Yet another NuBus card to identify - IDEAssociates Inc

[Renegade]

While digging out one of my IIcx this morning, I came across this NuBus board with a male DB15 port.

It reads "MAC II 5251 REV A" "P/N 613-14081" and appears to be from a company called "IDEAssociates INC".






Sadly, the HDD form this IIcx refuses to spin, so finding a clue from some driver or software would be tricky.

Does anyone have any idea what this card was used for? Exotic network card? Terminal emulation?

 

[Melkhior]

Oh, neat and not the usual network device I would guess. It's likely to be a terminal card to access an IBM system. At least that's what the IDEAssociates IDEAcomm 5251 for PC does, and the number is a match for some IBM stuff. Presumably, this is the NuBus equivalent, likely even rarer.

EDIT: A description of similar functionalities is in this document, page 19 under IDEAssociates. it confirms that company made that kind of products for the Mac as well.

 

[JC8080]

Oh, neat and not the usual network device I would guess. It's likely to be a terminal card to access an IBM system. At least that's what the IDEAssociates IDEAcomm 5251 for PC does, and the number is a match for some IBM stuff. Presumably, this is the NuBus equivalent, likely even rarer.

There was a Mac II version, though I could not find a specific NuBus card model 5251. I do think you are correct though, and based on the lack of search results for the NuBus version I think it is probably quite rare.

 

[Melkhior]

NuBus is explictely mentioned in e.g. "Upgrade your Macintosh and save a bundle", page 217 (PDF 236) under "Mac to minicomputer communications".

• IDEAssociates (ldeacomm Mac) SE, SE 30, NuBus card.

The Mac II version must be the NuBus version, presumably the name "Mac II version" predates the introduction of other expansion ports/NuBus systems.

Probably quite useless unless you have the software and a minicomputer to hook it up to, but a neat item for a collector.

 

[Melkhior]

Hehe, quoting Wikipedia for the 5251:

Robustly constructed, 5251 terminals weigh roughly 36 kilograms (79 lb).

I can understand why someone would prefer a terminal emulation device in a Mac or PC rather than an extra 36 kg worth of kit

 

[Renegade]

Wow, you guys found out very quickly what this card is. Thanks.

I can see that the SE PDS variant was mentioned here.

Just like you say, Melkhior: pretty useless without software and the minicomputer.

 

[Melkhior]

Just like you say, Melkhior: pretty useless without software and the minicomputer.

I suspect the big issue is, as usual, the software. Although it's not the most common types of emulation, that device should be able to connect to many 80's/90'/s AS/400, and those do have a community of enthusiasts. If the original hard disk is available, the software might be salvageable somehow, or maybe someone else has it. In either case, the card might be of interest to an AS/400 enthusiast. Or you might go down the AS/400 rabbit hole yourself

 

[Renegade]

It would be worthwhile trying a data recovery on the IIcx disk. With a bit of luck, the software might still be there.

As for the AS/400, I'll gladly leave that to others . Microcomputers already take up enough space