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Need help identifying a 386 board

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First post, by jewesta

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Hey all!

After checking the usual suspects turned up nothing I'm trying my luck here. 😀

I recently got a very nice 386 motherboard with a custom form factor (ISA riser design). Unfortunately I know absolutely nothing about it. It came without documentation and the seller knows as much (or few) as I do. Some info:

  • Board is from 1992
  • Has an ET4000 with 1MB on board
  • Has 1x floppy and 1x IDE connector on board
  • The 40MHz CPU was added by the seller and is wrong since the board has a 66MHz crystal. I swapped it out with a 33MHz 386.
  • Says FTK at the bottom right (below the OPTi chip) and on a BIOS chip below the riser slot. It has been suggested to me that this could mean Flytech Technology USA.
  • Has a PS/2 keyboard connector
  • Don't know about the round connector next to the keyboard. Is that an IR interface? Cash register / storage management / logistics use maybe?
  • Red quality control sticker top right corner that says VICTOR.
  • AMI BIOS string is 30-0201-D11220-10101111-050591-OPWB-8. Unfortunately the manufacturer code seems to be on none of the lists I checked.
  • There is a very similar 486 version of this board, which I also have. It came in a small desktop case. I added a picture of the system but have not documented it thoroughly yet. I doubt that the system is in it's original state as the 52MB Quantum drive is too old for a 486 DX/2 66 and was connected with an UltraATA cable. There are unfortunately no more marks on this 486 board than on the 386 version. At least I am assuming they are "versions" of each other as they are so strikingly similar.

Does anyone have anything on this board? Curious why it says FTK on the board and was apparently QC'd by a VICTOR facility.

Thanks!

Jens

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Reply 1 of 14, by BitWrangler

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Next to ps/2 keyboard looks like a Busmouse port. Seems very similar to some NEC boards. Wonder if JVC did any desktops... though they were making drives, so unless the quantum in the other one is a replacement, you'd have thunk they'd have stuck their own in.

Unicorn herding operations are proceeding, but all the totes of hens teeth and barrels of rocking horse poop give them plenty of hiding spots.

Reply 2 of 14, by jewesta

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BitWrangler wrote on 2021-09-26, 22:19:

Next to ps/2 keyboard looks like a Busmouse port.

Ah! Silly me. I have a 286 (from Victor, btw...) which also has a Busmouse port. I haven't found a Busmouse yet and somehow completely forgot about that. Thanks! I wonder if there is a Victor connection after all... the layout of the Victor board is quite similar as well...

BitWrangler wrote on 2021-09-26, 22:19:

Wonder if JVC did any desktops... though they were making drives, so unless the quantum in the other one is a replacement, you'd have thunk they'd have stuck their own in.

I would not focus too much on the system as a whole. I think the seller built it from parts he had gotten from wherever those boards came from. The Quantum drive is a 52MB drive. And I think even in a 486/66 this should have been twice the size. It is also connected with an ATA cable...

Reply 5 of 14, by HanJammer

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This board was pretty likely made by FTK which was pretty active company in 386 era.

It's not Flytech as they used different silkscreen logo at that time - compare:
https://www.mikrocontroller.net/topic/473513
https://ru.pc-history.com/pc-386-cany-i-cisco-386.html

What have the NSSI or HWiNFO told you about the motherboard?

jewesta wrote on 2021-09-27, 07:31:

Don't know if it's of any significance: On the PSU it says "KANRICH". On the riser board it says "KANRIOH". And I wonder if the latter is a typo.

Pretty likely it's just a brand of the case. Motherboard has standard dimensions for this type of case so I guess it was just sort of generic pizzabox build.

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Reply 6 of 14, by jewesta

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nuno14272 wrote on 2021-09-27, 10:05:

Great board.. onboard IDE, Cache, integratead graphics (not bad)..

My thoughts exactly! Very rare for a 386.

nuno14272 wrote on 2021-09-27, 10:05:

To bad is not an AT compatible..

