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Post by cudy on Aug 9, 2021 19:27:21 GMT
Hi, here a little spoiler...  THEA500 Mini specs is:
- 25 classic Amiga games, including all-time greats like Alien Breed, Another World, Chaos Engine, Simon the Sorcerer and Worms includes a favorites carousel screen for games you like the most.
- Add your own games via WHDLoad.
- 720p HD display, at 50 Hz (Europe) or 60 Hz (USA)
- Multiple scaling options and CRT filter
- Virtual keyboard, and USB keyboard support, Comes with THEGamepad(its like the Amiga CD32 pad) and THEMouse(its like the Amiga Tank mouse but a bit smaller so it fits in a small hand...mmm).
- Upgradable firmware v1.1.1
***IMPORTANT***
Power supply recommended: 5v 3A.
Might work with a Raspberry PI PSU 5.1v 3A, but no higher, because of its PMU IC, you could overload it and blow it, this is why all RGL machines should have there own PSU, you can not treat it like its a mobile phone, it needs the right Volts and Amps to function correctly, it does not work with all phone chargers because of there voltage and amps(5v 1A) it depends on the charger, you have to add a USB Hub to it to use a USB Keyboard with it because it only has 3 USB ports so 5 devices are connected(1 The USB Keyboard, 2 USB Stick, 3 THEGamepad, 4 THEMouse and 5 The USB Hub) plugged into it from powering it on so it will struggle with a 5v 1A phone changer(Samsung white phone chargers are terrible with it, not not use them), most mobile phone changers are 5v 1A because they are only used to charge a Smartphone or Tablet only, they do have fast changing mode on them but thats not use because that is 12v and has to be turn on by the phone using it, thats how it charges the phone quicker by using a higher voltage in the charger to charge the phone in 1 hour instead of 4 hours.
The Power adapter from the Amazon Fire Stick works OK, I tried it on mine THEA500 Mini and its working OK on it so far.
All theses RGL Minis and Full Size machines are based on Android boxes, that why when you press the power button to turn it off it goes to standby so waiting for you to press the remote or power button to take it out of standy, make sure it unplugged from the mains when you are not using it, it even uses a Android kernal like all the other RGL machines. 
Look for a PSU Adapters on Amazon or eBay with 5v 3A on it or look for PSU Adapters for RPI4 5.1v 3A, Raspberry PI4 has a USB -C Type connector on it like THEA500 Mini does, the older versions don't.
THEA500 Mini Main Board with Allwinner H6(A mock up picture, H6 SoC added to its PCB board so might be upside down because the PCB is upside down, no one has taken its heatsink off so we do not know this is just a guess of what it might look like under the heatsink.)
Pre order links
Amazon UK
GAME UK, ArgosUK, Amazon US, Gamestop.
retrogames.biz/products/thea500-mini
Posted by c64stuff
Remember sometimes Amazon UK will let you ship to the US even though it says you can't under the product, but you'll see that option and be allowed to at checkout, and on other days it won't let you. Very odd but I've heard people say that in the past about the C64 Maxi or other products.
Box Art  THE Carousel(click on one of them for a close up) |
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Post by c64stuff on Aug 9, 2021 20:38:59 GMT
Wow! Comes with a mouse and game controller? Nice touch, because some games use one or the other, and it all certainly looks the part!
Correct me if I'm wrong but that controller looks to mimic the CD32 controller. Hopefully it's better in form and function because that controller stunk.
Am I right in thinking this is the first mini made by anybody to come with a mouse? I can also see that mouse being used for Geos on the 64 mini and maxi.
Think about this too... It's not as big of a deal to have a mini with a non working keyboard if you can use a mouse to select options or hit letters on a virtual keyboard. It's so much easier than doing those things with a joystick. Think about it, most of the time we never even used the keyboard doing stuff on the Amiga.
I'm hoping this mini is being used as the C64 mini was, in being a launching board to generate revenue to make a full sized maxi version with functional keyboard.
I know some people will say what's the point when you can just use a raspberry pi and USB keyboard to emulate an Amiga, but just like The 64 mini and maxi it's way more seamless with ease of function and features than some aspects of RetroPie. Besides, you get that awesome looking case, mouse, controller, and official licensing and support, with frequent firmware updates.
