Thread
IRS Refund Madness! Multiple Conquests!
Not ALL that amazing, AFAIK, but I got some pretty neat stuff, I'm a very happy camper! :rambo:
Here's all the new IRS Funded Goodies arranged on the MacCoffeeTable™ I've mentioned:
This is a strange one, very unlike the stock Beige Plus sitting next to it. There's no lettering on the front, just a "Nike Swoop" and a rectangle, could be a "D" or something else. I've never seen a pic of one like this.
Close-up of my Beige Plus's "Swoopie" front bezel embossing.
Here's the tag on the back, dunno what any of it means, I've never had a Beige Plus.
__________________________________________________________________________
Non-Mac Conquest:
Innards of my first ever SUN, a SPARCstation 20! [
] ]'>
Another view of its innards.
Combo of innards & backplane.
The chopped off SUN Video Cable in the pic is something I already had on hand. I've gotta find the pinouts to adapt it to a standard SVGA or BNC connector setup. The system fires up, the CD acts like it works.
Now where do I plug in a KBD & Mouse and what kind do I need? ASCII & Serial? :?:
The guy has a pile of these things, some have several cards in them, but they're models 2, 5 & 10, so I have no idea if I can max this puppy out if I snag the rest of them. Which models might have compatible RAM and the same kind of long RAM/Cache/whatever cards in them?
Time for a new thread or two!
)
Here's all the new IRS Funded Goodies arranged on the MacCoffeeTable™ I've mentioned:
This is a strange one, very unlike the stock Beige Plus sitting next to it. There's no lettering on the front, just a "Nike Swoop" and a rectangle, could be a "D" or something else. I've never seen a pic of one like this.
Close-up of my Beige Plus's "Swoopie" front bezel embossing.
Here's the tag on the back, dunno what any of it means, I've never had a Beige Plus.
__________________________________________________________________________
Non-Mac Conquest:
Innards of my first ever SUN, a SPARCstation 20! [
] ]'>
Another view of its innards.
Combo of innards & backplane.
The chopped off SUN Video Cable in the pic is something I already had on hand. I've gotta find the pinouts to adapt it to a standard SVGA or BNC connector setup. The system fires up, the CD acts like it works.
Now where do I plug in a KBD & Mouse and what kind do I need? ASCII & Serial? :?:
The guy has a pile of these things, some have several cards in them, but they're models 2, 5 & 10, so I have no idea if I can max this puppy out if I snag the rest of them. Which models might have compatible RAM and the same kind of long RAM/Cache/whatever cards in them?
Time for a new thread or two!
) Odd. Is that embossed/engraved as an outline, or is the entire area within the swoop and rectangle excavated?There's no lettering on the front, just a "Nike Swoop" and a rectangle, could be a "D" or something else. I've never seen a pic of one like this.
Close-up of my Beige Plus's "Swoopie" front bezel embossing.
It does look vaguely familiar. I wonder if that might be an early Daystar logo. Have you checked the innards for upgrade hardware?
Nice sub
I do remember seeing somewhere a mention of a Mac Plus without a "Macintosh" label. Could you get a "closer-up" shot of the D?
And yes, check the inside for upgrades, you may have scored!
It kind of looks like the Boomerang logo (Google Boomerang Channel), you'll know it if you have younglings.
And yes, check the inside for upgrades, you may have scored!
It kind of looks like the Boomerang logo (Google Boomerang Channel), you'll know it if you have younglings.
A bit about the Sun...
The video connector is called a 13W3, adapters easily found on ebay. The keyboard is a sun-specific interface and the mouse plugs into the keyboard. BTW, there is no onboard VRAM, so you need a VRAM DIMM in one of the last two memory slots.
The good news is that with no keyboard connected, it will default to a serial console. The default is 9600 N81; it's a DTE, so you'll want a null-modem cable.
It is 32-bit hardware, unlike the later UltraSparc systems. Last version of Solaris which runs on this hardware is Solaris 9. NetBSD and OpenBSD actively support this generation of hardware. I'm not sure if any current version of Linux will run on it.
