Caluser2000 wrote on 2021-02-03, 11:00:

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2021-02-03, 07:01:

Caluser2000 wrote on 2021-02-03, 06:02:

The AudioVision Thunderboard never had any Midi support. It was my first ever x86 sound card.

The Thunderboard has jumpers to enable MIDI over the gameport, but I have no idea what kind of support it has. I doubt it is MPU401 compatible... and I doubt it'd be too useful anyway, since even MediaVision's later cards had glitchy MIDI output.

Anyway, the card in the picture is definitely a Thunderboard. They list GAME\MIDI on the box because the card claims to have some kind of MIDI support. IBM was apparently under no obligation to test that functionality before designing the box. 😁

No it didn't. I sugest you readthis thread Topic 6452

Your link doesn't work for some reason.

I'm just going by the pictures of the variant with the horizontal dip switches. It uses all of the thunderboard components, but isn't manufactured directly by Mediavision.

The card pictured on the box matches this one which is made in Taiwan...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunder_Board

The first switch on the right dip says "ENMPU".

Th99 points out that this has midi jumpers.

https://arvutimuuseum.ee/th99/i/I-L/51749.htm

Like I said, I have no idea what kind of functionality it really has... Likely none that was ever implemented by any games. IBM just put it on the box because it was on the card.

CMB75 wrote on 2021-02-03, 12:04:

Unfortunately it’s going to need quite some effort to bring it back to it’s original glory.

That's a real beauty. I personally just tear down systems like that and clean every last corner, get everything working, put it all back together and leave it be. I like that aged (yellowing/discolored) look myself. All part of its history. Either way, please post when you have it the way you like it.

liqmat wrote on 2021-02-03, 16:31:

CMB75 wrote on 2021-02-03, 12:04:

Unfortunately it’s going to need quite some effort to bring it back to it’s original glory.

That's a real beauty. I personally just tear down systems like that and clean every last corner, get everything working, put it all back together and leave it be. I like that aged (yellowing/discolored) look myself. All part of its history. Either way, please post when you have it the way you like it.

Will do (post, when done). I won’t change much, it’s more about repairing what’s broken... quite a long list.

PS: imi is right that thing is build like a tank...

Found this pretty thing.
Brand new, not a scratch on the pads under it =)

Will fit my Optiplex 560/L quite well I think!

CMB75 wrote on 2021-02-03, 12:04:

I couldn’t resist the “wannabe from 70s” design of this 80186.

i80186-TA1700.jpeg

Unfortunately it’s going to need quite some effort to bring it back to it’s original glory.

Cool a 186, those are pretty rare, aren't they? It seems like that generation was sort of "skipped", maybe because it didn't give much over an 8086/8088?

H3nrik V! wrote on 2021-02-03, 17:57:

CMB75 wrote on 2021-02-03, 12:04:

I couldn’t resist the “wannabe from 70s” design of this 80186.

i80186-TA1700.jpeg

Unfortunately it’s going to need quite some effort to bring it back to it’s original glory.

Cool a 186, those are pretty rare, aren't they? It seems like that generation was sort of "skipped", maybe because it didn't give much over an 8086/8088?

80186 CPUs are far more common than systems that use them. They were introduced at the same time as the 286, presumable as a low end solution or for a specific market sector.

H3nrik V! wrote on 2021-02-03, 17:57:

... was sort of "skipped", maybe because it didn't give much over an 8086/8088?

Not really, the iAPX 186 had a different operation area as it’s a microprocessor and microcontroller concurrently. Intel built an embedded version up to 2007... 3rd parties build it even today in FPGA versions with extremely low power envelopes.

Got hold of a card near the top of my 'must find'-list:

Terratec EWS64XL - with a 16MB SIMM

Friend of mine bought one in ~2000. He was intending to use it under Win2k for music production for his black metal group (er, except you weren't allowed to call it black metal despite sounding just like...), but due to driver hell it never delivered on the promise. I now bought this from someone who had gotten it to work for him, he recorded a lot of dark mediaeval-sounding folk stuff with it and used the MIDI synth for backing.

Due to absolutely no musical talent my ambitions are more limited: load that 8MB Hoontech sound bank and enjoy some DOS games 😀

Oh, and the little chips are 512kb SRAM chips to upgrade some boards to 1MB L2

debs3759 wrote on 2021-02-03, 18:21:

H3nrik V! wrote on 2021-02-03, 17:57:

CMB75 wrote on 2021-02-03, 12:04:

I couldn’t resist the “wannabe from 70s” design of this 80186.

i80186-TA1700.jpeg

Unfortunately it’s going to need quite some effort to bring it back to it’s original glory.

Cool a 186, those are pretty rare, aren't they? It seems like that generation was sort of "skipped", maybe because it didn't give much over an 8086/8088?

80186 CPUs are far more common than systems that use them. They were introduced at the same time as the 286, presumable as a low end solution or for a specific market sector.

