31 Aug
2006
31 Aug
'06
8:12 p.m.
On Thursday 31 August 2006 10:44 pm, Billy Pettit wrote:
Got one which is an 8-bit card only there's a little sticker near the card
edge connector that says "pls plug into the 16 bits slot only" -- why would
they do that? This one has a DB25M on the metal bracket, which is also
labeled "Scanner Interface", is this supposed to be some kind of crude
SCSI?
There are a couple of chips labeled "SPOT" (a logo actually), and
silkscreened on the board it says "SPOT Fototak 2E-Card". The note on the
bag says "Parallel port" but I'm not sure that means anything. About four
chips on the board (2 of which look like RAM) and a jumper block, 2x3 with
2 on there.
-----------------------------------------
Billy: This sounds like the primitive SCSI that a lot of scanner folks
would send out with the early scanners.
I believe that one of the flatbed scanners I have here has a 25-pin connector
on it in addition to the usual 50-pin one.
<...>
The last one is also a 16-bit card. On the metal
bracket is a 50-pin
connector (same thing you'd see on an Adaptec 1520, 1540, etc.) and on the
opposite end is a 4-pin "drive power" (like in any PC) connector for power
to apparently be supplied_to_ the card, a small button ("tac" switch), and
a 2x5 pin shrouded connector. And across the top of the card is a big 2.4
ohm 10W (!) power resistor, not the sort of thing I'm used to seeing on
"PC" hardware.
This one's all surface mount, and the one square chip in there is marked
"Altera", not a name I'm at all familiar with. No other markings on the
board except a sticker hiding under that big resistor with a barcode and a
rather long number on it.
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Billy: I'm guessing on this one. The big resistor sounds like a current
source for some sort of burner.
There's also a surface-mount fuse (labeled as such) connected to that power
connector's 12V line. I'm guessing they wanted to sent +12V out that
connector...
Altera is a programmable logic company. I wonder if
you have one of their
early programmers? The programmers had two parts, the PCB and another box
with ZIF sockets external to the PCB. The cables were about 24 inches long,
but I remember them as plugged into Molex connectors.
That might be possibly the case. Too bad I don't have whatever plugs in
there...
Can you get us some photos? Might bring back more
accurate memories.
No, unfortunately, I don't have any easy way of doing that at this point in
time (something I should probably rectify sometime soon, when I can afford
to).
--
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space, a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed. --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
-
Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James
M Dakin