Yeah, I'm definitely getting two when I'm back to work. One to use and one to keep sealed in the box. It should be a good investment.
My only complaint is the controller doesn't also have a joystick besides the dpad. Some games are better with one versus the other. Somebody should 3D print a joystick kit that snaps on top of the controller's dpad section so you can easily switch between one or the other without much hassle.
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Post by oocozyoo on Aug 9, 2021 20:39:23 GMT
Nice and well made video, pity its fake news lol
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Post by pele23 on Aug 9, 2021 20:40:04 GMT
I'll totally skip that and wait full size Amiga.
Till that time I'm using RPi3 with Amibian and it works great.
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Post by c64stuff on Aug 9, 2021 20:47:25 GMT
Nice and well made video, pity its fake news lol Really? Ok they got me. But hey, it'll give them ideas on how to do it right. |
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Post by cudy on Aug 9, 2021 20:48:35 GMT
Nice and well made video, pity its fake news lol Why do you say it's fake news? The video on youtube belongs to the official retrogames channel! (hidden video not in public list) I am sorry that the first deliveries will be in 2022 and not in 2021. |
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Post by c64stuff on Aug 9, 2021 20:53:02 GMT
After he said it was fake I looked on their channel and didn't see the video so I assumed it was fake. Now you're saying it's real? I'll wait until somebody says otherwise. One thing that made me suspect it was fake is why would you make that controller with a dpad? Most Amiga games were either mouse or joystick.
Still waiting for a verdict on if it's real or not.
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Post by cudy on Aug 9, 2021 21:02:10 GMT
Still waiting for a verdict on if it's real or not. It is not fake, here is other information related to the games present: Alien Breed 3D, Another World, ATR: All Terrain Racing, Battle Chess, Cadaver, Kick Off 2, Pinball Dreams, Simon The Sorcerer, Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe, The Chaos Engine, Worms: The Director's Cut, Zool: Ninja Of The ”Nth” Dimension. Additional games will be announced at a later date. |
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Post by oocozyoo on Aug 9, 2021 21:14:58 GMT
Nothing official on there web site...... also they will not make a mini as the feed back for a working keyboard is a must
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Post by cudy on Aug 9, 2021 21:27:04 GMT
Nothing official but everything is ready for public sales. I have anticipated what will happen shortly. Free not to believe it, please delete this thread if you see fit. I just wanted to give you information about a project that seems abandoned but is actually ready for public release. I repeat that the video is present in the official youtube channel of retrogames and all the information I have anticipated (hoping to please) comes from official channels.
I greet you by saying that I would have liked the release by the end of the year and instead we will have to wait for next year.
I buy this jewel immediately as soon as they put it up for sale.
Greetings.
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Post by c64stuff on Aug 9, 2021 23:02:28 GMT
Nothing official on there web site...... also they will not make a mini as the feed back for a working keyboard is a must A working keyboard is way less important when the computer it's emulating is based on an OS that's mouse driven. It's not like a C64 where almost all options to do something were relying on keyboard input. One of the things that always irked me about crack and trainer screens on the 64 is these guys could write great intros but they couldn't spend five seconds writing the code for joystick input to select trainer options or launch the game. Even if you have to use the virtual keyboard to do that on the Amiga mini it'll be way easier with a mouse. But as said, if they do release the mini it'll be for good reason, to generate revenue to launch the full size version with working keyboard. Not all customers who want to play Amiga games are hardcore enthusiasts who want a full size machine taking up space, or need a working keyboard. There's many mini collectors out there who aren't brand specific and just want compact easy to play products, and don't know enough about computers to set up a raspberry pi with RetroPie or something. They just want plug and play. There's a whole class of retro collectors out there who don't collect actual hardware. They only collect mini consoles. Those atari flashbacks and other minis being sold at numerous department stores are a testimonial to that. |
