 |
NeXT Computers
www.NeXTComputers.org
|
|
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
da9000
Joined: 30 Sep 2006
Posts: 387
Location: Silicon Valley
|
 Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 12:58 am Post subject: |
 |
|
| pentium wrote: | What are the chances that the cube you have has some sort of relation to the book?
|
How do you mean? As in: it's got an RiSC CPU in it? I'm afraid not... Plain ol' 040 as far as my eye could see (and the photos I've put up)
| pentium wrote: |
How do you guys get so lucky? I have to work hard to just find a zip drive and even then I still have to drive halfway to hell to pick it up. |
I will admit, I was very very lucky to find THIS cube and friends, but, at the same time it wasn't luck in finding a cube and friends: I've been looking to get my own black NeXT hardware since around 1997, when I first beheld one of these machines in my sights. I became obsessed right then and there, at my univ. comp. lab. Nobody paid attention to them, they would just look at you and keep on humming away. When I found a friend had 2 of them, I was immediately taking steps to have one come to my place. His father passed away a few years before and the machines were still password protected. As an aspiring Unix "hacker", I wanted to try my hand on them. Finally figured out how to use the ROM menu and single usered into the machine and was able to take over. The other machine had no HDD, and we had no SCSI CDROM, so I actually devised the "dd method" myself (using Linux's dd to dump the CDROM image directly to a SCSI hdd and thus fool the NeXT into thinking it's a bootable CDROM!) and was able to install a fresh copy of NeXTSTEP on a newer and much faster 3.5" SCSI disk (IBM I think it was). My friend let me keep that one for a while. I did a lot of my programming homework on that machine, simply because I was in love with the keyboard. One of the best (actually, the best ever) keyboards as far as tactile sense and feel! I would use the NeXT as a terminal and run the CPU-heavy assignments on my SMP Linux boxes via telnet/ssh. The machine was a beast! I had it running for around 180 days, and the only reason I shut it down was because I needed to swap out the multi-plug it was plugged into! I remember I took a screenshot of that, with some cursewords included for Bill Gay-tes and co.
For years since I returned that machine (after of course I fixed it up, installed Doom and a whole slew of GNU tools, and also backed up any important software), I dreamt of getting my very own. Finally it happened, but I digressed: it took long long searching.. I'd be crawling various sites, ebay, and craigslist to find any sorta deal. I've had my share of driving to hell and back to get some hardware. There was once a great freebie: NeXT cube, printer and color monitor (maybe dimension too), at a locked garage, about 50+ miles away. I saw the ad about 30 mins after initial posting. Got up and left immediately. Unfortunately, by the time I got there and $10 of gas later, all I found was a rummaged, garbage filled garage and only a lone 17" B&W Megapixel display :~( Needless to say I took whatever dose of NeXT I could, and cursed all the way back home... This has happened a bunch of times with other items, and part of the reason I don't take CL too seriously... People are unreliable and never think about the cost of going to pickup something and realizing it's gone. Anyways, as always some luck helps! :)
Keep the faith. Keep the passion. Keep the desire. And you will be rewarded one day. (also, while I couldn't get myself any black hardware, I settled for running NS x86 on my Pentium Pro machine. Mighty fine! Highly recommended). Good luck! |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Mike_H
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Posts: 35
Location: USA
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:16 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I’d love to see the NRW Manufacturing Overview when you get it scanned. Very rare stuff. 
Thanks
_________________
Mike |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
da9000
Joined: 30 Sep 2006
Posts: 387
Location: Silicon Valley
|
| Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 11:18 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I'll post them at some point when I have time. They're very interesting reading to say the least! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Nightengale
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Posts: 142
Location: SD CA
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 6:17 am Post subject: |
|
|
...
_________________
NeXT Turbo Color 4.2, 3 cube cases waiting. HP Pavillion w/4.2, 1 iMac Rev B w/ Rhap 5.6, iBook w/10.3.9, MB Leopard |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
mrcaz
Joined: 05 Jun 2008
Posts: 3
Location: London
|
| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 3:03 am Post subject: Some NeXT paraphernalia |
|
|
I'm looking to repair my NeXT N4006 Monitor which powers down after 30 seconds of switching on.
You mentioned you had the schematic and service manual..
| Quote: |
I also have the repair/tech manual for the N4006 with all the schematics etc. I'll have to check on channelu.com to see if they're already there..
|
Would you be able to scan and post these somewhere in the file archive www.nextcomputers.org/NeXTfiles ?
I have not been able to locate schematics anywhere with google.
Regards
Caz |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
cubist
Joined: 20 Sep 2007
Posts: 209
Location: Cambridge, MA
|
| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 3:34 pm Post subject: Re: Some NeXT paraphernalia |
|
|
| mrcaz wrote: | I'm looking to repair my NeXT N4006 Monitor which powers down after 30 seconds of switching on.
You mentioned you had the schematic and service manual..
|
Crap. I missed that original note. I had a 4006 with the same problem as you. Suspected a shorted electrolytic so I poked at it a bit but eventually gave up, tossed it and bought an LCD that doesn't frame the video correctly. Ditto the Hitachi I had. *sigh* |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
mrcaz
Joined: 05 Jun 2008
Posts: 3
Location: London
|
| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 4:15 pm Post subject: Some NeXT paraphernalia |
|
|
From googling around, I understand that auto power down is from cathode ray tube anode over-voltage detection circuit designed to prevent overdose of x-rays. Possible cause can be either 1. too many volts from low voltage switched mode power supply, 2. problem with over-voltage detection circuit, 3. problem with high voltage circuit driven from low voltage switched mode power supply. Any of these can be caused by open open or closed circuit capacitor or resistor amongst other things.
http://repairfaq.ece.drexel.edu/sam/monfaq.htm
Regards
Caz |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
mrintel
Joined: 05 Jul 2009
Posts: 83
|
| Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 5:21 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Just out of curiosity, has the NRW Manufacturing Overview been scanned yet? And if so, has it been posted somewhere?
_________________
Mr. Intel |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
itomato
Joined: 27 Dec 2005
Posts: 236
Location: Dallas, TX
|
| Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 7:33 pm Post subject: Bumpity-bump-bump |
|
|
NRW Scans?
_________________
i+ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group
|
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
Register
