Monitor Compatibility for Performa 630

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Heh! I'm still pretty ruthless with my collection. I've got a slick clean Quadra700, a Quadra700/7100/G3 that started out a little beat up and a halfway done Quadra700/8500/G4 that might look good with a coat of black paint to cover up the magic marker and scuffs. But I did the 7100 over ten years ago. I started the 8500 mod back when onlyonemac was kicking up a ruckus about hacks "ruining" Macs. Dunno, I'd rather have three processor/architectural generation examples of the classic Quadra 700 I'm in love with than one example and a couple of big ugly cases I really hate  .  .  .

.  .  .  that's how I think of the CC, but damn! I wouldn't do what you did to that ugly little sucker to a Dell.  :lol:

 

[Themk]

Nice! I've thought about getting a 6500 board for my machine, but I like m68k. Who can't say no to one of the fastest 68k macs ever, with a 40MHz 040 } .

Innes, if you are looking for a remote, Sony TV and VCR/DVD player remotes of the mid to late 90s work with this machine.

 

[Innes]

Maybe i'll try getting the Wii U Gamepad to talk to it

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

An inexpensive universal remote ought to work just fine.

 

[Themk]

Yes a universal remote should work, just make sure you get the right code entered into it.

I was chiming in from personal expirience.

 

[Innes]

To be honest, the units right next to me when I use it. I can't see a remote being much use

But, my Ethernet card is on the way so good news there.

 

[Themk]

Which ethernet card did you order?

 

[Themk]

Innes, if you ever get a full 040, NetBSD is worth checking out on that machine. It's fun to play around with a Unix-like OS on this hardware.

Also, the AV input card can also be used to record the input too. Don't expect much in the quality department, but it is possible.

 

[Innes]

I got the card linked earlier in the thread. Seems good, and if the floppy with the driver is duff, its not an issue as someone popped it on the garden.

It's ability to record with the AV card is interesting, but it looks like its limited to 240 so it doesn't have much use. I have an EyeTV stick for my Macbook Air that can record composite and whatever the TV cable is called. ^_^

 

[Innes]

Regarding popping a fully blown 040 in there, its probably not on the cards. There are a few logic boards on US ebay but the prices seem to be the same as what I paid for the entire unit, and then the same again to ship it out here, in comparison to the ethernet card which was quite keenly priced.

On account that its running everything pretty well, I don't think I really need to do this

 

[Themk]

On account that its running everything pretty well, I don't think I really need to do this

Unless you have a program that can take advantage of the FPU, or you are interested in running Unix on there, the LC040 is quite good for Mac OS. I think some people here on these forums underestimate the LC040. Sure, I will agree it's lobotomized, but that doesn't mean it's bad for what it's supposed to do. Perhaps the most ridiculous thing about the LC040 is its error-ridden FPU emulation. Supposedly that was fixed, but at the same time, I keep reading NetBSD's documentation giving LC040 owners a stern warning about using that CPU with NetBSD.

I bought just the bare CPU. I didn't buy the CPU already attached to a logic board, it *is* socketed. I had an application to use the FPU, as well as a burning desire to run *nix on this computer, so full 040 was a necessity for me. For many people, LC040 is good enough for Mac SSW.

 

[register]

The EIZO L365 LCD with a resolution of 1024·768 pixels might be a good choice. It is a multi sync LCD with dual input for digital and analog input signals and also with inbuilt stereo speakers. The case style matches a Macintosh pretty well. However, you would need Mac-VGA display adapter (as for most more recent displays).

As for the slots in the mainboard: you could go for an ethernet card in the comm slot and a second video adapter in the LC PDS, permitting to use an extended desktop with a set of two LCDs

 

[Innes]

Took the machine for a brief spin on the web with iCab 2.9.9. Seems to work ok although Macintosh Garden crashes it which is a shame, I was rather hoping it would be my way around burning a CD every time I wanted to ping software across. I'll try another browser when i next get the chance.

I've also been wondering, performance with multimedia games is predictably not so great, although the ones I've tried with it state lower suggested specs than the machine has. Perhaps if the bottleneck is the CD drive, running it from a mounted disk image might yield an increase in performance...

 

[register]

perhaps the CD drive is borked

As far as I remember a 68k bootable CD volume has to be »blessed« just like any harddisk drive, as well. Just to copy a system onto a readable CD ROM might not be sufficient. The Toast software offers an option to make a CD ROM bootable for a classic Mac (as long as appropriate system software is provided). Try to look into this detail if you are stuck with a CD ROM that is properly recognized and readable but not bootable.

 

[register]

My recommendation for an LCD to go nicely with a classic Mac is the EIZO L365, still. In size and appearance it matches the look of a Mac well. It features both VGA and DVI auto syncing inputs, inbuilt stereo speakers and a native resolution of 1024╳864 pixels (will work with lower resolutions, as well. You can connect it to a Mac without an additional adapter if you use the cable that came with the Apple 15 Inch CRT diplay (it has a Mac D-Sub 15 pin video connector on one side and a common VGA connector on the other side). Else you might need an adapter to match the connectors and to set the appropriate sense pinout on the Mac's side. Hint: The software »Activate all Resolutions« might be useful to enable the choice of any resolution the video card is capable of (in the control panel, as usual).

Recommendation for Hackers: Look for this L365 modification to provide improved colour rendition. If you want to go with vintage computer hardware, why not with more recent image quality?

}

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

It's ability to record with the AV card is interesting, but it looks like its limited to 240 so it doesn't have much use. I have an EyeTV stick for my Macbook Air that can record composite and whatever the TV cable is called. ^_^

The first webcams made the AV card's recordings look pitiful. But when new, it was nothing short of amazing in the consumer level market segment. Still a toy back then, but an amazing toy nonetheless. The 6290/AV at home, 630/AV at work, Timbuktu Remote and a POTS connection allowed me to record a video clip, transfer the file, view it to verify that the vinyl was still tracking properly on the plotter and then start the next job without driving downtown to the shop. Very cool stuff done with obsolescent hardware just before the WWW came into vogue with the general public.

It's all a matter of looking at our retro hardware toys from within historical context. [] ]'>