VOGONS


First post, by trojan2179

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I just got my super cool DataWorld LP 320 Laptop.
I can't find any screenshots online of the motherboard or dim switch settings.
This thing has an ISA slot - 8bit and I want to install a sound card.
I currently have a Sound Blaster 8bit sounds card but it's too long if anyone has an 8bit sound card that is sound blaster compatible I'd love to trade with you.
Here are some pics before I installed the cpu and mathco.
Still waiting for memory to get here.

Last edited by trojan2179 on 2023-11-07, 17:17. Edited 3 times in total.

Reply 1 of 22, by trojan2179

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How do I share photo's

Reply 2 of 22, by DerBaum

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trojan2179 wrote on 2023-11-06, 23:41:

How do I share photo's

just upoload them here...
(drag the pictures into the text box of the "full editor")

either you can just upload the picture or click on the paperclip next to the picture to make it appear on a specific place

short sound card for example: Mediavision thunderboard

The attachment 2023-07-28 16.18.02.jpg is no longer available

It sounds ok and is really quite small...


the picture below is not added with the paperclip, just uploaded:

FCKGW-RHQQ2

Reply 3 of 22, by trojan2179

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That sound card would fit thank you.
There's one on ebay but it's too expensive.
Thank you for the help

Reply 4 of 22, by DerBaum

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That thing looks familiar...
But i wasnt that lucky with the condition it arrived here...
On my model the bios Battery has leaked, but it was fixable... Now the graphics card has bad ram (i guess), and the LCD panel is broken...
(RIFA in the power supply also exploded)

My Model is branded "Highscreen Laptop8100"

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The best thing is the keyboard. Cherry MX Blue in my model.

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The Mediavision was planned for it but now i will use the Laptop as spare parts and use the soundcard in another build.

Last edited by DerBaum on 2023-11-07, 19:40. Edited 1 time in total.

FCKGW-RHQQ2

Reply 5 of 22, by DerBaum

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Do you want full Sound Blaster compability or is Adlib (Fm Sound) enough?

Adlib clones are most of the time 8bit and small...
Or a Aztech sound Galaxy BX2 is also small... But not that common and probably expensive...

Examples from my collection:
Re: Bought these (retro) hardware today

FCKGW-RHQQ2

Reply 6 of 22, by trojan2179

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I might buy one of these adlib repro cards but I do like the Mediavision thunderboard they say the sound blaster output is pretty good.
May backlight is out but I get an image
Nickel battery leaked but missed the motherboard.
CMOS battery hasn't leaked.

Reply 7 of 22, by trojan2179

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That's pretty cool that you have one too 🤣
I like the darker color of your machine, gives it a bit more modern look.
Is that aztek Sound blaster compatible?
Is it for sale?
Thank you.

Reply 8 of 22, by DerBaum

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trojan2179 wrote on 2023-11-07, 20:09:

1. Is that aztek Sound blaster compatible?
2. Is it for sale?

1. Yes
2. No ... at least not mine. They come up on Auction sites from time to time.

I would give you the dark case for free but its not in good shape. Hinges are broken and port covers are missing. I have no accessories like the external Floppy or the numpad.
And i also think the shipping cost would be not worth it.
On my screen the backlight is working but parts of the display stay white and others flicker...

The attachment 2023-08-08 00.20.47.jpg is no longer available

The corruptions are from the bad video memory (i think)...

FCKGW-RHQQ2

Reply 9 of 22, by trojan2179

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Maybe I can use your laptop parts to fix my machine.
I'm in San Diego CA zip 92176.
There's a Vintage Computer Festival that I'm going to next year.
I was hoping someone could fix my LCD there.
Can you let me know how much shipping would be?
Thank you for all your help.

Reply 10 of 22, by DerBaum

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trojan2179 wrote on 2023-11-07, 23:59:

I'm in San Diego CA zip 92176.

Im in germany... Shipping is always half a kidney to the USA.

FCKGW-RHQQ2

Reply 11 of 22, by trojan2179

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Yeah that's a bit too far.
Nice I had a foreign exchange student from Hamburg, super cool guy.
BTW do you know what the dim switches do in the back of the machine?
Thank ya.

Reply 12 of 22, by DerBaum

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trojan2179 wrote on 2023-11-08, 19:16:

BTW do you know what the dim switches do in the back of the machine?
Thank ya.

The DIP switches should be for the graphics card... either to set the internal display type or the external... i dont remember exactly.
Dip switch 7 and 8 are up, all others down when its original.

FCKGW-RHQQ2

Reply 13 of 22, by trojan2179

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Here's the TI Tx486 DLC 40MHz CPU and Cyrix 40mhz Math Co

Reply 14 of 22, by Tiido

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I see corrosion at the battery, this will have to be dealth with or sooner or later the machine will need significant repairs.

T-04YBSC, a new YMF71x based sound card & Official VOGONS thread about it
Newly made 4MB 60ns 30pin SIMMs ~
mida sa loed ? nagunii aru ei saa 😜

Reply 15 of 22, by 3lectr1c

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I have the same laptop as well. Mine is the generic version, unbranded. This is a Nan Tan FMA8100, manufactured in 1990. They were (and still are - now doing business as Clevo) an ODM manufacturer of laptops that other companies would distribute.
I have specs & photos of mine on my website: https://macdat.net/electric_lounge/collection … an/fma8100.html
Here's a detailed writeup: https://macdat.net/pc/nantan/fma8100_home.html
And a general page on Nan Tan laptops: https://macdat.net/pc/nantan_home.html

I may want to open mine up again soon and verify that the battery is actually missing - I wasn't sure where it would even go as I could not find one in my unit. Looks like it went inside the large metal dc/dc module, right? I'm pretty sure it's missing in my unit, but I should open it to double-check.
Decent unit overall.
So - people have confirmed that the slot IS 8-bit ISA?

I probably have too many old laptops.

Reply 16 of 22, by trojan2179

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Alrighty!! I got the backlight working!
I bought another laptop DataWorld 325 with a broken LCD so I can test / swap parts.
Little sensor that detects if the panel is open or closed was not closing when LCD was open. *I just taped it closed.
4x 4MB SIPP memory 30-pin 60ns 9 chip parity DRAM are only detecting 1MB each.
Only detects 8MB of ram instead of 20MB.
Does not detect Cyrix 487DLC 40mhz Math-co *BIOS state Co-Processor not installed.
120MB Conner hard drive is working but FD controller on MB seems to be bad.
Going to swap motherboards over the weekend.
Going to use my P133 Dell to setup the 120MB Conner hd.
Should have photo's of Doom, Sysinfo and 3dbench tomorrow.

Reply 17 of 22, by trojan2179

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Sysinfo