FWB JackHammer: Missing Pins Normal?

[fogwalker]

I have an FWB JackHammer for NuBus that I've never used since I'm looking for a certain machine to go with it and other cards (I've been leaning towards a Quadra 950 while still considering a Workgroup Server 9150/120), but haven't found a quality example yet.

Yesterday I decided to take another look at it and noticed that the 50-pin IDC connector is missing a few pins. From the pinout I found online, it appears that these are 23, 24, and 25, which are ground, ground, and open, respectively. This doesn't seem right to me, but then the first time that I saw the missing pins on an M0100 mouse connector, I also thought that there was a problem, so I'm unsure in this case. This JackHammer is on the brown rather than the green PCB, if that is of any relevance. Is this board usable or a doorstop?

 

[Bolle]

i got one brown and one green jackhammer and both got a full SCSI connector.

if its only grounds just try if it works.

 

[equill]

Neither of two (green boards) NuBus JackHammer cards that I am looking at has even one missing pin in the connector. You are the man on the spot, however, and best able to try the card's functionality. Best of luck!

de

 

[Charlieman]

As Equill suggests, suck it and see. The 50 pin IDC is SCSI II, so if your pin identification is correct, it should work. If your pin identification is wrong, via any incorrect orientation, it won't work.

Assuming the worst, and that essential pins are missing, how easy is it to remove and replace the IDC header? De-soldering 50 pins is not to be taken likely, but are there any other potential problems?

 

[Unknown_K]

As Equill suggests, suck it and see. The 50 pin IDC is SCSI II, so if your pin identification is correct, it should work. If your pin identification is wrong, via any incorrect orientation, it won't work.
Assuming the worst, and that essential pins are missing, how easy is it to remove and replace the IDC header? De-soldering 50 pins is not to be taken likely, but are there any other potential problems?

I broke off some pins on a Micronet Nubus SCSI card (the Nubus slot pins were bent when I got it and eventually broke from being inserted a few times in different machine), so I had to desolder the Nubus header from the card that needed repaired, desolder a good connector from a junk video card, and solder the good connector back onto the SCSI card. Anything can be done but its a pain to do.

 

[fogwalker]

Thank you to all for your input thus far. I'm currently unable to test it and wondering if I should look for another one, but of course won't know for sure unless it is tested. If my orientation is reversed, the missing pins would be 24, 25, and 26 instead, which are ground, open, and termination power, respectively. However, I checked it again (viewing the connector overhead from the front of the card) and believe that my initial interpretation is correct.

What seems odd is how cleanly finished the metal is where the missing pins are located. There also appears to be a tiny indentation in the center of each of them, and the plastic guard has no evidence that they were removed with a tool. Obviously my wish is that the factory intentionally omitted these pins, but given others' observations and my own sense, I fear not.

 

[trag]

I have several NuBus JackHammer cards. One of them is a very old model with a hand written serial number on the yellow (not green) board and it too is missing some pins in the 50 pin SCSI connector.

I can't remember if I have tested its functionality, but I think that I have. I do not have a flag in my brain saying any of my JackHammers need repair, so I think they're all good, except a few of the later-acquired green-boarded ones, which are flagged as untested.

Anyway, the point is I have an old yellow board one with missing pins as well. I don't remember if it is those particular pins.

 

[fogwalker]

Trag, that's the most hopeful information yet! Mine too is an earlier one (packed May 1993) on that yellow-brown board, so perhaps the missing pins actually are intentional. Presumably I'll eventually be equipped to test it, but until such time won't know unless there are other similar observations to bolster the notion that these pins were purposely omitted.