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Post by spannernick on Aug 10, 2021 11:03:35 GMT
Nice and well made video, pity its fake news lol Really? Ok they got me. But hey, it'll give them ideas on how to do it right. Only thing fake in the video is the model of the A500 they used, they made a model of THEC64 Mini/Maxi/Vic20 before it was manufactured, it to get people interested in it, I like RGL videos..  From RGL Facebook page... www.facebook.com/THEC64andMoreByRetroGamesLtd/Looks nice, a full sized A500 would of been nice, I am glad they are making a Mini version and it fits all the other mini consoles, THEC64 Maxi had to be made because it was on Indiegogo, they might still make a full size version yet, but if this is £119.99 how much will that be £199.99..? . The control pad looks like the Amiga CD32 Controlpad, just not as long, it reminds me too of the controlpad from the Amstrad GX4000... The A500 Mini will have more memory then THEC64 Mini/Maxi/VIC20 256MB ram, the Amiga Emulator need more ram to load it kickstart, 256mb is not big enough, UAE4Arm or PUAE emulators crashes and needs about 512MB for it to work and the SoC could be a H3 too cause the emulators work on it OK or even a A20, it's just the memory that would be the problem. |
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Post by grasshopper on Aug 10, 2021 13:42:49 GMT
To be honest, I'm pretty disappointed. When the C64 Mini first appeared, it got very mixed reviews. One of the main criticisms was that it came with a non-working keyboard. And judging by the way it was heavily discounted in the US, it probably sold less well than expected. Given all of that, I assumed that RGL would skip making an A500 Mini, or at the very least, make one with a fully working keyboard. But no, they seem to have ignored all the feedback. That being said, judging by previous comments, some people seem to genuinely like this item, and that's fair enough. But for me, a non-working keyboard is a deal-breaker.
It's also far too expensive to buy as a novelty collectible to stick on a bookshelf. Maybe I'll eventually buy one if they are ever heavily discounted. But £120 for a mini system supplied with only 25 games is just too much.
The only good news from my perspective is that this product will give RGL time to perfect the firmware before they make an A500 Maxi.
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Post by spannernick on Aug 10, 2021 17:35:21 GMT
I have a Amiga and the only time I ever use its keyboard was with Pinball games and a lot of the times the keyboard would stop working, the keyboards on the Amiga A500, A600 and A1200 are not that great, I fixed mine loads of times, even used an adapter that would fit inside the computer to use a USB Keyboard instead of the original one so I do not mind using a USB Keyboard with A500. All the games will use the Gamepad instead, I like Turrcan 2 and 3, Alien Breed 1/92 and Tower Assault, and Most of the Pinball games.. Pinball Dreams, Pinball Fantasies, Pinball Mania and Pinball Illusions and Slam Tilt, most of them are published by 21st Century. I like the NightBreed games too.. I like its music too its mod music that you would play with Protracker or OctaMED.. I still have the first Mag I brought about the Amiga, Amiga Power from 1991, you got 2 disks on it and one disk has OctiMED 1 on it, that was the first time I heard Amiga music... wow... I got the A500 Screen Gems Pack in 1991. |
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Post by c64stuff on Aug 10, 2021 18:21:16 GMT
Very good points. Btw I wonder if the stock firmware is going to allow use of super high resolution graphic modes found on old (and new) graphics cards that were (and are) made for the amigas? The resolution of workbench and paint programs is phenomenal in some of the videos I've seen, even compared to modern day computers.
I haven't followed that closely but the way I understand it tons of software support these graphic modes because of the adaptive modular plug-in nature of the Amiga OS, as well as because some of these graphic modes have been standardized between various graphic card manufacturers.
That also brings up the question of emulator support of accelerator cards, because many of these modern cards also are accelerators all in one. Some aren't even cards for something like the Amiga 2000, but rather internal boards to go inside the 500, 600, or 1200.
I know Amiga emulators fully support these add on options as well as simulating memory expansion, so if anything I bet somebody will hack the firmware to launch full featured emulators like you guys did with the C64 mini and maxi.
