3 Oct
2006
3 Oct
'06
6:08 p.m.
Another Ebay find came in today, a 486 EISA motherboard and 5 cards.
The motherboards seems to be this model: http://artofhacking.com/th99/m/U-Z/31111.htm ,
but I can't find a company name on it anywhere. It has 8 EISA slots seems to be setup
for a 486 DX. it looks like there are 2 DALLAS real time clocks on it, and the machine
complains the eisa config battery is low. Are there any cheap hacks to get around this?
The cards that came are the following (all EISA):
HP 10Mb and 100Mb network card has a HP/AT&T 100VG chip
Aview 2e Video card, 1MB VRAM
Adaptec AHA-2740 and AHA-2740A SCSI 50 pin (no floppy controller) SCSI cards
Mylex DAC960-1/2 caching controller card with what looks like 16MB (maybe 4MB) of RAM
installed (4x30 pin). The card has a nice big Intel i960 chip (first one I have).
When the machine boots I don't see any info on what processor the system has like you
would normally see on a 486 system, and no BIOS screen for the SCSI cards comes up either
(not that there is anything connected to them). The caching controller is odd looking
because of the large SCSI connectors ( there appears to be a 50 pin SCSI internal , and 2
68 pin SCSI (one looks like a normal 50 pin but its long and has 68 pins, the other looks
like a 68pin connector on newer cards but the pin spacing makes it look 3x longer). Is
this a raid only card and do I need special cables for the 68 pin connectors or are there
adapters for these?
I never used an EISA machine before (one of the reason I snagged these) and was wondering
if there is anything special about them. Is there a standard configuration utility for
EISA cards or do you need to find one for each card?
Also since this machine is all EISA slots would putting an ISA card in one of them slow
the BUS down? I need to find an EISA floppy and I/O card to complete this, anybody have
one they don't need?
TZ
4 Oct
4 Oct
8:13 a.m.
On Tue, 3 Oct 2006, Teo Zenios wrote:
Another Ebay find came in today, a 486 EISA
motherboard and 5 cards.
The motherboards seems to be this model:
http://artofhacking.com/th99/m/U-Z/31111.htm , but I can't find a
company name on it anywhere. It has 8 EISA slots seems to be setup for a
486 DX. it looks like there are 2 DALLAS real time clocks on it, and the
machine complains the eisa config battery is low. Are there any cheap
hacks to get around this?
It might use NVRAM in the Dallas module, in which case you may just be
able to replace them outright.
The cards that came are the following (all EISA):
HP 10Mb and 100Mb network card has a HP/AT&T 100VG chip
I don't think that 100VG "AnyLAN" is compatible with 100Base ethernet.
ISTR it's a proprietary standard that's actually closer to token ring.
The 10Mb mode "should" be compatible with ethernet.
There are a number of 100BaseTX EISA adapters available. Try to find a
3Com 3c597 (I used all mine to upgrade networking on SGI Indigo 2 boxes
<g>).
Aview 2e Video card, 1MB VRAM
Adaptec AHA-2740 and AHA-2740A SCSI 50 pin (no floppy controller) SCSI cards
Mylex DAC960-1/2 caching controller card with what looks like 16MB
(maybe 4MB) of RAM installed (4x30 pin). The card has a nice big Intel
i960 chip (first one I have).
You have a DAC-960 EISA bus controller? I thought the DAC960s were all
PCI bus. Learn something every day!
When the machine boots I don't see any info on
what processor the system
has like you would normally see on a 486 system, and no BIOS screen for
the SCSI cards comes up either (not that there is anything connected to
them). The caching controller is odd looking because of the large SCSI
connectors ( there appears to be a 50 pin SCSI internal , and 2 68 pin
SCSI (one looks like a normal 50 pin but its long and has 68 pins, the
other looks like a 68pin connector on newer cards but the pin spacing
makes it look 3x longer). Is this a raid only card and do I need special
cables for the 68 pin connectors or are there adapters for these?
I never used an EISA machine before (one of the reason I snagged these)
and was wondering if there is anything special about them. Is there a
standard configuration utility for EISA cards or do you need to find one
for each card?
It's worse than that. You need the EISA setup _application_ specific to
the motherboard in _addition_ to the config files for each expansion
board. If you're lucky, perhaps the setup app for another brand of
motherboard using the same chipset will work.
Also since this machine is all EISA slots would
putting an ISA card in
one of them slow the BUS down? I need to find an EISA floppy and I/O
card to complete this, anybody have one they don't need?
It should be simple enough to find an Adaptec 2742 controller with onboard
floppy. As of last Spring, I routinely saw them in the "Free" or
"$1.00"
bins at flea markets.
And, no, an ISA card will not slow things down. You can likely install a
run-of-the-mill floppy IO card.
Steve
--
8:42 a.m.
On 10/3/2006 at 9:08 PM Teo Zenios wrote:
Another Ebay find came in today, a 486 EISA motherboard
and 5 cards.
The motherboards seems to be this model:
http://artofhacking.com/th99/m/U-Z/31111.htm , but I can't find a company
name on it anywhere. It has 8 EISA slots seems to be setup for a 486 DX.
it looks like there are 2 DALLAS real time clocks on it, and the machine
complains the eisa config battery is low. Are there any cheap hacks to get
around this?
Only one of these is an RTC chip, the other (DS1225V) is an 8Kx8 NVRAM. I
wonder if it might be simplest to replace this one with a similar FRAM
(Ramtron FM-1608) and be done with the battery issue, at least on the one
chip. The Ramtron chip is also cheaper than NOS DS1225Vs, BTW. You might
also be able to carve into the encapsulation with a Dremel to get at the
lithium cell as a very cheap dodge.
As far as the DS1287 RTC, it's been discussed on the list before (you can
carve into the epoxy and tie into the lithium cell contacts, or you can
just replace the chip).
http://www.maxim-ic.com/appnotes.cfm/appnote_number/503 has notes on
replacement.
Cheers,
Chuck
The cards that came are the following (all EISA):
HP 10Mb and 100Mb network card has a HP/AT&T 100VG chip
Aview 2e Video card, 1MB VRAM
Adaptec AHA-2740 and AHA-2740A SCSI 50 pin (no floppy controller) SCSI
cards
Mylex DAC960-1/2 caching controller card with what looks like 16MB (maybe
4MB) of RAM installed (4x30 pin). The card has a nice big Intel i960 chip
(first one I have).
When the machine boots I don't see any info on what processor the system
has like you would normally see on a 486 system, and no BIOS screen for
the SCSI cards comes up either (not that there is anything connected to
them). The caching controller is odd looking because of the large SCSI
connectors ( there appears to be a 50 pin SCSI internal , and 2 68 pin
SCSI (one looks like a normal 50 pin but its long and has 68 pins, the
other looks like a 68pin connector on newer cards but the pin spacing
makes it look 3x longer). Is this a raid only card and do I need special
cables for the 68 pin connectors or are there adapters for these?>
I never used an EISA machine before (one of the reason I snagged these)
and was wondering if there is anything special about them. Is there a
standard configuration utility for EISA cards or do you need to find one
for each card?
Also since this machine is all EISA slots would putting an ISA card in one
of them slow the BUS down? I need to find an EISA floppy and I/O card to
complete this, anybody have one they don't need?
TZ
14 Oct
14 Oct
5:22 p.m.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com>
To: <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 04, 2006 11:42 AM
Subject: Re: 486 EISA system
Just getting back to this project (seems I have been getting too many things
in lately). Anyway the 2 battery parts on the motherboard are: Dallas
DS1225Y-200 and ST micro MK48T87B-24. Is there a link to the discussion (or
website) on how to rig a lithium coin battery to this particular part? I
have a dremel, battery holder, and plenty of batteries so this should be
easy enough. Can the ST Time keeper RAM) chip also be rigged in this way (is
it the same part as the DS1287 mentioned above)?
