Did anyone ever own the video adapter for Orion SE 020 Accelerators?

[CompactManiac]

Back in late 80's MacPeak Systems were naming their accelerators and video adapters using some sort of futuristic 'star' theme with names like Orion and Galaxy. Did anyone ever own the Galaxy video board that plugs into the Orion accelerator in the SE and supported both single page and two page monitors?

I own the 16MHz Orion 68020 accelerator for an SE. I was aware there were faster versions available such as 20MHz and 25MHz.
Many SE accelerator boards had to sit on top of the original logic board and with the extra heat generated tended to warp.
I mention this because the connector slot on the Orion accelerator for plugging in the optional Galaxy video card would likely be very challenging to fit due to the warped board. I guess it would still be possible to attach the video board using extra wires going direct into the Orion slot but certainly not convenient or practical.

I bought the Orion board in 1991 second hand because I needed an 020 processor to run specific software and couldn't afford a Macintosh II.
I recall noticing the video port and also reading a very brief mention about it in the Orion installation Guide.
I contacted MacLine where I had bought it to try to find out more but they could not provide me with any further information.
They were unable to confirm if the board even existed which seemed mysterious!

Now some 33 years later (better late than never) I did some investigative work and try to find out if this mythical video adapter really did exist or not.
Searching the OCR version of US MacUser I found the December 1988 edition had the following full page colour ad:



Notice the Galaxy ECL Video Option.

Also searching online I found that circa August 1987 it was apparently available from MacPeak Systems for $495.



Did anyone ever own this infamous video card?

I'm sure it fitted originally before the accelerator board warped with so much heat but it would have been a nightmare trying to keep it fitted or ever refitting it.
Maybe that's why there was virtually no mention in the installation guide and dealers were not referencing it anymore.
It was very hot inside the SE with literally two full logic boards connected without adding a third so this might have been one too many innovations!

 

[Phipli]

Do you have a photo of the card? Some cards were similar to ones from other brands, I might be able to recognise if it has commonality with another brand with a known video board.

I think someone was recently looking to sell an SE with one of these cards on UK eBay.

 

[Phipli]

It was very hot inside the SE with literally two full logic boards connected without adding a third so this might have been one too many innovations!

Find this curious. My SEs don't run that hot, even with overclocked accelerators in them.

 

[CompactManiac]

From memory it looks almost identical to the one shown in this thread with the velcro over one of the chips:

Identify this Board!

Does anyone know what the heck this is?? I am trying to find drivers for this accelerator board, but have no idea what it is.. The S/N is blank, and it has no writing on it that can identify it.. Plus it has these odd wires and orange chip looking thing on the back side...

68kmla.org

I always thought the velcro fabric was just to prevent the board from touching some piece of metal inside the chasis as this is a very tight fit.
Funny to read in that other thread it was just to cover the old MacPeak name as they got rebranded at some stage but were still selling the same accelerators.

 

[Phipli]

From memory it looks almost identical to the one shown in this thread with the velcro over one of the chips:

Identify this Board!

Does anyone know what the heck this is?? I am trying to find drivers for this accelerator board, but have no idea what it is.. The S/N is blank, and it has no writing on it that can identify it.. Plus it has these odd wires and orange chip looking thing on the back side...

68kmla.org

I always thought the velcro fabric was just to prevent the board from touching some piece of metal inside the chasis as this is a very tight fit.
Funny to read in that other thread it was just to cover the old MacPeak name as they got rebranded at some stage but were still selling the same accelerators.

Interesting board. I don't recognise it was being obviously based on something else. The eight RAM slots is curious. Guess they were aiming for 8MB in 1MB SIMMs, rather than anything higher density.

Guess it is an MMU of some description under the velcro.

So, other cards...

Most accelerators seem to licence a Lapis design for their video, but one I believe had a plug in RasterOps board I think? @bredfrown - it was a RasterOps board that went with your HyperCharger wasn't it?

 

[CompactManiac]

I remember being shocked at the size of the Orion board when it arrived from MacLine and wondered how on earth I was going to fit both it and the original logic board back into the SE with memory fitted to both boards adding even more height!

This was decades before any forums or youtube videos to seek any kind of guidance on working on a Compact Macintosh. My SE was literally only 6 months old at this stage and I was tearing it apart to fit a second hand accelerator which I knew nothing about!!

Yes the MMU fitted under the velcro.

The 8MB was pretty cool allowing it to address the same memory as a Macintosh II but the problem with the warping of the board at least in my case was that I don't think there was enough clearance to fit 8 simms. At the time I did not have the money or the courage to attempt to fit all 8!

Still funny reminiscing about this madness!

 

[Phipli]

At the time I did not have the money or the courage to attempt to fit all 8!

Joooooin us...

 

[CompactManiac]

What type of accelerator do have in your SE that allows 16MB of physical memory or did you swap out the logic board for an SE/30?

 

[Phipli]

What type of accelerator do have in your SE that allows 16MB of physical memory or did you swap out the logic board for an SE/30?

I have a Total Systems Gemini Ultra board in it, but a few different types let you run 16MB. Let me think... Total systems (various versions of the Gemini), Extreme Systems Vandal (a Gemini Integra clone) the Applied Engineering Transwarp? The Mobius 030? Stuff from Quesse. Apparently the SuperMac card, but that uses weird RAM so I haven't seen anyone do it.

A lot of these boards are related to each other, or are derivatives of a small number originals. There was an American firm that did consultancy for other firms and I swear they designed half the accelerators out there.

 

[cheesestraws]

There was an American firm that did consultancy for other firms and I swear they designed half the accelerators out there.

Donoho Design? Yes, an awful lot of accelerators seem to be theirs.

 

[Phipli]

Donoho Design? Yes, an awful lot of accelerators seem to be theirs.

Quesse I think, was who I had in mind. I think Donoho was another? Lot of 040? Or am I being daft.

 

[cheesestraws]

Quesse I think, was who I had in mind. I think Donoho was another? Lot of 040? Or am I being daft.

No, you're right, I misinterpreted your message and thought you were talking about all accelerators, not just SE ones. Donoho did a lot of 040 stuff.

 

[Phipli]

No, you're right, I misinterpreted your message and thought you were talking about all accelerators, not just SE ones. Donoho did a lot of 040 stuff.

Yeah, this is on a Total Systems Mercury that sold yesterday.

I'd love to know more about Quesse. Feels like they were a small business that liked designing GAL and FPGA based 030 upgrades.

 

[CompactManiac]

A lot of these boards are related to each other, or are derivatives of a small number originals.

Wow - didn't realise that. Very interesting. I just remember looking through various seller catalogues and MacUser magazines and thinking there were so many different boards available it was mind boggling. It always seemed to me that these 'new' accelerators tended to appear shortly after new Macintosh models were announced but they often targetted the same old favourites like the SE, SE/30 and Mac II line. I guess it was to lure us old timers back into the upgrade circus one more time!

 

[Phipli]

Wow - didn't realise that. Very interesting. I just remember looking through various seller catalogues and MacUser magazines and thinking there were so many different boards available it was mind boggling. It always seemed to me that these 'new' accelerators tended to appear shortly after new Macintosh models were announced but they often targetted the same old favourites like the SE, SE/30 and Mac II line. I guess it was to lure us old timers back into the upgrade circus one more time!

The Gemini series was offered from 20 to 50MHz, the big change over time was the price! They cost a lot to start. An insane amount.

The ones to watch for are low end boards of a series that was made at higher speeds too, because you can sometimes speed bump them by swapping the clock and CPU for faster parts, which is a much cheaper speed bump than buying a super rare top end board, even now.