OrangePC 290 Nubus Card Notes

[Elemenoh]

There's not a lot of info on this card online, so here are some things I've learned about it that will hopefully be helpful to others.

The OrangePC 290 is essentially a PC on a Nubus card, complete with a processor, memory, header for IO and a PCMCIA card cage on some configs for expansion. Unlike slow software emulation, this card provided a full speed PC that could run full screen or in a windowed mode on your Mac and could run in parallel to other apps on the Mac.

Config​

486DX2 66MHz
8MB RAM SIMM
No PCMCIA card cage or IC installed
A 34-pin header breaks out into 25-pin (parallel) and 9-pin (serial) ports
The BIOS is dated 1993. The PCB is dated 1994.
Price when new was about $2,000. Ironically there is one of these posted at this time on eBay for about the same price, even though is has a huge gash and is missing birdseed components on its backside.

Software​

OrangePC 3.8.2 (available on Macintosh Garden) is the host app which is used to display a window with the card's video output, create virtual drives and other configuration settings. I've added a pre-made 500MB disk image with DOS 6.2 and Windows 3.1 installed fresh. This saves time making disks and installing those basics.

Productivity vs. Fun​

This card, as configured is great for productivity apps, but because there's no sound card, it's not well suited for games of the era. The solution for this would be installing a PCMCIA sound card. It looks like all that's missing to do so is the card cage and a Cirrus Logic ISA IC (CL-PD6710-VC-A 144 VFQP). The chips are for sale from China on eBay. The card cages are harder to find. It may be easier to find some scrap Mac or PC of the era to rip the card cage and controller out of. So far I haven't been able to find a PCMCIA sound card though. If you have one you no longer want, please message me.

Did you use one of these when new? Any tips to share with others about how to use them today?

Further Reading​

Lastly, here's a good bit of reference from Andrew's OrangePC 290 page (Dead link) which I found a transcript of somewhere online.

The OrangePC 290 is a PC parasite card that can work inside Nubus equipped Mac computers to give them PC compatibility in dedicated hardware, rather than in emulation software. This results in considerably better operating speed than the emulated processors in my experience so far. Some information on the OrangePC 290 is available from Orange Micro's product archive, in the Links section. Unfortunately, there is no board documentation for the older Orange Micro products available from the company. I had no luck finding other useful information on the Internet, hence this page.

Sections​

• Jumper Settings
• Cyrix 5x86 Processor Experiment
• Points to Note
• Links

Jumper Settings​

I received all the information in this section from one very generous complete stranger, who was persistent enough to get a manual from Orange Micro. Thanks, Al. So far as I have been able to see it reflected what I saw when experimenting a bit with the board. Please be careful when changing any jumper settings, record what they were before you experimented with them & do not hold me liable if they do not work or cause you any problems. This might be different, of course, if you sign up to shower me with rewards if/when they do work.

The jumper pin assignments for a 486DX4 100 are as follows : Jumper #1 on pins B&C ( for 3.3V CPU ) (Pins A&B are for 5v CPU's like the 486DX2). Jumper #2 on pins B&C ( only for tripled clock speed CPU's like the 486DX4 ) (Pins A&B are for all other CPU's). Jumper #3 on pins A&B. Jumper #4 on ( pins are jumpered). Jumper #5 off ( pins are not jumpered ). Jumper #6 off. Jumper #7 off. Jumper #8 on. Jumper #9 on. Jumper #10 on. Jumpers #11 & 12 set the video either to the OrangePC onboard video or an external VGA video card. External video doesn't mean a Mac Video card but a VGA video card which I don't see any provision to install. Al thought they meant a video card installed in the Mac rather than the Mac built in video but when he set the jumpers for external video the set up menu showed external VGA but the OrangePC card wouldn't boot. He switched them back to onboard video and the card works with either the Mac's built in video or a Nubus video card. The video jumper assignments are Onboard Video Jumper #11 on and Jumper #12 on Pins B&C. External video ( whatever that means as the users manual doesn't explain it ) Jumper #11 off and Jumper #12 on Pins A&B.

The Jumper assignments in general are:

CPU Voltage Options

• Jumper #1 A&B on for 5v CPU. B&C on for 3.3v CPU Tripled Clock Speed Only
• Jumper #2 A&B On is NOT Tripled. B&C On IS Tripled

System Board Clock Speed Options

• Mhz - Jumper #3 - Jumper #4 - Jumper #5 - Jumper #6
• 16 - - A&B - - - - - - Off - - - - - - On - - - - - - On
• 20 - - A&B - - - - - - On - - - - - - Off - - - - - - On
• 25 - - A&B - - - - - - Off - - - - - - Off - - - - - - On
• 33 - - A&B - - - - - - On - - - - - - Off - - - - - - Off
• 40 - - A&B - - - - - - On - - - - - - On - - - - - - Off
• 50 - - B&C - - - - - - Off - - - - - - On - - - - - - Off

NOTE: When using a CPU that has been clock doubled or tripled the system board clock speed must be set to the base speed. (e.g. System Board Clock Speed for a 486 DX 2-66 must be set to 33 MHz).

CPU Configuration

• CPU - - - Jumper #7 - - -Jumper #8 - - -Jumper #9 - - -Jumper #10
• SX - - - - On - - - - - - - - Off - - - - - - - Off - - - - - - - - Off
• DX - - - - Off - - - - - - - - On - - - - - - - On - - - - - - - - On

Video Configuration

• Video Mode - - - - Jumper #11 - - - - Jumper #12
• Onboard Video - - - On - - - - - - - - B&C
• External Video - - - Off - - - - - - - - A&B

NOTE: ON = Place the jumper across the two pins. OFF = Do not place the jumper across the two pins

Cyrix 5x86 Processor Experiment​

I found a Cyrix 5x86 chip for sale at a local Mac & PC store here in Calgary (ComputerWurx) and tried it out in the OrangePC 290 card. I had high hopes for it but was unable to get it to work faster than the 486 DX2-50 which was in the card when I received it. At a processor speed of 40 MHz I had reasonable operation but higher processor speeds resulted in scrambled video from the Mac Nubus video card. I ended up pulling & returning the Cyrix 5x86, replacing it with a 486 DX2-66 which has worked well since then.

Points to Note​

SIMM Socket

The SIMM socket on the board is at quite a shallow angle. Thick processors with interposer boards or tall heat sinks may block the SIMM from seating properly. This was a concern with the Cyrix chip & would definitely be of concern with a processor with a fan. The socket also has very delicate plastic SIMM retainers; one was broken when I bought my used card and the other broke while I was experimenting with the Cyrix chip. I have used a piece of insulated wire to retain the memory module as an expedient but plan to replace the socket with a regular perpendicular (or close to it) socket in the next months.

Links

• Orange Micro's product archive
• OrangePC 290 section.
• OrangePC S/W updates

To Email me feedback or comments: please include OrangePC in your subject line, to make your message stand out from the junk. Send to me at zafzgibsonz at hotmail dot com. Please substitute q for z and build up the email from the words above. I am hoping this will slow down the spam generators. I would appreciate constructive comments & useful information (anyone have a manual?) which I may add to the site.

Closeup of the PCMCIA controller and card slot mounting points.