Recently acquired a IIGS (Rom 3), looking for advice

[BetaC]

So, on a whim, I decided to go to a local electronics recycler a few days ago, and $200 later I cam home with an untested IIGS that was still platinum-white, rather than aged and beige. As it turns out, the system was damn near spotless on the inside, and didn't have any battery or capacitor corrosion. Seriously, it just needed some minor magic-erasing to look somewhat new.

 

Now that I have a known good system, and working drives as well, I am trying to figure out what I am going to do with the machine. I currently have it running through my retrotink 2x via composite, and have written a few floppies to get me through the few months it will take to get a floppy emu. As for my need for advice, I'm just looking for basic stuff, really.

 

I have a SCART retrotink available, would that work with one of the IIGS SCART cables? If not, I can eventually get one of the modern solutions, and the composite out only loks terrible when messing in GS/OS.

 

Do I actually need more than 1MB of RAM? I am not opposed to grabbing more, and I know I will when I am doing better financially, but if I can put it off for a while, that won't hurt.

 

With ADTPro, can I just get a direct serial to USB cable, or do I need to get an adapter for the serial to RS-232 cables if I want to use something modern?

 

Is it worth investing in a HDD solution for a IIGS if I plan on getting a FloppyEmu later on?

 

Thanks for your help, and for being a great place.

[Tempest]

I believe the IIgs uses Analog RGB not Digital RGB so I don't think the Retrotink will work.  There are solutions to use modern monitors though.

 

The IIGS has some built in RAM, but you should at least grab a 1MB RAM card.  That will let you play almost everything.  4MB RAM cards are cheap though and are recommended if you're going to use the latest GS/OS versions.

 

Yes a HDD is highly recommended, especially if you're going to use GS/OS

 

Not sure about ADTPro.  I use it both with a both a Super Serial Card (IIe) and a Ethernet card (IIgs).

[BetaC]

5 hours ago, Tempest said:

I believe the IIgs uses Analog RGB not Digital RGB so I don't think the Retrotink will work.  There are solutions to use modern monitors though.

I would have thought it would work, as my SNES and Genesis do. Thanks, though.

 

5 hours ago, Tempest said:

The IIGS has some built in RAM, but you should at least grab a 1MB RAM card.  That will let you play almost everything.  4MB RAM cards are cheap though and are recommended if you're going to use the latest GS/OS versions.

Lucky for me, ROM 3 systems have 1MB natively. I will go and grab a 4MB card when I can though.

[Tempest]

I use an Atari ST monitor but you can also use an Amiga monitor.  You just need a custom cable made.

[nick3092]

The Tink in general should work with analog RGBs over SCART. That's what all the video game consoles use. It wouldn't work with digital RGBi (like the 80col output on a C128). RGBi is more or less like CGA.

 

Now, I've never tested that with a IIgs. But if it's standard analog RGB with sync, it should work.

Edited March 29, 2022 by nick3092