🚀 go-pugleaf

In <32FE16CE.5476@sonnet.com> Hagen Finley <hagen@sonnet.com> writes:

>  I just picked up a IPC shoebox and, being new to SUN products, I have
>a couple of questions for anyone patient enough to indulge my ignorance.

Sure..

>    First, the IPC is network ready but my LAN is a thin BNC ethernet
>configuration and it looks like the SUN comes with a DIX thick ethernet
>NIC. Is there a simple way to convert the DIX to a BNC topology?

You can buy AUI to thin coax ethernet transceivers from surplus dealers,
but they are fairly cheap to buy brand new off the shelf. You should try
contacting David Case (dcase@case.com) if you'd like to buy a used one - I
remember he had some of these transceivers a while back. 

>    Second, the IPC uses  the smaller shoebox case - do other more up to
>date SUNs come in the shoebox case also? - I am thinking in terms of the
>overall upgrade picture and I want to know if I can upgrade the chip and
>motherboard down the road while maintaining the case and peripherals.
>The short question, is is this box equivilent to a 286 PC which is
>fundimantally not upgradable or can I improve its performance piecemeal
>or through  a motherboard-chip upgrade?

The IPC case is actually referred to a 'lunchbox'. 8-)

As for upgrading, you can move up to an IPX, or there are companies such 
as Cycle Computer (check them out at 'http://www.cyclecc.com') who make 
SparcStation 5 clone boards to suit the IPC/IPX cases, as well as the 
original SS1, SS1+ and SS2 case, and also the Classic and LX. 

>    Third, I don't get the video frame nomenclature that SUN users apply
>to their systems - is there a conversion table for PC style video to
>SUN style video - e.g. resolution, VRAM, 16 vs 24 bit etc.?

For most systems you can't readily change the video parameters, but some
later model SparcStations can have their display size changed (via the
non-volative RAM parameters I think). It depends on the graphics hardware,
and also on how much video RAM is available.  Most older systems can't
have the video RAM size increased, so higher resolutions other than the
standard 1152 x 900 can't be supported. 

Remember that an IPC does not have an on-board colour framebuffer (aka
video adapter in PC terminology) - it has a monochrome one, but you can
plug a colour frame buffer into one of the Sbus slots. The IPX does have
an on-board colour framebuffer, and the Cycle Computer upgrade boards for
the IPC/IPX have a colour framebuffer on-board as well. 

>    Fourth, I was told there is an adapter which allows me to connect my
>NEC XE21 to the IPC. What is that adapter and is this generally
>considered a bad idea?

If my memory serves me correctly, an XE21 is a colour monitor, not a
monochrome one? Assuming it's colour, an XE21 is definitely capable of
handling Sun's normal colour video frequencies of 62.75 KHz horizontal and
66 Hz vertical. The problem is adapting the cabling, since most monitors
not specifically made for a Sun don't have a D13W3 connector on the back -
they usually have BNC connectors, or high-density 9 or 15 pin 'D'
connectors, or both (like the Magtron 17" colour monitor I use at home). 

>    Finally, where do you get this stuff? Is there a SUN hardware dealer
>(new or used) in the SF BayArea? Of course, there is SUN itself, but
>I would love to be able to wander through the isles of a new and used
>SUN store and familiarize myself with SUNs hardware options.

I wish the market for Sun equipment here in Australia was supportive of 
something like that! 8-)

Regards,

Craig.
-- 
        Craig Dewick - craig@zeta.org.au - http://www.zeta.org.au/~craig  
            Professional Train Driver. Located in Sydney, Australia.
          Sun Ripened Kernels - http://www.zeta.org.au/~craig/srk.html
                Surplus and pre-loved Sun Microsystems equipment.