there are tons of ISA cards with 10baseT, just plug in into your switch dun

Yeah, get a 3com etherlink 3 for 10 bucks, then drivers are easy to find and you're all set.

I can't remember when I last saw a network card, including ISA, that didn't have an RJ45 socket and support ethernet.

Just get a Networking WIFI bridge or extender and run Ethernet from your 10-base-T network card to the WIFI bridge.
Its “plug and play”
Sync your WiFi bridge to your ISP modem.
As for Network drives you can use a first gen. WD MyCloud NAS witch works DOS and Win3.x too.
Download games and files from your PC and then move them to your NAS and access the NAS from your Vintage computer.
Its easy and works great.
Or if you have a Network printer with USB port you can plug a flash drive into your printer and access the flash drive from your old computer.
Or maybe if your ISP Modem has a USB port you maybe able to plug a flash drive into it.

Avoid Dlink products if you want bridge mode on their routers/switchs. At one point they used to but Dlink removed the feature from all of theirs to fit their business model.

Cheers,

jarreboum wrote on 2021-03-29, 16:53:

From what I'm seeing, ISA network cards are plenty, but most are thin ethernet (coax)

I might say that coax cards are less common than cards with RJ45. But I guess it depends on where you are.

Nearly all of my ISA network cards are 8-bit generics with 10base2 and AUI interfaces but no RJ45. For whatever reason, here in NZ it's been tough to find any Ethernet cards that are both ISA and have an RJ45.

So I got my hands on an old 10baseT hub that had a 10base2 uplink port and built myself a *real* Ethernet using coax! A local electronics supplier still stocks the various BNC connectors and terminators. Now my retro machines can experience the joys of true Ethernet, collisions and all. 😀

[I got tired of trying to hunt down AUI-to-RJ45 transceivers, plus they are annoying to have poking out the back of the machines.]

Well I was more wondering if people were working on them or interested to, more than asking for myself. But thanks anyway.

The problem with using a WiFi bridge is the same as with using a serial WiFi modem, and that it's an external solution needing an external power source. Though it is neat if you already have a 10baseT card that you want to go wireless. A clone with an integrated WiFi bridge would be quite handy in my opinion.

Something I found out earlier today is the ability for some network cards to carry a ROM chip, which can be flashed with XTIDE. It can give some computers, otherwise limited by their BIOS, a more expansive choice of storage.

The follow up to this idea would be to have a compact flash / 10baseT combo card, which would help computers with not enough ISA slots.

And more generally speaking, having modern options is always nice. You get a more modern design, with new components, instead of old rusty cards with potentially leaky caps. And of course, Foss designs bring everyone forward.

If you pick up something like a 3Com Etherlink III - all of the later ones (3C509B-***) are completely electrolytic-cap free. By the later revisions the chip and physical interface functionality had been optimised to the point where most of the board is empty apart from half a dozen surface mount components and a handful of miniature ceramic caps.

They're probably the best all-round option:

- Plentiful
- They perform well, compared to generic NE2000 designs
- Driver support for everything from Dos, WFW and Linux
- Most have onboard boot ROM sockets to host the XTIDE BIOS

Actually I wonder if something could be done with a AUI port and either an ESP8266 or a raspberry pi for Wifi ?
This port does provide power.

There are loads of solutions to take an ethernet connection and connect it to some other network topology that it would seem pointless to invent something to do that specific job; heck, just put a crossover cable between the PC's ethernet card and the Pi, and make the Pi a wireless bridge.

That said, if you have the option, just use standard cabling. It just works.

https://twitter.com/SergeKise/status/13933678 … 1066821636?s=19

Designed, built, and tested an 8-bit ISA Ethernet card. The card is based on Realtek RTL8019AS controller. It supports 39SF010A/39SF020/39SF040 or similar Flash ROMs. The card can be configured to work in the page mode to access the entire Flash ROM. #retrocomputing https://t.co/3qiGMRm9pe

Deksor wrote on 2021-03-30, 19:37:

Actually I wonder if something could be done with a AUI port and either an ESP8266 or a raspberry pi for Wifi ?
This port does provide power.

One can "null modem" two AUI ports together with a short cable... https://www.epanorama.net/documents/lan/aui2aui.html which could be useful for machine with original thin coax and AUI connectors. Means though that you have to have the bridge machine, with the AUI hookup and a TP or Wifi connection on all the time.

jarreboum wrote on 2021-05-15, 08:10:

https://twitter.com/SergeKise/status/13933678 … 1066821636?s=19 […]
Show full quote

https://twitter.com/SergeKise/status/13933678 … 1066821636?s=19

Designed, built, and tested an 8-bit ISA Ethernet card. The card is based on Realtek RTL8019AS controller. It supports 39SF010A/39SF020/39SF040 or similar Flash ROMs. The card can be configured to work in the page mode to access the entire Flash ROM. #retrocomputing https://t.co/3qiGMRm9pe

That's awesome