Sothius' Home of Ancient Microcomputers - Amiga CD32 (ASSY 365101 REV.3)

Amiga CD32

Amiga CD³²

Amiga CD32 (53 KBytes)

The Amiga CD³² with the top-load CD-ROM on its left side. Right from the CD-ROM are a reset switch, power- and CD-ROM LEDs, volume control and headphone jack. Before it, furthermore, a CD32 control-pad
(picture copyright by M.A.Grundke)

Specifications

Name Amiga CD³²

Codenames
'Spellbound', 'A100', 'AMIGA CD/GAMES SYSTEM', 'CD/GAME'

since many Amiga computers have been named after songs (namely songs by The B52's), it is most likely that Spellbound refers to the 1981 song by Siouxsie and the Banshees, on their album JuJu (can anyone confirm this?). For the lyrics, by the way, see The Darkside (Ryan Watkins' pages)

Made by Commodore AMIGA Inc.

Year
1993
was first presented to public at the London Science Museum on July 16, 1993

Serial-No.
MODEL AMIGA CD ID NO.513515
A100 GR 8513393365158061008757
Bottom says it was 'Manufactured in August 1993'

Board-info
Spellbound Rev 3
AMIGA CD/ GAMES SYSTEM
by: Grr/DF/SK/HD/BR/CG/DF/Nines
DF/GF/JD/FH/HM/CW/JH/MH
HWL/MECH/DOC/CATS/IK/FISH/ETC..
C= COMMODORE ELECTRONICS LTD.
(C)COPYRIGHT 1993 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
ARTWORK 365104-01/FAB DWG 365103-01
ASSY 365101
C= CD/GAME SYSTEM
DISPLAY BOARD REV 3A (holding the LEDs and switches)

also see the board overview

CPU Motorola MC68EC020
The MC68EC020 is a stripped-down version of the MC68020 with only 24 bits address-bus, limiting its memory-allocation capability to 16 MBytes
although the CD³² was a true game system, there seem to have been plans to allow expansion to a 'full' AA-Amiga - a Commodore 68030-card prototype ('CD/ GAME 030 Card') does exist

Speed 14.19 MHz (PAL)/ 14.32 MHz (NTSC)

RAM CSG 8374 (CSG 391010-01) 'ALICE'
2048 KBytes 24 bit-ChipRAM:
4 pcs. Mitsubishi M5M44800AJ (256Kx16)
1 KByte non-volatile RAM (for savestates etc)
2 MBytes is the maximum ChipRAM ALICE can handle (the maximum ChipRAM in all AMIGA-designs, by the way)
up to 128 MB 32 bit-FastRAM (via 3rd party MC68030 expansion)

ROM/ Native OS C391640-03 Kickstart 3.1 (v40.60, 1x 1024 KB ROM)
early machines had Kickstart v40.58
Kickstart 3.1 occupies 512 KBytes; the additional 512 KBytes are used for ISO-drivers (CD-ROM) and miscellaneous things (like menus for playing audio-CDs or choosing language)
this mainboard can also be configured for two Kickstart-ROMs (there are unused soldering pads for another socket)

marketed as game system, the CD³² did not come with a copy of the appropriate AmigaDOS 3.1
when powered on, the CD³² checks for an inserted CD. If one's found, it will either be booted (if AmigaDOS), or the CD-player application will start from ROM (Audio-CD). If none is found, an intro animation is shown

Keyboard/ Layout
none
standard Amiga-keyboards via AUX (A4000-keyboard even without adaptor)
machine has a reset button on its top

Graphics CBM 391227-01 'LISA'
'Blitter' (filling ops & memory block moves), integrated in ALICE
'Copper' (graphic coprocessor, supports CPU in graphic ops and controls the Blitter)
Pre-defined AA screen modes:
'LowRes': 320x256 (50Hz PAL)/ 320x200 (60Hz NTSC)
'HighRes': 640x256 (50Hz PAL)/ 640x200 (60Hz NTSC)
'SuperHighRes': 1280x256 (PAL 50Hz)/ 1280x200 (NTSC 60Hz)
'Euro36': 320x200, 640x200, 1280x200 (73Hz)
'Euro72': 640x200, 640x400 (69Hz)
'Super72': 400x300, 800x300 (71Hz)
'Productivity': 640x240, 640x480 (58Hz)
all modes can also be interlaced, doubling vertical resolution
physically, the S-Video and composite ports output approx. 720x576 (PAL)/ 720x480 (NTSC) depending on the selected TV-standard. For a 'real' AA-signal, a RGB-port would be necessary, which the machine lacks (see 'I/O')

