I wouldn't wait too long.

We are headed into the annual season when capture hardware dries up completely. And for the last few years 9600 has been dwindling. Even way up to $80 or $90 for a good card is not unreasonable.. if it works.

But understand the 9600 all T200 are 12 bit ADC on input. Cheap dongles are 8 bit, decent TI tvp5150 are 9 bit and micronas are 10 bit.

The higher the resolution on input the more adaptable to a nonstandard or bad signal. Low bits no dice.. cant lock on or too bright, too dark.. need more rare gear to make it possible to capture a poor signal.

The 9600 properly used by a Professional, or skilled amateur is a magic bullet.. first attempts even by hacks are just more likely to succeed.. can spoil a newbie.. they start looking at cheaper gear thinking its all the same.

You only learn by getting burned.. throwing money away.. even if your lucky first time.

But if you don't know XP forget it... youngsters have no tolerence for learning an old OS.. ask Dad or Grandpa to do it for them.. then you need to seek a Professional or Service burea

Yeah, I bought it before it went. You're talking about those cheap USB dongles for converting instead of a card right? Just making sure there's not anything else I forgot to get for my project.

I'm good with XP. I've been using Windows since the 3.0/DOS days and have a career in IT. Thanks for all the help everyone.

So far I got:
AG-1980 - $90 (including shipping!)
ATI AIW 9600 128M - $18
stupid proprietary cable for AIW - $10
purple input box for video card $9

Just waiting for the items from eBay. TGrant is refurbishing the 1980, by far the biggest expense but worth it. He says it's in good shape and shouldn't need any extra work so I think I got quite a deal on it. The seller even shipped it right to him.