I'm just waiting to see the first hacks of the case so people plug Full size SD cards painted like 3.5" floppy disks into the disk drive slot on the A500 mini. Or, somebody selling mini replica tower cases they used to throw their Amiga 500, 600, and 1200 into, complete with detached working replica keyboard. Seems like there's huge market potential for that. 😎
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Post by grasshopper on Aug 10, 2021 19:07:42 GMT
I have a Amiga and the only time I ever use its keyboard was with Pinball games and a lot of the times the keyboard would stop working, the keyboards on the Amiga A500, A600 and A1200 are not that great, I fixed mine loads of times, even used an adapter that would fit inside the computer to use a USB Keyboard instead of the original one so I do not mind using a USB Keyboard with A500.
I owned an A1200 back in the day. The quality of the keyboard was decent. Not great but decent enough. And I used the keyboard a great deal.
The Amiga was far more than a games machine. It came with a sophisticated Unix-like multitasking OS at a time when most PCs were still using MSDOS. That's really what attracted me to the machine. For almost a decade I used it as my main home computer. I did everything on it including writing letters and coding.
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Post by c64stuff on Aug 11, 2021 3:21:44 GMT
Retro Games LTD just released several videos on their channel in various languages earlier today of the A500 mini, so it looks like it is real and they intend to release it!
I understand some (some, not all) hardcore Amiga users will be upset that it isn't a full size case with working keyboard, but you got to understand that there's many casual mini collectors out there who don't want a full size case taking up space or need a working keyboard. They simply want ease of use for casual game playing and don't want to mess around with setting up emulators and so on.
For a hardcore Amiga user like me from back in the day, I want both a mini and a maxi version, just like I bought both for the C64. The mini has been great for my nieces and nephews to use around the house while I used the maxi. I've temporarily had to sell off my maxi so the mini is being put to good use by me. And yes I have RetroPie setups for retro gaming, but it's not as seamless all the time to do C64 stuff compared to the mini.
Anyway, judging by the huge amount of views of the English version of the video alone at already 35 thousand in less than a day, and judging by at least 4 or 5 of the retro gaming channels I follow already posting videos about the A500 that I CAN'T WAIT to watch, I think we have a winner here! Use the revenue and bring on the full size maxi version!
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Post by spannernick on Aug 11, 2021 13:57:33 GMT
Looking at it, it looks more like a A1700 to me, why is the keyboard white, the keys were the same colour at the shell/case... werid, just noticed it, they could easterly get the keyboard to work, like the keyboard mod on THEC64 Mini. It looks like the one I had years a go(still have it but its in bits, would need to put it back together, I stopped using it cause of its extra ram, it stopped working and had no money to fix it, it needed a new card, it had a Alfa a1200 Ram card in it with zip ram in it AND HAD 9mb in it but started to have problems with the ram, they are crap cards) I even have a Gotek drive for it as a replacement to the ram card so it could load ADF images instead of WHDLoad(I supported WHDLoad... I am on EAB too, if you look for my name you see pictures of this Amiga, I had my A1200 in A500 case so it looked like A500 but had a A1200 motherboard and keyboard inside it making it a A1700... I ended up painting it white to match the A1200 keyboard and cause it started to go yellow... I am a hard core fan of the Amiga... I had it running on VGA as well via a If you look at this video you can see it has A1200 motherboard cause of the Ram card sticking out of it on its left side, I do miss that Amiga, It does still work. I love the music... another video of my Amiga A1700, not emulated... there is a lot on my channel |
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Post by c64stuff on Aug 11, 2021 17:00:53 GMT
That brings back memories. I had a 500 with a expansion box plugged into the side that was metal and the same color as the 500. It was square and roughly the size of a mailbox, featuring two card slots (or at least one, can't remember). In one I had a 30 meg hard drive and SCSI interface. Now that I think about it, I can't remember if the box came with the SCSI interface. I think I just bought the SCSI card and hard drive separately to put in the one slot. Not sure if the card slots were standard IBM or standard Amiga slots off a 2000 or something. The first time I installed the card it wouldn't work and I had to send it back. I hated waiting for a new one in the mail.
Wish I could remember the name of that expansion box. If anybody has suggestions let me know. It was fantastic to have 30 megs of fast storage and it was great fun running defracturing software every month or so to reorganize the drive for maximum speed. I intended to use it with a BBS system I was writing for the Amiga, as I had written a hybrid basic and machine language one for the 64 I ran for a few years.
