Can anyone identify this (apple?) nubus+pds videocard?

[swami]

It probably doesn't- the Nubus connectors data pins don't look to be connected. It's a PDS frame buffer card.

My thought exactly. Unless they are connected deeper within the board layers. I will check that this weekend. But it probably uses the NuBus just for getting extra power and to give a bit of mechanical stability. NuBus has a 10MHz (20?) frequency if I remember correctly. So if you would have something running at the PDS speed with full access to the CPU, address bus, data bus and control signals (and probably other devices as well) I really wouldn't know why you would listen and wait for signals coming from the slow NuBus. But i'm not an electronics engineer or software developer so I might be completely wrong.

 

[mikes-macs]

I’m curious to know what it is. Fire it up with TattleTech and end the suspense.

BTW you should always clone the HDD into a disk image on a newly obtained used Mac. You never know what you’ll find or need later.

 

[swami]

I would bet that’s the RasterOps 24MxQ. I’ve spent some time searching for evidence of its existence, but wasn’t even able to find pictures. I wouldn’t have expected a Nubus connector, but it could be there for physical stability.

Really a rare thing, and probably quite fast. Still, free to pm me if you’d like to sell

RasterOps 24MxQ gives only a few hits and mostly in articles in tech magazines covering product announcements. It seems to be matched to a monitor labeled 'Sweet 16'.

Yes, I am willing to sell for the right price. I'm clearing my collection. Well, most of it, that is. But given it's rarity I wonder how on earth this card ended up in the Netherlands... seems rather strange for something that borders on
vaporware?

 

[swami]

I seem to have misplaced my ethernet dongle for the AAUI port. So getting tattle tech on the machine is unfortunately something for the weekend. I'm sorry for the agonizing long wait
Techtool is installed on the quadra, but alas.. no info on the expansion cards.

 

[mikes-macs]

I imagine I can wait. But keeps us informed. Please. In the meantime don’t damage it or expose it to UV. You could be looking at a $1000 board.

 

[Powerbase]

It always amazes me how no one thought to put a model name or number on their boards those days.

 

[ArmorAlley]

Here is the RasterOps 24MxTV: http://www.vgamuseum.info/index.php/news/item/49-rasterops-24mxtv

 

[swami]

Well.. I couldn't keep you waiting so I gave up on some hours of sleep and I managed to transfer tattletech to the old quadra and the verdict is in. One of you guessed it right!

 

[swami]

I do not have an Apple monitor, so I'm working with a dongle on the Quadra's built-in graphics port. You know, one of those old 10 dip switch things which I believe is set to output standard svga 1024 x 768 in its current configuration. The card itself feels comfortably warm to the touch and is apparently communicating with the CPU and the OS. But I'm a bit reluctant to try the dongle on the card. In theory there should be no possibility of anything going wrong of course. Any thoughts or anyone know what resolutions (and possible the via-compatible signals) this card should support?

I tried the rasterops 3.3 graphics card drivers - which has nog support for the 24M...-syle cards - but the control panel shows the card by its correct name. Does anyone with some knowledge of RasterOps drivers have a clue where a driver could be located? Is the card supposed to output any video signal without the correct driver at all?

 

[Phipli]

But I'm a bit reluctant to try the dongle on the card

There is no reason not to just use it. Set it to 640x480 VGA to start because it is basically guaranteed to work. Try 1024x768 next.

You might not need any drivers to be honest.

 

[lobust]

Awesome!

That is one very rare card you have there, I wonder how many were made?

 

[swami]

I would bet that’s the RasterOps 24MxQ. I’ve spent some time searching for evidence of its existence, but wasn’t even able to find pictures. I wouldn’t have expected a Nubus connector, but it could be there for physical stability.