On 10/3/2006 at 9:08 PM Teo Zenios wrote:
>Another Ebay find came in today, a 486 EISA motherboard and 5 cards.
>
>The motherboards seems to be this model:
>http://artofhacking.com/th99/m/U-Z/31111.htm , but I can't find a company
>name on it anywhere. It has 8 EISA slots seems to be setup for a 486 DX.
>it looks like there are 2 DALLAS real time clocks on it, and the machine
>complains the eisa config battery is low. Are there any cheap hacks to
get
around this?
Only one of these is an RTC chip, the other (DS1225V) is an 8Kx8 NVRAM. I
wonder if it might be simplest to replace this one with a similar FRAM
(Ramtron FM-1608) and be done with the battery issue, at least on the one
chip. The Ramtron chip is also cheaper than NOS DS1225Vs, BTW. You might
also be able to carve into the encapsulation with a Dremel to get at the
lithium cell as a very cheap dodge.
As far as the DS1287 RTC, it's been discussed on the list before (you can
carve into the epoxy and tie into the lithium cell contacts, or you can
just replace the chip).
http://www.maxim-ic.com/appnotes.cfm/appnote_number/503 has notes on
replacement.
Cheers,
Chuck
6:36 p.m.
On 10/14/2006 at 8:22 PM Teo Zenios wrote:
Anyway the 2 battery parts on the motherboard are:
Dallas
DS1225Y-200 and ST micro MK48T87B-24. Is there a link to the discussion
(or
website) on how to rig a lithium coin battery to this
particular part? I
have a dremel, battery holder, and plenty of batteries so this should be
easy enough. Can the ST Time keeper RAM) chip also be rigged in this way
(is it the same part as the DS1287 mentioned above)?
The ST product is a drop-in replacement for the DS1287, and I suspect the
location of the battery and crystal is the same as the Dallas part.
Here are details on rigging an external battery for the 1287
http://www.mcamafia.de/mcapage0/dsrework.htm
As far as the DS1225, I don't know exactly where in the potting resin the
battery is located--and I can't seem to locate any online information that
would give a clue. You could always dig around and see if the battery's in
the middle of the package, as it is in the 1287, but no guarantees. About
10 years ago, RAMTRON published an app note that pretty much said that you
could replace the DS1225 with their FM1608 part--I don't recall any
specific gotchas.
Hope this helps,
Chuck
6:49 p.m.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com>
To: <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Saturday, October 14, 2006 9:36 PM
Subject: Re: 486 EISA system
On 10/14/2006 at 8:22 PM Teo Zenios wrote:
in
Anyway the 2 battery parts on the motherboard are:
Dallas
DS1225Y-200 and ST micro MK48T87B-24. Is there a link to the discussion
(or
website) on how to rig a lithium coin battery to
this particular part? I
have a dremel, battery holder, and plenty of batteries so this should be
easy enough. Can the ST Time keeper RAM) chip also be rigged in this way
(is it the same part as the DS1287 mentioned above)?
The ST product is a drop-in replacement for the DS1287, and I suspect the
location of the battery and crystal is the same as the Dallas part.
Here are details on rigging an external battery for the 1287
http://www.mcamafia.de/mcapage0/dsrework.htm
As far as the DS1225, I don't know exactly where in the potting resin the
battery is located--and I can't seem to locate any online information that
would give a clue. You could always dig around and see if the battery's the middle of the package, as it is in the 1287, but
no guarantees. About
10 years ago, RAMTRON published an app note that pretty much said that you
could replace the DS1225 with their FM1608 part--I don't recall any
specific gotchas.
Hope this helps,
Chuck
The ST chip is 2 layers that connect at the ends (seems to be some potting
there), I wonder if the battery is on the top player or the bottom. I hope
there is enough residual voltage for a meter to read so I know which half I
need to disconnect.
