NEXT Cube Needs TLC

[brain]

I know it looks rough, and this is how I received it, but I was hoping to work with someone to see how possible it might be to restore this unit. A friend provided a second motherboard, but it looks like the one installed is an upgrade from the original. The upgraded motherboard looks like it could be restored with some new or cleaned connectors. The BNC looks bad, but that might be able to be replaced/removed (I don't use Coax Ethernet here). The PSU might need replaced, and the back of the case has issues. It might be beyond saving, but I've always wanted a Cube (since I used one to develop while in college), and I hate to leave a unit in this condition. Sadly, I know nothing about NEXT HW, as I only was a user at the time.

 

[KennyPowers]

The top board in your last picture is a turbo cube board...not very common! That cube originally shipped with the bottom board in your picture, which has a 25Mhz 68030 CPU. Those original cubes were actually called the "NeXT Computer". They were superseded by the NeXTcube which had a 25Mhz 68040 CPU. Upgrading 1st gen 030 cubes with an 040 board was a common upgrade. Then came the NeXTcube Turbo with a 33Mhz 68040...don't see many of those. Pics are too small to assess the condition of the boards and backplane, but they can be damaged by the same leaky capacitors as Macs of that era. The condition of the PSU should definitely be assessed and it should be restored or replaced before plugging any of that hardware into it. Did it come with any peripherals or a display?

 

[Elemenoh]

Regarding the enclosure, mine was rough, though not as rough as yours. I ended up stripping and repainting mine with plastidip. One big warning is that the rods holding the three enclosure pieces have a weak point, and with all of that corrosion I'd expect the ends to snap if you take them apart. That happened to me. I ended up having a machine shop make new rods with no collar below the threads.

Good luck on your project!

 

[KennyPowers]

I like the red!

 

[brain]

The top board in your last picture is a turbo cube board...not very common! That cube originally shipped with the bottom board in your picture, which has a 25Mhz 68030 CPU. Those original cubes were actually called the "NeXT Computer". They were superseded by the NeXTcube which had a 25Mhz 68040 CPU. Upgrading 1st gen 030 cubes with an 040 board was a common upgrade. Then came the NeXTcube Turbo with a 33Mhz 68040...don't see many of those. Pics are too small to assess the condition of the boards and backplane, but they can be damaged by the same leaky capacitors as Macs of that era. The condition of the PSU should definitely be assessed and it should be restored or replaced before plugging any of that hardware into it. Did it come with any peripherals or a display?

It did not. I helped someone with some HW work on another classic system at no charge as a favor, but they insisted I take this cube in hopes I could get it going. I really want to succeed (I always wanted a unit BITD, but Life(tm) happened), but I also would prefer not to break the bank doing so.

The board and backplane don't look bad PCB wise. The external connectors are heavily water damaged, though I have rework capabilities here so might be able to just replace them.

Thanks for the detail. When I finally pulled it open, I was not expecting the updated PCB inside. And, my cursory search suggested it would be a travesty to just replace the updated PCB with the original.

Jim