating-point calculations MC68881 FPU (which, in my Amiga, is not there)

Chipset AGA (Advanced Graphic Architecture): MOS 8374 / CSG 391010 Alice (memory controller e blitter), MOS 4203 / CBM 391227 Lisa (video), MOS 8364 / CSG 391077 Paula (audio e I/O), CSG 391424 Gayle (I/O e IDE interface), CBM 391425 Budgie (bus controller)

ROM: 512 KB

Software included in ROM: KickStart 3.0 or 3.1 (3.0 is in my Amiga)

RAM: 2 MB expandable

Graphics: MOS 4203 / CBM 391227 Lisa

Graphics mode: 320×200 to 1280×512, up to 16.7 million colors, horizontal scan rate 15KHz – 31KHz, vertical scan rate: 50Hz – 72Hz

Audio: MOS 8364 / CSG 391077 Paula, 4ch, stereo output

Keyboard: 96-key QWERTY, with function keys, arrows and numeric keypad

Expansion ports (internal):

• 1 44 pin IDE connector, for 2.5″ hard disk
• 1 Clock and RAM (22-pin)
• 1 x 34-pin connector for 3.5" floppy disk
• 1 x 150-pin expansion slot, accessible from the bottom door

Expansion ports (external):

• 1 PCMCIA, Type II, 68-pin
• 1 serial DB25 male, RS232
• 1 parallel DB25 female, Centronics
• 1 x DB23 male video, analog RGB
• 1 RCA CVBS composite video
• 1 RCA antenna (RF to TV connection)
• 2 RCA stereo audio
• 2 mouse and joystick, DB9 male
• 1 external floppy disk drive, DB23 female

Emulation

It is possible to emulate the Amiga 1200, as well as other Amiga computer models, on a common Windows PC, via WinUAE. In this way, you can try to start programs and games, as well as program the back computer, in a simple and convenient way... without even owning the Amiga! WinUAE comes without WorkBench and without KickStart ROM, which must be downloaded separately, looking for them on the internet.

A1200 power supply

The power supply of the Commodore Amiga 1200 is external and has the following output voltages:

• 5V direct current, 3A
• 12V direct current, 500mA
• -12V direct current, 100mA

View of the power steering wheel connector, contact side.

Amiga 1200 boot screen

The Commodore Amiga 1200 has a proper windowed operating system. For this reason, it is not easy to determine which is to consider the actual start screen.

If the hard disk is not present and no floppy disk is inserted, the Amiga 1200 starts with the screen that requires the insertion of a boot disk.

From here, little can be done, if not insert a boot floppy or install a hard disk with the WorkBench, which is the desktop environment available on AmigaOS (the operating system of the Amiga platform).

To select from which device to boot the Amiga (600 or 1200), you can hold down both mouse keys at power on, as explained, in detail, in this article. The Amiga starts up with theAmiga Early Startup Control.

The WorkBench screen depends on the WorkBench version. While also working with other versions of the WorkBench, the A1200 came with WorkBench version 3.0 or 3.1.

Papers

1. Commodore Amiga 1200 manuale utente (ITA)
2. Commodore Amiga 1200 user's guide
3. A1200 service addendum and schematics
4. A1200 schematics
5. Workbench 3.0 user's guide
6. Workbench 3.1 user's guide
7. Commodore Amiga AGA graphics supplement
8. Commodore Amiga functional specification for the Advanced Amiga ChipSet (AA)
9. Commodore Amiga BASIC

Collection date of entry into collection: 28/10/2022

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