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Help identifying parts on computer.

PostPosted: Sat Nov 08, 2003 6:20 am
by Turkeyscore.com
www.turkeyscore.com/whatthat

Remember the computers I posted about. This is the $25 one and there are some weird looking things that came with it. Im confused as to what they are, what they do, and why they are there. (the rainbow cable was just half in the case, not attached to anything)

PostPosted: Sat Nov 08, 2003 12:06 pm
by Action Jackson
I have no idea. Why not plug in some of the numbers on it on google or something and see what you come up with?

PostPosted: Sat Nov 08, 2003 1:04 pm
by Ian
My guess is that this computer was hooked up to some sort of machine and/or testing equipment. That "weird thing" is most likely a DC/DC converter, providing power to some device in the computer. The device was probably hooked up to some external components, via the coax jacks and/or that weird cable. I used to see a lot of weird crap like that when I worked in the medical field.

Check power-one's website. You might find a picture of that weird thing:

http://www.power-one.com

PostPosted: Sat Nov 08, 2003 1:44 pm
by cfitz
The "weird thing" is itself a power supply. It looks like it is probably a linear supply that was used to power some custom analog circuitry. The black and white wires coming from the computer's power supply and going to the "weird thing" power supply are likely 120 VAC hot (black) and neutral (white) leads that power the "weird thing" supply.

The rainbow ribbon cable was probably used to control the custom circuitry via the parallel printer port. This is a fairly common practice.

The BNC connectors on the back panel are, again, indicative of analog signal processing. They were probably used to get the analog signals in and/or out of the computer.

You can safely ignore all this stuff. The linear "weird thing" power supply won't generate much heat when not in use, and the remaining items will have no effect at all. If you do want to remove the "weird thing" power supply, make sure to properly insulate the cut ends of the black and white leads to make sure you and your computer don't get a shock from the 120 VAC they carry.

cfitz

PostPosted: Sat Nov 08, 2003 3:58 pm
by Turkeyscore.com
hmm, a guy gave me a cable from the same auction (misc boxes he had no use for the cable) It was a cat5 cable with a RJ45 (LAN) plug on 1 end and a gameport plug on the other (I have a network hub that it can plug into). There was a tag hanging off of it that said "Lab Use only". The company that most of the computer related items in the auction was Webview, which I believe either folded or upgraded systems.

Thankyou cfitz, I was having a really hard time remembering the proper name for the BNC.

PostPosted: Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:37 pm
by Action Jackson
I put this question up on another forum and here's what came up:

http://www.elitebastards.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2538

PostPosted: Sun Nov 09, 2003 10:06 pm
by cfitz
Turkeyscore.com wrote:Thankyou cfitz, I was having a really hard time remembering the proper name for the BNC.

You're welcome.

Action Jackson wrote:I put this question up on another forum and here's what came up:

http://www.elitebastards.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2538

Hmmm... I don't know where they get their information.

First, it is called token ring, not "tolken" ring.

Second, token ring is, for all practical purposes, a long dead technology.

Third, token ring, as defined in the IEEE 802.5 standards and by IBM (the most popular implementation), does not and never did use BNC connectors. Perhaps the poster is confusing token ring with 10Base-2 Ethernet, which did use BNC connectors. But even 10Base-2 NICs almost always had only a single BNC connector. External BNC T-connectors were used to string the cable along to additional stations.

Fourth, I don't know where the business about the Megatel break-out board came from. The extra power supply could have powered just about anything, from fully custom circuitry to off-the-shelf boards. Without additional information there is no way to tell what it powered.

cfitz