Do you have any empty memory slots? I might have a couple of extra DIMMS laying around here somewhere.
John
The video connector is called a 13W3, adapters easily found on ebay. The keyboard is a sun-specific interface and the mouse plugs into the keyboard. BTW, there is no onboard VRAM, so you need a VRAM DIMM in one of the last two memory slots.
The good news is that with no keyboard connected, it will default to a serial console. The default is 9600 N81; it's a DTE, so you'll want a null-modem cable.
It is 32-bit hardware, unlike the later UltraSparc systems. Last version of Solaris which runs on this hardware is Solaris 9. NetBSD and OpenBSD actively support this generation of hardware. I'm not sure if any current version of Linux will run on it.
Do you have any empty memory slots? I might have a couple of extra DIMMS laying around here somewhere.
John
I think one or two macs used this video interface...
If you upgraded a 128 or 512 to a Plus you got a bucket with the Plus label but the front would still have just the plain Apple and wouldn't say Macintosh Plus.I do remember seeing somewhere a mention of a Mac Plus without a "Macintosh" label. Could you get a "closer-up" shot of the D?And yes, check the inside for upgrades, you may have scored!
It kind of looks like the Boomerang logo (Google Boomerang Channel), you'll know it if you have younglings.
Ah.
But I do not think there would be a logo like his.
For reference here is a Boomerang logo, I know it is different.
But I do not think there would be a logo like his.
For reference here is a Boomerang logo, I know it is different.
Nice haul! I love the coffee table too! 
I have a SparcStation 20 also, as well as a Sun Ultra 60. I had the pleasure of administering these machines when they were in use at a previous employer. I purchased the pair for $50 when we replaced them with newer models. With them I got 2 tape drives, several external SCSI drives, 2 keyboards, 2 mice, (including one optical mouse and it's special mouse pad) two monitors, and a ton of other stuff.
I have a SparcStation 20 also, as well as a Sun Ultra 60. I had the pleasure of administering these machines when they were in use at a previous employer. I purchased the pair for $50 when we replaced them with newer models. With them I got 2 tape drives, several external SCSI drives, 2 keyboards, 2 mice, (including one optical mouse and it's special mouse pad) two monitors, and a ton of other stuff.
Nah, no Macs ever used it, but some Apple displays did - the Apple Portrait Display and the Macintosh 21" Colour Display, from memory. However, not only did they use a cable went to a DB-15 connector on the Mac's end, but also, if I'm correct, I think Apple 13W3 is slightly different to Sun 13W3.
I checked it more closely with an 8x Slide Magnifier and ran my fingers over it, it's definitely a "cattle branding" process, probably done by Daystar when they did the second upgrade (the first being the Plus upgrade) for the "Acceleration Junkie" original owner. The edges are raised a bit and you can see the remains of the case's surface treatment and a few bubbles in the crevasses. A piccie of the third upgrade to be posted momentarily! [Odd. Is that embossed/engraved as an outline, or is the entire area within the swoop and rectangle excavated?There's no lettering on the front, just a "Nike Swoop" and a rectangle, could be a "D" or something else. I've never seen a pic of one like this.
Close-up of my Beige Plus's "Swoopie" front bezel embossing.
It does look vaguely familiar. I wonder if that might be an early Daystar logo. Have you checked the innards for upgrade hardware?
Nice sub
] ]'>The Sub's back at the thrift shop, all the controls must have been on the front pair of speakers, including a power on relay! That's surely the reason for the DIN-8 connectors for the front speakers. The owner will be in tomorrow, I offered $10 for it, I'm SURE I can hotwire it as a powered sub for my Thrift Sourced 5.1 Backup Receiver, but I'll have to take store credit for the balance of the $ . . . =8-/
Their DUMB@$$ return policy would have them holding my $ and me waiting for a "Like Item" to magically appear.
Yup, but that'd be one or two Video Cards for interfacing with the APD, which was OEM'd by Radius for Apple. I don't know for sure, but I'd bet Apple had a Radius OEM'd TPD using this familiar connector as well. [
] ]'>I haven't had time to look for my APD cables yet, but I will tonight for sure!
ARRRRGH! If that's the case, then I guess it's back to finding the correct pinouts to hack that half of a SUN Video Cable I've been saving for-freakin'-EVER!
Well, I'm back at Caribou Coffee after another run to my favorite haunts. As I said earlier, I returned the sub, but I also have a trunk stuffed with a SPARCstation 2, that I got mainly because the case looks so cool! I've got what has to be the fugliest, most disgustingly FILTHY SPARCstation 10 extant, YUCK!
I got that one because it shares some of the same architecture as my SPARCstation 20. I rounded out my new collection by cleaning out the remainder of his pile-o-SPARCs by snagging all three SPARCstation 5 (newer models) that he had.
At $5 per unit, how could I go wrong! }
KBDs were $5 per PAIR, gotta post a pic of the haul, I got 8 total sittin' in the trunk with my new (split) pile-o-SPARCs!
I've now got two SUN KBDs, that have a complete set of keys between them! They're only missing two or three keys ea. and they're different, so that's two carcasses, 1.9 sets of keycaps and 2 controllers! Hopefully, some combination will work and I'll be ready to hook up a monitor!
I'll document the rest when I post the pic, but I got some real goodies!
Edit: Forgot to mention that my total should have been $45 today, but the $38 I had in my pocket was just fine & dandy with the seller, so I got my $5 SPARCstations and $2.50 KBDs at a discount! [] ]'>
I got that one because it shares some of the same architecture as my SPARCstation 20. I rounded out my new collection by cleaning out the remainder of his pile-o-SPARCs by snagging all three SPARCstation 5 (newer models) that he had.
At $5 per unit, how could I go wrong! }
KBDs were $5 per PAIR, gotta post a pic of the haul, I got 8 total sittin' in the trunk with my new (split) pile-o-SPARCs!
I've now got two SUN KBDs, that have a complete set of keys between them! They're only missing two or three keys ea. and they're different, so that's two carcasses, 1.9 sets of keycaps and 2 controllers! Hopefully, some combination will work and I'll be ready to hook up a monitor!
I'll document the rest when I post the pic, but I got some real goodies!
Edit: Forgot to mention that my total should have been $45 today, but the $38 I had in my pocket was just fine & dandy with the seller, so I got my $5 SPARCstations and $2.50 KBDs at a discount! [
] ]'>THX! [Nice haul! I love the coffee table too!
] ]'> That was my very first piece of MacFurniture™! Have you seen the rest of what I've posted in that thread?NICE! As I said above, I've now got a small collection/pile of the 32 bit systems, but they set me back a little less than $30!
) I just looked up MacFurniture™... VERY NICE!THX! [Nice haul! I love the coffee table too!
NICE! As I said above, I've now got a small collection/pile of the 32 bit systems, but they set me back a little less than $30!
Some day I hope to have my collection organized so well!On a side note the name "MacFurniture™" kinda reminds me of the old IIfx couch
: http://www.craphound.com/images/maciicouch.jpg
OK! The mystery Plus/D has been disassembled and troubleshot!
What lay within!
Looks to me like the original owner turned his 128k into a SILENT Ersatz-Stock SE/30/4/0 before finally hanging it up. I'll bet he/she used this sucker all the way from 1984 -> the PPC era . . .
. . . that's over 10 years productive lifetime on the original, signed fronts-piece, Macintosh 128k! 8-o
All this puppy needs is the MicroMac drivers and plenty of room for VM on an internally hacked 2.5" SCSI (or adapted IDE) Laptop Drive! Maybe a new bucket too, a few of the cooling vanes on the top are borked.
. . . and maybe a new battery to see if it actually works. :?:
The old battery was only slightly leaking at the top and the contact has only minor corrosion. After I removed the bad battery, my "certified dead" conquest gave me a startup BOING and hit the FDD for a System Disk, but no joy on the Video. I'm hoping that's just a Compact Mac version of the old MicroQuadra/Missing Battery Syndrome . . .
. . . I'm clueless ATM, but I've got debugging/repair books at home!
