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My two cents. The point shall not be where it is safer to discharge without a resistor. The point shall be whether it is safe to discharge without a resistor or not. And the answer is no, it is not safe. If you have a proper resistor, any chassis point is OK for grounding. Safest and most...

Thanks a lot for your lines. I checked again and both the 712 and the external CD ROM unit are labeled as SE compatible. I must say I like seeing machines built like tanks (at least the internals, the plastic top lid almost crumbled in my hands after being initially damaged during...

Thanks a lot for the feedback, I really appreciate. I am new to PA-RISC, I have some vague memories about HP-UX from the times when I was using HP workstation in combination with some LMS Scadas front end at university. Back at time, at my alma mater we had really a fancy mix of machines...

So, the CD ROM seems to be damaged at some point in the logic board. The voltage out of the driver IC that should be driving all the motors (tray, spindle and pick up) is too low (around 2 volts). I have the feeling that some IC upstream the driver is busted, but it’s hard for me to tell which...

Honestly, I don’t remember all that many issues with Mac video signal. Mac to VGA converter will do the job. A good multi sync lcd panel will do the rest. I have a couple of Eizo 19” displays, they work just fine. https://www.codesrc.com/mediawiki/index.php/Macintosh_VGA

Hi all, Maybe there’s someone who can help… Some time ago I managed to score what was looking like a nice “prospect”, an HP 712 workstation. I’ve never been into HP stuff, but it reminded me the good old days when I was a student and HP hardware ruled in every respectable high end laboratory...

I got this one: 4 Mb, for a total of healthy 5 Mb (the picture I took is alone 4.2 Mb…).

800/1400 is a matter of single or double density, sectors per track. Requirements for track positioning (and therefore alignment) should be the same. The drive knows about the disk media (normal or high density) from the sensor which detects the corresponding slit in the floppy case the moment...

Sounds like a ZT alignment issue, this resource might help: https://tinkerdifferent.com/resources/zero-track-alignment.37/

# forever # up to 1000 times better (1.3 Gb) # yes / almost (depending on what you benchmark) Don’t know why the standard did not become the “new floppy”, it ticked all the boxes. In Japan it was hugely popular, elsewhere more like a niche, fancy storage media.

This is the reference website: https://powercc.org/ here’s also this rather excellent video from @JDW It’s possible to run a 575 motherboard without any further hardware mod by using software hacks (ResEdit stuff). They are only available for limited choice of OS, though. I have it like...

I have the same experience. A keyboard which was looking beige, turned to more or less its original color after a few days of exposure to sunlight. The same with a yellowed CC case. Not as quick and spectacular as retrobrighting, but way less intrusive. Besides, I don’t mind seeing some patina...

Thanks! For the moment I’m fine with what came with each motherboard I got. I only have b/w hardware in early specs. But I’d appreciate to read about what you get out of this effort.

Sorry, I forgot… you also need a super rare hence expensive DB19 monitor cable. That one can be even fabricated in house, at least as long as you are able to source the DB 19 connectors. Anyhow, NeXT hardware is terribly fascinating, I must admit I squandered embarrassing amount of money and...

#1 Are Apple Macintosh ADB keyboards and mice compatible with this machine and if so how? You need a Turbo chipset and Rom v.74 as minimum. Additionally, a MegaPixel Display N4000B or a Soundbox N4004A. And a specific ADB cable. #2 Where do I find a replacement HDD Bracket, I will be using a...

Very interesting thread. Learning from our lessons is one of the cornerstones for continuously improving any process. Most recent one from my side. Wanted to align a floppy drive, remove it from the metal bracket and used the bracket as standoff. Forgot to put some paper foil in between for...

Some time ago I modified an ADB board to run a VGA display and spare hours to my Mega Displays. It surely works, but it feels somehow odd, don’t quite appreciate the “retro experience” in full. So, take good care of your Mega Display!

These are indeed nice machines. A little overrated, but definitely plenty of reasons for loving them. I definitely do. I see you have a plain, first gen N4000 display, the one with the impossibly heavy steel support. And with the “rotten” (hydrolisis) rollers. A few years ago I made a small run...

Maybe so, but a piece of steel that small costs literally nothing in terms of grams of steel used to make the part. Other direct and indirect costs are surely the greatest share of the production costs. On a machine that costed many hundreds of dollars and was sold for thousands of dollars and...

My two cents… The metal bracket of the SE board is mainly a mean for mechanical assembling. Of course, it has to be grounded, like the whole chassis. Pathways to ground are redundant by design. The conductive paint on the case is for electromagnetic shielding, surely not for grounding.