Amiga.org

Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: Boot_WB on November 29, 2005, 02:41:06 PM

Title: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: Boot_WB on November 29, 2005, 02:41:06 PM
Had a happy accident - tripped over my network cable and ripped the x-jack off my 3cxe589 pcmcia lan card.  Having done this (and having no dongle) I decided to take the case off to have a good look at the gubbins.

It was easy enough to bend the pcmcia connector round 90 degrees without the risk of anything shorting, the tricky bit was soldering 4 cables onto the small solder headers.

Next removed some excess plastic from the amiga motherboard, to expose the pins of the pcmcia connector and plug in the 3-com.  
I now have a lan card sticking out at 90 degrees to the motherboard.  A 4-core wire connects the innards of the pc-card to the output of a standard pci lan card, which sits nicely in the pci slot of a micronik zorro board.

Recycled the broken pcmcia card, nad no need for a costly right-angled adapter.  Plus frees up a slot in my mediator when I get it fixed.

All in all about 45 minutes work.

My £1.99 soldering iron died at the end of it though :-)

I'll post some pics when I can.
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: aGGreSSor on February 19, 2015, 07:28:43 PM
It is a pity that Boot_WB not show the photos. Interestingly, many people also dissected his Amiga? :rofl:
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: Oldsmobile_Mike on February 19, 2015, 08:54:14 PM
I can't for the life of me figure out what you're saying here.  :confused:

(http://nikonites.com/attachments/telephoto/89644d1400376867-my-sharpness-test-results-tamron-150-600-a-yodapic.jpg)
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: danbeaver on February 19, 2015, 09:02:15 PM
Well, I suppose being in a case means no one has to look at it being bent like that.
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: Rob on February 19, 2015, 09:18:11 PM
Quote from: Oldsmobile_Mike;784915
I can't for the life of me figure out what you're saying here.  :confused:


I think he's don't let him near your computer because it'll probably end up broken.
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: Oldsmobile_Mike on February 19, 2015, 09:26:01 PM
Quote from: Rob;784921
I think he's don't let him near your computer because it'll probably end up broken.

Ha!  I LOL'd.  :lol: :lol:
Title: PCMCIA hard hack attack - no need for Photos unless you like autopsies.
Post by: danbeaver on February 19, 2015, 09:45:25 PM
No, not broken right away, but badly bent at a 90 degree angle.
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: DutchinUSA on February 19, 2015, 10:53:02 PM
Still hoping he'll post some pictures eventually :lol:
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: kolla on February 19, 2015, 11:02:55 PM
I want a cabled PCMCIA extender, so I can "bend" it 180° and keep a wireless card inside the original housing, or make a ethernet port on the backside of the machine.
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: danbeaver on February 19, 2015, 11:42:42 PM
Quote from: DutchinUSA;784926
Still hoping he'll post some pictures eventually :lol:
I can picture it in my head, and it is not pretty; the movie Frankenstein comes to mind.
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: Boot_WB on February 19, 2015, 11:55:37 PM
Quote from: aGGreSSor;784910
It is a pity that Boot_WB not show the photos. Interestingly, many people also dissected his Amiga? :rofl:


Wow.

10 years...

Guess i never took the pictures.

It was the pcmcia card which, denuded of its case, could easily be bent to 90 degrees at the connector end.

Nothing on the Amiga needed altering, except removal of a little plastic from the pcmcia slot of the motherboard.

Back then those right angle adapters were about £30 iirc. If you didn't have one, you couldn't use the pcmcia in your towered Amiga.
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: Boot_WB on February 19, 2015, 11:59:49 PM
@DutchinUSA

Tempted to buy one now just for the challenge ;)

Link to picture of card thingy (http://static.onino.co.uk/pix/400/21/210643.jpg)

That plastic tab is the uber-fragile x-jack.

