Re: Mystery hardware query

[dempson@actrix.gen.nz (David Empson)]

Michael J. Mahon <mjmahon@aol.com> wrote:

> David Empson wrote:
> > One of my workmates has been given two mysterious boxes I haven't heard
> > of before. Does this ring a bell for anyone?
> > 
> > Symbiotic
> > Mac //c Winchester Adaptor

[snip]

> > The second board looks like an Apple II or III slot card, complete with
> > the standard 50-pin connector and "sloping corner" to allow for the lid.
> > It says "SYMBIOTIC FAST NOXY CARD" and has another 2 KB RAM, an
> > unidentified large chip: SCN2651C, and another 16 MHz crystal. It has
> > two blocks of eight DIP switches on top. The rest of the card is full of
> > TTL logic but I haven't had a close look for things like PROMs.
> 
> The SCN2651 is a serial I/O chip with programmable bit rates, etc.,
> assuming that it's the 28-pin DIP part.

That it is.

If it is used for a serial interface, it is in a strange place. The
connector I assumed was a serial port (DE9 male) has a cable going to
the other board (with the CPU).

It is probably being used to serialise data to/from the 26-way
connector, which I expect goes to the hard drive.  This lends weight to
my SASI theory (or it might use something proprietary).

My gut says the FAST NOXY CARD is a product for use in an Apple IIe or
II+ (probably a hard drive controller), and this box was just a method
to adapt it for use on a Mac or Apple //c. The extra board is a likely
to be a minimal Apple II clone, providing just enough hardware logic to
interface to a single slot and code to communicate with the host
computer via a serial port.

I expect if I look closely enough I will find a PROM on the FAST NOXY
CARD, which will contain Apple II firmware. I have a IIgs handy which
can easily disassemble that part of the code...

> > The two boards are connected with a 50-way ribbon cable (going to an
> > Apple II slot connector at one end). The rear panel 26-pin and DIN
> > connectors go to the FAST NOXY card, and the DIN one appears to go to a
> > series of LEDs on the card. The DE9 connector goes to the permanently
> > mounted card with the 65C02.
> > 
> > My workmate is doing some further investigation, including identifing
> > the chips in more detail and disassembling the ROM. We'll also track
> > down where the DE9 goes and have a stab at its pinout.
> > 
> > I've taken some photos (using my phone, so not best quality) and can put
> > them on a temporary web site later if anyone wants to see more detail.
> 
> Sounds like it might be an elusive Smartport protocol converter for
> a hard disk...  ;-)

Perhaps, but not likely. SmartPort came out in 1985, and this device is
older. I can't see how it might connect to both the Apple II drive
connector and a hard drive.

-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz