Clone-A
Developer: Individual Computers
Project start date: October 2005
First Demonstration: AmiWest 2006, October 21st 2006
Completion date: 2008 |
Clone-A is the third FPGA-based Amiga clone to be announced. Unlike
the previously announced MiniMig and
NatAmi that reimplement the Amiga hardware
using existing documentation, Individual Computers are working to
reverse engineer the Amiga Original ChipSet (OCS) and replace them
with FPGA boards. The approach opens the possibility of "Frankenstein"
systems, in which Amigas may operate with a combination of the original
chipset and the the FPGA re-implementation that will inter-communicate.
In its current version [October 2006], the project team has replaced
the Denise, Gary, Paula chips, as well the CIA. Work is underway
to replace the Agnus chip.
Hardware
An initial version of the Clone-A FPGA-based hardware is working
on an upgraded Amiga 500 motherboard, equipped with a 68000 processor
and 2MB Chip RAM.
Possible uses
In an interview with Total Amiga magazine (#25), Jens Schoenfeld
outlined several products that could be produced using the Clone-A
technology:
- An Amiga mini-ITX board equipped with an extended chipset,
2MB+ Chip RAM and faster blitter
- A Classic Amiga board
- A daughterboard for any mainboard (Amiga, PC, Mac, etc.)
- An A500-in-a-joystick
Web Links
Total Amiga: An
interview with Jens Schoenfeld
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Last Update: 12/12/2006
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