So ner, ner, ner-nerrrr ner :P
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: Oldsmobile_Mike on February 20, 2015, 12:21:16 AM
Haha.  I just realized this thread was 10 years old!  :p
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: Boot_WB on February 20, 2015, 12:40:15 AM
Did the internet even have pictures back then? :D

Can't even edit the OP (theres just no edit button), must be archived or something.
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: danbeaver on February 20, 2015, 01:39:38 AM
Quote from: Boot_WB;784931
@DutchinUSA

Tempted to buy one now just for the challenge ;)

Link to picture of card thingy (http://static.onino.co.uk/pix/400/21/210643.jpg)

That plastic tab is the uber-fragile x-jack.

So ner, ner, ner-nerrrr ner :P

You can just solder the Ethernet cable wires directly to what was left of the jack (to be super cheap)
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: DutchinUSA on February 20, 2015, 03:20:47 AM
Bending the jack doesn't give me enough space :) .. I think with the clearance in my case the card would have to be bent in half .. MmmM maybe I will open up one of my cards to see what they look like inside :D

For real though ! I will probably open up one of those useless 32-bitters first :cool:
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: orange on February 20, 2015, 03:54:56 AM
I'd bought that 90deg adapter, only to realize that case width can also be the problem. Had to modify the dongle slightly. They should make 180deg adapter.
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: Guru Mediator on March 02, 2015, 05:07:33 PM
I actually did the same today with a RoamAbout 802.11 :-) Thanks for the great idea!

(http://nicolas.baumgardt.ch/amiga/roam1.JPG)

(http://nicolas.baumgardt.ch/amiga/roam2.JPG)
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: Boot_WB on March 03, 2015, 12:47:40 PM
That looks awesome, and is probably a bit tidier than mine.
Thanks for posting the pics - one less thing on my endless to-do list. :)
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: salocinx on March 04, 2015, 09:47:39 AM
No problem - you're welcome : ) It saved me 40 bucks and in my opinion it looks even nicer, I like bare electronics. I also had to cut a bit of the A1200 black plastic PCMCIA bus bar, but nothing visually noticeable...
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: aGGreSSor on March 25, 2015, 10:52:57 PM
Quote from: Guru Mediator;785757
I actually did the same today with a RoamAbout 802.11 :-) Thanks for the great idea!

Now I understand what he wrote. :angry:  Very late. :roflmao:

What have I done? See below.. :hammer:
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: danbeaver on March 26, 2015, 01:30:18 AM
Seems a lot of soldering vs. bending the crap out of a connector, but if it works I won't knock it
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: aGGreSSor on March 26, 2015, 05:25:41 AM
Quote from: danbeaver;786730
but if it works I won't knock it
It works, but I strongly don't recommend anyone to repeat. My idea was as follows: 1) Unsolder PCMCIA-connector from Amiga; 2) Solder back straight PCMCIA-connector. FAIL. Then I decided to use the trim HDD cable..

(http://savepic.su/5293116.gif)
(http://savepic.su/5242943.gif)
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: kolla on March 26, 2015, 05:36:23 AM
I want PCMCIA extension cable, guess that's a DIY job and a 44 wired 2.5" IDE cable should be nice starting point.
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: aGGreSSor on March 26, 2015, 05:20:38 PM
Quote from: kolla;786735
I want PCMCIA extension cable, guess that's a DIY job and a 44 wired 2.5" IDE cable should be nice starting point.


Don't discourage. It was a good experience. PCMCIA has 68 pins so 68 x 3 = 204 (from pcb, on connector and back again pcb). Cable should be short (limitation). Difficult to unsolder GND-pin, but a lot of them and it's not a problem. If you damage the other pins then signals can be taken from pcb. One guarantee: that's interesting and takes a lot of time. :laughing:
Title: Re: pcmcia hard-hack - no need for right angled adapter in tower.
Post by: danbeaver on March 28, 2015, 11:14:40 AM
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=42&products_id=690

$32 USD ~ so why not a right-angled adapter?