Mac SE/30 networking

[iantm]

I've just acquired a SE/30 in decent condition… super excited!

Yes, I plan on pulling and recapping it asap! Any recommendations on that would be appreciated (though I am looking into doing it myself)

I was hoping to get it networked so it can at least FTP to a modern machine, but it's hard to tell what's on eBay and whether it's NuBus or if it is PDS and will fit in the smaller case.

I found a NIB DaynaPort.. Any reason to think it wouldn't work in the SE/30?

Also looking at a Asante MacCon+ SE/30, I like the form factor.

I'm curious too, if it's feasible or advisable to pair the Asante with a 30Video card — it has a passthrough, but that's not a guarantee it would work.

 

[scj312]

One additional option to consider is BlueSCSI, which not only emulates storage but also DaynaPORT. Two birds, one stone!

 

[iantm]

Omg right I forgot the BlueSCSI has WiFi! Thanks for the reminder!

 

[Mk.558]

I wouldn't do that. The WiFi functionality has a spotty track record, and for every one that I hear that it works well, I get at least one that has issues with it. I've never used it on any of mine, mostly because I don't use WiFi and I don't have a reason to need it.

Also AppleTalk over WiFi is a slightly complicated situation, and will not be as fast as a 030 PDS card.

The MacCon is going to be a better choice. The DP83902 family of chipsets works with NSI software right out of the box, works with System 7's installer without even doing anything, works with A/UX, and just plain works.

Based on those two images, the left one (DaynaPORT) will not work in a SE/30, the bus interconnect is different. The one on the right should work perfectly fine, if you remove the FPU though. Bet the 20MHz oscillator is about ready to clock out though. For the 30Video card, it should work fine, but remember any kind of external video like that puts a noticeable performance penalty on a poor 16MHz '030.

See the link below for more, and even more.

 

[iantm]

I’m not sold on the external video just yet. It sounds amazing technically but really I am drawn to the small black and white screen.
But I would like to try and have a networked bridge to a modern Mac rather than SD card sneaker net.

you mentioned some links but I didn’t see any? Are the other cards or solutions that people have used successfully?

I think the attached sonic Ethernet adapter might work.

and how do I know where the fpu is on that network card? (Maybe it’s more obvious than I think?)

 

[Mk.558]

The link is in the signature, red text. It specifically covers everything about this topic and much more.

The 68882 FPU is in the socket next to the ribbon cable that connects the main board to the daughter board. It's an option, granting the IIsi a FPU, as it doesn't come with one like the SE/30 does. Both use the same 030 PDS bus.

The NIC just linked now isn't going to work, that's for an SE.

 

[JDW]

I'm a bit of a party pooper in that I don't see many reasons for networking an SE or SE/30.

Yes, a super rare person might think it fun to run it as a server (with a good screensaver, of course). But aside from that, you don't need to use it for FTP or similar file transfers, because I personally find it faster and easier to do that via SD card swap between the vintage Mac and a modern Mac. Those SD card drives largely replaced my MacCon, freeing the back expansion hole for other purposes. And while I do have a BlueSCSI v2 with WIFI and have zero issues with WIFI (other than it being a tad slow), I don't really use it. It was fun on my first try, but you have to use FrogFind for browsing anything these days because vintage Browsers lack security protocols for HTTPS websites. Don't get me wrong... FrogFind is wonderful because without it you wouldn't be browsing much of anything, but I still find it limiting. Aside from "bragging rights", browsing on an SE/30 isn't super fun. So like I said, I end up using my compact Macs without networking and just do SD card swaps for file transfers.

The only time I would see the NEED for networking is if I wanted to LocalTalk (PhoneNet) a couple compact Macs to play AppleTalk networked games. But my wife isn't into vintage Macs, so I would be playing against myself!

Now if some of you have brighter ideas for a MacCon Ethernet card (not as a server) than what I just described, I'm eager to hear those use cases.

 

[Mk.558]

I use mine all the time to network stuff back and forth. Wires are already set up, mostly, so all I have to do is wake a machine and it's ready. It's quite convenient. For instance, to upload some images on 68kmla just yesterday, screenshot on the SE/30 and IIci, FTP it over to the mac mini, then convert it from MacPaint to .PNG, then FTP it over to a different machine to upload it.