Colors:
256 (8 bitplanes) from a 24 bit-palette in all resolutions
alternative color depths (depending on display mode): 5 bit (32 colors), 6 bit (64 colors) and 7 bit (128 colors)
262.144 in HAM8-mode ('Hold-and-modify' with 8 bit/pixel)
4096 in HAM6-mode ('Hold-and-modify' with 6 bit/pixel)
Text: 60x25 or 80x25 (no 'real' text-mode, it's graphics)

Sound CSG 8364R7PL (CSG 391077-01) 'Paula'
4 independant hardware sound channels, each including an 8 bit DAC
can be combined to 2 channels stereo
frequency- and amplitude-modulation, low-pass filter
complex sound effects can easily be programmed
Paula also has registers for floppy control

Media
integrated Chinon CD-ROM:
650 MBytes/disk ISO-9660
'double-speed' = approx. 330 KBytes/s
top-load mechanism
unlike the A1200, the CD³² doesn't come with a GAYLE-chip and its integrated AT-IDE. As a consequence, it makes use of a proprietary controller (neither IDE- nor SCSI-compatible) for the CD-ROM

port for external Amiga-drives available via expansion-boxes
AT-IDE or SCSI-harddisks via 3rd-party expansion

Input/ Output CBM 391563-01 'AKIKO REV A'
ADV101KP30 video D/A converter
2x 9 pin SUB-D mouse/ joystick/ CD32 control-pads
8 pin small-DIN AUX-connector (for external keyboard or data-glove)
8 pin S-Video out
composite video jack

stereo cinch-out
RF-modulator (TV-out)
1x 3.5mm jack plug headphones-out
182 pin male edge conn. expansion-slot (e.g. for the Full Motion Video module, which contained an MPEG-1 decoder)

Miscellaneous
The CD³² was another of CBM's attempts to take part in the videogame- and multimedia-markets. Like their previous try (the revolutionary CDTV, an Amiga 500 looking like a HiFi CD-player) it failed due to several reasons: the lack of software making use of its capabilities, bad marketing etc.
Basically it was a stripped down Amiga 1200, with only small differences (e.g. different expansion port, no RGB-out, higher-integrated board). Interesting in that context is, that instead of the CD³², Commodore had first planned a CDTV (CD1000) successor based on the ECS-chipset, which became the CDTV-CR (CD500) prototype and never made it to the market

In comparsion to the CDTV, the MIDI-ports are missing due to cost-reduction
There were plans for a CD1200, an external CD-ROM to provide the A1200 with full CD³²-compatibility. To accomplish that, it would've come with its own Kickstart v40.70. Also planned was a data glove for the CD³²'s AUX-port. Sadly, both peripherals never went into production

The CD³² was by many regarded as the 'last hope' for dying Commodore, for it was a cheap and yet efficient AA-design. But due to financial problems, Commodore was unable to satisfy the demand when it appeared for Christmas 1993 - it already was too late
There have been rumours of a CD³² successor, apparently after ATARI had announced its 'Jaguar64' (which was launched in Fall 1993 as Jaguar). Its design was partly 64 bit (i.e. memory interface, coprocessors), and most likely the rumours were spread to threaten the Jaguar. Today we know that there were indeed plans for such a machine, codename 'CD64', which would have been based on the Hombre-Chipset. It was conceived after Commodore had cancelled AAA-development, and built around a HP PA-RISC CPU and improved custom chips. However, Hombre was never completed because of Commodore's bankruptcy (although AMIGA developers like Dave Haynie say the project was going well until then)

'Defender of the Crown II' screenshot 1 (12 KBytes)

Defender of the Crown II was one of the games making use of the CD³²'s new features. As far as gameplay is concerned, it's not so different from 1987's Defender of the Crown, but graphics has been improved for AA and there are now speech, CD-sound and -music, plus additional animation sequences, vastly raising the 'fun factor'. But it's also a good example for the problem from which both CD³² and its predecessor, the CDTV, suffered: game developers had to invest time and money in new games that made use of the CD's features (such as greater capacity and CD-DA tracks), and in this case also the AA chipset. For most of them, it simply wasn't worth it, and so they either just ported the standard AMIGA games or ignored Commodore's CD-consoles completely...

