Outbound laptop internal docking cable

[cheesestraws]

The docking equipment for the Outbound Laptop consists of two parts: the PDS card and the cable that goes from the PDS card to the back panel of the machine to provide the external port (28 pin mini-centronics style). Does anyone have a good photograph of the cable part of that?

 

[trag]

Are you thinking that if you knew how that's wire up, the docking card on Ebay for $250 might be worth something?

I really wish just one dock equipped compact Mac would turn up.

Actually, I should add, at an affordable price. I think a fellow did offer one for sale here, but it was a very complete set and he wanted something like $4000 for the whole shebang.

If I could afford to throw that kind of money around, I might have bought it.

 

[cheesestraws]

I might have actually bought the one on eBay, but not for $250... heh.

The things that convinced me were firstly that the pin headers on the top of the card had the same number of connectors as the cable, secondly that I realised that the second PDS connector was literally just that, a second PDS connector to make it easier to install in both styles of SE, and thirdly that the manual talks about a cable to the back of the machine, not a complex daughterboard that would need mounting.

The card seems to consist mostly (it hasn't arrived yet) of 74 series logic, which bodes well for the Clever Stuff being mostly done laptop-side. If that's the case I have some hope.

I should add that I have the docking cable that goes from the SE to the laptop, so I can have some confidence in everything up to that one missing link. So perhaps it will be reverse-engineerable.

But a photo would be handy.

 

[trag]

Here's the one on Ebay I'm thinking of:

Rare Vintage Nubus Board For Mac Dock SE Wallaby Sys Made In USA. | eBay

<p>Rare Vintage Nubus Board For Mac Dock SE Wallaby Sys Made In USA.. It's written in the lower left corner : Dock SE which means : The upper connector is design to connect the missing sub-board of daughter board and the Dock SE connector means to connect to the MacSE mainboard... Shipped with...

www.ebay.com

I offered the seller $110 near the beginning of the listing, which was immediately rejected. I've been considering offering it again, but just as well if a fellow list member got it.

If you are willing, I'd enjoy knowing what you ended up paying for it.

I could have sworn I had a copy of my notes on teh web, but I guess they're on the main archive at home. The connector for the Outbound is a Hirose DX something or other. If you need I'll try to remember to look at my notes. It's not actually a mini-centronics...

The last time I looked it was still in production, but not easy to find.

Unfortunately, that doesn't tell you in what order to connect the wires.

However, it'll be interesting to trace where that connector goes on teh board once you get it.

The SCSI adapter and the external Floppy adapter both have an 85C30 as the first component after the cable connector.

So if the docking adapter connects in an analogous way, there may be an 85C30 on the board just before the cable connector, in which case we may be able to figure out the wiring by example.

Later Edit: Well carp. I took another look at the image in that auction and I don't see an 85C30. Ah well.

 

[cheesestraws]

If you can find your notes, that would be incredibly helpful to work out what the actual connector is. Though even knowing it's a hirose DX of some description is handy: I got as far as "like AAUI but wider" and that was as far as I got.

Working out the pinout is going to be tricky. I suspect that to do so will require mapping out quite a bit of the circuitry on that card, but it looks like it's probably manageable even with my dubious talents. I cannot tell you how much I am hoping that it has at least two ground pins arranged in such a way that they're geometrically unambiguous :-D. Though I doubt it - there aren't many terminals on that connector.

The SCSI adapter and the external Floppy adapter both have an 85C30 as the first component after the cable connector.

That's a twist I wasn't expecting, so presumably there's some kind of mode switching from serial to something else involved, which is going to make this more complicated. I sort of assumed it was just a horribly multiplexed PDS slot, but, hrm.

 

[ScutBoy]

As a fellow Outbound owner, I'm watching this with interest!

 

[cheesestraws]

I should reiterate my normal warning that I am far better at starting projects than finishing them, but we'll try

 

[trag]

I should reiterate my normal warning that I am far better at starting projects than finishing them, but we'll try

You and me both. Which is why I'm kind of happy you got the card instead of me. Plus, I'm too cheap. Oh, and I don't own an SE or an SE-based Outbound 125. All of mine have Plus ROMs.

For @ScutBoy 's amusement, some of the stuff I sent cheesestraws in PM:

Some notes on parts:

https://www.prismnet.com/~trag/Outbound/Adapter%20Parts%20Lists

Datasheet for the Outbound Cable connectors. Available at Digikey, BTW. Digikey lists it in the "centronics" category, so maybe it is a mini-centronics and will mate with other cables? I'm just not sure. I could have sworn it wasn't quite mini-centronics.

Oh, and the Outbound uses the 28 pin variety of what's described in the attached datasheet.

 

[ScutBoy]

@trag - thanks for the info. I figured when @cheesestraws started asking about the cable he must have come across the card one way or another.

If you need some SE ROMs I can probably help you out with that.

 

[trag]

@trag - thanks for the info. I figured when @cheesestraws started asking about the cable he must have come across the card one way or another.

If you need some SE ROMs I can probably help you out with that.

Thankyou, Scutboy. I don't have any immediate need for them, but if it comes up, I will ask you. Happily, Cheesestraws is running this project.

 

[cheesestraws]

Oooh, I've been upgraded to a project now ;-).

The card is on its way to me, anyway. We'll see how it goes.

 

[unity]

For the sake of Outbound owners, I have a host cable (internal from card to laptop) and a card for a Plus, if any info is still needed.

 

[cheesestraws]

For the sake of Outbound owners, I have a host cable (internal from card to laptop) and a card for a Plus, if any info is still needed.

Do you have the breakout cable that goes from the card to the actual port on the back of the Plus? I managed to get hold of an SE card, but it's missing the breakout and I haven't managed to summon up the concentration to find out what the pinout is. Also, could you post a photo of the Plus card?

 

[unity]

So does your internal cable end at a port mounted on the SE chases? On the plus, the cable is ran through the security port and just hands out a couple feet for direction connection to the Outbound, no additional cable or adapter. If so, then I am guessing you need to use the host cable? The same cable used for the SCSI target mode box? I will post iPhone pics, let me know what you need more detail of. I plan to take some nice studio shots with the DSLR too.

 

[ScutBoy]

This is good news - many pictures, please!

 

[unity]

Some quick pics to give you an idea. The cable end looks the same as the host cable. If I open it up, it has the part numbers inside.

 

[unity]

Would be nice if the SE shares the same connectors on the card end, would help reduce the odds of the cable itself being different.

 

[cheesestraws]

Thanks for the photos and info!

If so, then I am guessing you need to use the host cable?

Yup, I think that's what's going on here. I have the host cable, the only bit I am missing, infuriatingly, is the bit that goes from the headers on the card to a connector for the host cable to plug into.

I can't count the pins on the SE card at the moment but it looks the same on the face of it. I'll check, but if so, could I ask you really nicely to buzz out how that cable is constructed and how the pins map between each end of the connector? It'd be really nice if it were as easy as pin 1 to pin 1, etc, but ... I fear it may not be.

 

[unity]

I just looked at my installation manual, while it cover the Laptop not the notebook, it shows the same setup. No port, just a cable hanging out for the SE like the plus does. So I dont think you need your host cable to connect, that is probably just for the SCSI interface module. To clarify, the cable coming out goes straight into the Outbound.

 

[cheesestraws]

To clarify, the cable coming out goes straight into the Outbound.

In which case, I don't have that cable. I only have a mini-D to mini-D, not a mini-D to headers as shown on yours. Which is kind of why I was asking about the pinout of that cable . Because I have nothing at all at the moment that will go from the card to the laptop: I assumed there was a back panel but I'm ... probably wrong on that count, apparently