BTW, will three AAs wired in series and rigged to contacts on the ends of a wooden dowel do the job? :rambo:
What lay within!
Looks to me like the original owner turned his 128k into a SILENT Ersatz-Stock SE/30/4/0 before finally hanging it up. I'll bet he/she used this sucker all the way from 1984 -> the PPC era . . .
. . . that's over 10 years productive lifetime on the original, signed fronts-piece, Macintosh 128k! 8-o
All this puppy needs is the MicroMac drivers and plenty of room for VM on an internally hacked 2.5" SCSI (or adapted IDE) Laptop Drive! Maybe a new bucket too, a few of the cooling vanes on the top are borked.
. . . and maybe a new battery to see if it actually works. :?:
The old battery was only slightly leaking at the top and the contact has only minor corrosion. After I removed the bad battery, my "certified dead" conquest gave me a startup BOING and hit the FDD for a System Disk, but no joy on the Video. I'm hoping that's just a Compact Mac version of the old MicroQuadra/Missing Battery Syndrome . . .
. . . I'm clueless ATM, but I've got debugging/repair books at home!
BTW, will three AAs wired in series and rigged to contacts on the ends of a wooden dowel do the job? :rambo:
That Plus just seems to get better and better. Anyway, the compacts don't require the Pizzabox PowerToggle like the LC series Macs - my M0001 has been running with no PRAM battery for the better part of 10 years, and it fires up with video first time, every time. If you're getting no video, I'd say its a more serious problem.
Btw, dumb question I know....but the brightness knob at the bottom is turned all the way up, right? :I Just that I have heard of people misdiagnosing compacts as being "dead" because they forgot about that knob.
Btw, dumb question I know....but the brightness knob at the bottom is turned all the way up, right? :I Just that I have heard of people misdiagnosing compacts as being "dead" because they forgot about that knob.
Thanks for the compliments! I'll have to post pics of some of the things that've been requested, like the PowerBook Collector's Dream!I just looked up MacFurniture™... VERY NICE!
:lol: The summer I got the Rug Rat a job working at Tekserve, he and one of the partners built an ENTIRE LIVING ROOM out of 68k Macs for Tekserve's MacWorld EXPO NY exhibit that year!On a side note the name "MacFurniture™" kinda reminds me of the old IIfx couch
He spent the rest of the summer doing the regular summer help stuff AND parting out PowerBooks, something which never gets done by summer help there, according to one of the regular employees I knew fairly well.
'bout the rugger mode>
As far as the MacFurniture™ goes . . . I've only just begun! :b&w:
It's a 128k+++ now that I've seen its insides! [
] ]'>I just wonder if the Daystar upgrade or the Plus upgrade was done first? :?:
:lol: It's definitely something more serious, unfortunately. [] ]'>
Just today I picked up a Plus with the same D logo on the front, except mine is a blue sticker rather than an embossed one. I'll put some pics up soon, after I see if it boots, and then take off the bucket.
Very
find! If yours still has the Daystar Card in it we'll know it was a post+upgrade-upgrade. If not, it may have been a pre+upgrade-upgrade . . .. . . or not . . . :scrambled:
The NeXt computer also used the 13W3 connector but it was proprietary. Sun also used this interface for a while. I have 2 20" Sun monitors with 13W3 connectors. The 13W3 "standard" really wasn't a standard at all. Different vendors were free to assign different signals to the pins so mixing and matching of monitors from different vendors frequently didn't work as the signals coming from the computer might not be on the pin that the monitor expects.
As promised, here's a shot of my new Pile-o-SPARCs™!
Notice the incredibly disgusting SPARCstation 10 on the bottom of the pile, as soon as I get the chance, I'll gut anything else that may be useful (and can be cleaned up sufficiently) at some point in the future.
When that one is finally gone to recycling, I think I'll call the remainder of this assembly a SPARCcube™!
If I had the room for it, this configuration would make a great end table/space heater! :
Here are a few of the goodies I pulled out while I was unloading the trunk and assembling the "stack" . . . There are three empty RAM slots in the 20 and these four DIMMS will fit, it's just a question of compatibility checking.