Was the 186 not used in printers a lot?

dionb wrote on 2021-02-03, 18:43:

Got hold of a card near the top of my 'must find'-list: 16123768354990.jpg […]
Show full quote

Got hold of a card near the top of my 'must find'-list:
16123768354990.jpg

Terratec EWS64XL - with a 16MB SIMM

Friend of mine bought one in ~2000. He was intending to use it under Win2k for music production for his black metal group (er, except you weren't allowed to call it black metal despite sounding just like...), but due to driver hell it never delivered on the promise. I now bought this from someone who had gotten it to work for him, he recorded a lot of dark mediaeval-sounding folk stuff with it and used the MIDI synth for backing.

Due to absolutely no musical talent my ambitions are more limited: load that 8MB Hoontech sound bank and enjoy some DOS games 😀

Oh, and the little chips are 512kb SRAM chips to upgrade some boards to 1MB L2

That is a fantastic find and there's nothing wrong with playing your favorite dos games with an overkill sound card.

Well, I got the second to last of the Versa for the Video + a little more restoration work to video for my Youtube Channel...

I now own a Versa V/50 - the version with the non-removable screen. Same problem as my 40-EC had, cracked plastic where the hinge is, should be a piece of cake to fix on a weekend night. I'm pretty sure it works, you have to do some stupid stuff to kill one - I've only seen liquid damage or hot-swapping non-hot-swappable parts kill them - and I'm being a little overkill with the word "kill" - by Kill I mean "make the internal screen not come up", 🤣.

The goal of my video is to take one of each line.....

Ultralite Versa (PC-410 or 400 most likely)
Versa E (my 40EC I've had for 2 years already)
Versa V (this one, V/50)
Versa M (my M/75)
Versa P (my 800x600 P/75)

And show the production differences between the models, how to identify things, and of course, benchmarks. See how they really stack up against their original PC Mag benchmarks from the early 1990's. Will I keep this collection? Who knows. I know I'll be keeping at least 2-3 of them. But I know I'll be having a lot of fun finally putting my knowledge out there in something that is not just thrown together. The goals after this is get the Ultralite working (or piece one together out of broken units and reinforce it), get the touch screen fixed up - maybe even put the Ultralite Badges on it - fix one of the LCD panels I have, and then were good for the video shooting.

I have a Yamaha AW4416 24-bit multi-track recorder (I seem to be addicted to those, 🤣) on the way, which would be a great thing except... http://www.home-machine-shop.com/AW4416_RTC_R … tc_ds12887.html

Yes, I have managed to find and order something other than a PC motherboard that uses a Dallas DS12887 RTC/battery combo and, as a bonus, it is often soldered rather than socketed, or so I hear .

We'll see if I get lucky (socketed) or if I will need to have a socket soldered in (I am just not confident enough yet to try my hand at soldering on something so expensive, but I have a great place a 20 minute walk from where I live that would probably make short work of it ). Alternatively, I could try to mod the DS12887, but even that seems a bit risky to do without desoldering it first .

Oh well, live (spend) and learn .

EDIT : Why ? because I feel too lazy to do precise level matching that my current 16-bit VS-880EX requires, so a 24-bit unit seemed like a good idea (note to self : never go Ebay shopping while drunk)

EDIT2: I wonder if adding an 8 channel MY8-AE AES EBU I/O board and some S/PDIF to AES EBU converter would allow multiple S/PDIF inputs easily, or whether I would still need to find a way sync the clocks of the S/PDIF sources to the AW4416's internal clock . Even if it worked, it would not be an inexpensive solution .

I gave up trying to find an original IBM screen of the type I had with my PS/1 and went with a slightly newer model which is the same style but has far more controls and better picture quality.

It will go great with my IBM Aptiva and IBM PC 330.

I love/hate seeing things like that screen that I clearly remember throwing out at work as we upgraded!

SteveC wrote on 2021-02-03, 23:29:

I love/hate seeing things like that screen that I clearly remember throwing out at work as we upgraded!

I friend of mine used one of these to build on those https://hackaday.com/2016/07/13/expanding-hor … opelled-lifter/

so, while browsing my usual searches a few days ago this thing popped up and I was like... "sure" even though I have no idea what it is x3

at first glance it looks like a SB 1.0 clone to me with a bunch of GALs to substitute logic chips?
could not find anything about this card, there is unfortunately no FCC ID or anything on it, only a generic serial number sticker on the back.
the supposed "OPL2" does not look like a genuine yamaha chip to me so idk what's under this sticker.
edit: on second glance the chip looks the same as the "5A12" OPL2 clone chip on another card I have.

looking at the date codes it seems to be a card from 1991?

will take a more detailed picture when it arrives but I thought I'd ask if anyone knows what this is ^^
seller's picture:

imi wrote on 2021-02-04, 01:05:

so, while browsing my usual searches a few days ago this thing popped up and I was like... "sure" even though I have no idea wha […]
Show full quote

so, while browsing my usual searches a few days ago this thing popped up and I was like... "sure" even though I have no idea what it is x3

at first glance it looks like a SB 1.0 clone to me with a bunch of GALs to substitute logic chips?
could not find anything about this card, there is unfortunately no FCC ID or anything on it, only a generic serial number sticker on the back.
the supposed "OPL2" does not look like a genuine yamaha chip to me so idk what's under this sticker.
looking at the date codes it seems to be a card from 1991?

will take a more detailed picture when it arrives but I thought I'd ask if anyone knows what this is ^^
seller's picture:
sbclone.jpg

There is something vaguely familiar about that card and that "FM 12" moniker .