Nothing on the 1225Y then other then finding a replacement?
7:15 p.m.
New subject: Monochrome video cable ?
Anyone have a monochrome cable they'd be willing to sell or part with ?
Specifically (sp?) the cable is one that needs to fit a Commodore 1402 (the
little 8" x 6" green screen one) that has the usual D connector for the card
& a 6 pin round male connector for the monitor.
cheers,
Lance
// http://www.commodore128.org
Commodore 128 forums & more! //
7:39 p.m.
On 10/15/06, Teo Zenios <teoz at neo.rr.com> wrote:
The ST chip is 2 layers that connect at the ends
(seems to be some potting
there), I wonder if the battery is on the top player or the bottom. I hope
there is enough residual voltage for a meter to read so I know which half I
need to disconnect.
Nothing on the 1225Y then other then finding a replacement?
If I understand what you are describing, it sounds like the same style
as Sun "NVRAMs" - you are looking at a 24-pin part with no "missing
pins" bent up into the battery area, but with the attachments between
the chip and the battery at the ends. You might even be able to see
some light between the battery and the chip portions of the package.
If that sounds like what you have, the battery is in the top, and the
IC is in the bottom, I don't recally off the top of my head if the
battery leads are in the front or the back, but embedded in that
potting compound are two flat IC leads close together on the same end.
You can scrape off the potting compound to expose the leads, then
check them with a meter. If you are close to 3V, the battery is
probably OK. If you are under 2V (ISTR seeing 1.7 from essentially
dead Li cells), you need a new battery.
What I have done with a Sun NVRAM (ST MK48T2) is to break the leads at
the end of the chip, disconnecting the battery, then soldering on two
wires - I happened to use a lead from a 9V battery-powered device -
then attaching a battery to those leads. In my rig, I had a spare
solder-on motherboard Li coin cell with factory-bonded solderable
leads - I soldered it to the snap-top of a dead 9V battery. These
days, I'd probably glue a coin-cell holder to the top of the NVRAM if
there was vertical clearance in the case to install it that way.
Whatever technique you use, don't solder directly to the battery
casing.
OTOH, if you just want to replace it, the successor product is the 1225AB
http://www.maxim-ic.com/quick_view2.cfm/qv_pk/2646
I think you should be OK with an MK48Z08 as well - it's just an 8Kbyte
SRAM, no clock (unlike an MK48T08 as used in SPARC2s, etc). No matter
what you use, the battery life is approx 10 years whether it's in a
powered-on device or not - the leakage current is higher than the
current used by the SRAM, so the RAM chip isn't what drains the
battery - it's time.
-ethan
7:59 p.m.
New subject: Decwriter II LA 36
I saw this on Craigslist, don't know if it's still available. Thought
someone could use it.
Bob
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/zip/217538995.html
8:42 p.m.
On 10/14/2006 at 9:49 PM Teo Zenios wrote:
The ST chip is 2 layers that connect at the ends (seems
to be some potting
there), I wonder if the battery is on the top player or the bottom. I hope
there is enough residual voltage for a meter to read so I know which half
I
need to disconnect.
The datasheet for the ST chip is here:
http://www.datasheet4u.com/download.php?id=531672
and clearly says that the battery is in the "top hat", so Ethan's approach
shows a lot of promise.
Nothing on the 1225Y then other then finding a
replacement?
Well, you can try the same method on it and see if you turn up a battery.
Otherwise, replacements (either original or FRAM) are inexpensive and
available.
Cheers,
Chuck
28 Oct
28 Oct
12:52 a.m.
Looks like everything is up and running now. I took a dremel to the ST chip
and seem to have killed it in the process, but found a DS12C887 on ebay for
$5 shipped. Once I got the RTC installed the system would boot but still
gave me an EISA error. Doing a massive amount of googling and cross googling
I managed to find AMI EISA Configuration Utility V 2.01 on the internet.
