4 Apr
2003
4 Apr
'03
4:19 a.m.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctech-admin(a)classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-admin@classiccmp.org]On
Behalf Of Bill Allen Jr
Sent: 02 April 2003 06:14
To: cctech(a)classiccmp.org
Subject: RE: IBM 5161
The ibm 5161 expansion box was designed for use with
the ibm pc.
And presumably *only* the PC, ie not the XT.
the pc had fewer slots then the later released pc xt
and it's power supply was too small to handle a hard
drive.
Yep, 5 slots and a 63W PSU that couldn't even handle a fully populated
backplane if some of the cards were a little power-hungry.
the exp box added a hard drive to the system and
provided extra card slots ( i think the box also had
additional bios or came with an extra fixed disk rom
chip that went into the pc).
Not that I've found, just an 8-slot backplane which immediately loses a slot
because one of them must be occupied by the receiving end of the expander
interface that has to go in the 5150. There might be a BIOS in that
interface though, I didn't really check that. The 5161 has a hard drive
controller card in it as well as a Seagate monster that's probably only 5 or
10 meg.
the card that connects to the ribbon cables that come
from the exp box goes into one of the pc's card slots.
No ribbon cables, just an interface cable that's thicker than my thumb!
i cannot remember if it is slot specific or if it can
go into any slot - there is a plate on the pc's back
that removes to allow the ribbon cables to exit the
case.
There's a plate on the back, yes, maybe very early boxes used ribbons and
the thicker cables came along later?
i was told that the expansion box was a little rare
because, shortly after the pc was released that pc xt
was released .
Well, a year later anyway, after the 5150 had shifted 200,000 units
according to most websites.
I've put a breakdown of the kit on my IBM page - go to
www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk and click on the link in the very top 'updates'
message.
cheers
--
adrian/witchy
www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk - the online computer museum
www.snakebiteandblack.co.uk - monthly gothic shenanigans