Here's a closeup of two Graphics Cards from the SPARCstation 5s with what appears to be their own VRAM . . .
I'll have to yank the oddball Network Card outta the SPARCstation 20 and try to do two monitors using whichever of these cards is better . . . along with the MoBo Proc/Connector and Stick of VRAM in the 20 . . . if that's even possible. =8-/
Here's a shot of all but the two Sun KBDs from today's haul:
Clock-wise starting at the:
* KeyTronic w/Spherically Correct Pointing Device/Controller that is ripe for hacking! }
*The DEC KBD was a "gottahaveit" purple match for the DECstation Shell that almost became the basis for my ubuntuGIMPbox hack.
* The KBD above that has Alps Mechanical Key Switches in a matrix for which I have very special plans! :rambo:
* Next to that is a GRID "gottahaveit" just because I've always loved their Macho-Machines.)
* Under the GRID is an HP with a daisy-chainable phone type connector I've never seen before, that just may fit a certain 128k+++ . . . . . . or probably not . . . :-/
* The best-for-last is a TELEX w/a bunch of DIP switches under a plexi/plastic panel on the bottom. It was manufactured right on the edge of the Bermuda Triangle here in Raleigh, NC! I'm guessing it's a configurable ASCII outputtin', BEAST of a KBD so naturally, it was in the "REALLYgottahaveit" category along with my 1.9 Sun KBDs in the other piccie. [] ]'>
Well, that's the lot for now, I'll probably put off playing with most of these toys while I concentrate on my three PlexIntensiveProjects for the time being!
Edit: Make that FOUR plexi projects, I forgot about the GIMPbox!)
Notice the incredibly disgusting SPARCstation 10 on the bottom of the pile, as soon as I get the chance, I'll gut anything else that may be useful (and can be cleaned up sufficiently) at some point in the future.
When that one is finally gone to recycling, I think I'll call the remainder of this assembly a SPARCcube™!
If I had the room for it, this configuration would make a great end table/space heater! :
Here are a few of the goodies I pulled out while I was unloading the trunk and assembling the "stack" . . . There are three empty RAM slots in the 20 and these four DIMMS will fit, it's just a question of compatibility checking.
Here's a closeup of two Graphics Cards from the SPARCstation 5s with what appears to be their own VRAM . . .
I'll have to yank the oddball Network Card outta the SPARCstation 20 and try to do two monitors using whichever of these cards is better . . . along with the MoBo Proc/Connector and Stick of VRAM in the 20 . . . if that's even possible. =8-/
Here's a shot of all but the two Sun KBDs from today's haul:
Clock-wise starting at the:
* KeyTronic w/Spherically Correct Pointing Device/Controller that is ripe for hacking! }
*The DEC KBD was a "gottahaveit" purple match for the DECstation Shell that almost became the basis for my ubuntuGIMPbox hack.
* The KBD above that has Alps Mechanical Key Switches in a matrix for which I have very special plans! :rambo:
* Next to that is a GRID "gottahaveit" just because I've always loved their Macho-Machines.
) * Under the GRID is an HP with a daisy-chainable phone type connector I've never seen before, that just may fit a certain 128k+++ . . .
. . . or probably not . . . :-/ * The best-for-last is a TELEX w/a bunch of DIP switches under a plexi/plastic panel on the bottom. It was manufactured right on the edge of the Bermuda Triangle here in Raleigh, NC! I'm guessing it's a configurable ASCII outputtin', BEAST of a KBD so naturally, it was in the "REALLYgottahaveit" category along with my 1.9 Sun KBDs in the other piccie. [
] ]'>Well, that's the lot for now, I'll probably put off playing with most of these toys while I concentrate on my three PlexIntensiveProjects for the time being!
Edit: Make that FOUR plexi projects, I forgot about the GIMPbox!
)
That is an awesome haul of vintage keyboards there. And that MicroMac '030 upgrade is just :O - what an unexpected bonus!
