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Macintosh SE and a HyperCharger '020 Accelerator

bredfrown

Well-known member
Good morning, folks!
With the help of @Phipli , I was able to track down and purchase a HyperCharger '020 accelerator for my SE.

Here's the original listing:

Translation:
 Kept by an acquaintance,
  HyperCharger 020 (General Computer)
It is.
Edc296.
 I am very sorry about the operation, but it is an unchecked item because my acquaintance (and of course me) do not already own a corresponding model.
(There are no moving parts at all, so I don't think it is something that will break prematurely. ......)


 Before (but quite a long time ago),
  Macintosh SE
Memory on the accelerator,
  256KB x 4
on the accelerator, 256KB x 4 cards,
  1MB x 4 cards
I removed it to exchange it to 1MB x 4 pieces of memory on the accelerator, ...... but after all, it remained as it was for many years (^_^;).
(In the last century (20th century))


 It is in the uploaded image,
  1MB x 4 pictures
I heard that there was a "Macintosh SE" logic board as well as 1MB x 4 pictures in the picture I uploaded, so I will send them together if you want. However, I am not sure if it works or not,
  It is of course unknown whether it works or not.
  It is from the time when 2HD was not supported.
  The memory on the logic board is probably 2.5MB
(If you need it, please send it to the bidder.
(If you need it, please contact us via "transaction message" after winning the bid.)

 If you wish to receive it, please contact us through "Transaction Message" after winning the auction,
  Click Post / Thickness limit: ~3cm
  Letter Pack Light / Thickness limit: ~3cm
  Letter Pack Plus
Please note that we cannot send by
  Please select Otegaru-bunyu (Japan Post) / 60 size
Please select "Otegaru Shuhai (Japan Post) / 60 size".


 Current specifications
  CPU: 68020-16MHz
  FPU: 68881-12MHz
And,
  256KB x 4 cards
   *Something small and cute, isn't it?
The memory of the "Mere Old Man" is on the board.


 As for the condition, the letters on the CPU have almost disappeared, probably due to the influence during installation and removal. As you know, the letters are easily removed (even with cellotape) from these days. ......


 This accelerator features for external,
  64-pin
  12pin
pin for external use. External monitor board (separate item),
  Big Picture Board (E-Machines)
(not confirmed).


 Accessories are as described above,
  1MB x 4 cards (made by Hitachi)
and 2 screws for fixing to SE logic board,
  Screws x 2
   The pillar itself is already attached to the accelerator.
And a friend of mine brought in a CD-R with drivers (various drivers he has used so far), so I took what I needed from there, which is the last working Macintosh left in my house,
  PowerMac6300
  MacOS 8.1
The CD-R was copied to the last remaining working Macintosh in our house, a PowerMac6300,
  B'sCrew GOLD
B'sCrew GOLD,
  Standard speed (constant speed) / 2x speed, 4x speed, slowest setting for stability instead of ......
  Verify
  Conveyor
The write will not come on with settings such as
  The message "Writing has been completed successfully.
(The CD-R was brought to us.) We confirmed that the CD-R could be accessed normally.
(It would have been easier if the CD-R brought in had been copied as is, but since there was serial number information on ...... and other software, we decided to do it this way.)

 In addition, they brought their own FD (2DD specification!). ). In addition, the client also brought a FD (2DD specification!), so we copied the information to it as well.

 For the screenshots (2 types) in the uploaded images, in the FD we created,
  Show information of each file
The screenshots were taken when I did the "View information on each file".


 There are no moving parts, so I don't think it will be broken soon, but since it is very old (including the main unit), please consider it as a collectible. ...... Sorry, but no claims, no support, and sold as-is. We are sorry, but please treat it as a collectible and send it to us as is.


Shipping
   Otegaru Shippin (Japan Post) / 60 size
 We do not provide compensation for damages,
   Click Post / Thickness limit: ~3cm
   Letter Pack Light / Thickness limit: ~3cm
   Letter Pack Plus
 LetterPack Plus is also available.
 (LetterPack Plus is hand-delivered.
  (LetterPack Plus is hand-delivered, while the other types will be dropped directly into the recipient's mailbox.)

 (LetterPack Plus is hand-delivered, while the other types are dropped directly into the recipient's mailbox.
 Please keep this in mind.
 (Of course, we will do our best to pack the items as much as possible.)


Auction Response
   Please check the "Follow" section of the auction listings
 We would appreciate it if you could take a look at the "Follow" section of the auction listings, etc., in advance.

Translation End

I do indeed have both the CDR and the floppy disk, and the floppy disk includes drivers for the HyperCharger, but they're identical to the ones found here:

I did not receive a manual or any documentation with this one either, but I saw that someone was looking for one as well in this old thread:


Anywho,
I installed the accelerator last night, and it went without a hitch! My SE had 4MB of RAM installed on the Logic Board, and this accelerator had 1MB installed.
The SE booted right up, and with a combination of the original HyperCharger drivers, as well as a System 7 patch driver from Mobius, and a sound patch driver from Mobius, it has been working perfectly. A huge improvement over the stock SE …except it’s not able to utilize the RAM on the accelerator.

I took a photo and have been troubleshooting it with @Phipli , and they think it's jumper-related (photo attached). I learned that with these accelerators, it's either you use the RAM from the LB, or the RAM on the accelerator, but never both. The problem is, since I do not have any documentation, and these jumper configs are labeled A, B, C, D, etc. I don't know if I'm using the correct combination. 😅

@Phipli found this thread, and noticed that the jumper config on this SE being sold was the same as mine, but it appeared as if they had both the LB and accelerator populated with RAM SIMMS:

I'm reaching out to this awesome community for any advice! I also want to give a big THANK YOU! and shoutout to @Phipli for helping me with this adventure.