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Name	Amiga CD³²
Codenames	'Spellbound', 'A100', 'AMIGA CD/GAMES SYSTEM', 'CD/GAME' since many Amiga computers have been named after songs (namely songs by The B52's), it is most likely that Spellbound refers to the 1981 song by Siouxsie and the Banshees, on their album JuJu (can anyone confirm this?). For the lyrics, by the way, see The Darkside (Ryan Watkins' pages)
Made by	Commodore AMIGA Inc.
Year	1993 was first presented to public at the London Science Museum on July 16, 1993
Serial-No.	MODEL AMIGA CD ID NO.513515 A100 GR 8513393365158061008757 Bottom says it was 'Manufactured in August 1993'
Board-info	Spellbound Rev 3 AMIGA CD/ GAMES SYSTEM by: Grr/DF/SK/HD/BR/CG/DF/Nines DF/GF/JD/FH/HM/CW/JH/MH HWL/MECH/DOC/CATS/IK/FISH/ETC.. C= COMMODORE ELECTRONICS LTD. (C)COPYRIGHT 1993 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ARTWORK 365104-01/FAB DWG 365103-01 ASSY 365101 C= CD/GAME SYSTEM DISPLAY BOARD REV 3A (holding the LEDs and switches) also see the board overview
CPU	Motorola MC68EC020 The MC68EC020 is a stripped-down version of the MC68020 with only 24 bits address-bus, limiting its memory-allocation capability to 16 MBytes although the CD³² was a true game system, there seem to have been plans to allow expansion to a 'full' AA-Amiga - a Commodore 68030-card prototype ('CD/ GAME 030 Card') does exist
Speed	14.19 MHz (PAL)/ 14.32 MHz (NTSC)
RAM	CSG 8374 (CSG 391010-01) 'ALICE' 2048 KBytes 24 bit-ChipRAM: 4 pcs. Mitsubishi M5M44800AJ (256Kx16) 1 KByte non-volatile RAM (for savestates etc) 2 MBytes is the maximum ChipRAM ALICE can handle (the maximum ChipRAM in all AMIGA-designs, by the way) up to 128 MB 32 bit-FastRAM (via 3rd party MC68030 expansion)
ROM/ Native OS	C391640-03 Kickstart 3.1 (v40.60, 1x 1024 KB ROM) early machines had Kickstart v40.58 Kickstart 3.1 occupies 512 KBytes; the additional 512 KBytes are used for ISO-drivers (CD-ROM) and miscellaneous things (like menus for playing audio-CDs or choosing language) this mainboard can also be configured for two Kickstart-ROMs (there are unused soldering pads for another socket) marketed as game system, the CD³² did not come with a copy of the appropriate AmigaDOS 3.1 when powered on, the CD³² checks for an inserted CD. If one's found, it will either be booted (if AmigaDOS), or the CD-player application will start from ROM (Audio-CD). If none is found, an intro animation is shown
Keyboard/ Layout	none standard Amiga-keyboards via AUX (A4000-keyboard even without adaptor) machine has a reset button on its top
Graphics	CBM 391227-01 'LISA' 'Blitter' (filling ops & memory block moves), integrated in ALICE 'Copper' (graphic coprocessor, supports CPU in graphic ops and controls the Blitter) Pre-defined AA screen modes: 'LowRes': 320x256 (50Hz PAL)/ 320x200 (60Hz NTSC) 'HighRes': 640x256 (50Hz PAL)/ 640x200 (60Hz NTSC) 'SuperHighRes': 1280x256 (PAL 50Hz)/ 1280x200 (NTSC 60Hz) 'Euro36': 320x200, 640x200, 1280x200 (73Hz) 'Euro72': 640x200, 640x400 (69Hz) 'Super72': 400x300, 800x300 (71Hz) 'Productivity': 640x240, 640x480 (58Hz) all modes can also be interlaced, doubling vertical resolution physically, the S-Video and composite ports output approx. 720x576 (PAL)/ 720x480 (NTSC) depending on the selected TV-standard. For a 'real' AA-signal, a RGB-port would be necessary, which the machine lacks (see 'I/O') Colors: 256 (8 bitplanes) from a 24 bit-palette in all resolutions alternative color depths (depending on display mode): 5 bit (32 colors), 6 bit (64 colors) and 7 bit (128 colors) 262.144 in HAM8-mode ('Hold-and-modify' with 8 bit/pixel) 4096 in HAM6-mode ('Hold-and-modify' with 6 bit/pixel) Text: 60x25 or 80x25 (no 'real' text-mode, it's graphics)
