Thread
Most common upgrades for an SE?
I have an SE FDHD, programmers switches, dual 1.4MB drives (will put in a HD when I can find a bracket), Max 4MB RAM and was wondering what else I should get for it.
What are common PDS upgrades for this unit (ethernet card maybe)?
What are common PDS upgrades for this unit (ethernet card maybe)?
There were two RJ-45 Asanté MacCon ethernet cards, unique to the SE (MacCon+ SEET and MacCon3 for SE), which are even scarcer now than those for the SE/30.
This one does not have RJ-45.
For a knockdown on other upgrades for the SE, mostly seen only in dreams nowadays, look at Low End Mac.
de
This one does not have RJ-45.
For a knockdown on other upgrades for the SE, mostly seen only in dreams nowadays, look at Low End Mac.
de
lowendmac says "The SE was the first compact Mac with an expansion slot. One of the first add-in cards was an MS-DOS card. Over time, video, ethernet, and accelerator cards became popular accessories."
I've never seen any card for the SE other than the Asante ethernet cards. The lowend mac site also lists several "Accelerators & Upgrades"
http://lowendmac.com/compact/se.shtml
Also, I'm 90% sure that ethernet card you're asking about has an RJ-45. I think that's the same card I have, although I think it might be called the MacCon SE+, not the MacCon+ like the seller claims. Wish I could go double check. No doubt someone here knows for sure.
I'm looking at the one equil says "does not have RJ-45" and it sure looks like it does to me. AAUI, BNC and RJ-45 is what I see.
Nathan
I've never seen any card for the SE other than the Asante ethernet cards. The lowend mac site also lists several "Accelerators & Upgrades"
http://lowendmac.com/compact/se.shtml
Also, I'm 90% sure that ethernet card you're asking about has an RJ-45. I think that's the same card I have, although I think it might be called the MacCon SE+, not the MacCon+ like the seller claims. Wish I could go double check. No doubt someone here knows for sure.
I'm looking at the one equil says "does not have RJ-45" and it sure looks like it does to me. AAUI, BNC and RJ-45 is what I see.
Nathan
The info. about Asanté cards came from the MacCon card manual. The quote from Olde Mac Milt came from the referenced eBay page.
There is a good chance that you can get the HDD metalware from Olde Mac Milt's eBay Store.
de
for what it's worth, it's hard to find the "dual floppy AND hdd" bracket, because it was a third-party add-on. I have one made by Jasmine, but it doesn't fit modern drives properly and the old drive that came with it croaked.
I'd look for an Ethernet card, Radius 68020 upgrade, or a GPIB interface, if you're into that sort of thing. An SE with a GPIB card would be great to hook up to an oscilloscope or function generator for just datalogging.
I'd look for an Ethernet card, Radius 68020 upgrade, or a GPIB interface, if you're into that sort of thing. An SE with a GPIB card would be great to hook up to an oscilloscope or function generator for just datalogging.
I was going to rip the 2nd floppy out when I install the HD, just need the bracket. I have a GPIB Nubus card, but nothing to connect it to so it never gets used.
So basically I will have to find an ethernet card or a slow processor upgrade for it.
I could also keep it as dual floppy and get a small external SCSI HD for when I need it, would be quieter. Might bring it into my room and use Think Pascal if it runs on a 68000 with 4MB.
So basically I will have to find an ethernet card or a slow processor upgrade for it.
I could also keep it as dual floppy and get a small external SCSI HD for when I need it, would be quieter. Might bring it into my room and use Think Pascal if it runs on a 68000 with 4MB.
You can slide an SE/30 logic board in for a nice speed increase, although you'll also need to either get the rear shell of an SE/30 case or modify your existing case if you want to use its slot.
I would think that a whole SE/30 would cost a little more then just the motherboard, so why not keep it in a SE/30.
If I wanted to make a really impressive SE, I'd get one of those Radius 68020 cards that has 16MB RAM expansion and full-page mono video. Build an adaptor to make it drive a modern monitor and you'd have a real nice machine.
A slow 68020 accelerator is still hella fast in System 6.
A slow 68020 accelerator is still hella fast in System 6.
i have dual floppy and HD with the standard bracket... it fits when you are careful and dont want to use afull height HD.
