Macintosh IIfx nostalgia

zoo

New Tinkerer
Jan 18, 2025
17
20
3
In 1994, I went to university in Sweden. I bought a used, dead IIfx, which was way too expensive but still about half the price of a working one. I was hoping the issue was just the batteries (and it was).

The student computer club somehow got approval to install Ethernet coaxial cables between about 3,000 apartments. I splurged the equivalent of around $150 USD, and another student came with a spool of coax, and together we did the work. Additionally, they repurposed a radio link, and we all shared a lightning-fast 128kbps (I think) connection to the internet.

I also found someone selling A/UX for about $300 USD in classified ads. Neither the IIfx nor A/UX were high-volume items (or fx RAM for that matter), so finding these items second-hand nearby is a kind of unique event. By the end of it, I had an A/UX machine connected to the early internet. I added Slirp and my trusty USR HST modem to the mix, making me a self-sufficient ISP whenever I needed internet access from elsewhere, like my parents' place.

Since this was my first significant computer purchase, I never had the heart to get rid of it (unlike the SE/30 with a graphics card and the Quadra 700, which I regretfully let go of). The IIfx still sits in a box that has moved unopened many times. I recently opened it to check on it, and it still looks great—not too dirty, with no battery damage.

I took out the disk and had a friend image it, setting it up on QEMU. Memories came rushing back. Does anyone else remember Jagubox and Jim Jagelski? Without him, my A/UX experience would have been very different.

Say hi to "bigmac."
 

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ClassicHasClass

Tinkerer
Aug 30, 2022
281
168
43
www.floodgap.com
Yup, Jagubox was the bomb. I still have a Gopher mirror of it: gopher://gopher.floodgap.com:70/1/archive/jagubox-gsfc-nasa-gov-aux

My clock-chipped Q800 is my current A/UX workhorse, though.
 
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zoo

New Tinkerer
Jan 18, 2025
17
20
3
Yup, Jagubox was the bomb. I still have a Gopher mirror of it: gopher://gopher.floodgap.com:70/1/archive/jagubox-gsfc-nasa-gov-aux

My clock-chipped Q800 is my current A/UX workhorse, though.
Someone is selling a Workgroup Server 95 in my area. However I should probably recap my IIfx first :)
 

robin-fo

Tinkerer
Feb 17, 2022
124
60
28
Switzerland
Tempting (since I always wanted a WGS95 since the age of 14 or so..) but it appears to lack what technically makes it special: Its PDS card.
 

zoo

New Tinkerer
Jan 18, 2025
17
20
3
I am excited to report that I just started up my IIfx that has been packed away for 20, maybe closer to 30 years. :)

While I'm sure that you all don't really care about my IIfx, but I think you can relate to the feeling :-D

 

Hugotronics

New Tinkerer
Apr 11, 2025
1
0
1
France
In 1994, I went to university in Sweden. I bought a used, dead IIfx, which was way too expensive but still about half the price of a working one. I was hoping the issue was just the batteries (and it was).

The student computer club somehow got approval to install Ethernet coaxial cables between about 3,000 apartments. I splurged the equivalent of around $150 USD, and another student came with a spool of coax, and together we did the work. Additionally, they repurposed a radio link, and we all shared a lightning-fast 128kbps (I think) connection to the internet.

I also found someone selling A/UX for about $300 USD in classified ads. Neither the IIfx nor A/UX were high-volume items (or fx RAM for that matter), so finding these items second-hand nearby is a kind of unique event. By the end of it, I had an A/UX machine connected to the early internet. I added Slirp and my trusty USR HST modem to the mix, making me a self-sufficient ISP whenever I needed internet access from elsewhere, like my parents' place.

Since this was my first significant computer purchase, I never had the heart to get rid of it (unlike the SE/30 with a graphics card and the Quadra 700, which I regretfully let go of). The IIfx still sits in a box that has moved unopened many times. I recently opened it to check on it, and it still looks great—not too dirty, with no battery damage.

I took out the disk and had a friend image it, setting it up on QEMU. Memories came rushing back. Does anyone else remember Jagubox and Jim Jagelski? Without him, my A/UX experience would have been very different.

Say hi to "bigmac."
There are some electrolytic capacitors that you should definitely replace, they're probably leaking.
 

zoo

New Tinkerer
Jan 18, 2025
17
20
3
Quite leaky, but it had not eaten away anything (important) yet. But I have now replaced them and It was about time....
 
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