Kahenraz wrote on 2022-10-29, 21:23:

I have been buying up an embarrassing amount of CF cards lately. They are my favorite method of storage for IDE, as they are sma […]
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I have been buying up an embarrassing amount of CF cards lately. They are my favorite method of storage for IDE, as they are small, fast, compatible, and easy to swap around. I try to get them in quantity, so that I can install different operating systems like Windows 98, ME, DOS, and swap them in and out to test various configurations. It's just so convenient. When I'm finished, I just dump them all into a plastic bag and toss them into a bin.

They are available in sizes that are also great for testing drive capacity, at 512MB, 8GB, 32GB, etc.

There are double-sided CF card adapters, so you don't have to compromise on the number of attached devices either. They seem to be harder to come by nowadays, though. The most common and cheapest adapters are only single-sided.

s-l1600.jpg

Ali Express has a lot of the dual CF ones for sale. About 23,000 of them...for 3.20 US each. Not sure you can go much cheaper but Ali does have sales a lot so its possible you could get them for a couple of bucks at which point the postage is substantially more than the cost so you then have to buy a bunch of them.

I hadn't checked AliExpress. Thanks for the tip.

Kahenraz wrote on 2022-10-30, 07:31:

I hadn't checked AliExpress. Thanks for the tip.

I guess the lock downs in China are also affecting availability of some items on the bay, but Ali generally has them if the bay doesn't.

I just recently got this board for cheap - I re-used an old RAM stick and the Cyrix MII-300 I got from an old friend of mine many years back.

The old friend gave me his unused PC many years back - was with a PCChips M598 and the Cyrix MII processor. Unfortunately, destroyed that motherboard in an embarrassing accident (short circuited at the bottom of the board, destroyed the PSU and the board) , leaving the Cyrix intact and the other parts.

This board I recently get now reminds a lot on the PCChips M598, except it has no onboard sound. Well, I have a spare soundcard, so why not put it in now? 😀

UncleYong wrote on 2022-10-30, 14:00:

I just recently got this board for cheap - I re-used an old RAM stick and the Cyrix MII-300 I got from an old friend of mine man […]
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I just recently got this board for cheap - I re-used an old RAM stick and the Cyrix MII-300 I got from an old friend of mine many years back.
ga5smmPic.jpg

The old friend gave me his unused PC many years back - was with a PCChips M598 and the Cyrix MII processor. Unfortunately, destroyed that motherboard in an embarrassing accident (short circuited at the bottom of the board, destroyed the PSU and the board) , leaving the Cyrix intact and the other parts.

This board I recently get now reminds a lot on the PCChips M598, except it has no onboard sound. Well, I have a spare soundcard, so why not put it in now? 😀

Nice! A MicroATX Socket 7 system? I can't remember I've ever seen one.
Installed in a modern tiny mATX case this would make an awesome portable Retro-Sleeper 😀

Kahenraz wrote on 2022-10-30, 06:51:

I bought an ESS Solo-1 with a Wavetable header (seller's photo, not mine). It's hard to find these with the header on them. I've read that if you solder the pin header onto a card without one, it will work just fine. I've never tried it though.

Screenshot_20221030-024825_eBay.jpg

rare on uk ebay, been hunting for one for some time.

HanSolo wrote on 2022-10-30, 16:42:

Nice! A MicroATX Socket 7 system? I can't remember I've ever seen one.

An even more interesting board is the Chaintech CT-5RSA2. Same form factor, but Aladdin V and AGP slot.

UncleYong wrote on 2022-10-30, 14:00:

I just recently got this board for cheap - I re-used an old RAM stick and the Cyrix MII-300 I got from an old friend of mine many years back.
ga5smmPic.jpg

You can tell that it's a very late model board by the color on the rear I/O port housing. This was some industry-wide standard that occured, and you can roughly judge the relative age of boards of this era by the presence of it.

Maybe someone more knowledgeable can provide some more information.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_System_Design_Guide#PC-97

According to that article, PC-99 seems to be more accurate.

Comprehensive color-coding scheme for ports and connectors

PC-97 introduced colored PS/2 ports.

Kahenraz wrote on 2022-10-30, 06:51:

I bought an ESS Solo-1 with a Wavetable header (seller's photo, not mine). It's hard to find these with the header on them. I've read that if you solder the pin header onto a card without one, it will work just fine. I've never tried it though.

I can confirm adding a header will work. I modified my own ESS Solo-1 in this way and it worked perfectly. 😀

Found this TEAC FD-505 at some surplus store today for $4. Seems to be in barely used condition. There's nothing wrong at all with the faceplate; it was half unclipped so I fully removed it.

