Re: Ambra (IBM) 486SLC slimline desktop "restoration"

Posted on 2019-03-08, 17:22

by

by retrofanatic

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Thank you. I thought about that but I decided to go as plain white as possible. I really like the ‘plain’ simple look. That said I want to change the cd rom to another one I have that matches the white color better. One of the issues I came across was that I couldn’t find paint that had the right …

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Re: Ambra (IBM) 486SLC slimline desktop "restoration"

Posted on 2019-03-07, 23:20

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by retrofanatic

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

The results... Filename Ambra-After_2.jpg File size 729.56 KiB Views 2142 views File license Fair use/fair dealing exception Filename Ambra-After_3.jpg File size 624.54 KiB Views 2142 views File license Fair use/fair dealing exception Filename Ambra-After_4.jpg File size 1.06 MiB Views 2142 views …

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Re: Ambra (IBM) 486SLC slimline desktop "restoration"

Posted on 2019-03-07, 23:18

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by retrofanatic

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

More photos Filename Ambra-Before_After.jpg File size 579.57 KiB Views 2142 views File license Fair use/fair dealing exception Filename Ambra-painting.jpg File size 639.15 KiB Views 2142 views File license Fair use/fair dealing exception Filename Ambra-sanding-rough.jpg File size 852.83 KiB Views …

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Ambra (IBM) 486SLC slimline desktop "restoration"

Posted on 2019-03-07, 23:17

by

by retrofanatic

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Just picked this up a few months ago from a local recycler and wanted to post my progress on what I did to "restore" it. It is an IBM Ambra 486 SLC system with WDC video chip onboard. It's a nice little retro pc game box, but when I got it, I felt it was in need of some cleaning up as the front …

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Re: I am a father

Posted on 2018-12-11, 06:45

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by retrofanatic

in Milliways

in Milliways

Congrats Kreshna!

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Re: post up pics of your "computing area"

Posted on 2018-11-21, 18:09

by

by retrofanatic

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

BSU_bryT wrote: WHITE N' NERDY 😉 ...My favorite weird Al Yankovic song. Lol Nice systems. Looks like PII and PIII systems. Is the one in the right older? Any 486 or socket 7’s in your repertoire?

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Re: Did you guys hear about the PC Classic mini from Unit-E?

Posted on 2018-11-14, 18:38

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by retrofanatic

in Milliways

in Milliways

For me the appeal of these mini systems is not only the games you can play and the convenience of hdmi but its also the look of the system. The NES classic SNES classic and the PlayStation classic so far appear to be the only mini systems that actually look like the original system. This PC looks …

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Re: Gallant 8-bit sound card - anyone know anything about this card?

Posted on 2018-11-13, 06:40

by

by retrofanatic

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

I did a quick test of this card today with no drivers and compared it to my SB PRO 2.0 and my PAS 8 bit card in one of my XT and 386 systems. I ran Lemmings in DOS and it sounded pretty much on par with the SB PRO 2.0. It's not a bad little card...I like the volume control on it and that it is 8 bit …

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Re: Ps2 game value?

Posted on 2018-11-13, 06:32

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by retrofanatic

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

It is insane for sure...way too much for that game in my opinion, but yeah, it just doesn't end with video game prices...I do not believe there will be a "video game crash" as some are predicting...prices will keep going up. The interest is just not letting up. The younger and older demographic are …

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Re: What retro activity did you get up to today?

Posted on 2018-11-11, 20:13

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by retrofanatic

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

All I'm missing now is the proprietary mouse that plugs into the keyboard so I don't need to use up an ISA slot or my only serial port. Starting with Windows 1.03 the environment shipped with native support for said mouse and the high resolution video mode. I hope you find that mouse. Wow..This …

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Re: My two new babies, let me know what you think

Posted on 2018-11-11, 20:09

by

by retrofanatic

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

I like the desktop case in your video...it seems to have ample room between the back of the drives and the P/S. Time to add a nice beige 5.25" floppy drive to it too and maybe a zip drive or card reader to the empty external 3.5" bay. Very nice build though!

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Re: Ps2 game value?

Posted on 2018-11-11, 19:44

by

by retrofanatic

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

As you probably know, video game prices are not always indicative of the rarity of a game. It is based on may factors like interest in the genre or characters in the game. In this case, a lot of people just want this game because it is a good game (regardless of how bad the controls are), not great, …

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Re: Tariffs and PC parts prices

Posted on 2018-11-10, 18:05

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by retrofanatic

in Milliways

in Milliways

I wonder what exactly these "tariffs" hope to accomplish. We can't simply just, get the same components from Taiwan or Japan at a reasonable price now can we? The tariffs are to put pressure on countries that charge tariffs for imports for products from the USA. The plan is to get those countries …

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Re: Retro Rig Photo Thread

Posted on 2018-11-10, 17:55

by

by retrofanatic

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

80286 16 MHz Very nice system. Looks like a great compact and solid 286 setup. Looks like the MB is made in the USA too. nice. Are you taking advantage of the turbo button capability? I could not make out from your photos if you had a turbo button or not on the front of your case. If you are, what …

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Re: Gallant 8-bit sound card - anyone know anything about this card?

Posted on 2018-11-10, 17:45

by

by retrofanatic

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Thanks for your replies. I'll give it a try in a couple of my 286 and XT systems when I get a chance to test and I'm sure it will work fine, but I am still curious about the MPU401 capability. When looking through the driver disks, I noticed that one of the files in there is named "MPU401.EXE". I …

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Re: Help me prevent a bad purchase...

Posted on 2018-11-10, 14:39

by

by retrofanatic

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

I have done the same on many occasions. Not to worry. You did pretty well. That is not too much for older ISA sound cards regardless of being prone to the bugs which in my opinion are not that bad save for a handful of games that are affected by it. All in all I think you got yourself some decent …

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Re: Gallant 8-bit sound card - anyone know anything about this card?

Posted on 2018-11-10, 14:25

by

by retrofanatic

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Does just having one opl2 chip always mean that card will only output mono sound?

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Re: Gallant 8-bit sound card - anyone know anything about this card?

Posted on 2018-11-10, 05:24

by

by retrofanatic

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Well, I just went on driver guide website and found two SC-3000 driver disks that are similar to the SC-4000 disk images but appear to be win 3.1 drivers I think, so maybe my card is indeed an SC-3000 card (whatever that means 🤣)...hopefully my tests will shed some light on what this card can do.

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Re: Gallant 8-bit sound card - anyone know anything about this card?

Posted on 2018-11-10, 05:13

by

by retrofanatic

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Thank you Tronix...I just noticed this thread: https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=59135 It looks like mine may be an SC-4000 as well but there are some differences with cyclone3d's card according to the photos. I thought that my card may be a different model my FCC says "SC-3000N" but these …

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Gallant 8-bit sound card - anyone know anything about this card?

Posted on 2018-11-10, 04:31

by

by retrofanatic

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

8 bit Gallant Sound Card.jpg I searched far and wide in the lands of Google and have come up with nothing except some FCC information: https://fccid.io/JZ5SC3000N All this tells me is that it was made by Voicon System Inc. I am interested in finding out some specifications and if anyone has any …

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