Yes, that would be something. Though I have a couple of those compact cases and am thinking of building my "go to" every day machine for my work desk around this. I would probably put in an ET4000 anyway. So it's three 16 bit ISA slots free for whatever purpose via the riser. It says "40MHz" on the OPTi Chipset (hard to read) so I wonder if replacing the 66MHz crystal with a socketed 80MHz one would work.

Reply 7 of 14, by HanJammer

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jewesta wrote on 2021-09-27, 13:57:
nuno14272 wrote on 2021-09-27, 10:05:

Great board.. onboard IDE, Cache, integratead graphics (not bad)..

My thoughts exactly! Very rare for a 386.

Yet very common on this motherboard form factor - even in 286...

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Reply 8 of 14, by jewesta

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HanJammer wrote on 2021-09-27, 12:28:

This board was pretty likely made by FTK which was pretty active company in 386 era.
It's not Flytech as they used different silkscreen logo at that time - compare: ...

Thanks for the Flytech examples & for the clarification. Pretty convincing.

HanJammer wrote on 2021-09-27, 12:28:

Motherboard has standard dimensions for this type of case so I guess it was just sort of generic pizzabox build.

Makes sense. I was wondering what that "standard" was called (if any).

Re: HWInfo. Not very enlightening, unfortunately...

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Reply 10 of 14, by jewesta

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evasive wrote on 2021-09-28, 12:05:

Added to UH19, maybe that will trigger someone that also has an FTK board to come forward.
http://www.win3x.org/uh19/motherboards/9534

Thank you for doing that for me! 🙏 I will add the BIOS image as soon as I can.

Reply 11 of 14, by jewesta

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Here are the BIOS files of the board.

As the board came with a 40MHz AMD CPU anyway and the chipset had "40MHz" stamped on it, I replaced the 66MHz oscillator with a socketed 80MHz one. Put in 16MB RAM, installed Windows 95b and toyed around with it a bit. As expected no stability problems so far.

Attachments

  • Filename
    AMI 386 & ET4000.zip
    File size
    53.04 KiB
    Downloads
    32 downloads
    File license
    Fair use/fair dealing exception
Last edited by jewesta on 2021-10-14, 20:34. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 12 of 14, by jewesta

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Here is some info on the 486 version which is strikingly similar. Right down to details like the layout of the front panel connectors and the Victor QS sticker in the corner. Unfortunately the previous owner glued the heat sink to the CPU (likely a Cyrix DX2/66). I did not want to remove the CPU from the LIF socket just to take a picture. Hence the picture with CPU + heat sink attached.

Also dumped the BIOS files.

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  • IMG_1329.jpeg
    Filename
    IMG_1329.jpeg
    File size
    1.35 MiB
    Views
    794 views
    File license
    Public domain
  • IMG_1313.jpeg
    Filename
    IMG_1313.jpeg
    File size
    1.5 MiB
    Views
    794 views
    File license
    Public domain
  • IMG_1312.jpeg
    Filename
    IMG_1312.jpeg
    File size
    1.18 MiB
    Views
    794 views
    File license
    Public domain
  • Filename
    AMI 486 & ET4000.zip
    File size
    53.27 KiB
    Downloads
    33 downloads
    File license
    Fair use/fair dealing exception

Reply 13 of 14, by HanJammer

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jewesta wrote on 2021-09-27, 15:28:

Makes sense. I was wondering what that "standard" was called (if any).

Yes, that's WD's LPX form-factor motherboard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LPX_(form_factor)

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Reply 14 of 14, by Deksor

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jewesta wrote on 2021-10-14, 20:31:

Here is some info on the 486 version which is strikingly similar. Right down to details like the layout of the front panel connectors and the Victor QS sticker in the corner. Unfortunately the previous owner glued the heat sink to the CPU (likely a Cyrix DX2/66). I did not want to remove the CPU from the LIF socket just to take a picture. Hence the picture with CPU + heat sink attached.

Also dumped the BIOS files.

Added here http://www.win3x.org/uh19/motherboards/9717

Trying to identify old hardware ? Visit The retro web - Project's thread The Retro Web project - a stason.org/TH99 alternative

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