Re: Looking for Dr. John Matthews - Referance to Ohio Kache Systems Multi-Kache Card

[James Noyes <nntp@retrogeeks.com>]

On Sun, 29 Jun 2008 15:55:59 -0400, Henry S. Courbis wrote:
<<<SNIP>>>
> Anyone else with code/manuals/links/important notes regarding the 
> Multi-Kache Card please contact me.
> 
> I'm also looking for owners of the card.  Please email me/post a good 
> picture or scan of the face and back of the card.
> 
> Other information I have collected thus far: (please add/correct as seen 
> fit)
> From what I've been told there are two options for the board.  One is an 
> upgrade from 256k to 1 Meg.  The other is a SCSI controller.  Along with the 
> SCSI controller option is a small Firmware board that fits in to an 
> available Slot that allows two additional Volumes to be recognized in 
> ProDOS.
> 
> There were two updates available for the card.  One allowed the CPU on the 
> board to operate at 10 MHz.  The other replaced the Firmware and a PAL to 
> allow the board to work better in the IIgs with a TransWarp GS installed - 
> something about a DMA fix?
> 
> Any reviews of pros/cons from owners would also be appreciated.
> 

Don't know if it's of much help, but I actually possess a *working* OKS
Multi-Kache, and I have the original side-stapled manual as well.  I don't
recall if there was a disk of software, but if there was, I should have
it tucked away, too.

To this day I kick myself for how the deal went down when I bought it,
though. The seller had the SCSI add-on board with it, but I was *very*
strapped for cash, and had already purchased a RamFast SCSI, so I patently
refused to pay him the additional money he wanted for the SCSI
daughterboard, and I didn't get it. Somewhere out there, there's a SCSI
daughterboard with no OKS MK to go with it.
<*kicks self yet again*>

As for the board, while it has some quirks in how it works, and takes a
little getting used to, it was quite the perfect touch to complete my
"Ultimate //e".  It will run regular Disk II drives, Unidisk 3.5 drives,
and Apple 3.5 Drives, all from a single slot - which was important for me.
The caching features were very cool to work with, and SUBSTANTIALLY
changed operational speeds on disk access. It even had a "legacy" mode
that would allow it to act as a sort of a dumb Disk II Controller
pass-through, in case you had a piece of software that didn't play well
with the acceleration/caching features.

I'll see what I can do about maybe pulling the old "Ultimate //e" out of
storage and firing it up, and maybe get some decent pictures too.

Cheers,
James Noyes
(nntp@retrogeeks.com)