Really a rare thing, and probably quite fast. Still, free to pm me if you’d like to sell

You were absolutely right!
So its existence - in what seems a beta/test version I guess - is confirmed.
(this borders on bird-watching )

 

[Phipli]

Although there's no matching shipped product that I know of, that card looks very rasterops-y. I have a Paintboard Lightning and there some very obvious design similarities.

PCB is the same shade.
Silkscreen font looks the same.
Many of the components are from the same manufacturer.
Some of the passives around the output connector appear to share the same physical layout.
It has the same grid pattern ground plane around the edges of the board.
Most tellingly, the ROM P/N shares the same format - mine is 2685 0002-2613, and looks to be printed the same.

Edit, also on the back of my card, the PCB P/N is of the same format as OP's card. Mine is 0002-0546-XD

View attachment 51545

Good spot. Sorry for saying it was different - I've spent most of my adult life working in an industry that is extremely cautious. I was worried conclusions were being reached prematurely.

You have a better eye for design ethos than me

 

[ArmorAlley]

You should start looking up old magazines from the time to see if there were any reviews about it.

 

[Aeroform]

Seems to top out at 832 x 624/24-bit and be the quadra specific version of the ”regular” 24Mx (Guess the Q is for quadra )

 

[swami]

In February 1992 it is mentioned as 'upcoming product' in the short article that I have found about it. And it is mentioned as a new product in an advert in Macworld 1992 june issue. List price $995 for just the board. Wow... things sure weren't cheap those days

 

[swami]

And it works! 832x624 at millions of colors, confirmed.
It is mentioned as the Quadra version of the regular nubus 24Mx to go with the 'Sweet 16 monitor' indeed. But from what I can see the boards look nothing like each other. Where the nubus board is 'old tech' full of discrete logic chips and has room for loads of memory, this thing looks clean and highly integrated.

 

[Phipli]

'old tech' full of discrete logic chips and has room for loads of memory, this thing looks clean and highly integrated.

This type of board is probably not accelerated - it gets its speed from the high speed connection to the processor. They're a much simpler type of card than a fast Nubus accelerated card. Hence fewer components. More like onboard video, which is also very fast and hardly any components.

 

[lobust]

Good spot. Sorry for saying it was different - I've spent most of my adult life working in an industry that is extremely cautious. I was worried conclusions were being reached prematurely.

You have a better eye for design ethos than me

No apologies required, I perfectly understood your concerns!

And it works! 832x624 at millions of colors, confirmed.
It is mentioned as the Quadra version of the regular nubus 24Mx to go with the 'Sweet 16 monitor' indeed. But from what I can see the boards look nothing like each other. Where the nubus board is 'old tech' full of discrete logic chips and has room for loads of memory, this thing looks clean and highly integrated.

This type of board is probably not accelerated - it gets its speed from the high speed connection to the processor. They're a much simpler type of card than a fast Nubus accelerated card. Hence fewer components. More like onboard video, which is also very fast and hardly any components.

As I hinted at previously ("borrowed" ASICs), I strongly suspect this board is simply a duplicate of, or based on, the video subsystem of some existing 040 mac, hence the use of Apple branded ASICs. From a brief glance U1 (343S0128-1) also appears on the Quadra 900 board as U31. I don't have a Quadra 900 and have never studied one in any detail, so I don't know what it does. The ramdac is very likely taken from some mac as well, but I haven't tracked it down yet (it's not on any of my Quadras, and doesn't seem to come from the 900 either...)

 

[Phipli]

And it works! 832x624 at millions of colors, confirmed.
It is mentioned as the Quadra version of the regular nubus 24Mx to go with the 'Sweet 16 monitor' indeed. But from what I can see the boards look nothing like each other. Where the nubus board is 'old tech' full of discrete logic chips and has room for loads of memory, this thing looks clean and highly integrated.

Do you have a Quadra 800, or a Centris / Quadra 650?

Daft question, but if you do, could you install it in one and check if it does millions of colours? The onboard video is hobbled so it doesn't and I'd be interested if that carries over to the card.