The most I have to do is swap a network cable from the IIci to the SE/30 or the other way because I only have one 10m ethernet cable. Because the backplane is recessed in the opening a bit on both, it's not the easiest thing to pull out, but it's still better than floppies. No need to shut down machines to swap SD cards either.

Networking was the way to go for decades until we got very cost effective and capable BlueSCSI/ZuluSCSI /PiSCSI/RaSCSI adapters. The external versions are kinda cool because they're easy to swap from one machine to the other, although a DB25 SCSI cable is still important because some macs like the IIvx/Quadra 650/etc have a lip on the bottom of the case which means you have to remove the 3D printed case to even have a shot at plugging it in. About 10-12 years ago the only option for a SD adapter for SCSI was something like the SCSI2SD, which was fabulously expensive. I think there was also a version out of Japan that was hard to get ahold of.

 

[JDW]

...all I have to do is wake a machine and it's ready.

You leave an SE/30 switched on 24/7?

(I realize that the brand new MaciNap from @YMK makes that realistic without harming the SE/30 over time, but I suspect you don't have one of those yet.)

 

[iantm]

@JDW no worries! It’s good to hear some actually use cases and what works and what doesn’t work so well before I throw more $$ at this.


I should back up and say more about my use case.

i plan on using the se/30 for writing. Having toyed with infinitemac and system 6, I was drawn to the nostalgia of black and white and distractionless working. Maybe it’s all in my head but typing just felt completely different in that mode.

While it’s interesting that one could browse at all I don’t plan on using it for that. I won’t use it as a server, rather I’d want the SE to be able to ftp to my modern Mac because I still use Ulysses for writing.

SD cards and sneaker net are fine- but I hoped that I could network it so it could be in a space of its own, and all I’d have to do is connect it via fetch to an ftp server running on OS X and upload markdown drafts in text files.

ok that and play a few rounds of bolo and specter with my friends… I have phone adapters for that though.

Mostly writing. And I do enjoy pulling apart and booking up the new components and soldering and all that.

Any thought on the se being just a client machine on a local network (via Ethernet or WiFi) for occasional ftp to a local host machine?

 

[iantm]

The link is in the signature, red text. It specifically covers everything about this topic and much more.

The 68882 FPU is in the socket next to the ribbon cable that connects the main board to the daughter board. It's an option, granting the IIsi a FPU, as it doesn't come with one like the SE/30 does. Both use the same 030 PDS bus.

The NIC just linked now isn't going to work, that's for an SE.

oh! Right. On the se board not the networking card. I got confused because I wasn’t certain if for some reason the card would have a FPU—it sounded improbable but I wasn’t sure.

I’ll check out the links!

 

[iantm]

I haven’t looked into it but even better would be to have it FTP to my Synology NAS, as unlike my laptop or Mac mini is running all the time. In a pinch I might be able to let the mini do this.

 

[iantm]

I use mine all the time to network stuff back and forth. Wires are already set up, mostly, so all I have to do is wake a machine and it's ready. It's quite convenient. For instance, to upload some images on 68kmla just yesterday, screenshot on the SE/30 and IIci, FTP it over to the mac mini, then convert it from MacPaint to .PNG, then FTP it over to a different machine to upload it.

The most I have to do is swap a network cable from the IIci to the SE/30 or the other way because I only have one 10m ethernet cable. Because the backplane is recessed in the opening a bit on both, it's not the easiest thing to pull out, but it's still better than floppies. No need to shut down machines to swap SD cards either.

Networking was the way to go for decades until we got very cost effective and capable BlueSCSI/ZuluSCSI /PiSCSI/RaSCSI adapters. The external versions are kinda cool because they're easy to swap from one machine to the other, although a DB25 SCSI cable is still important because some macs like the IIvx/Quadra 650/etc have a lip on the bottom of the case which means you have to remove the 3D printed case to even have a shot at plugging it in. About 10-12 years ago the only option for a SD adapter for SCSI was something like the SCSI2SD, which was fabulously expensive. I think there was also a version out of Japan that was hard to get ahold of.

That you can directly FTP to your mac mini is a good sign. I could have my Mini running as the server, I just thought the NAS would be better since it is on all the time. And then it could feasible be accessible outside of the local network. I'll look into both!

