EvieSigma wrote on 2021-09-17, 19:32:

I got this interesting Nortel network appliance...thing off eBay, not because I have any real interest in using it for its inten […]
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I got this interesting Nortel network appliance...thing off eBay, not because I have any real interest in using it for its intended purpose, but because it's an interesting small form factor PC using (in this case) a 400MHz Socket 370 Celeron CPU. I think this chassis might actually be made by Intel and just OEM'd by Nortel, as I saw one of these machines on eBay once minus the Nortel branding.

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Cool. I'm a fan of odd form factors as well. Smaller the better...😉

Robert B wrote on 2021-09-17, 15:52:

CrFr wrote on 2021-09-16, 20:41:

CrFr wrote on 2021-09-16, 16:01:

Received this Macintosh Plus 1MB today. Everything seems to work perfectly fine, even the external 20MB SCSI hard drive sounds healthy. CRT is very sharp and bright. RAM has been upgraded to 4MB. It's dirty, but not scratched or cracked. I think it will clean up real nice. At price of 45 euros for the whole set, I just couldn't resist 😁

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I started taking this thing apart for cleaning. I expected the hard drive to be filled with dust bunnies because of the fan, but no, it looks almost like factory fresh inside. Very minimal dust. Even the fan has almost no dust buildup. This unit must have very low power on hours count.

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If in the picture bellow where the red arrows are pointing, there are RIFA 0.01uf , 0.1uf etc capacitors installed, I advice you to replace them ASAP. Those caps are known to fail in kind of a bad way even when they look ok.

EEVblog #1183 - RIFA Madness (Schaffner Repair)

That's very good advice, thanks. The mac itself also has couple of them. They have cracks all over them. I think I'll replace all of those time bombs now that i have everything already disassembled.

Caluser2000 wrote on 2021-09-17, 19:46:

EvieSigma wrote on 2021-09-17, 19:32:

I got this interesting Nortel network appliance...thing off eBay, not because I have any real interest in using it for its inten […]
Show full quote

I got this interesting Nortel network appliance...thing off eBay, not because I have any real interest in using it for its intended purpose, but because it's an interesting small form factor PC using (in this case) a 400MHz Socket 370 Celeron CPU. I think this chassis might actually be made by Intel and just OEM'd by Nortel, as I saw one of these machines on eBay once minus the Nortel branding.

PXL_20210917_173436045.jpg

PXL_20210917_173131741.jpg

PXL_20210917_172540645.jpg

PXL_20210917_172538475.jpg

PXL_20210917_165750479.jpg

Cool. I'm a fan of odd form factors as well. Smaller the better...😉

This thing is roughly 10 inches by 12 inches, which makes it quite small indeed. Not as small as a Mac Mini or a NUC but smaller than most hardware of the late 90s/early 2000s.

AGP stuff. It won't fit in contemporary desktops without a hammer, so it's retro. 😉
This summers' finds:

Stumbled on a USB to Serial port adapter using the Prolific PL-2303 for $1 at a thrift store, they first came out about 2002 or before from digging in archive org.
Mine has the PL-2303 H version chip so is only USB 1.1 but figured it might be fun to play with 😀 Has vender ID of USB\VID_067B&PID_2303 // USB\VID_067B&PID_2303&REV_0202
Found old Win 98, XP,etc 32 bit drivers digging around here: http://web.archive.org/web/20060708183356/htt … oad-2.asp?ID=17
Found the drivers for Win9x, Win2k, XP, Win7 32bit/64bit too. http://web.archive.org/web/20110703171921/htt … loads.asp?id=31
Sure glad Archive org is around as could not find much on it without them..

You shoulda held out for a USB 3.1 version so it could wait for serial data at 10 gigabits per second. 😉

Yah I picked up similar piece a month or so ago, didn't need to hunt drivers. Windoze and ubuntu both found and configured it.

BitWrangler wrote on 2021-09-17, 23:43:

You shoulda held out for a USB 3.1 version so it could wait for serial data at 10 gigabits per second. 😉

Yah I picked up similar piece a month or so ago, didn't need to hunt drivers. Windoze and ubuntu both found and configured it.

Heheee Yeah if it was USB 3 would would be more thrilled but for a $1 am not complainin and it is sort of vintage being USB 1.1 (first released 1998)

Hah... I'm pretty sure there aren't any USB 3 to serial adapters but I could be wrong.

The place I used to work at had some equipment that would only work with genuine serial ports and so when serial went away on most machines it was a pain trying to find a USB to serial adapters that would work properly.

cyclone3d wrote on 2021-09-18, 02:57:

Hah... I'm pretty sure there aren't any USB 3 to serial adapters but I could be wrong.

The place I used to work at had some equipment that would only work with genuine serial ports and so when serial went away on most machines it was a pain trying to find a USB to serial adapters that would work properly.

I have a serial PCI card and this is the only reason it's still kicking around. Ya never know when it might be useful!

