Identify SE/30 video card

[unity]

Pretty sure this bugger is a video card. The port seems odd though (serial port?). Back side says "MoDam SE030 REV C MEMORY PLUS. Thoughts? Its a lot like this card, but not the same:

 

[pcamen]

That 9-pin connector is the same as the Full Page Display cards.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

MIRROR was a Display Vendor, so that's indubitably another proprietary DE-9 interface for a dedicated display. TattleTech/SlotInfo the DeclROM card info for the model and then check the magazine archives for Monitor Comparison articles, Reviews and Mirror Adverts for more info.

D41264C-12 is Fast Page VRAM. "MoDam" is likely a product code? given the platform designation a RevLev. "Memory Plus" was likely the distributor of the CRT/Card combo.?

Has that ASIC been sanded?

 

[mg.man]

Resurrecting this, since I recently picked up a Maxell-bombed SE/30 with this exact same card... Interestingly, the ROM on mine has a label with "Spark Monochrome".

@unity did you ever get it working?

Anyone know anything about Spark"

 

[mg.man]

Just spotted one difference... mine has a 50Mhz oscillator... otherwise it's identical to the OP's picture.

 

[apm]

Funny, just saw a similar card (for SE) in another thread. I bet the sanded-off chip is an XC2018 CPLD, which was used in loads of 1-bit video cards, like this one that @stepleton and I reverse-engineered: https://github.com/apmcpherson/VideoMacPacHack

Do you have the ability to dump the ROM? I'd be curious about its contents.

 

[aeberbach]

Interesting - I bet that's for the many CGA or Amiga-style monitors around at the time, if it isn't a proprietary connector for their own monitors.

It could be a mirrored display solution - a CPLD with a ROM for configuration, some RAM for a buffer and connection to the PDS slot can easily grab writes to the onboard video memory and output that video in another format.

It could also be a 1-bit 640x480 display card. Four memory chips gives it 64k 16-bit words. If the jumpers (JP1, JP2, soldered) follow Asante's scheme that's set for Slot A. If that is a slot identification it is more likely a separate display card.

 

[mg.man]

Do you have the ability to dump the ROM? I'd be curious about its contents.

Should be able to... give me a couple of days... I have a day job, sadly...  ;-)   I'll also post a pic of my actual card.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Have you got a working SE/30 or IIsi for testing? Just install it in the PDS, boot and run TattleTech to find specs of the card in the NuBus/PDS report.

 

[mg.man]

Have you got a working SE/30 or IIsi for testing?

Not at the moment... I'm mid-restore of an SE/30... the one this card came in had terminal battery damage. :-(  I *might* have one I can borrow... stay tuned...

 

[mg.man]

Here are pics of my card... 

...as you can see, apart from the 50Mhz crystal, very similar to the OP's ... 

BTW, does anyone know if it's at all possible to drive a modern (TFT, etc.) monitor with one of these?

 

[apm]

BTW, does anyone know if it's at all possible to drive a modern (TFT, etc.) monitor with one of these?

It depends on the resolution. If it's at least VGA resolution (which it certainly is) and not a portrait display resolution, then you should be able to hook up a standard monitor. If the output is 1-bit TTL, you can make a simple resistor ladder divider to get down to the right level and impedance.

If it's a portrait display card, it'll look quite bad on an ordinary display. There usually isn't any easy way to set the width of the picture as narrow as it would need to be.

 

[nottomhanks]

Hey, just resurrecting this conversation. I purchased a IIsi system a few years back, and it had one of these cards in it. It did not come with the monitor however. I found a gentleman who created an adapter that provides 1024X768 on a separate display. The IIsi also came with a riser card that let you install TWO PDS cards horizontally. I would like to try this card in my SE/30, but the metal chassis prevents the card from natively plugging in to the logic board directly. Wondering if trimming the chassis, or 1-2 PDS straight-through male-female extenders would raise it enough to clear the metal chassis.
Anyway, he’s shipping it back to me and I will test it in my IIsi once it’s recapped and repaired. Will send photos of the adapter as well. Basically, it’s converting the 9 pin signal (whatever it is, TTL, ECL, etc) to VGA, so it’s very interesting nonetheless.
There is a rotary pot on the card, but I’m not sure what it’s for, maybe resolution/frequency?
Here’s a photo of the card I have:

 

[nottomhanks]

 

[zefrenchtoon]

I’ve got a MoDAM SE in my SE with a 15 pins apple connector. I shared its pinouts somewhere in another thread.
I was able to backup its driver from the dying hdd too. I uploaded it on the garden. It can drive different monitors if we check the resources.