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Identifying a Plus 68030 upgrade?

desertrout

Well-known member
I'm restoring a Plus that has a 25mHz 68030 / 25mHz 6888 math co-processor upgrade, but there are no identifying marks on it, on either side (well, it's soldered on so I can't see 100% of the underside, but from what I can see there's no labels/writing) - is there a way to tell who made it? There were quite a few upgrade options, so it's not easy to narrow it down that way.

IMG_0026.jpg

 

techknight

Well-known member
It is a good accelerator, although it has issues with system 7 if you dont have the driver installed. 

I havent tried it with the driver yet. 

 

desertrout

Well-known member
Oh wow thanks everyone! I got this 1986 beige for a song because the display had lost horizontal sweep (10 minute fix) I had no idea what was inside, so this was a pleasant surprise. Now I have that lucky / guilty feeling... haha

 

MOS8_030

Well-known member
I'm restoring a Plus that has a 25mHz 68030 / 25mHz 6888 math co-processor upgrade, but there are no identifying marks on it, on either side (well, it's soldered on so I can't see 100% of the underside, but from what I can see there's no labels/writing) - is there a way to tell who made it? There were quite a few upgrade options, so it's not easy to narrow it down that way.
Nice score! I have one I found in a $5 Plus I bought back in the late '90's.

I made an over-long thread about mine.




 

bigD

Well-known member
That thing is pretty cool. Curious, what’s the big connector along the right side of the board for?

 

desertrout

Well-known member
Nice score! I have one I found in a $5 Plus I bought back in the late '90's.

I made an over-long thread about mine.
Sweet. Good info. This Plus doesn't have the extra PS... Do I need it? It did have the fan installed, but I removed it... it was exceptionally noisy, and I live in a cold environment... I can add another later if I need to, I just terminated the wires.

 

desertrout

Well-known member
Ha - so I bought three Pluses from the same lot sale, dirt cheap - two 1986's, one 1988. This mobo is from 1986 #1. I finally opened up 1986 #2 tonight and - surprise - same upgrade. It has some more serious issues, potentially, but I haven't started troubleshooting yet. Crazy.

 

MOS8_030

Well-known member
I believe that side connector is for SCSI, but I have no documentation to that affect and I have never tried connecting anything to it.

A lot (most) of these boards were powered by tapping into the Mac's analog board.

Some connected directly to board with clips and some, like mine, tapped into the pig tail.

Personally I think this may put unnecessary stress on the Mac's power circuit so installed the extra power supply and a new fan.

 

desertrout

Well-known member
I believe that side connector is for SCSI, but I have no documentation to that affect and I have never tried connecting anything to it.

A lot (most) of these boards were powered by tapping into the Mac's analog board.

Some connected directly to board with clips and some, like mine, tapped into the pig tail.

Personally I think this may put unnecessary stress on the Mac's power circuit so installed the extra power supply and a new fan.
What did you use for the extra PSU?

 

techknight

Well-known member
Interesting. Mine didnt have an external power supply. the card was hard-wired into the Plus existing harness. 

 

desertrout

Well-known member
Interesting. Mine didnt have an external power supply. the card was hard-wired into the Plus existing harness. 
That's how mine are currently as well, for both the fan and upgrade, but for $25 and some wire, an additional PSU seems to make good sense. I haven't booted with the drivers yet to see what the actual comparative draw is, but I have read elsewhere that you normally have to boost the voltage pot, and that some boards can be cranked higher than others making them better candidates for upgrades, so an additional PSU is probably prudent for longevity.

 
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