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Looking to replace my onboard SCSI chip and have a question.

Verault

Well-known member
I am looking to replace my onboard SCSI chip on my Macintosh Classic board. The chip it came with is this one NCR 53C80IMG_20211004_160854.jpg

But when I look online all I can seem to find are NCR 53C80-40. What does the -40 specify? They both appear to be 44 pin IC's.
22.jpg
 

aperezbios

Well-known member
While I can't tell you what the -40 is (speed rating possibly?), I am very confident that you will be able to use the -40 variant without issue.
 

max1zzz

Well-known member
The datasheet (here) describes the 53C80-40 as being a CMOS replacement for the original NMOS 5380, but also describes the 53C80 as being functionally equivalent to the 5380.... So that makes all 3 functionally equivalent it seems....

It's not entirely clear from the datasheet, but I would be very surprised if the 53C80 and 53C80-40 where not cross compatible
 

Verault

Well-known member
Thank you guys. I was pretty confident they were compatible I just wanted to hear from someone else.
 

SuperSVGA

Well-known member
According to the datasheet, the 5380 and the 53C80 have completely different PLCC pinouts. Since it describes the 53C80-40 as a replacement for the 5380, I do not think you could use it in place of a 53C80 without rerouting all the pins.
 

Verault

Well-known member
Makes sense from what I am seeing. I would say its compatible. So I dont know where to find a working 53C80 to fix my classic at this point and I am already out the cost of the 53C80-40 and no better off :(
 

max1zzz

Well-known member
According to the datasheet, the 5380 and the 53C80 have completely different PLCC pinouts. Since it describes the 53C80-40 as a replacement for the 5380, I do not think you could use it in place of a 53C80 without rerouting all the pins.
Kinda embarrassed I missed that on the datasheet!
 

aperezbios

Well-known member
Sure enough, the 53C80 and 5380 don't even have the same pin count. See https://bitsavers.computerhistory.o...0_SCSI_Interface_Chip_Design_Manual_Mar86.pdf

Page 3 of that PDF says the following: "A CMOS version of the NCR 5380, the NCR S3C80 is available in a 44·pin PLCC or a 48·pin DIP. Refer to Appendix A5 for information on the NCR 53C80."

Page 54 states, "The NCR 53C80 CMOS SCSI interface device is functionally equivalent to the NMOS NCR 5380 device. However, this chip does not offer pin compatibility. CMOS and NMOS are entirely different processes with inherently different device characteristics. All CMOS devices are designed to prohibit a condition commonly referred to as 'latch-up'. When the high current 48 mA drivers in the NCR 53C80 switch, noise level is sufficiently high, the output drivers become more prone to 'latch-up'. Therefore, for the CMOS design, pin compatibility has been foresaken for reliabilty. Four additional ground lines have been added to increase design stability. Having additional ground signals also allows the output buffers to switch more quickly, creating the added benefit of a faster design. This does not imply that the NMOS device is marginal in any respect."
 

JT737

Well-known member
@Verault -how did you make out with this? I am currently working on another SE/30 board; I've recapped it and it all works well....except for the SCSI part. Without a doubt, the chip has to be replaced. Were you able to find a PLC-44 SCSI chip that works?
 

Franklinstein

Well-known member
From what it appears, the 53C80 chips should be identical regardless of any suffixes since they're the same CMOS-based 5380 core. I mean if you're stuffing it into an SE/30 it won't be getting any signals faster than 16MHz anyway (and only 8MHz in a Classic). The other thread referenced above seems to have had problems greater than a questionable SCSI chip so I'm not sure it adds any value to the discussion.

I think the original confusion was in compatibility with the original 5380 and the updated 53C80 design, and apparently there isn't any owing to a different pinout (and likely different voltages and other signals owing to the CMOS design).

Short answer: all NCR 53C80s should be compatible with one another, including Zilog (and other) clones, but in a very high-speed application you may need to look for one with a particular suffix.
 

JT737

Well-known member
@Franklinstein -Thanks! Yea, my biggest concern was the pinout compatibility. I think that I found the same eBay auction that Verault did- some guy selling the NCR 5380 -40 SCSI chips. But I also found someone selling L5380JC-2 chips made by Logic Devices, and was unsure if those would work.

In the end, I bought a few LSI SYMBIOS 53C80S chips.....hopefully they will do the job.

@Verault - The Classic is definitely a tough computer to bring back from the dead. I have one that I recapped and repaired four traces on-and it worked well for a while! That is until I recently tried to start it up.....haven't bothered to look at it yet.
 

Verault

Well-known member
I mean as of now the SCSI bus not working is the only problem in the machine. But its a big problem. I am close to it being working but not close enough.
 

newsman

New member
Was anyone ever able to confirm the compatibility of the 53c80-40 with the original 53c80? I just got a 53c80-40 from eBay swapped into my SE/30 and now I'm getting the zebra pattern with no chime. Before the swap I was at least getting the floppy icon with a question mark.
 
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