A thread for RackMacs

[CC_333]

@cheesestraws I see. I was building an AM/MW radio transmitter (here in the US, I can broadcast without a license per Part 15 of the FCC rules, which limit the transmitter to 100 milliwatts with a 10 foot antenna; I'm not sure what, if any rules exist for such over in the UK), and I was toying with the idea of building it into a rack mount enclosure, so I could keep the power supply and the transmitter in the same box, but I couldn't figure out what I wanted, and the rack cases I was leaning toward were kind of more expensive than I wanted, so I ended up with this:
This particular transmitter (top) can broadcast in stereo (yes, Stereo AM is a thing!), and the Realistic tuner beneath it is capable of receiving the stereo signal (note the prominent "AM STEREO" label above the signal meter).

c

 

[demik]

@wanderingjew
That's so awesome, good job !

 

[olePigeon]

Here's my only rack mount stuff, and probably the most important item in my collection: NASA surplus rack mount Macintosh IIfx. It has dual National Instruments GPIB interface cards (4 cards total) and an 8•24GC video card. While it didn't go into space, it was part of the Reduced Gravity Flight Program. It was installed on a KC-135 0-G aircraft that flew out of Johnson Space Center, logging data for various tests. When it was replaced by more modern equipment, it was moved to a lab at Johnson where it continued its dutiful work. Yes, the ignition key turns it on. You can also turn it on via the keyboard, but that's not as fun.

Above it is a fairly rare Shiva FastPath 5R. It's just two barebones Shiva FastPaths inside. I hope to one day get a small rack mount enclosure and put the IIfx and FastPath in there with an era appropriate switch. I also need to cut a piece of air filter material and repair the filters. It's a custom size. The IIfx also has mounts on the side for rails, so I might be able to make it able to slide out to gain access to the internals. I also plan to build an external floppy connector. As you can see, the enclosure only has an opening for 1 floppy. So I'd like to run a cable out the back for the other floppy drive.

 

[Nixontheknight]

Here's my only rack mount stuff, and probably the most important item in my collection: NASA surplus rack mount Macintosh IIfx. It has dual National Instruments GPIB interface cards (4 cards total) and an 8•24GC video card. While it didn't go into space, it was part of the Reduced Gravity Flight Program. It was installed on a KC-135 0-G aircraft that flew out of Johnson Space Center, logging data for various tests. When it was replaced by more modern equipment, it was moved to a lab at Johnson where it continued its dutiful work. Yes, the ignition key turns it on. You can also turn it on via the keyboard, but that's not as fun.

Above it is a fairly rare Shiva FastPath 5R. It's just two barebones Shiva FastPaths inside. I hope to one day get a small rack mount enclosure and put the IIfx and FastPath in there with an era appropriate switch. I also need to cut a piece of air filter material and repair the filters. It's a custom size. The IIfx also has mounts on the side for rails, so I might be able to make it able to slide out to gain access to the internals. I also plan to build an external floppy connector. As you can see, the enclosure only has an opening for 1 floppy. So I'd like to run a cable out the back for the other floppy drive.

View attachment 54916

other than the cards, is the iifx stock, or did they upgrade anything inside before it was decommissioned?

 

[olePigeon]

other than the cards, is the iifx stock, or did they upgrade anything inside before it was decommissioned?

The motherboard is stock as far as I can tell, but there's a custom circuitboard that goes between the motherboard, the power supply, and the ignition switch, with additional leads that go off to extra fans. It also has two wires that are soldered on to the back of the motherboard to an ADB port.

There's custom mounting hardware for the hard drives (there were two, but one died) and floppy drive, plus a nifty arm that locks down over the NuBus cards to keep them in place.

I can take a picture of the inside if anyone wants to see it.

 

[paws]

> I can take a picture of the inside if anyone wants to see it.

Are you, umm, asking the 68k Mac Liberation Army if any of us want to see the inside of a NASA-upgraded IIfx?!

 

[CuriosTiger]

The motherboard is stock as far as I can tell, but there's a custom circuitboard that goes between the motherboard, the power supply, and the ignition switch, with additional leads that go off to extra fans. It also has two wires that are soldered on to the back of the motherboard to an ADB port.

There's custom mounting hardware for the hard drives (there were two, but one died) and floppy drive, plus a nifty arm that locks down over the NuBus cards to keep them in place.

I can take a picture of the inside if anyone wants to see it.

Everyone wants to see it.

 

[LaPorta]

I use it as an AppleTalk router—LC-class logic boards are more common than LocalTalk to Ethernet gateways and cheaper, and the user interface to set up Apple Internet Router is better. But also, I wanted an excuse to build a rackmac

Color me completely uninitiated...what does an AppleTalk router do, exactly?

 

[cheesestraws]

Color me completely uninitiated...what does an AppleTalk router do, exactly?

Think "posh LocalTalk to Ethernet gateway". It allows multiple physical networks to talk to one another. Mine glues together wired LocalTalk, AirTalk (attached to the other serial port of the LC) and Ethernet.