Creative 3DBlaster GeForce Annihilator - GF256 32MB SDR
Ati Radeon 9600XT 256MB with AC VGA Silencer
Intel 486 DX2 66MHz ES Sk.3
Gigabyte GA-5AX Rev 4.1 - SS7 with mistery K6-2 or (wishful thinking) K6-3. The cooler is stuck firmly and I'll power it up next week to see what's what. 😁 Also it needs a few caps.
Misc. i7-3770K and 6x I5-650 CPUs.

Couldn't resist another retro purchase, this time an Intellivision -

A console I never owned back in the day, but was curious about.

Bought the console itself as "untested" from eBay for a reasonable price, taking another gamble. I didn't have any games, so bought the cheapest game I could find on eBay - Soccer as pictured above.

I opened up the console first to check for anything nasty, all looked good so I powered it on and it worked!

After some pot tweaking, it's looking as good as can be expected with RF on a modern TV:

Robert B wrote on 2021-09-18, 10:31:

Gigabyte GA-5AX Rev 4.1 - SS7 with mistery K6-2 or (wishful thinking) K6-3. The cooler is stuck firmly and I'll power it up next week to see what's what. 😁 Also it need a few caps.

Uh, Ali Aladin V rev.E? I wouldn't mind a K6-2...

Robert B wrote on 2021-09-18, 10:31:

Creative 3DBlaster GeForce Annihilator - GF256 32MB SDR Ati Radeon 9600XT 256MB with AC VGA Silencer Intel 486 DX2 66MHz ES Sk.3 […]
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Creative 3DBlaster GeForce Annihilator - GF256 32MB SDR
Ati Radeon 9600XT 256MB with AC VGA Silencer
Intel 486 DX2 66MHz ES Sk.3
Gigabyte GA-5AX Rev 4.1 - SS7 with mistery K6-2 or (wishful thinking) K6-3. The cooler is stuck firmly and I'll power it up next week to see what's what. 😁 Also it need a few caps.
Misc. i7-3770K and 6x I5-650 CPUs.

Nice SS7 board. I wouldn't mind one of those atx models.

Nice stuff Robert..

Robert B wrote on 2021-09-18, 10:31:

The cooler is stuck firmly and I'll power it up next week to see what's what. 😁 Also it need a few caps.

From the look of the cooler, it's one that came with "pink goo" a thin rubberlike thermal pad that melts into the CPU in use. Best guess is to run it hot, then try to twist it off.

Yeah guys. This is also a first for me. The very first ATX SS7 I own. The jumper settings indicate a K6-2 450 or a K6-3 450. Any way it turns out, this board was a catch no question about it. Also, I'll replace only the caps near the socket and the smaller ones only if needed.

Yeah I think that's it! 😀 Pink goo. I'll submerge the heatsink with the CPU stuck on it in IPA 99% for a few hours and see what I get or I'll make it hot and toasty by running it (although the caps look pretty iffy) or by using very carefully a hair drier, then I'll try to twist it gently.

I'd go with running the CPU for a good while until it gets hot enough. I know this from the OG Xbox (HUEG) where most people run it enough for the heatsinks to get soft enough to be twisted.

PTherapist wrote on 2021-09-18, 11:18:

Couldn't resist another retro purchase, this time an Intellivision - […]
Show full quote

Couldn't resist another retro purchase, this time an Intellivision -

0INTELLIVISION.jpg

A console I never owned back in the day, but was curious about.

Bought the console itself as "untested" from eBay for a reasonable price, taking another gamble. I didn't have any games, so bought the cheapest game I could find on eBay - Soccer as pictured above.

I opened up the console first to check for anything nasty, all looked good so I powered it on and it worked!

After some pot tweaking, it's looking as good as can be expected with RF on a modern TV:

WhatsApp Image 2021-09-18 at 12.07.40.jpeg

Oh boy. That rabbiit hole can go VERY deep if you let it. The Mattel Intellivision holds a special place in my history. It was my first console as a kid. Absolutely loved it. If you ever want to see an amazing homebrew scene, Intellivision has a very dedicated bunch that still make high quality games for it to this day. AtariAge.com forums has a very active Intellivision group with some very avid collectors and can help you with pretty much anything related to the console. I mean come on, someone actually figured out how to fit "Defender of the Crown" on that console and was released in 2018. Insane, considering its limitations.

https://youtu.be/M6FnCayEqlM

Tried to find a GeForce 2-4 (non-MX model) as my better AGP cards are Radeon 9600 Pro and 9000 Pro with no table fog support; yet I found an FX 5600 XT (Asus V9560XT) for NT$350 (US$12.5 or €11) from a reputable used computer parts store.

Will try to test nglide on it; any suggestions and tips?

Got this for a very good price.
A Roland SC-55 with the "GS Standard" front. It contains ROM version 1.10.
Now I have the GS Standard front with ROM 1.10, the GS front with ROM 1.21 and the GM/GS front with ROM 2.00.

286 "CHIPS" mainboard from TULIP.
Unfortunately dead 🙁