Also, I plan on posting the contents of those disks so we can preserve them.
 

Attachments

  • hypercharger020.jpg
    hypercharger020.jpg
    3.6 MB · Views: 28

Phipli

Well-known member
Reading the translation, are you sure the card doesn't have 4MB installed and that is what you're running already? It would make more sense.
 

bredfrown

Well-known member
I was thinking that as well, but it does not - with the way I have it set up now, I have 4MB that I harvested from my dead SE/30 on the SE's logic board, and on that accelerator, I tried it with both the 1MB it shipped with (no change to my RAM amount, still listing as 4MB in About this Macintosh), then I also tried it with 2.5 (original SIMMs from the SE when I got it. Still no change to my RAM amount, still listing as 4MB in About this Macintosh).

I was planning on removing all the SIMMs from the SE's LB, and installing them into the accelerator, so it would have 4MB of RAM.

Also worth mentioning, the photo I took of the card was when it first arrived (with those SIMMs installed.)
 

bredfrown

Well-known member
I'll need to take a screenshot of the machine booted, but I noticed that in HyperCharger '020 control panel, there is some text on the bottom that reads "ROM Copy not installed" - I'm wondering if this accelerator needs to "copy" its ROM into RAM so it can break the RAM limit?
 

Phipli

Well-known member
I tried it with both the 1MB it shipped with
What I'm saying is that the 1MB might be 4MBs. The seller seems to say it has 4MB fitted after they upgraded it. But it sounds like you tried 2.5MB.


I was planning on removing all the SIMMs from the SE's LB, and installing them into the accelerator, so it would have 4MB of RAM.
Don't do this, there needs to be some RAM in the SE, because the computer needs it for the video circuit and possibly sound buffer. They use DMA.
 

Phipli

Well-known member
Checked the chip part numbers, the simms that it arrived with are parity 256k simms.
 

Phipli

Well-known member
Don't do this, there needs to be some RAM in the SE, because the computer needs it for the video circuit and possibly sound buffer. They use DMA
You could put 1MB on the LB though. Remember to change the jumpers / resistors.
 

Phipli

Well-known member
Found something. Put 1MB of RAM on the logic board (set the jumpers), then put 4MB in the HyperCharger.

Set the Systems RAM cache to 1MB.

Screenshot_20230411_143137_Firefox.jpg
 

Phipli

Well-known member
Drivers :

Try different versions to try getting the ROM into RAM. It makes 30% differdnce apparently.

Review :
 

bredfrown

Well-known member
I'll give this a shot!
One issue I think I'll run into – this board arrived with 2.5 MB, and it has the revision with resistors instead of jumpers.

Will I run into any issues going back down to 1 MB? Both R35 and R36 were removed for the upgrade.
(Photo attached is old - I was in the middle of upgrading this to 4 MB a while back, which is why one of the SIMMs are missing in this photo.)
 

Attachments

  • se-lb.jpeg
    se-lb.jpeg
    635.5 KB · Views: 26
Last edited:

Phipli

Well-known member
I'll give this a shot!
One issue I think I'll run into – this board arrived with 2.5 MB, and it has the revision with resistors instead of jumpers.

Will I run into any issues going back down to 1 MB? Both R35 and R36 were removed for the upgrade.
(Photo attached is old - I was in the middle of upgrading this to 4 MB a while back, which is why one of the SIMMs are missing in this photo.)
Bleh. You're meant to just snip the leg at one end in a way that a blob of solder can make everything right again. Have they completely removed the resistors?!
 

bredfrown

Well-known member
Ok, so I installed those 1 MB SIMMs and I got a Sad Mac (bad SIMM), and replaced them with the 4 MB SIMMs that came from the seller. I was a bit confused with the other modules they sent, but they were indeed 1 MB each, so I have 4 MB on the Logic Board, and 4 MB on the accelerator.
I don't plan on using any of the RAM on the LB since it can't to my knowledge, but I do plan on using the RAM on the accelerator. I'm thinking those jumpers on the board might have something to do with it though, because the accelerator's RAM isn't being detected.

Here's a screenshot from the Mobius control panel (I swapped the original HyperCharger's driver and control panel, but it looks identical.):
IMG_8566 copy.jpg

And I've also attached one from MacEnvy, for what it's worth.
I've played around with different drivers from Dove, AE, GCC, and Mobius, but nothing really made a difference.
I'm thinking it could be jumper related.
 

bredfrown

Well-known member
Also, setting the cache didn't change anything, but it might not have any effect since I have 4 MB of RAM on the Logic Board.
I also noticed that "Copy ROM to 32-bit RAM" isn't working in the screenshot above.
 

Phipli

Well-known member
I'd put the HyperCharger Control Panel back in too, just in case there are any differences. Also, I'd boot it from System 6!
 
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bredfrown

Well-known member
I'm back - a few things I tried…
  • Installed 2.5 MB of RAM on the Logic Board
  • Booted into System 7
  • Booted into System 6 with the HyperCharger driver and control panel - hangs on boot
  • Put in the Mobius drivers in System 6 - boots
  • Still getting those last two disabled items from the Mobius control panel
  • I played around with the disk cache sizes in System 6 as well, no changes
 

bredfrown

Well-known member
I'll give it a shot!
I'm still thinking it could be those jumpers… I'm wondering if there's any point of reference for their config.
 
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