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2021-02-03, 14:08:

Your link doesn't work for some reason.

Try this then MediaVision Thunderboard

I repeat the original Activision Thunderboard does not have MIDI functionality. I still have the one I bought for my 286 in the early 1990.

The angled picture on the wikipedia page is not the original ActiVision Thunderboard. It's most likely an Audio Blaster Rev 1.0

Here is a picture of it so compare it to the one on that box.

Where is the mention of MIDI on pcb diagram below?

Caluser2000 wrote on 2021-02-04, 02:53:

Try this then MediaVision Thunderboard […]
Show full quote

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2021-02-03, 14:08:

Your link doesn't work for some reason.

Try this then MediaVision Thunderboard

I repeat the original Activision Thunderboard does not have MIDI functionality. I still have the one I bought for my 286 in the early 1990s.

Here is a picture of it so compare it to the one on that box.

Where is the mention of MIDI on pcb diagram below?

I feel like my posts aren't being read completely.

I think the confusion is coming from the fact that there are Mediavision Thunderboard variants (my exact wording in my post about this card) manufactured by other companies which have no other known name except for "Thunderboard", but are not made by MediaVision. They are 8bit cards, they have an OPL2 and they have the MediaVision MVD201 "Thunder" chip for Thunderboard compatibilty, they even have the big volume dial like a Thunderboard (though not usually white). After looking at the card more closely, I see the big difference here is that these variants also have an MVD121 chip, which is apparently a later version of the chip used on the PAS16... possibly more closely related to the Jazz16. Either way, this chip is likely the source of the MIDI functionality, and is the reason that the card has MIDI jumpers and is advertised has having MIDI support on the box. It may or may not work any better than the MVD101 based cards with bugged MIDI, but the functionality DOES exist on this card... not the original manufactured by MediaVision.

I have no doubt that you have the original Mediavision branded card and that it has no MIDI functionality. You have to acknowledge the fact that there are other variants of this device in existence. If you're arguing that they shouldn't be called Thunderboards, then maybe we can help each other figure out what they should be called and then go about correcting the many many sources online that refer to this card (with an MVD121 chip and MIDI jumpers) and call it a Thunderboard.

EDIT: Some references...
http://www.oldschooldaw.com/forums/index.php?topic=674.0

MEDIA VISION ISA SOUNDCARDS
---------------------------
Pro Audio Spectrum 8-bit card that supports stereo digitized 8-bit sound and dual OPL2 support. (no SB compatibility).

Thunder board MVD121+MVD201, 8-bit 22kHz Sound Blaster clone SB 1.0 compatibility, OPL2, volume wheel. This is referring to the one with the MVD121 added on. I don't think this is accurate unless MediaVision later sold one like this themselves.

Pro Audio Spectrum Plus 16/8-bit 44kHz stereo sound support. OPL3 support, Thunder board chip, MVD-101-like chip.
Pro Audio Spectrum 16 MVD101, Thunderboard + SB-1.0 compatible, OPL3.
Pro Audio Studio 16 MVD101, Thunderboard + SB-1.0 compatible, OPL3, studio version has some additional shielding.
Pro Sonic (16) MV JAZZ 16+MVA416, OPL3, Adlib+Thunderboard+SB 1.0+SBPro compatible (no PAS compatibility), SCSI, volume wheel.
Premium 3-D MV JAZZ 16 chipset, built-in SRS surround sound, comes with KORG Wavetable daughter board on WBH.

MEDIA VISION CHIPSET BASED SOUNDCARDS
-------------------------------------
Logitech SoundMan Games MV JAZZ, OPL-3, 16-bit 44kHz, Sony CD Connector, Does not have the thunderboard chip
Logitech SoundMan Wave MV JAZZ 16+MVA416, OPL-4 2MB ROM, 16-bit 44kHz, SCSI-1, SB+(poor)SBPro compat, MPU-401 GM, PnP, effects daughterboard conn.
Compro LaserWave Supra 16 MVD121+MVD201, Thunder board chipset, CS4231, SCSI
Compro LaserWav.Futura 16 PAS-16 chipset details unknown, CS4231
Protac thunderboard MVD121+MVD201, M-CD, volume wheel This is called a Thunderboard, and is made by Protac. There are pictures of this card, and it has similar features to the IBM one I posted about and it likely has MIDI capabilities from the MVD121, except it also has CD interfaces.

EDIT: I edited my post because I didn't mean to sound so argumentative. I'm sorry. 👍

SteveC wrote on 2021-02-03, 23:29:

I love/hate seeing things like that screen that I clearly remember throwing out at work as we upgraded!

I think a lot of people have similar feelings about certain stuff they threw out. Luckily, I held onto all hardware from back then even when I really should have thrown it out due to lack of space. Only the stuff that broke got thrown out and even that I wish I had kept since I know some of the stuff is now pretty easy to fix ... .