Those brackets seem to vary. I've seen some with full size 3.5" drives in them while others were only able to fit a lower profile drive (that one had a drive pulled from an LC II in there).
I have a not common upgrade for the se. Its a second wave external box, that gives you four slots.
I think I have seen those in old Macworld mags, how well does it work?
I have a SE with dual 800k floppy drives. Would it be possible to slip a 2.5 hardrive from an early powerbook with an adaptor to fit the 3.5 hardrive plug, into a dual floppy case? Also, to change the 800k's to 1.4, will there have to be any other mods to make the 1.4's work? I was surprised to see, that there was a dual 1.4 SE made!! I have a couple extra 2.5 harddrives and 1.4 floppy drives as spares, just thought I might be able to put them to use.
The SE FDHD has newer roms and a newer floppy controller chip to use 1.4MB Superdsrives, it came out a while after the SE.
No idea about the 2.5" drive.
No idea about the 2.5" drive.
yep.
to make 1.4mb drives work in an original SE you need new ROMS and you have to replace the IWM with a SWIM. I did that on my SE board with ROMS from another dead SE.
you can put a normal 3.5" HD on top of the 2 floppy drives. so that there would be no need for an adapter.
to make 1.4mb drives work in an original SE you need new ROMS and you have to replace the IWM with a SWIM. I did that on my SE board with ROMS from another dead SE.
you can put a normal 3.5" HD on top of the 2 floppy drives. so that there would be no need for an adapter.
it's not even hard to fit a normal 3.5" hard drive into the dual-floppy case, if you're willing to modify it.
Thanks for the tips. I think I will leave the 800k floppy drives alone and concentrate on putting in a harddrive. I will keep an eye on ebay to pick up an upgrade for a little added speed!!
Strictly speaking, no mods are needed to put in a 3.5" HD on top of the floppy drives, if you don't mind a bit of a kludge. There's enough room to place the HD on top of the floppy drives. Use your favorite fastening method to keep the HD in place (I used a combination of cable ties and duct tape). This way, you can have two floppies and a hard drive all together. Doesn't look pretty inside, but who's to know? 
Duct tape is the last thing I would use in a computer.
Agreed. Industrial Velcro all the way.
Double-sided tape.
Really? For me it'd be something like urine, or a grizzly bear.
A grizzly bear would actually be a great method, except that grizzly bears small enough to fit in an SE are becoming extremely rare these days...
The nicest-looking way to do it is with a drill; Remove the "upper" floppy cage and empty it. Locate the hard-drive bottom-mounting screws and drill holes for them. Use flush-head screws to screw the hard drive in place, then put the floppy drive back in the cage. Mount the whole shebang back in place and you're done.
The nicest-looking way to do it is with a drill; Remove the "upper" floppy cage and empty it. Locate the hard-drive bottom-mounting screws and drill holes for them. Use flush-head screws to screw the hard drive in place, then put the floppy drive back in the cage. Mount the whole shebang back in place and you're done.
I would say it's more interesting with dual floppy drives. No sense taxing the power supply with a power hungry hard drive. treat it gently like a wise old man.
If you'll need a hard drive, try to find one of them Mass Micro Single or Dual 5.25" drive cases.
Up the RAM, add Ethernet, but I wouldn't really go much beyond that, unless one can find a plug in accelerator.
As for HDs, I would say the issue is authenticity or productivity. I personally have put 2.5" HD is a Color Classic case and they work very nicely because they are very low power and take up minimal space. The SCSI adapters allow you to use a PowerBook drive from the era, but you can also get a SCSI/IDE adapter and use a much larger capacity IDE/ATA 2.5 in there. Also possibly easier to find and cheaper.
A high capacity IDE drive in a 68000 Mac?
Interesting concept. With the maximum partition size for System 6 around 2GB, how many partitions would you need for a 40GB drive?
I would think that to be more productive, it might make more sense to get a much faster mac: like an 040 Mac.
But to be cool, an SE or SE/30 with Ethernet is tops.
Interesting concept. With the maximum partition size for System 6 around 2GB, how many partitions would you need for a 40GB drive?
I would think that to be more productive, it might make more sense to get a much faster mac: like an 040 Mac.
But to be cool, an SE or SE/30 with Ethernet is tops.