That's awesome. I've been wanting one of these, but not enough to pay what people have been asking for it on the used market. Great find.

Shponglefan wrote on 2022-10-30, 21:04:

I can confirm adding a header will work. I modified my own ESS Solo-1 in this way and it worked perfectly. 😀

It looks like someone snapped up that Solo-1 on eBay that is missing the wavetable header. Which one of you was it? 😀

Kahenraz wrote on 2022-10-30, 20:39:

According to that article, PC-99 seems to be more accurate.

Comprehensive color-coding scheme for ports and connectors

PC-97 introduced colored PS/2 ports.

I saw a full call-out once, I am recalling that PC-97 introduced the idea with only mouse and kb compulsory, but PC-99 made it mandatory. But I could be wrong.

PC 2001 seems very helpful as a warning label, not suitable for retro below XP 🤣

HanSolo wrote on 2022-10-30, 16:42:

Nice! A MicroATX Socket 7 system? I can't remember I've ever seen one.
Installed in a modern tiny mATX case this would make an awesome portable Retro-Sleeper 😀

Yes, it's a micro ATX. Initially I wanted to get the one with the BAT form factor - however the stores don't supply these vga to motherboard cables together.

Kahenraz wrote on 2022-10-30, 19:17:

You can tell that it's a very late model board by the color on the rear I/O port housing. This was some industry-wide standard that occured, and you can roughly judge the relative age of boards of this era by the presence of it.

Maybe someone more knowledgeable can provide some more information.

Oh, forgot to write down the board name: it's a Gigabyte GA5SMM. The manual book is around so it's even easier to set it up. 😀

Won this this little beauty for 120 bucks in working condition, a Compaq Armada 1750. Its the 366 Model with the ATI and 13 inch screen if Im reading the model number right. Been wanting one of these as a portable pure DOS/95 machine. I might be able to source a new battery for it so its portability will be limited till I can get one.

Might also eventually get some of the accessories for it when they eventually pop up on the Evilbay.

UncleYong wrote on 2022-10-31, 05:33:

Oh, forgot to write down the board name: it's a Gigabyte GA5SMM. The manual book is around so it's even easier to set it up. 😀

This is actually a Super Socket 7 board, not a Socket 7.
From the Gigabyte homepage:
- Intel, AMD K6-3, IBM/Cyrix, IDT Processor 100~550 MHz
- Socket 7 for future Processor support
- 66/75/83/90/95/100/105*/112*/124*/133* MHz System Bus
- CPU Voltage 1.3V~3.5V
- Clock multiplier 1.5/2.0 ...... / 5.5
It doesn't list K6-2+ or K6-III+ processors, but those should run as well. Might require a BIOS modification. These are mobile processors and can change their multiplicator via software. Prices for boards who can run these CPUs has doubled/trippled within a few months, after a huge supply of NOS highend CPUs surfaced. Like a container full.

It's a bit a shame that it doesn't has an AGP slot. AGP graphics cards are much cheaper.
But you could slap in a Trio64+Voodoo. Or a Voodoo3 PCI.

eesz34 wrote on 2022-10-31, 00:29:

Found this TEAC FD-505 at some surplus store today for $4. Seems to be in barely used condition. There's nothing wrong at all with the faceplate; it was half unclipped so I fully removed it.

Noticed your earlier (deleted) post re. the missing 3.5 eject button - it's nothing more than a small cube of plastic with a slit on the back surface (possibly with an internal securing lug) which fixes to the eject push lever. Here's a pic from mine for detail

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-10-31, 09:54:

Won this this little beauty for 120 bucks in working condition, a Compaq Armada 1750. Its the 366 Model with the ATI and 13 inch screen if Im reading the model number right. Been wanting one of these as a portable pure DOS/95 machine. I might be able to source a new battery for it so its portability will be limited till I can get one.

If it's a NiMH battery, there are lots of places that can rebuild it for you. I don't know if anyone who can rebuild a lithium cell battery though, as it requires a special license and other equipment.

Battery packs are one thing I won't ever try and repair myself. It's just too dangerous, as there is a very real risk of serious chemical fire.

Kahenraz wrote on 2022-10-31, 19:12:

Battery packs are one thing I won't ever try and repair myself. It's just too dangerous, as there is a very real risk of serious chemical fire.

that's why you need an "explosion containment pie dish." (see attached image)

I personally use one of those pancake-shaped flat bricks from the local Homeless Despot. I mean as long as you can quickly take the angry pixie pouch outside, the risk is really minimal.