[commodorejohn]

Snagged a Boss RRV-10 mid-'80s reverb unit for a music project I've been sketching out recently. Still waiting to get it and I could only find one demo worth a damn on YouTube (why oh why does everybody record gear demos on their gorram phone camera!?) but I dig the gritty early-digital edge to it - can't wait to play around with it.

[Pentium]

That's an interesting looking system and in beautiful cosmetic condition.  Congratulations.

Is that an LCD on the keyboard?  How was it used?  (It looks like the forerunner of the Logitech G15 etc. keyboards that had LCDs on them.)

Apricot called it the MicroScreen and they used it from their first machine until the Xen. When the system boots it loads TSR's for a clock, calculator and for custom programming of the keys to programs or commands. Developers likewise had access to an API that let them program the display to what they wanted as well. For example when Windows 1.03 loads you get six common functions available at the buttons. Toggleable options likewise can be indicated as on or off with a little LED on each button.
So yes, a very early G15 style device.
Really at this point all I'm missing is two or three special options. There was a page white CRT monitor that was more the design style of the xen as opposed to the one I received which is more rounded and green phosphor, a telephone attachment called the Xen-Tel which included computer dialing control and call managing and a sidecar that adds three ISA slots.

I am still interested in anything if another member knows something. ;D

[Irinikus]

I just bought an IBM Power6 Processor CPU with Bracket 42M2612 for a 9119-FHA Server: (I really love the look of this thing, it absolutely has to be one of the best looking CPU's ever produced in my opinion, and it will certainly make an awesome desktop ornament!)

These things ran at 5GHz in 2007!!!!!

THESE PICS ARE JUST EXAMPLES OF THE CPU FOR ILLUSTRATION PURPOSES:









This will probably mark the start of an IBM CPU collection!

An illustration of IBM's POWER6 microprocessor and two L3 cache chips. They are manufactured on a 65 nm copper SOI CMOS process mounted on a ceramic ball grid array substrate.

[Raion]

ooh pretty.

[weblacky]

I just bought both a Tezro CPU (Node) board - low end dual 600Mhz -SGI 030-1863-001. As well as it's mated SGI 030-1881-004 Rev A Mainboard for $375 (after tax & SH) via eBay best offer! Dealer had them a while, didn't really care so much about the posted price as one might have thought (he wanted $600 originally). This does include (and I had to pay) eBay sales tax as a buyer in my state (new and it SUCKKKKKSSSS), but after shipping it's till $375 for everything, to my door!

This means I'll have ALL the VRMs now outside my own systems. While I might be awhile, I'll desolder the VRMs with DC/DC converters on them to probe and use these boards to plan out a rebuild buy (without having to risk either my own complete Tezros in this part of the process) to gather parts and measurements! Then I can do a huge electronics purchase and use these boards as first rebuilds.

I'm fairly sure I cannot boot to the L1 without a IO9 card, So I may be on the lookout for that....

But I now have a old "spare" tezro PSU (claims working but will rebuild anyway), and a "spare" CPU and Mainboard to recap and probe around on. It would be nice if I could rebuild those and start them just enough to get the L1 up and check voltages via L1, then I can transplant the PSU and mainboard into my malfunctioning Tezro, then see about rebuilding my old Nodeboard + VRMs in the same way, then again on my latest tezro (that currently claims no issues). But I have an older Tezro that has a 1.8v VRM going low failure...so it all needs to be rebuilt.

Also, checked around on the changing some polymer electrolytic caps to SMPS targeted MLCCs (On the low-voltage VRMs only) and keeping some caps with the same Panasonic SVP line (they still make those). These things are insanely pricey. A single MLCC 470uF 4v cap is $5 PER CAP! The SVP caps are like $1.70 a cap! To get higher voltage tolerant MLCC caps, the converter datasheet claims I can parallel the cOUT caps. So they have a 330uF& 220uF MLCCs at 6.3v, so I could place a 220uF+330uF parallel on the pads for a 550uF @ 6.3v to replace a 470uF Polymer (or I guess do two 220uF = 440uF and measure the 20% error and hope to get very close to 470uF). With the +/- 20% error possible, I'm likely to bench test a couple caps and mate them to give a closer 470uF value.

The converter IC claims it can accept a range of ESRs and caps and will re-tune its feedback loop to help prevent oscillations. This would mean the hard working VRMs would pretty much never have ESR degradation issues again for several decades. But the converter works at a known frequency range, the rest of the caps are more debouncing and likely I'll replace them with duplicate caps (exact same model since they are still made) to prevent problems.

So an entire rebuild could wander into the like $100+ just in parts for the CPU board! Not like $5 here. So that already tells you the potential service cost of the recapping + changing certain coils on just one of these boards). Like 2 hours labor and maybe $100 in just parts! I think the mainboard will be cheaper because it has fewer dying parts...but still materials won't be cheap.

Luckily I own it all, so cost isn't the first consideration on the rebuild.

[Irinikus]

My IBM POWER6 MCM arrived today and it's absolutely beautiful!!!!

[rbz]

My IBM POWER6 MCM arrived today and it's absolutely beautiful!!!!

Very cool CPU!

[rbz]

Recently ran across a CAD Duo PCI card on eBay and since I was wanting at least one card to put in my PCI Cage I decided to get it.

       

Of course to go with the DUO card I needed to get a second video card as well, so I bought a brand new in box SE card (the octane this is going in has a SI card already), to my amusement the box that arrived on my doorstep was much larger than expected.

                   

[Raion]

I've got like three of those but never actually used them. Interested to see it in action.

[JohnnyJohnny]

Took delivery of another R4K Indigo. No front cover or flap door, but the rest of the case is in decent condition. Has Elan gfx which is nice, 3 aftermarket drive sleds and two original SGI HDDs, and a working 3.5" floppy! Hopefully Ian will be able to source an Elan door for me.