Sound	CSG 8364R7PL (CSG 391077-01) 'Paula' 4 independant hardware sound channels, each including an 8 bit DAC can be combined to 2 channels stereo frequency- and amplitude-modulation, low-pass filter complex sound effects can easily be programmed Paula also has registers for floppy control
Media	integrated Chinon CD-ROM: 650 MBytes/disk ISO-9660 'double-speed' = approx. 330 KBytes/s top-load mechanism unlike the A1200, the CD³² doesn't come with a GAYLE-chip and its integrated AT-IDE. As a consequence, it makes use of a proprietary controller (neither IDE- nor SCSI-compatible) for the CD-ROM port for external Amiga-drives available via expansion-boxes AT-IDE or SCSI-harddisks via 3rd-party expansion
Input/ Output	CBM 391563-01 'AKIKO REV A' ADV101KP30 video D/A converter 2x 9 pin SUB-D mouse/ joystick/ CD32 control-pads 8 pin small-DIN AUX-connector (for external keyboard or data-glove) 8 pin S-Video out composite video jack stereo cinch-out RF-modulator (TV-out) 1x 3.5mm jack plug headphones-out 182 pin male edge conn. expansion-slot (e.g. for the Full Motion Video module, which contained an MPEG-1 decoder)
Miscellaneous	The CD³² was another of CBM's attempts to take part in the videogame- and multimedia-markets. Like their previous try (the revolutionary CDTV, an Amiga 500 looking like a HiFi CD-player) it failed due to several reasons: the lack of software making use of its capabilities, bad marketing etc. Basically it was a stripped down Amiga 1200, with only small differences (e.g. different expansion port, no RGB-out, higher-integrated board). Interesting in that context is, that instead of the CD³², Commodore had first planned a CDTV (CD1000) successor based on the ECS-chipset, which became the CDTV-CR (CD500) prototype and never made it to the market In comparsion to the CDTV, the MIDI-ports are missing due to cost-reduction There were plans for a CD1200, an external CD-ROM to provide the A1200 with full CD³²-compatibility. To accomplish that, it would've come with its own Kickstart v40.70. Also planned was a data glove for the CD³²'s AUX-port. Sadly, both peripherals never went into production The CD³² was by many regarded as the 'last hope' for dying Commodore, for it was a cheap and yet efficient AA-design. But due to financial problems, Commodore was unable to satisfy the demand when it appeared for Christmas 1993 - it already was too late There have been rumours of a CD³² successor, apparently after ATARI had announced its 'Jaguar64' (which was launched in Fall 1993 as Jaguar). Its design was partly 64 bit (i.e. memory interface, coprocessors), and most likely the rumours were spread to threaten the Jaguar. Today we know that there were indeed plans for such a machine, codename 'CD64', which would have been based on the Hombre-Chipset. It was conceived after Commodore had cancelled AAA-development, and built around a HP PA-RISC CPU and improved custom chips. However, Hombre was never completed because of Commodore's bankruptcy (although AMIGA developers like Dave Haynie say the project was going well until then)