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jmacz journey

The Japanese version of the ReadMe has this to say about System6

If you are reinstalling System 6.0.7, please set the monitor in the control panel to black and white before installing. After the installation is complete, copy the Desktop Manager contained on the floppy to the system folder. This is an Apple Computer Corporation INIT to fix a hierarchy management bug in system 6.0.7. Then copy Warp 030 1.4 to the system folder. Finally, install TransWarp itself on the machine.
 
Played some more with my Applied Engineering TW1340 TransWarp Mac SE II Accelerator today. Came away with a few more observations.

First, I have definitely ruled out any issues being caused by my SE as I tested today with another working SE and saw the same issues.

Second, irregardless of System 6.0.8 or System 7.1.1, I cannot get the TransWarp Compact drivers (regardless of version) to detect my accelerator board.

Third, irregardless of System 6.0.8 or System 7.1.1, I could not get Compact Virtual 3.0.2 working properly. Accessing the control panel kept giving me an error stating that there was no 68030 or higher installed in my system (but note I had another observation regarding this -- see below).

Fourth, replacing system 6.0.8 with System 7.1.1 did however let me somewhat use more than 4MB on the accelerator board. Under 6.0.8 and when using 8MB or 16MB on the accelerator board, I would get various immediately when launching applications (bus, address, trap errors). Under 7.1.1 with 8MB or 16MB installed on the accelerator board, things are stable. I did not get a single crash.

Fifth, under System 7.1.1 and with greater than 4MB installed (ie. 8MB or 16MB), Compact Virtual 3.0.2 started working. It no longer complained about the lack of a 68030. The system correctly reports that either 8MB or 16MB is available.

So if the SE is now stable with 8MB or 16MB under System 7.1.1, what's the issue?

Although running various applications and such has been stable, when running MacTest Pro's memory tests I see a memory failure. The memory address for the failure is always the same: $420000, which I believe is just north of 4MB. Moving memory modules doesn't change anything. Swapping in new memory modules doesn't change anything. Moving from 8MB to 16MB doesn't change anything. It's always at the same address, $420000. Note that for 16MB, I am using four 4MB modules. For 8MB, I am using four 2MB modules. So the issue cannot be the SIMM sockets given the address stayed the same even though I'm switching between 2MB and 4MB modules.

What's interesting however is that as MacTest Pro runs through its tests, it shows you which memory address location is being checked. When it hits the address it's failing on ($420000), the screen image cuts out and flickers before coming back. It's almost like the screen buffer got written to during the test.
 
The system is definitely stable with both 8MB and 16MB installed. Ran MacBench a few times and no crashes, and it's definitely faster so the accelerator is working.

Saw a few posts regarding SEs + accelerators with memory, and seems like there are some memory limitations and 4MB chunking done with the additional memory. MacTest Pro is probably getting confused based on the amount of system memory it sees and how these chunks are laid out.

Looks like I need to get Compact Virtual working in order to utilize the additional memory but I'm actually not sure how it's supposed to work. During boot, the Compact Virtual boot icon is X'd out. TransWarp 030 v1.5 is not (and works).

With 8MB Installed

If I open the Compact Virtual control panel I get an enabled slider which lets me choose between 8MB and 16MB application memory. If I choose 16MB, an error dialog pops up saying virtual memory requires a 68030+ so it's clearly not seeing the accelerator (when I installed Compact Virtual, the installer let me choose the accelerator installed and I chose the only Applied Engineering option available which is the TransWarp SE).

With 16MB Installed

If I open the Compact Virtual control panel I get a disabled slider - it won't let me choose anything. And as soon as I open the control panel I get the error dialog popping up saying virtual memory requires a 68030+.

It doesn't look like I've been successful getting Compact Virtual working hence the inability to use all the memory. But at least the system is no longer crashing with the additional memory installed.

Putting this away again for now to get back to some other things. Will try fumbling with it some more in the future.
 
I got tired of trying to probe signals on my various video cards while the card was installed upright on a motherboard. Drawing inspiration from @zigzagjoe (and some of his advice), I put together my very first PCB using Kicad.

I probably made a ton of n00b design choices here but hey, this was my very first attempt so don't laugh. 🤣 (that means you @bigmessowires!)

IMG_7341.JPG

This is part one of a two part Nubus Interposer. The primary goal is to allow me to leave my video card on my work surface but still have it connected to the motherboard and running. I have only manufactured this bottom part so far and all the connections on this part are good with functional LEDs showing that the power rails are good. This will use standard 50 pin internal SCSI ribbon cables to ferry the 96 nubus port signals to a video card sitting 12" away. I have no idea whether this will work given the distance, noise, etc. But even if it doesn't, I learned a lot from playing with Kicad and attempting this so it was worth it regardless.

The other part is where most of the "fun" stuff is... lots of lights! But I have yet to manufacture this part as I'm still figuring out how to get the assembly stuff working with JLCPCB as there's no way I'm going to solder all the LEDs and resistors.

Screenshot 2024-03-22 at 9.23.24 PM.png

At some point I'll stop staring at it trying to find any costly mistakes and cross my fingers and place an order. Again, probably made a ton of mistakes here (not connections but more the theory, design choices, etc). But I guess I will find out.

One thing I did find interesting though having spent a lot of time in CAD/CAM software. It's very possible I just haven't figured out how to do this yet, but I'm so accustomed to parametric modeling that I was really looking for constraint tools in Kicad so that I can put in rules for the layout. For example use a variable to define the distance between LEDs and other components so that an edit of one value automatically takes effect all over the design. Is that doable? Like can I define a dimensional constraint saying that the ports are always 3mm away from the PCB edge so that as I move the edge, the ports move to that constraint? I could not figure that out but that would have been nice given the number of components.
 
jmacz said:
The system is definitely stable with both 8MB and 16MB installed. Ran MacBench a few times and no crashes, and it's definitely faster so the accelerator is working.

Saw a few posts regarding SEs + accelerators with memory, and seems like there are some memory limitations and 4MB chunking done with the additional memory. MacTest Pro is probably getting confused based on the amount of system memory it sees and how these chunks are laid out.

Looks like I need to get Compact Virtual working in order to utilize the additional memory but I'm actually not sure how it's supposed to work. During boot, the Compact Virtual boot icon is X'd out. TransWarp 030 v1.5 is not (and works).

With 8MB Installed

If I open the Compact Virtual control panel I get an enabled slider which lets me choose between 8MB and 16MB application memory. If I choose 16MB, an error dialog pops up saying virtual memory requires a 68030+ so it's clearly not seeing the accelerator (when I installed Compact Virtual, the installer let me choose the accelerator installed and I chose the only Applied Engineering option available which is the TransWarp SE).

With 16MB Installed

If I open the Compact Virtual control panel I get a disabled slider - it won't let me choose anything. And as soon as I open the control panel I get the error dialog popping up saying virtual memory requires a 68030+.

It doesn't look like I've been successful getting Compact Virtual working hence the inability to use all the memory. But at least the system is no longer crashing with the additional memory installed.

Putting this away again for now to get back to some other things. Will try fumbling with it some more in the future.
Click to expand...

Did you go through the full Compact Virtual installation? I’m pretty sure that’s key (and you get to choose from a list of accelerators). I remember that sometimes i had better luck reinstalling with a less obvious accelerator option. You might try playing around with it. The extension icon should not be crossed out and the sliders should all work.
 
Been really busy at work for the past month.. but got some time today to open my package from JLCPCB: Nubus Interposer!

My first attempt at designing something in Kicad and getting it manufactured at JLCPCB. :)

IMG_7504.JPG

The above is the extension board that plugs into the nubus slot on the logic board. And..

IMG_7485.JPG

this is the main board that plugs into the actual nubus card, in this case a video card. It looks to be working. I am able to use the video card while it's sitting on my work bench so I can more easily probe and potentially debug things. Hope this comes in handy to finish debugging the three SuperMac video cards I have that have some issues. And the blinking lights are a nice plus. Thanks for the help @zigzagjoe!

Yes, those are 50 pin internal SCSI ribbon cables. Needed a flexible but cheap way to connect the two halves. I am sure I have a lot to learn in terms of noise/etc that I got wrong here and will need to learn for future projects. But it is working.

Since there was a minimum quantity of 5 from JLCPCB, I've got four more half assembled pairs that I'm not sure what to do with.
 
jmacz said:
Spent some time today replacing the ATX PSU inside my converted IIci PSU with an SFX PSU instead. Reason was the older ATX PSU that I previously used has group regulation of the power rails which was causing an issue on loaded machines. I swapped it for a newer SFX size PSU that has DC-DC support allowing for more tighter regulation of the 5V line.

Here's the new SFX PSU sitting inside the IIci PSU enclosure.

View attachment 65109

The holes for the standoffs obviously didn't line up with the old PSU and so I had to drill two new holes into the enclosure. The third hole was reusable. I went with the same Noctua fan I had previously. This time around I tied all the 5V lines and all the ground lines together and used larger gauge wires for it. Looks kinda cool. :)

View attachment 65110

You can see the DC-DC converters in the lower right. Also the little board mounted to the side wall is the inverter circuit. Still using the NPN transistor based inverter for the startup signal.

View attachment 65113

All buttoned up and ready for my IIci. Or I can use it on my Quadra 700 as well.

I have three PSUs of this size now. One is this one above. The second is still using the group regulated power supply and I will use that for my lightly loaded IIci. The third is a stock PSU (Delta brand) which is still ok and I don't see any leaking caps so hopefully it lasts a while.
Click to expand...
Hi @jmacz ,
I add the NPN transistor for the startup signal to PSUs but not using that nice PCB of yours, I simply arrage resistors and the NPN in a manually cut board, wrapper with a heat shrinkable and left inside, but I prefer your arrangement, very clean an neat.
Where did you get the tiny PCB?
thanks
 
New to me Apple IIe. Where's the internals?? Actually in the process of recapping them :) came with the disk and mouse interface cards as well as a memory/80 column expansion card. I picked up a vga display card also to ensure the system was working and it is. Also got the 5.25" disk drive with it. I have a monochrome display on the way.

IMG_7656.JPG

IMG_7657.JPG

Now have to get my kids to try out Oregon Trail on it once I've finished putting it back together. Probably should pick up a Floppy Emu as well.
 
Also finally got one of these (NextStation Color N1200) via @techstep although it's untested. Need to procure a vga adapter as well as some means to connect a keyboard/mouse to it.

IMG_7658.JPG
 
Last edited:
Sending one working and one failed Spectrum 24/III accelerator boards to @Bolle for reverse engineering. Hopefully he'll be able to get around the security fuse set on the GALs. 🤞 In which case I will have two fully functional copies of this particular video card to add to my growing SuperMac video card stable. Really appreciating the help from @MacOSMonkey who's an encyclopedia of information. :)

IMG_7661.JPG
 
A few more items...

IMG_7662.JPG

Thanks to a tip from @History_SE30_Dude, picked up two SCSI drives off Craigslist primarily for the enclosures. Should make it easier to test SCSI drives going forward. They came with working drives but way too large for my 68K Macs.

And yes.. another SE...

IMG_7663.JPG

Got it cheap. It had a Brainstorm sticker on it but unfortunately, didn't have it inside. Seller said it wasn't working. Upon inspection, that was due to missing memory. With memory installed, it works fine. These SEs really are built like tanks. Clipped out the battery and it will go through a full recap and cleaning. Then need to decide whether I keep yet another SE or not. Was thinking of having a simple two SE Armor Alley / NetTrek set up. Maybe this is it.
 
jmacz said:
Sending one working and one failed Spectrum 24/III accelerator boards to @Bolle for reverse engineering. Hopefully he'll be able to get around the security fuse set on the GALs. 🤞 In which case I will have two fully functional copies of this particular video card to add to my growing SuperMac video card stable. Really appreciating the help from @MacOSMonkey who's an encyclopedia of information. :)

View attachment 73306
Click to expand...

I really hope it works out!
 
joshc said:
Unless I’m misremembering, these use ADB for the keyboard/mouse.
Click to expand...

It has two mini din 8 ports but they are full 8 pin and I thought those were for serial connections. It doesn't have the usual ADB mini din 8 size ports with 4 pins. I think it was Sound Box peripheral that had the ADB port on it? I think there were some DIY adapters that were made so need to look into that a bit.
 
Need to make some room in my office but there's nothing I want to get rid of... 🤣

My SE stable..

IMG_7789.JPG

My IIci and Quadra 700..

IMG_7790.JPG

My IIfx..

IMG_7791.JPG

I guess I need to figure out a way to better store these but still make it easy to pull them out to try from time to time.
 
The machine I'm using every day is my Quadra 800. It's set up with two NEC LCDs running at 1024x768 each.

IMG_7792.JPG

I did recently splurge... I couldn't resist and picked up a SuperMac Thunder II 1360 with the image processing accelerator. I didn't pay an arm and a leg like some of the listings on eBay for SuperMac cards, but nonetheless it was more than I wanted to spend. But can't do much when the cards are showing up less frequently these days and I wanted one. And it works flawlessly which is also good. (cc: @MacOSMonkey). I have this Thunder II as well as a Spectrum 24/IV running inside this Quadra. I modified both cards to disable the sync on the RGB channels otherwise the colors get washed out on my LCDs.

Yes, I do use the Supra 14.4 modem in the picture. It's connected to a PBX. And I have another connected to my IIfx. Lets me pretend to be a sysop using Hermes every so often. No fancy doors or anything installed on Hermes. Just a vanilla setup.
 
Got an old Pentium II PC from @techstep I think 6 months back? It's taken that amount of time to collect the various cards I needed/wanted to run the Intel version of NeXTStep 3.3. Finally got the last piece a couple weeks ago and installed everything.

IMG_7797.JPG

It has a Number Nine Imagine 128 video card (which will allow me to run at 1600x1200 or 1280x1024 once I get an appropriate monitor). The SCSI drive is connected to an Adaptec 2940 SCSI card. And it has a 3COM Etherlink III TPO ISA card. Ethernet is working. Also had to pick up a PS2 mouse and keyboard. I did get a Matsushita 4X SCSI CD-ROM drive which I thought was working but it kept having IO errors randomly. Something's wrong with it and didn't want to spend time debugging it. Ended up using a ZuluSCSI to emulate the CD ROM which worked flawlessly.

To think, I had all the parts I would need at some point ... but gave them away, sold them, or recycled them. Never thought I'd be sitting here 2+ decades later looking for those cards/peripherals again.

I'm trying to find a new case because this one looks really ugly... the motherboard is an ATX-spec Abit LM6. I was looking around at both new and used ATX cases, preferably something black. But most these days don't have the opening in the front for a floppy drive anymore. 🤣 There are some, but they are huge.

For the Etherlink card, I had to figure out what port address the card was configured with as I tried the usual defaults when configuring inside NeXTStep and couldn't get it to find the card. Ended up finding a 3Com DOS tool, imaging a DOS 6.22 disk, and running that on the machine to find the address. All of this was trip down memory lane.

Now I have to do the same type of hunting to procure the parts I need to restore the NeXTStation Color I picked up recently.
 
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