Running the ECU allowed me to setup the cards in the system (and the EISA
memory seems to be just fine so I don't have to replace that chip). About
the only issue I have left is configuring the caching Mylex card (it thinks
there is still a HD on ID4 that is not there, but atlleast its battery must
be good then), that card needs utilities that will not run in DOS or Windows
3.1. I finally installed my boxed copy of OS/2 2.1 onto an SCSI HD in the
486 EISA machine, which is what I wanted it for anyway so I am happy. As
somebody mentioned earlier the network card only works on 10Mb with my
network, but seems to be speedy enough (the 100Mb connector stays dark when
connected).
The AMI software had configuration files for my motherboard, Adaptec SCSI,
video card, and network card the only one I needed to dig up was the Mylex
board (and it told me exactly what file I needed so that made googling
easier). If anybody needs the AMI software I can go and dig up the link or
email it to you, handy to have if you mess with old EISA systems.
Are there drivers anywhere for the Aview 2E cards so I can get higher
resolution then 16 color VGA in Windows and OS/2? I have yet to find any for
that card. The card has a full 1MB of VRAM so that should be plenty for Win
3.1.
Thanks,
TZ
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com>
To: <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Saturday, October 14, 2006 11:42 PM
Subject: Re: 486 EISA system
On 10/14/2006 at 9:49 PM Teo Zenios wrote:
>The ST chip is 2 layers that connect at the ends (seems to be some
potting
>there), I wonder if the battery is on the top
player or the bottom. I
hope
there is enough
residual voltage for a meter to read so I know which half
I
need to disconnect.
The datasheet for the ST chip is here:
http://www.datasheet4u.com/download.php?id=531672
and clearly says that the battery is in the "top hat", so Ethan's approach
shows a lot of promise.
Nothing on the 1225Y then other then finding a
replacement?
Well, you can try the same method on it and see if you turn up a battery.
Otherwise, replacements (either original or FRAM) are inexpensive and
available.
Cheers,
Chuck
1:04 a.m.
On 28 Oct 2006 at 3:52, Teo Zenios wrote:
Are there drivers anywhere for the Aview 2E cards so I
can get higher
resolution then 16 color VGA in Windows and OS/2? I have yet to find any for
that card. The card has a full 1MB of VRAM so that should be plenty for Win
3.1.
The Aview uses the S3 86C924 chip, no? If so, here's something to
try: http://www.winsite.com/bin/Info?500000023341
Cheers,
Chuck
1:14 a.m.
Actually I think its an 86c911 (is that an S3 chip?) going by TH99 for the
Rev 1.2 card. I guess generic drivers are better then nothing.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chuck Guzis" <cclist at sydex.com>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Saturday, October 28, 2006 4:04 AM
Subject: Re: 486 EISA system
On 28 Oct 2006 at 3:52, Teo Zenios wrote:
> Are there drivers anywhere for the Aview 2E cards so I can get higher
> resolution then 16 color VGA in Windows and OS/2? I have yet to find any
for
> that card. The card has a full 1MB of VRAM so
that should be plenty for
Win
3.1.
The Aview uses the S3 86C924 chip, no? If so, here's something to
try: http://www.winsite.com/bin/Info?500000023341
Cheers,
Chuck 
3:17 a.m.
On Sat, 28 Oct 2006, Teo Zenios wrote:
The AMI software had configuration files for my
motherboard, Adaptec SCSI,
video card, and network card the only one I needed to dig up was the Mylex
board (and it told me exactly what file I needed so that made googling
easier). If anybody needs the AMI software I can go and dig up the link or
email it to you, handy to have if you mess with old EISA systems.
I have an extensive archive of Mylex stuff here if you need the config
files & utilities for your card. Let me know which model you have and I'll
see what I can find.
-Toth
6632
days inactive
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13 comments
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bobalan＠sbcglobal.net -
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tothwolf＠concentric.net