NeXTcube back panel

[macaphod]

Hello,

I have a defective back panel for my NeXT Cube. The pin 22b of the slot 0 is missing.

Does anyone know what this pin is used for? Anyone know where I could find a back panel as a replacement?

Thanks.

 

[KennyPowers]

You mean the backplane that the mainboard and power supply plug into? Contact Rob Blessin. If anyone has a spare for sale, it's him. He doesn't post here frequently, so you might have more luck registering at https://www.nextcomputers.org/forums and messaging him there.

 

[macaphod]

Exactly, the backplane. I will try to reach Rob Blessin.

Thanks

 

[stepleton]

Is it necessary to replace the entire backplane for the sake of one missing pin in one connector? If there is someone near you with good equipment for soldering and desoldering, then the NeXTbus connector is a standard DIN 41612 connector so far as I know, and replacements should be easy to source from a major electronic component retailer like Digi-Key or Mouser. There are a lot of pins on the connector (96 of them!), but for a reasonably-skilled and well-equipped hobbyist, extracting the old connector and soldering in a replacement is probably a half-hour job.

 

[stepleton]

If we were anywhere near each other (I'm in the UK), I could help you out.

 

[macaphod]

Well, for sure, this is my second option, but I would prefer to have an unaltered board for this piece of history

Thanks for your offer.

 

[stepleton]

This is a peculiar philosophy that I have a hard time relating to --- why is replacing a connector "alteration" while replacing a board in the overall cube is not?

Usage and time cause wear.

I also have what may be some alarming news about the historic 47 uF surface-mount and 220 uF through-hole capacitors on your processor board and (if you have one) sound box circuit board --- as well as (and especially) the 10000 uF ELNA "Long Life" (lol) capacitors on the analog board in your N4000-series monitor (if you have one). You may find that they are leaching a considerable amount of hard-to-repair history all over your hardware as we speak.

PS: Per this pinout page, pin 22B is one of many ground pins, and your computer should work just fine without it. If I were in your shoes I would do nothing about the missing pin.

 

[KennyPowers]

This is a peculiar philosophy that I have a hard time relating to --- why is replacing a connector "alteration" while replacing a board in the overall cube is not?

Usage and time cause wear.

I also have what may be some alarming news about the historic 47 uF surface-mount and 220 uF through-hole capacitors on your processor board and (if you have one) sound box circuit board --- as well as (and especially) the 10000 uF ELNA "Long Life" (lol) capacitors on the analog board in your N4000-series monitor (if you have one). You may find that they are leaching a considerable amount of hard-to-repair history all over your hardware as we speak.

Exactly what I was thinking, though I know not everyone has the tools and ability to replace a 96 pin connector.

PS: Per this pinout page, pin 22B is one of many ground pins, and your computer should work just fine without it. If I were in your shoes I would do nothing about the missing pin.

If the missing pin is a redundant ground pin, then it's probably not the cause of your problem @macaphod. You never actually said what the problem with your Cube is though...

Edit: Is this you? If so, that was fast . Probably won't fix anything if a missing ground pin is the only problem with your backplane though: