Mac hacking sort-of "holy grail"?

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Mac hacking sort-of "holy grail"?

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/macdan/images/apple/apple_pcb.jpg

second image, beware it's rather large (168K, 1689x791):
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/macdan/images/apple/apple_pcb2.jpg

One of the more sought-after type of bits (indeed, pretty near impossible to find actually!), care to guess what it is and from where I got it?

:coolmac:

Somebody guess correctly soon as I'm waiting to tell the rest of the story! Damn I love taking crap apart! Biggrin

Dan K

PS: geez, I hope I didn't fry it opening it up!

jt
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TAM bits . . .

. . . LCD interface adapter?

jt :?

Jon
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That's my take so far. Maybe

That's my take so far. Maybe LVDS, 'cause I've never seen an adpater for it and I have no idea what the plugs look like. The ones on the PCB look like a nice 16 pin and a 41? pin and a power connector. Something tells me it's not a HDD interface, or is it? Blum 3

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I would say that it is a VGA-

I would say that it is a VGA-LCD interface adapter. As the Philips chip is listed as a 5 V, triple RGB 6-bit video analog-to-digital interface.

My guess is that you pulled it from some sort of a POS system or maybe a gambling device.

jt
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From an I/O standpoint . . .

. . . that's the only thing that makes sense to me. J5 has a pincount somewhere between the two LCD connectors on the 2300c, J1 has the about right amount of pins for Mac Video out from that crazy little slot on the 5260/6360/6500(?) and J2 is unimplemented, that leaves J4 for LCD/backlight ppower, but I don't see J3?

Says RED & Blu on 2 of three lines gettin' a lot of TLC near J1 and that Lattice Chip looks a lot like the C&T chips in the NuBusPPC PBs.

jt :?

edit: D'oh! Says LCD above the two yellow ICs between J5 & J4 too!

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no earthly idea

no earthly idea

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TAM bits it is, a video->LCD driver card!

I just got my TAM and first thing I did (after booting it up and shutting it back down) was take it completely apart.

:coolmac:

That was a pretty amazing first 'guess' jt! However I suspect you remembered I had an incoming TAM! Biggrin

redrouteone really did nail its basic function, but a point-of-sale device . . . hmmmmm Biggrin

jon, I only wish it was an LVDS adapter! :/

Yep, it's a TAM's video->LCD interface board, a nifty little item which I figger would allow one to use a TAM/PB3400/3500 LCD (same Samsung LCD) with just 'about any Mac. Too damn bad the only Mac that ever came with such a thing is the rarest Mac of all! Still, if you get a chance to grab one of these super-rare suckers, don't hesitate.

The TAM sure is a kludgey thing inside though! It's a cobbled together bunch of 6500 and 3400 parts. For example, the CD drive is a fullsize SCSI device with the tray missing and a cockamamey bunch of gizmos to do stuff like open the front 'flap'.

I took some pics of the taken-apart TAM, as well as scanned the logic board. Got it all back together and it seems to still work OK. The LCD goes wonkey, just like the eBay seller said it would, but a clap on the side gets it working again (most times.)

The TV tuner thing is kind of nifty, but the picture quality is pretty poor. Lots of artifacts and the colors are totally posterized. Dunno if that's a function of having only thousands of colors, or maybe the tuner is dying or something.

More details to come, just wanted to follow up on my lil' teaser here.

Dan K

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If that is indeed a VGA-LVDS

If that is indeed a VGA-LVDS converter, I will be wanting to talk to you.

SPEAK ALRADY, MAN!

--DDTM

jt
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Re: TAM bits it is, a video->LCD driver card!

I just got my TAM and first thing I did (after booting it up and shutting it back down) was take it completely apart.

:coolmac:

Gutsy! Wink


That was a pretty amazing first 'guess' jt! However I suspect you remembered I had an incoming TAM! Biggrin

Only after you'd said it was one of the rarest "Apple" boards, but even then I wasn't sure, posts sorta run together after a while. Besides, it was a pretty obvious hint for a card that looks like that! Dr. Bob'd mentioned that adapter board as being obscenely expensive back when they built the TAM and I'd always wondered what it looked like.


Yep, it's a TAM's video->LCD interface board, a nifty little item which I figger would allow one to use a TAM/PB3400/3500 LCD (same Samsung LCD) with just 'about any Mac.

Does its cable plug into that DAV/whatever slot near the PRAM bat?


The TV tuner thing is kind of nifty, but the picture quality is pretty poor. Lots of artifacts and the colors are totally posterized. Dunno if that's a function of having only thousands of colors, or maybe the tuner is dying or something.

Is it the same tuner/card combo as the 630->6500 series? If so, I think you're just running into the old "LCD's SUCK!!!" problem. I guess it could be that "old LCDs SUCK!!!" However, even new LCD TVs don't seem as clear and sharp as CRTs yet, if you ask me.

jt Wink

jt
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Got flip side scan?

I'm dyin'ta see the rest of that card! How many layers does the PCB look like it has? A schematic of that sucker (hrrmmm . . . looks like mebbe you've already started, heh!) could come in VERY HANDY! Does J2 look like it might be a digital video input for testing? Where's J3 and how many of those components are on the 3400 MLB?

jt :?

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TAM-TV works good, once I adjusted the settings. Doh!

I adjusted the TV playback settings and lo-and-behold the video looks pretty good now. The color and brightness sliders were maxed. Why the heck I didn't check for that sort of thing first I dunno. :/

I scanned the backside of the board, have it up later. As for the other components I'm really not very familiar with the 630->6500 optional bits, so can't say if the TAM parts are the same. I suspect they are though.

Whew, I'm sure glad I didn't fry the dang thing though while desoldering the EMI shield!!

Dan K

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The links seem to be dead (40

The links seem to be dead (404) Sad

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new link

nutz, I thought I updated the thread with a new link

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/macdan/tam.html

Dan K

jt
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Re: new link

nutz, I thought I updated the thread with a new link

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/macdan/tam.html

That was the OTHER thread that you updated!

jt Wink

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