On an unrelated note, would it be possible to use an IDE DVD-ROM drive for reading CDs (not DVDs, of course) on this machine?

VioletGiraffe wrote:

On an unrelated note, would it be possible to use an IDE DVD-ROM drive for reading CDs (not DVDs, of course) on this machine?

should work, can't guarantee that the drive you want to use will be compatible, thats not to say that a normal cd/dvd combo drive wouldn't work. try it assuming you have one just laying around. if you are buying one, id recommend to get older used drive, or new old stock and not buy new drives. Sombody else recently made a thread about some newer drive they had and didn't have a CD header. 🤣 I had the best luck with LG drives.

Thanks! I have a bunch of Asus and one LG multi DVD recorder drives, all of them IDE, that's why I'm asking whether it makes sense to try one or if it's a lost cause. Will give it a try and see how it goes!
Two of the drives even support Lightscribe - a technology I didn't get a chance to try back in the day, but would be excited to give it a try now (not in a 386 computer, naturally).

Warlord wrote:

VioletGiraffe wrote:

On an unrelated note, would it be possible to use an IDE DVD-ROM drive for reading CDs (not DVDs, of course) on this machine?

should work, can't guarantee that the drive you want to use will be compatible, thats not to say that a normal cd/dvd combo drive wouldn't work. try it assuming you have one just laying around. if you are buying one, id recommend to get older used drive, or new old stock and not buy new drives. Sombody else recently made a thread about some newer drive they had and didn't have a CD header. 🤣 I had the best luck with LG drives.

it was even dumber than that -it did have a CD header that didn't output anything by design 😵

maxtherabbit wrote:

it was even dumber than that -it did have a CD header that didn't output anything by design 😵

I noticed that one of my drives has a CD header but it's labeled "Reserved". All the other drives properly list it as "CD Audio".
Is this header needed for anything other than listening to CD-Audio discs? I don't imagine any games need it?..

VioletGiraffe wrote:

maxtherabbit wrote:

it was even dumber than that -it did have a CD header that didn't output anything by design 😵

I noticed that one of my drives has a CD header but it's labeled "Reserved". All the other drives properly list it as "CD Audio".
Is this header needed for anything other than listening to CD-Audio discs? I don't imagine any games need it?..

right except some games stream CD-audio as their music

Need some help with the turbo button connector. Photos:
https://i.imgur.com/QuFDBZB.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/VlLp6Hw.jpg

As you can see, the case has a single connector for switch and led, and the motherboard has them separately. Do I just use a dupont wire to route this? And where is the positive and negative on the motherboard? Which side is marked with "1"?

Also, what is this jumper monstrosity on the turbo display board? Is it used for configuring the turbo and base clock values?
https://i.imgur.com/zdIDlyw.jpg

The jumper monstrosity on the turbo display is probably around here somewhere:
http://www.minuszerodegrees.net/led_speed_dis … eed_display.htm

It sets the *displayed* frequencies when you push the turbo button.

So my turbo LED board is TD-38S, and I can't find a schematic for it. I don't need to reconfigure the jumpers as they should already be set to the right thing, but I don't understand how to connect its 3-pin header to the motherboard's 2 + 2 headers ("turbo switch" and "turbo LED", depicted in my post above).

Just connect center and one of the side pins of turbo switch to motherboard. The switch either connects left and center or right and center. Depending on which way you insert this 3pin wire to 2pin headers, the turbo has to be pushed in or out to be in turbo state.

Just try and set it as you like.

With MHz display, i've just taken it out, provided 5V power separately and played around with jumpers. Eventually you start to understand the pattern so with the second digit, it already goes fast for you. 😀

Here's how the turbo switch + LED display should be connected:

1. The turbo button in the case normally has 2 sets of 3 wires coming out of it, one of them (probably the one labelled "TURBO SW" from your picture) is connected to the "TUB SW" header on your motherboard and is used to actually make the board change its speed when you press the button. You have a 2 pin header, so just plug the connector in any orientation so that the wires in the middle and one of the edges are connected to the header.
2. The other set of 3 wires needs to be connected to the LED display, you need to identify the pins where you want to plug it in, normally they are labelled "L", "C" and "H". Again, the order does not matter, the middle wire will always be connected to "C".
3. The "TUB LED" header is for connecting the little yellow/orange LED that turns on or off depending on the state of the turbo button. It's just like the power or HDD LEDs, though in some cases this LED can also be connected directly to the LED display, which may be your case.

There are different types of LED speed displays. They can be driven directly by the switch and pass it to the motherboard, or they can be driven by the motherboard's LED output.

Achievement unlocked, thanks for the tips!!!

Now the only thing I can't get to work is the HDD LED. It was plugged into the IDE expansion card when I got the computer, but it doesn't light up. There's a row of like 15 jumpers on the card, most of them closed, some open, and the LED was plugged into J1. There is no place that says "HDD LED". I tried reversing the polarity of the diode in J1, also tested the diode and it does work. Puzzling. Of course, the card lacks any markings.

Give us a hi-res photo of that io card, we'll see, what we get out of it. 😉

So I accidentally got it right while fiddling with the board, now everything works!
Apparently, all you need is to ask the right people 😀

Now onto writing software for this beast, very excited!

Try TH99. They have a lot of jumper settings and connection points for all kinds of those cards.
http://th99.infania.net

FAMICOMASTER wrote:

Try TH99. They have a lot of jumper settings and connection points for all kinds of those cards.
http://th99.infania.net

Wow, nice resource, thanks a lot!