- Sep 1, 2009
- 72
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NOTE 1: This is a (more or less) cross-post from here:
http://www.old-computers.com/f...rum_posts.asp?TID=5413
I wasn't getting any replies there, so I thought I'd try somewhere else.
NOTE 2: I will be cross-posting on HardForum if and when I resolve a small email issue with them... just trying to get all the info I can...
NOTE 3: This is a LONG post. I apologize for that. I'm trying to give all the info I have, so that you folks can tell me what I'm holding.
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That said... I have an ancient (and I do mean *ancient* ISA-8 graphics card. It's stamped with "1501483 XM" and all Google will tell me is that it's made by IBM and that it is, in fact, some sort of primitive attempt at making a computer display information on something other than a TV or front-panel blinkies.
Pictures of the card are here:
Hi-Res (200 dpi) -
http://img444.imageshack.us/im...1483xmvidcardhires.jpg
Lo-Res (72 dpi) -
http://img21.imageshack.us/img...1483xmvidcardlores.jpg
I don't have any idea if the card works; and with neither a compatible monitor nor an oscilloscope, I have no way of testing it. I don't have a suitable PC-side interface, either. All I've got is in the pics -- the card itself.
What I know (and what I suspect) is as follows:
The card has a Motorola 68xx MPU and almost all of the other chips are 74xx / 74xxx TTL discrete logic ICs (e.g. 7408 quad 2-input AND gate); there appear to also be several chips numbered 2114 (I seem to recall from *somewhere* that these are RAM chips, but I'm not entirely sure). *ALL* of the chips are in the classic '80s DIP package, except the clock chip.
The clock chip reads to be a 16.257MHz crystal oscillator. I believe that it is a quartz clock chip and *not* a "crystal resonator"... but I don't know.
There is a socketed chip next to the MPU; all I can tell from the chip is that it is made by AMD.
There are two connectors on the bracket. Neither one has a label. One is a DB25F (think "Parallel" / LPT port) and the other is a DB9F (think COM port). My best guess is that the DB9F is the video out.
There are several (significantly less prominent) markings elsewhere on the card. They are:
- Near the ISA-8 connector, it says "BLACK & WHITE/PARALLEL".
- Near that marking, and next to a capacitor labeled C1, the number "706" has been stamped on.
- On the reverse side of the board (not in pics) there are two labels under the port connections. One says "1501450", and the other says "MC2VO 339".
Also, there is a strikingly similar card pictured on this Wikipedia page. That card appears to be identical in terms of chip placement, but it has a different model number.
What I want to know is as follows:
- What kind of card is this? Is it, in fact, a graphics/display card of some sort, or is Google telling me wrong?
- What does it do? What protocol does it use, and how, exactly, does it go about its business?
- Where did this card likely come from? (I no longer recall exactly how I acquired the card...) What sort of system would even *use* this thing?
- How rare is this card? Is it common? Uncommon? "Hens' Teeth" rare?
Please help me with this, I'm very interested, and I can't find a thing that is for certain (other than what I've said so far). I'll be glad to take more pics if anyone needs them, and I can supply a list of chip numbers and quantities if I absolutely have to. I don't recognize all of them, but maybe someone else will....
Thanks, folks! (...and sorry that the post is this long...)
http://www.old-computers.com/f...rum_posts.asp?TID=5413
I wasn't getting any replies there, so I thought I'd try somewhere else.
NOTE 2: I will be cross-posting on HardForum if and when I resolve a small email issue with them... just trying to get all the info I can...
NOTE 3: This is a LONG post. I apologize for that. I'm trying to give all the info I have, so that you folks can tell me what I'm holding.
--------
That said... I have an ancient (and I do mean *ancient* ISA-8 graphics card. It's stamped with "1501483 XM" and all Google will tell me is that it's made by IBM and that it is, in fact, some sort of primitive attempt at making a computer display information on something other than a TV or front-panel blinkies.
Pictures of the card are here:
Hi-Res (200 dpi) -
http://img444.imageshack.us/im...1483xmvidcardhires.jpg
Lo-Res (72 dpi) -
http://img21.imageshack.us/img...1483xmvidcardlores.jpg
I don't have any idea if the card works; and with neither a compatible monitor nor an oscilloscope, I have no way of testing it. I don't have a suitable PC-side interface, either. All I've got is in the pics -- the card itself.
What I know (and what I suspect) is as follows:
The card has a Motorola 68xx MPU and almost all of the other chips are 74xx / 74xxx TTL discrete logic ICs (e.g. 7408 quad 2-input AND gate); there appear to also be several chips numbered 2114 (I seem to recall from *somewhere* that these are RAM chips, but I'm not entirely sure). *ALL* of the chips are in the classic '80s DIP package, except the clock chip.
The clock chip reads to be a 16.257MHz crystal oscillator. I believe that it is a quartz clock chip and *not* a "crystal resonator"... but I don't know.
There is a socketed chip next to the MPU; all I can tell from the chip is that it is made by AMD.
There are two connectors on the bracket. Neither one has a label. One is a DB25F (think "Parallel" / LPT port) and the other is a DB9F (think COM port). My best guess is that the DB9F is the video out.
There are several (significantly less prominent) markings elsewhere on the card. They are:
- Near the ISA-8 connector, it says "BLACK & WHITE/PARALLEL".
- Near that marking, and next to a capacitor labeled C1, the number "706" has been stamped on.
- On the reverse side of the board (not in pics) there are two labels under the port connections. One says "1501450", and the other says "MC2VO 339".
Also, there is a strikingly similar card pictured on this Wikipedia page. That card appears to be identical in terms of chip placement, but it has a different model number.
What I want to know is as follows:
- What kind of card is this? Is it, in fact, a graphics/display card of some sort, or is Google telling me wrong?
- What does it do? What protocol does it use, and how, exactly, does it go about its business?
- Where did this card likely come from? (I no longer recall exactly how I acquired the card...) What sort of system would even *use* this thing?
- How rare is this card? Is it common? Uncommon? "Hens' Teeth" rare?
Please help me with this, I'm very interested, and I can't find a thing that is for certain (other than what I've said so far). I'll be glad to take more pics if anyone needs them, and I can supply a list of chip numbers and quantities if I absolutely have to. I don't recognize all of them, but maybe someone else will....
Thanks, folks! (...and sorry that the post is this long...)