Jamie from Just Jamie recently introduced a new addition to his retro collection: an Amiga 600. Well, new to him—this classic machine originally hit shelves in the early ‘90s. Despite being advertised as “immaculate,” it arrived with a bit of grime, but nothing a little TLC couldn’t fix. After carefully removing the keycaps for a proper soak, the Amiga now looks as fresh as it did decades ago—though the keys are starting to show a bit of yellowing. That’s on the upgrade list, with sleek black remanufactured keycaps ready to take their place.
Inside, there’s a 1MB RAM expansion installed, speeding things up a bit—though additional fast RAM is still on the wishlist. The original 2.0 ROM chip is in place for now, but a 3.1 upgrade is on the way. Instead of adding a traditional hard drive or even a CF card, Jamie plans to install a PiStorm for even more functionality.
Of course, the star of the show is the Gotek drive. Mounted securely with a 3D-printed bracket, the Gotek replaces the original floppy drive, offering a modern twist on loading software. Using a USB stick loaded with ADF files (disk images), the drive emulates classic floppies, complete with a display and control buttons for selecting files.
Jamie demonstrated how the Gotek works by booting up Second Samurai, a game requiring multiple disks. Loading the game was as simple as inserting the USB stick, selecting each disk image using the Amiga keyboard, and pressing F7 to save the selection and reboot the system. When prompted for the next disk during gameplay, a quick tap of the Gotek’s right button scrolled through the mounted images.
The system also features a handy FlashFloppy menu, accessible by holding the two Amiga keys and pressing Control + Alt. From here, it’s easy to mount files like Workbench and adjust configurations. The help menu provides quick guidance if things get confusing, making the Gotek a user-friendly upgrade even for newcomers.
More upgrades are on the horizon. Along with the 3.1 ROM chip and PiStorm, Jamie plans to have the system recapped to ensure long-term performance. In the meantime, the Amiga 600 is running smoothly—and sounding great, thanks to its connection to a hi-fi setup through a phono cable.
Stay tuned for future videos as Jamie continues to enhance this retro powerhouse.