I have to send my tax forms in. I'm going to have a nice refund coming for some conquests. There's quite a few things that have been on my list for a while like a type 4 keyboard and mouse for my Sun SparcStation. I've started it up and it powers on but it does a keyboard and mouse check and I haven't had one to be able to get it to fully boot. Those are the only things I need to get it up and running to try out Solaris. I think it might be able to run Solaris 9, but it's really too slow so I'll probably have to back down a version or two. I am pretty sure it probably only has Solaris 2.3 on it now, though I could be wrong.
That's one nice pice-o-Sparcs!
[] ]'> [] ]'> [] ]'>
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The reason I'm posting here again, is that I got the Sub-Woofer back today after I'd returned it the day after I got it, coincidentally, the same day I got the rest of my SparcStack™ and the KBDs. The Sub's still in inoperable condition . . .
. . . until hack the lil' somonab . . . }
But it really shouldn't be all that bad, I've just got to noodle out all the low voltage control lines relayed to and fro between the Sub/System Amp and the two front speakers, including the on-off button and Volume Control for the Sub.
After a bit of time without hearing back from the shop, I began to pester them!
I finally went in today, knowing I couldn't get my money back, and we found MOST of the paperwork I'd left taped to the top of the Sub. While they were hemmin'-n-hawin' about what to do, I spotted some kind of 17" Apple LCD Studio Display and asked about it. At first they said it had to go to the owner's for some reason or other, probably because they didn't have anything to test it with. This is the same place I got the "as is" 17" CRT Studio Display that's been my main monitor ever since. I told them I had no qualms about buying the Sub "as is" for $10, but some arrangement had to be made because they'd sold me something that tested OK in January with all the parts hooked up and then, when some idiot(s) brought the two pairs of speakers that went with it up to the counter separately, they re-priced them and sold them!
Finally, the manager said: "Will you take the Sub and the Monitor so I can be done with this?" }
"No Problem," I said . . . :approve: :lol:
. . . and now my 17" CRT SD is pushed way back and, in front of it, the (slightly beat-up, NCSU sourced) 17" LCD SD is tickin' along like a freakin Timex! It won't win any beauty contests, but it'll help to keep the temperature down when I use the QS02/space heater at my (upstairs) bedroom workstation this summer!
The full 17" diagonal 1280 x 1024 also looks a little less like the ole' SE Periscope than the 17" CRT did, after so many years of 21" Graphics Level CRTs, I'm kinda picky about Displays! It's also the first time that I've EVER used an LCD as the main monitor on my primary design station. =8-P
I'm still a little over-budget for the IRS Refund Madness, but I'm very happy with how this "next to the last chapter" of my Sub-Woofer's liberation has played out! [] ]'>
] ]'> [] ]'> [] ]'>____________________________________________________________________
The reason I'm posting here again, is that I got the Sub-Woofer back today after I'd returned it the day after I got it, coincidentally, the same day I got the rest of my SparcStack™ and the KBDs. The Sub's still in inoperable condition . . .
. . . until hack the lil' somonab . . . }
But it really shouldn't be all that bad, I've just got to noodle out all the low voltage control lines relayed to and fro between the Sub/System Amp and the two front speakers, including the on-off button and Volume Control for the Sub.
After a bit of time without hearing back from the shop, I began to pester them!
Finally, the manager said: "Will you take the Sub and the Monitor so I can be done with this?" }
"No Problem," I said . . . :approve:
:lol: . . . and now my 17" CRT SD is pushed way back and, in front of it, the (slightly beat-up, NCSU sourced) 17" LCD SD is tickin' along like a freakin Timex! It won't win any beauty contests, but it'll help to keep the temperature down when I use the QS02/space heater at my (upstairs) bedroom workstation this summer!
The full 17" diagonal 1280 x 1024 also looks a little less like the ole' SE Periscope than the 17" CRT did, after so many years of 21" Graphics Level CRTs, I'm kinda picky about Displays! It's also the first time that I've EVER used an LCD as the main monitor on my primary design station. =8-P
I'm still a little over-budget for the IRS Refund Madness, but I'm very happy with how this "next to the last chapter" of my Sub-Woofer's liberation has played out! [
] ]'>