The Amiga version was compiled basic, which was plenty fast enough for 1200 or 2400 baud modems at the time. It featured colors and font changes as well as icons and windows so you could use your mouse to navigate the BBS, so it required custom terminal software I was writing for the BBS user to call in, as at the time I don't think any BBS terminal software had icons or mouse ability, let alone custom font changes. I think they only supported color changes back then.
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Post by trusti on Aug 11, 2021 17:43:57 GMT
Not fan of the controller and the non-functioning keyboard. Otherwise it looks promising. Can you use theC64-joystick with it?
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Post by dsautter on Aug 11, 2021 22:42:55 GMT
I hope they give it at least 4 USB ports: Mouse, Joypad, Keyboard, Thumbdrive. I don't like having to use a USB hub on the C64 mini.
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Post by grasshopper on Aug 12, 2021 11:03:14 GMT
I hope they give it at least 4 USB ports: Mouse, Joypad, Keyboard, Thumbdrive. I don't like having to use a USB hub on the C64 mini. Well according to the CAD mock-ups they've provided, there will be 3 USB ports on the back...
Maybe there'll be an extra port on the side as well. But I'm not seeing that from the pictures.
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Post by grasshopper on Aug 12, 2021 11:25:17 GMT
The more I think about it, the more I wonder why they didn't just make a CD32 Mini. The CD32 was essentially a stripped down, plug'n'play version of the Amiga A1200. You could actually buy an optional keyboard, and other peripherals to plug into it, and thus essentially convert it into an A1200. It seems a much better form factor for a plug'n'play mini system. And you could still allow the user to play games from earlier Amiga models.
It's also a bit weird that the A500 Mini is being supplied with a controller that has clearly been inspired by the controller that came with the CD32, when most A500 users played games with a joystick.
I understand why RGL didn't want to bundle a joystick with the A500 Mini, given that they cost more to manufacture, and given that their previous attempts at creating a replica 80s style joystick have been flawed. But surely that's another reason why a CD32 Mini supplied with a replica CD32 controller would have made more sense.
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Post by c64stuff on Aug 12, 2021 11:30:07 GMT
Been surfing the remarks under some videos talking about it and the response from even non Amiga users from back in the day seems VERY enthusiastic. Many people who never even owned an Amiga are saying they're preordering it on Amazon and elsewhere. A lot of both prior Amiga owners and people who always wanted to play it's games haven't been able to because setting up the Amiga emulators with things like simulated hardware, joystick and mouse control, or multiload can be pretty confusing even on RetroPie unless you get a premade image. Just like the awesome GUI of the C64 mini and maxi, a lot of these things are smoothed out and made seamless for the average user who doesn't want to dive deep on tinkering. More importantly though, here's some tid bits people said...
"£119.99 it says on Amazon UK here. Says it's released 31 March, 2022."
"Heard on Reddit from Kochmedia (the CHA guys) that they are in on this somehow as well. There will be distribution for Europe, Australia and US as well they said from day 1. so hopefully German and US preorder links will follow very soon."
Btw, with all the extra buttons on the controller I wouldn't doubt they'll have mapping ability so you can do things like jump without hitting up, etc. People seem to forget you can easily map all that on the C64 mini and maxi joystick. Things like run/stop to get past trainers or spacebar to get past load screens. BastichB did an excellent video walking people through how to do that and also what keys he recommends mapping to the joystick so you can get past all that without using a keyboard or the virtual one.
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Post by c64stuff on Aug 12, 2021 13:30:44 GMT
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Post by c64stuff on Aug 12, 2021 14:37:48 GMT
I hope they give it at least 4 USB ports: Mouse, Joypad, Keyboard, Thumbdrive. I don't like having to use a USB hub on the C64 mini. Well according to the CAD mock-ups they've provided, there will be 3 USB ports on the back...
Maybe there'll be an extra port on the side as well. But I'm not seeing that from the pictures.
