Commodore Amiga Ranger

The Amiga Ranger was an advanced prototype developed as a potential successor to the A1000. It explored expanded Chip RAM and higher-end workstation features before Commodore chose other production designs.

Its ideas influenced later big-box Amigas even though Ranger itself did not reach the market.

Notable Features

• Prototype boards and specifications changed during development.
• Surviving hardware is exceptionally rare and should be documented by revision.

Historical Significance

• Its ideas influenced later big-box Amigas even though Ranger itself did not reach the market.

Collector’s Notes

• Chipset and motherboard revision, Kickstart ROM, RAM expansion, accelerator cards and original keyboard or mouse should be documented.
• Memory, storage, displays and expansion hardware should be documented because configurations often changed during a system’s working life.

Specifications

Technical Information
Name	Commodore Amiga Ranger
Manufacturer	Commodore
Launched	Wednesday, January 1, 1986
Discontinued	1990s
Country	United States
CPU	Motorola 68000 at approximately 7.1 MHz
Units Sold
Form Factor	Prototype desktop computer
Power	Internal or external mains supply according to model
Networking	Serial, parallel, MIDI and third-party Ethernet or networking options according to model
Operating System	Prototype AmigaOS
Expansion / I/O	Prototype expansion architecture
Keyboard	Detached keyboard
Storage	Prototype floppy and hard-disk configurations
Sound	Paula PCM stereo
Colours	Up to 32 colours normally, 64 in EHB and 4096 in HAM on OCS/ECS; AGA models support up to 256 indexed colours and HAM8 from 24-bit palettes
Graphics	Enhanced prototype Amiga graphics architecture
Display	External Amiga monitor
ROM	Prototype Kickstart firmware
RAM	2MB or more planned, including expanded Chip RAM concepts
CPU Speed	Approximately 7.1 MHz