I recently installed a Western Digital WD8003E in my Pentium III system. It's a 8-bit ISA NIC with BNC and AUI connectors. I attached it to an Omnitron Systems Technology FlexPoint 10T/2 media converter for 10BASE-T connectivity:
https://www.omnitron-systems.com/documentatio … data-sheet/file

The combo works great.

For the sake of completeness, here's the setup I'm going with.

This required the least amount of money and brainpower out of all possible options. I only needed one NIC, but the seller listed three in a lot, and it was dirt-cheap. I suppose it could be handy in case one of them dies. I don't trust the tantalums so I'll be smoke testing before I put any of them in the PC/XT. None of the DA-15 connectors are screwed-in, however, they've all luckily got an incredible amount of clutch force for D-sub connectors - it requires a decent amount of wiggling and pulling to get them separated - so I'm quite confident that there's no risk of it happening once it's all set up.

I'll post another update when I've actually set it up and it works. I probably would have done it already, but I'm quite burned out on messing with the 5160 right now after having the keyboard cable break, and the frustrating process of resolving that issue, since SDL to 5-Pin DIN cables are unicorns, so I took it upon myself to make my own, which was a bit of a nightmare, but it does now work!

alfiehicks wrote on 2025-03-02, 10:39:

For the sake of completeness, here's the setup I'm going with. […]
Show full quote

For the sake of completeness, here's the setup I'm going with.

This required the least amount of money and brainpower out of all possible options. I only needed one NIC, but the seller listed three in a lot, and it was dirt-cheap. I suppose it could be handy in case one of them dies. I don't trust the tantalums so I'll be smoke testing before I put any of them in the PC/XT. None of the DA-15 connectors are screwed-in, however, they've all luckily got an incredible amount of clutch force for D-sub connectors - it requires a decent amount of wiggling and pulling to get them separated - so I'm quite confident that there's no risk of it happening once it's all set up.

I'll post another update when I've actually set it up and it works. I probably would have done it already, but I'm quite burned out on messing with the 5160 right now after having the keyboard cable break, and the frustrating process of resolving that issue, since SDL to 5-Pin DIN cables are unicorns, so I took it upon myself to make my own, which was a bit of a nightmare, but it does now work!

Looking at that card, interlan ni 5010-02 , I can't help but wonder....

Do you have the drivers for it ?
Is it compatible with any standard drivers?

weedeewee wrote on 2025-03-02, 10:58:

Looking at that card, interlan ni 5010-02 , I can't help but wonder.... […]
Show full quote

alfiehicks wrote on 2025-03-02, 10:39:

For the sake of completeness, here's the setup I'm going with. […]
Show full quote

For the sake of completeness, here's the setup I'm going with.

This required the least amount of money and brainpower out of all possible options. I only needed one NIC, but the seller listed three in a lot, and it was dirt-cheap. I suppose it could be handy in case one of them dies. I don't trust the tantalums so I'll be smoke testing before I put any of them in the PC/XT. None of the DA-15 connectors are screwed-in, however, they've all luckily got an incredible amount of clutch force for D-sub connectors - it requires a decent amount of wiggling and pulling to get them separated - so I'm quite confident that there's no risk of it happening once it's all set up.

I'll post another update when I've actually set it up and it works. I probably would have done it already, but I'm quite burned out on messing with the 5160 right now after having the keyboard cable break, and the frustrating process of resolving that issue, since SDL to 5-Pin DIN cables are unicorns, so I took it upon myself to make my own, which was a bit of a nightmare, but it does now work!

Looking at that card, interlan ni 5010-02 , I can't help but wonder....

Do you have the drivers for it ?
Is it compatible with any standard drivers?

1) No!
2) I have no clue!

I love old computers so much...

alfiehicks wrote on 2025-03-02, 11:40:

1) No! 2) I have no clue! […]
Show full quote

weedeewee wrote on 2025-03-02, 10:58:

Looking at that card, interlan ni 5010-02 , I can't help but wonder.... […]
Show full quote

Looking at that card, interlan ni 5010-02 , I can't help but wonder....

Do you have the drivers for it ?
Is it compatible with any standard drivers?

1) No!
2) I have no clue!

I love old computers so much...

Oh Boy 🤞 Good luck 😀

weedeewee wrote on 2025-03-02, 11:43:

alfiehicks wrote on 2025-03-02, 11:40:

1) No! 2) I have no clue! […]
Show full quote

weedeewee wrote on 2025-03-02, 10:58:

Looking at that card, interlan ni 5010-02 , I can't help but wonder.... […]
Show full quote

Looking at that card, interlan ni 5010-02 , I can't help but wonder....

Do you have the drivers for it ?
Is it compatible with any standard drivers?

1) No!
2) I have no clue!

I love old computers so much...

Oh Boy 🤞 Good luck 😀

Yeah, haha. Five seconds of googling shows that maybe this thread might be of use, I'll do a proper search when I get the time.

Quick update. Found this interesting video: How To Build a 10BASE2 Network (COAX) and Game!
It gives an idea how to wire up an BNC vintage network. The use of terminators is important. There are two types (one is grounded), one for each side of the end of bus.
An alternative were EAD sockets. They replace the T piece with a special telephone cable and special telephone box (wall mounting).