 

[Mk.558]

You could use FTP, I use it all the time and recommend it, but you should try to use AFP if possible. It's faster, less hassle, and has better integration with the OS.

If you're FTPing with OS X, you'll probably have some work to do. As mentioned earlier, the link below goes over all of this.

 

[iantm]

You could use FTP, I use it all the time and recommend it, but you should try to use AFP if possible. It's faster, less hassle, and has better integration with the OS.

If you're FTPing with OS X, you'll probably have some work to do. As mentioned earlier, the link below goes over all of this.

I will dive in to your site once my MacCon arrives… thank you for making such a resource. Any way that I can more directly transfer from SE/30 -> OS x will be great.

 

[iantm]

I found this "SE Ethernet Card" but can't find any information about it. I think the seller has the wrong idea (he insisted it's for an "SE, not an SE/30" but what would this have plugged into? The same bus as the MacEffect Performer?

 

[bakkus]

I found this "SE Ethernet Card" but can't find any information about it. I think the seller has the wrong idea (he insisted it's for an "SE, not an SE/30" but what would this have plugged into? The same bus as the MacEffect Performer?

That card plugs into the PDS slot on the Macintosh SE.
Correct - the SE, and not the SE/30. They look similar, but the cards aren't compatible.

Installation is illustrated here: https://archive.org/details/asante-maccon/page/n31/mode/2up

 

[Mk.558]

The Macintosh SE has an expansion slot unique to that system.

The Macintosh SE/30 and IIsi use the same 030 Processor Direct Slot (PDS) expansion slot.

The Macintosh LC, LC II, LC III, Classic and so on use the LC PDS expansion slot design. Some of the later ones used a CommSlot interface for network / modem cards.

The Quadra machines have the option of using a 040 PDS slot, but they didn't really need it for networking since they have AAUI.

Some of the other Macintosh II machines like the IIci and IIfx have PDS slots as well.

None of these are interchangeable with each other. Only NuBus cards are, but that's only for Macs that had NuBus slots.

 

[DevyDevly]

I'm a bit of a party pooper in that I don't see many reasons for networking an SE or SE/30.

Yes, a super rare person might think it fun to run it as a server (with a good screensaver, of course). But aside from that, you don't need to use it for FTP or similar file transfers, because I personally find it faster and easier to do that via SD card swap between the vintage Mac and a modern Mac. Those SD card drives largely replaced my MacCon, freeing the back expansion hole for other purposes. And while I do have a BlueSCSI v2 with WIFI and have zero issues with WIFI (other than it being a tad slow), I don't really use it. It was fun on my first try, but you have to use FrogFind for browsing anything these days because vintage Browsers lack security protocols for HTTPS websites. Don't get me wrong... FrogFind is wonderful because without it you wouldn't be browsing much of anything, but I still find it limiting. Aside from "bragging rights", browsing on an SE/30 isn't super fun. So like I said, I end up using my compact Macs without networking and just do SD card swaps for file transfers.

The only time I would see the NEED for networking is if I wanted to LocalTalk (PhoneNet) a couple compact Macs to play AppleTalk networked games. But my wife isn't into vintage Macs, so I would be playing against myself!

Now if some of you have brighter ideas for a MacCon Ethernet card (not as a server) than what I just described, I'm eager to hear those use cases.

I don't network any of my Macs either but for different reasons (although I've done some limited tinkering just for the hell of it).
One of the joys of working with these vintage machines is that you don't have to worry about credentials or having the latest patched software - unlike every other system that needs to work for realsies in 2025.
I'm in full Battlestar Galactica mode - network nothing

 

[iantm]

I don't network any of my Macs either but for different reasons (although I've done some limited tinkering just for the hell of it).
One of the joys of working with these vintage machines is that you don't have to worry about credentials or having the latest patched software - unlike every other system that needs to work for realsies in 2025.
I'm in full Battlestar Galactica mode - network nothing
View attachment 23520

I may not stick with the networking workflow if it proves to be more trouble than its worth… but I hope it'll provide a slightly easier way of pushing files to a modern machine and backing up my text. I agree that the whole appeal for me is the simplicity — though ironically it takes a lot of work to get there — once these machines are recapped and stable, they'll be quiet, reliable, and fun to work with.