My very first TAM

[ninjafist1]

Hey everyone, got my hands on a TAM recently, was in much better shape than advertised.  Had all the original boxes, plastic wrap, foam, everything.  Even the apple logo decals were still on their sheet!  Had all sorts of accessories like an extra back, a riser card for the comm slot and also what appears to be an extra pci riser card as it already has one installed.  In the PCI slot right now is a Twin turbo 128m/m2  and I had a Apple 10BASE-T Ethernet CSII Twisted-Pair Card  in a 6500 that I was able to transfer over to the comm slot.  That same 6500 had a PCI riser card that had two PCI slots whcih would be cool to use but then the back of the TAM wouldn't fit on.  The only problem with this sucker is that the ADB ports on the keyboard don't work.  I can plug the keyboard or the trackpad directly into the computer;s adb and that works, so it must be the two extension ports on the keyboard.  For now I am just using an old mouse and keyboard from a color classic and that is fine.  If anyone has any thoughts about that issue, let me know. I also have a CF card and adapter on the way so I can replace the hard drive.  I am thinking of partitioning the card into two or three parts and then putting 7.6.1 and also 8 or 9 on there.  So here are a few questions I have:  

1)  Want to do a sonnet upgrade.  There are a number of them listed on ebay but I am not sure how to tell which are compatible with the TAM.  I know the 500mhz is a unicorn, so just looking for 350 or 400.  Anyone know how I can spot which will work?  Maybe post me a link to the right kind on ebay or some other website?  

2)  Should I leave the video card in that PCI slot, or should I replace it with a USB PCI card?   Not sure what I would use the USB for, although I don't have much use for the extra video power either. 

Thanks everyone and feel free to make other suggestions with what to do next to it!  I posted some pics on the TAM facebook page, also the vintage apple Macintosh fan facebook page. 

Ben

 

[nglevin]

For Mac OS 9, your I/O options will be capped at USB 1.1 speeds and FireWire 400.

If you really want to invest in more ports, I'd get FW400. There's some very solid hardware options to bridge USB 1.1 with ADB, and for all practical purposes that's about all that you're likely to do with USB 1.1 today.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Unless there's some specific reason to use FW, USB seems the better choice to me for the TAM. Hook up a powered hub and a USB WiFi adapter on that end for slightly faster and much more convenient networking than when running off the CSII card.

If you decide  leave The VidCard in there, you could use one of the USB->ADB peripheral adapters and a USB KVM switch to run the TAM from your daily driver display. I share an LCD driven from the Notebook with KBD and Mouse with one of the Macs. Thanks for the notion of putting a Wombat there for ADB Mac KVM playtime, guys.

If I wanted a TAM, it'd be sitting on the other side of the 1600x1200 main display panel. The Twin Turbo will run 1080p res for that?

 

[LaPorta]

I have a TAM that my dad bought new in 1997...he did the G3 upgrade, and I have the box still. I'll send you a picture of it shortly.

 

[nglevin]

Whoops, should have explained myself better on the FireWire point!

FW400 opens up interoperability with tape-driven cameras, and close to USB 2.0 transfer speeds for external HD enclosures. Whereas with USB 1.1, you're looking at a max throughput of 12 Mbit/s, compared to 400 Mbit/s with FW400.

I'm also running into a fun modern hardware problem of late, where most "USB 2.0" devices made today don't even allow themselves to be powered through USB 1.1. While the port is ubiquitous, you may find that USB 1.1 is just a worse dung heap for most things besides keyboard and mouse usage.

EDIT: Though T80 made the point about using a USB 1.1 Wifi dongle, which isn't a bad idea mod the usual concerns about networking old operating systems! I guess I'm too used to wired networkings and on paper security.

EDIT THE SECOND: You might need some flavor of OS X for USB Wifi though, Tiger is most strongly recommended for Wifi, which I don't even think you can hack a TAM to run. Things may have changed since then.

Which brings me to using ADB to USB adapters. Since most of what you'd be doing with ADB anyway on a Mac is... using keyboards an mice. Why not turn that into a USB 1.1 port without taking up any extra slots?

Up to you to make those final calls, of course.

 

[LaPorta]

Here is from the TAM G3 card box:

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Whoops, should have explained myself better on the FireWire point!

FW400 opens up interoperability with tape-driven cameras, and close to USB 2.0 transfer speeds for external HD enclosures. Whereas with USB 1.1, you're looking at a max throughput of 12 Mbit/s, compared to 400 Mbit/s with FW400.

That's a great use for FW, but Hi-8 and such would be a niche application. HDD interface is a great idea. I do have an old FW/USB adapter box I used with HP-Mini back when, but I don't remember testing it with the DA as intended.

I'll have to see if I can get it to work with the 6500 BenchMac, that's my kinda TAMthingie. []

EDIT: Though T80 made the point about using a USB 1.1 Wifi dongle, which isn't a bad idea mod the usual concerns about networking old operating systems! I guess I'm too used to wired networkings and on paper security.

That's my kinda security, except I use SneakerNet as a firewall to quarantine the WWW on just the dedicated Firefox workstation..

EDIT THE SECOND: You might need some flavor of OS X for USB Wifi though, Tiger is most strongly recommended for Wifi, which I don't even think you can hack a TAM to run. Things may have changed since then.

Nope, you can't. The TAM tops out at 9.somethingorother.

There's all kinds of activity going on for WiFi on the SE/30, CC, etc. ANTS is on that driver project like white on rice. My thinking is that a TAM and any other RetroMac would be on a dedicated WiFi net along with the NIC equipped Macs on the wireless router with a PhoneNet Bridge or Bridge Mac connecting the Compacts and MacTV and any other NIC deprived Macs all together in their own little old world. No worries about connections to the outside world in that scenario..

 

[ninjafist1]

Thanks for the photos of the crescendo!  I am going to look for the 400mhz upgrade, have heard that the 300 and 350 aren't very noticeable.  Obviously the 500mhz would be ideal, but apparently they are rarely seen in the wild!  Wonder what kind of monitor I can drive with the video card?

 

[LaPorta]

At least now you know the type to look for...let me know when you have it!

 

[ninjafist1]

Just won a 400mhz sonnet on ebay!  

 

[EvilCapitalist]

Congrats on snagging a 400MHz version!  I've used the 300, 350, 400, and 500MHz versions and while the 500MHz is definitely excellent if you can find it, it doesn't feel night and day faster than the 400MHz version.  Plus, there's a thread on here that brings up the option of overclocking the card, which could help to close the gap: