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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Marketplace => Topic started by: Generale on April 16, 2005, 03:31:27 PM
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Hi there!
These things have cursed me for years. I have no idea what architecture they belong to.
The cards in question (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/princess_of_pain/11fec655.jpg)
Does anybody know what they are from?
I'm thinking about throwing them on ebay depending on what they belong to. If I do, and if they don't sell I'm stripping their components.
Any input would be great.
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@Generale,
Can you send a higher resolution picture. Perhaps someone can identify these cards given a closr look.
-AmigaEd
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Hello,
the top card pictured looks like a BOCA RAM expansion card.
It was used to expand RAM on PC Motherboards that only had IMB or RAM onboard, usually XT's and 286's.
It was used on the CBM PC10's and PC20's.
Shaf
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Hit me if im wrong but i think those are ram cards for some 286 or 386 dx motherboards i cant garntee that tho.
adonay :-D
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If you look closely you will notice that even the top board has a small set of contacts on the left end.
No standard PC (ISA/EISA/PCI) has slots there and those don't look like Amiga-bridgeboards either.
Maybe Mikrochannel, maybe something more exeotic.
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ehhh...looks like photobucket strikes again with its resizing. The original file is here. (http://members.dodo.com.au/~izabellion/cards.jpg)
It's pretty straightforward regarding the function of the cards, but the bus connector is a new one on me!
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could be older sun systems i think those boards were huge
adonay :-D
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So we have a couple of running theories right now.
Wow you people post quickly!
Anyhow, I figured it was a bit more exotic. As I've never seen a bus interface like it and it doesn't look remotely like anything in my computer collection (obviously). I can only really measure my collection in cubic metres. i have no idea how much I have anymore.
So noone is totally sure yet. Hmm. Because if I don't sell them, those chips are MINE! The RAM chips would work nicely with my a500.
The ones in an 8mb EMS board I have are perfect too (512k x8). There are 72 of them on the EMS board. (Don't forget parity). I don't want to use that one though.
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They look like the first 386 ram expansion cards. Threw a couple away not too long ago at work. They look identical to those. Even had one still in one of those HUGE motherboards.
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The bottom two boards are probably VESA boards of some kind. VESA Local Bus (VLB) was a kind of attempt to replace ISA but it died out fairly quickly.
That top board looks like ISA to me. I've seen a few ISA boards in old Compaq machines with that extra connector in the rear, but I've never seen it used for anything.
I agree they all look like memory boards to me :-)
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They can't be VESA as VESA-connectors are inlined with the normal ISA-connectors and the VESA part of the connector (the one furthest away from the backplate) hade the same pin-spacing as PCI.
/Patrik
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Some early brand-name PCs used proprietary risers for RAM expansion. The middle card looks like it came from Compaq Deskpro. Not sure about the other two. . . .
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Use the FCC ID to look them up online. Might help.
http://www.fcc.gov/oet/fccid/
edit: just realized that you're from the land of oz... might not be so easy after all. :(
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Definitely not VESA. I still use VESA cards in some of my PCs. I quite like the drive controller cards. The Gfx cards were never anything special though.
Proprietary RAM Risers, eh? well, that makes sense. I have a few PCs with horrible proprietary interfaces that I gave up trying to find upgrades for.
Compaq would make a lot of sense. They like to do things their own way. Just like IBM. If it were compaq, wouldn't it have their brand emblazoned all over it?
There are no brand marks, and barely any model identification.
I always thought the FCC Ids were assigned at manufacture time to various models of ..well everything electronic. I've used the FCC id to find out what some obscure hardware is in the past, but these ones really stump me.
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Middle one looks like GVP ram card.
Bottom one looks like GVP ide card.
Top one possibly older GVP ram card.
I had one similar to the middle one but it also had ide connector.
All look to fit A2000.
Regards,
L.G.
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naaa . . . if the were GVP products, would be labeled and then the connectors are NOT Amiga related (the bottom one seems an ISA)
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Check.
ISA connector has no copper and exist for support.
Zorro connectors vary.
My memory is not that solid on the labels.
But hey :)
L.G.
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yes sorry . . .just checked. They are not even ISA but definitely, not Amiga.
The bottom one, has 40+40 (80 contacts) that isn't ISA nor Amiga video slot.
so . . no idea at all ;-)
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Well, if these cards have you lot stumped, then I'd be surprised if anyone out there still knows. Because tehy have no brand name or any real identification on them. I couldn't be bothered doing a trace for the ISA-like connectors to see if they match, because the second connector puts a major spanner in the works.
I don't even remember where these cards came from. I think I got them whan a guy gave me a pile of old computer gear to replace the notebook I bought off him that violently exploded.
He gave me enough stuff to pack my beetle. I also got one of those V shaped towbars that attach to the torsion bar that day. It was in the cabin too. It was a cramped trip home.
So, what do you think my odds are of selling them on eBay, and what starting price?
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Well, you'd have to label them all as "Full Length Proprietary RAM Expansion Card" with no warranty, starting bid $0.01.
As far as branding goes, a lot of companies only brand the things they sell separately. If these cards were initially installed in a PC (or some other box) as part of the main RAM bus, then they probably wouldn't have been branded. But at least one of those number sequences is likely to be a part number.
Trev
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>Microchannel
The cards are NOT microchannel cards, because microchannel cards are smaller.
Perhaps Sun i386 or Sun i486, or other workstations.
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Heh. Not going to do the starting at 5 cents again. I sold a big box of Sun software including the OS for $1. Wasn't happy about that.
Then there was MS SQL server. Sold it for $6 I think. grr..
Anyway, basically I'd like the money, and I don't want to strip the cards if they are some rarity that someone has been searching for since the stone age. If no-one out there can use them in their system, I'm definitely claiming the chips.
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I would just strip the RAM and toss the boards. It's unlikely you'll find a buyer for hardware that can't be identified. . . .