I managed to score a PhantomX earlier today but it will take another couple of weeks before its in my hands. In the meantime, I'm reading the (translated) setup guide and although I have a pretty good grasp to how things are done but I am surprised that it seems to do more than I had assumed.
For one, it is able to expand the memory of the machine. Does this replace the need of expansion memory cards?
It also appears that I can boot from an IPL from a later model or custom IPL. I can also utilize the Phantom as a local SRAM so I can stop worrying about the battery in my Expert II, right?
Lastly, it also seems that I can create multiple instances of hard drives on the SD card. Does that mean I can remove my SCSI2SD card?
To help others here, PhantomX is still sold online at the moment (shocked it hasn't sold out) https://gimons.base.shop/items/81141238
Use a 3rd party forwarding service (like ShipJP, there's many others) to order the item from the store and have it forwarded to you anywhere in the world.
Quote from: 3rdman01 on January 24, 2026, 06:54:51 AMFor one, it is able to expand the memory of the machine. Does this replace the need of expansion memory cards?
It also appears that I can boot from an IPL from a later model or custom IPL. I can also utilize the Phantom as a local SRAM so I can stop worrying about the battery in my Expert II, right?
Lastly, it also seems that I can create multiple instances of hard drives on the SD card. Does that mean I can remove my SCSI2SD card?
I believe the answer is YES to all your questions. Much like an Amiga accelerator card, it can expand the base memory to 10MB (limit of X68000) but then expose "Expanded memory" of 128MB, 256MB, etc. You can do other things like set what CPU you want to emulate (68030, ... 68060, ...) Because the emulator runs as bare metal on the pi (instead of a Linux application) boot up time should be just a couple of seconds.
I think of the PhantomX like the Vampire for Amiga. It can do a lot of stuff all depending on how you configure it. But also, some people dislike the Vampire because it doesn't use "period correct" components (like using a real 68030 or 68060 like you get on other accelerators) It all depends where you feel comfortable with CPU emulation vs real CPU upgrades.
I don't think it can expand base memory of the X68000, only the extended amount used by accelerated machines. (you would still need 2MB on board memory plus any additional expansion ram boards to max out at 12MB). I could be mistaken on this as I haven't been able to get additional memory area to work on my setup.
As a heads up to anyone who has been able to purchase one of these, I am about 90% done with an updated image specifically for the PhantomX that has proper settings applied for each game to throttle speed if needed, with updated IPL by a Japanese user who made one for the PhantomX. This will contain pretty much the same drive structure but using VDISKs I built from scratch on the PhantomX SD card so no additional SASI/SCSI hardware needed. Just drag and drop onto your PhantomX card and you should be good to go (hopefully).
Shockingly, the PhantomX is still available as of this moment if anyone is still interested.
Thank you both for clearing things up a bit. Regarding memory...My Expert is fully maxed at 12MB so I don't need the extra memory as far as I know. Is there software that takes advantage of accelerated machines and that uses the "expanded memory"?
Incrediblehark, that sounds amazing and exactly what I was hoping/looking for. I suppose I will soon have a SCSI2SD card as a spare. :) Thank you!
... and it's sold out. I believe the extended memory is used by much more modern OS's (eg BSD/Linux running on the X68000) Stuff from back in the day won't use it because that memory range never existed before.
I'm happy it's sold out! i wasn't interested since i prefer a RAM expansion and a midi card in the 2 expansion slots of my X68Ks but, after the announce of
@incrediblehark, i was tempted....
So, i save a lot of money! LOL
I was in the process off going through Buyee, but they take a while to confirm orders. Following these messages the damn thing sold out before my order could complete. This has happened to me a few times now, so maybe it wasn't meant to be. Like aotta, on the flip side I saved some money!
Buyee is no good for store purchases. You need to sign up with something like ShipJP. After you verify with them (the usual send them a copy of your drivers license, etc) You get a virtual shipping address in Japan (A PO BOX). You buy the item using your regular credit card, only difference is at checkout you provide your Japanese address. They receive the package and forward it to you for a small fee.
Advantage here is you do the buying, instantly, and not rely on a 3rd party to eventually get to it.
Quote from: leonk on January 25, 2026, 11:51:15 AMBuyee is no good for store purchases. You need to sign up with something like ShipJP. After you verify with them (the usual send them a copy of your drivers license, etc) You get a virtual shipping address in Japan (A PO BOX). You buy the item using your regular credit card, only difference is at checkout you provide your Japanese address. They receive the package and forward it to you for a small fee.
Advantage here is you do the buying, instantly, and not rely on a 3rd party to eventually get to it.
I agree. I used "Tenso" for a virtual Japanese address and bought my ArdSCIno plus that way.
I also used buyee in the past it doesn't work for flash sales!
Quote from: aotta on January 24, 2026, 07:27:43 PMI'm happy it's sold out! i wasn't interested since i prefer a RAM expansion and a midi card in the 2 expansion slots of my X68Ks but, after the announce of @incrediblehark, i was tempted....
So, i save a lot of money! LOL
But the PhantomX doesn't go in an expansion slot. I'm confused.
Quote from: z964 on January 25, 2026, 08:20:08 PMQuote from: aotta on January 24, 2026, 07:27:43 PMI'm happy it's sold out! i wasn't interested since i prefer a RAM expansion and a midi card in the 2 expansion slots of my X68Ks but, after the announce of @incrediblehark, i was tempted....
So, i save a lot of money! LOL
But the PhantomX doesn't go in an expansion slot. I'm confused.
Sorry
@z964, my fault!
You're right, it's mounted on MC68000 socket as i can see, it was a long time since i give a look to that expansion board, and i was confused!
Quote from: leonk on January 25, 2026, 11:51:15 AMBuyee is no good for store purchases. You need to sign up with something like ShipJP. After you verify with them (the usual send them a copy of your drivers license, etc) You get a virtual shipping address in Japan (A PO BOX). You buy the item using your regular credit card, only difference is at checkout you provide your Japanese address. They receive the package and forward it to you for a small fee.
Advantage here is you do the buying, instantly, and not rely on a 3rd party to eventually get to it.
Thanks for the tip, I'll try this next time they become available :-)
Quote from: leonk on January 24, 2026, 07:05:06 PM... and it's sold out. I believe the extended memory is used by much more modern OS's (eg BSD/Linux running on the X68000) Stuff from back in the day won't use it because that memory range never existed before.
The x68030/060 FMV games all use that extended memory, and do so under Human68k