It has a USB C power port, so I wonder if it will support data and power communication through that one port alone. If so, besides plugging power and a USB stick or keyboard in there with a splitting USB C cable, it would be really cool to be able to plug it into a PC and get power and communication of files between it and the mini. It's probably a stretch but then you could also use the PC keyboard. Wireless keyboard and wireless mouse through the PC too for that matter, and that opens up a ton of other possibilities such as PC hardware emulation of storage devices for copy protected software, printing stuff via modern printers, wifi modem emulation, real Amiga disk drive use via existing hardware adapters to mate them to a PC, PC compatible joysticks, etc, etc. It would also just be nice for that fact that you could have nothing plugged into the mini but a single USB cord and all accessories or storage could be on or attached to a PC. With a wireless keyboard, mouse, and joysticks to give the mini a real clean look. Only way you can do that presently with the C64 mini or maxi is to find certain wireless ones with a dongle that work, which can be tricky. I'd be surprised though if that C port is anything but a stripped down C power port. |
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Post by spannernick on Aug 12, 2021 19:30:16 GMT
The Amiga A1700  This has a Amiga A1200 motherboard and A1200 keyboard inside a A500 case so that why its keys are white, this is my machine. THE A500 Mini  It has white keys for some reason like the A1200 keyboard, when the Amiga A500 did not have white keys. Commodore Amiga 500 Screen Gems Pack Oct1991  This Commodore Amiga A500 came out in 1991, it was the first Amiga I got, it does not have white keys, the keys are the same colour as the case so why...? ? ? maybe it makes THEA500 look better or something, well I like it with a white keyboard but I would because of my A1700 but its not originally how the A500 was. The first game I played was Shadow of the Beast 2(I like the guitar music when you die...  )from that pack and Nightbreed The Interactive Movie, I like the Nightbreed games and the film, I still have the games from the pack.I am after the box from this pack, there are some on eBay but at £45 for a box is a bit to much, I had a demo of St Dragon on disk too, and that game blue my mind... the demo disk could load on the Amiga 500 and AtariST,the ST version of the game was crap compared to the Amiga version. The Amiga 500 Version of ST Dragon Atari ST version of ST Dragon This so you can hear and see the difference. Another demo I had on the Amiga A500 was Harlequin, the game that was made by Gremlin Graphics, I like that game too and its music. The Amigas I got after the A500 was A600, A1200 and AmigaCD32, still have all of them now... Anyway I just preordered THE A500 Mini... Well it's better than the ARMIGA. |
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Post by vic2020ian on Aug 13, 2021 7:30:32 GMT
I am a bit torn on this one, I enjoy 8 bit more than any 16 bit system.
Amiga had some cool games like Barbarian and Swiv but it was much later that I got one myself and have since passed it on.
I might be a good emulation platform for other consoles if the thing is accessible.
I think the price point is too high for a mini console.
If the C64 Mini is £49.99 then the Amiga mini could command £79.99 with the mouse and a bit more ram and cpu but £129.99 is a big stretch.
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Post by jj0 on Aug 13, 2021 12:50:43 GMT
I am a bit torn on this one, I enjoy 8 bit more than any 16 bit system. Amiga had some cool games like Barbarian and Swiv but it was much later that I got one myself and have since passed it on. I might be a good emulation platform for other consoles if the thing is accessible. I think the price point is too high for a mini console. If the C64 Mini is £49.99 then the Amiga mini could command £79.99 with the mouse and a bit more ram and cpu but £129.99 is a big stretch. On the one hand I agree. On the other hand I couldn't resist so I pre-ordered anyway... |
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Post by spannernick on Aug 13, 2021 14:39:40 GMT
Hopefully they make a full size version too, but if THEA500 Mini is £119.99 how much will that be £199.99/£249.99)..? and will it be worth the money, I guess making a mini first tests if it genarates enough sales and if it's worth making a full-sized(Maxi) version or not, they do not want to waste money making something that does not sell.
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)from that pack and Nightbreed The Interactive Movie, I like the Nightbreed games and the film, I still have the games from the pack.I am after the box from this pack, there are some on eBay but at £45 for a box is a bit to much, I had a demo of St Dragon on disk too, and that game blue my mind... 
