i know modding NeXT hardware is generally considered a sin:twisted: , but this is a Monostation with the bare min config. paid 14.00 including shipping and software for it. And i want to stay true to it's roots.
here's my idea. i may throw a fresh coat of paint on it. then take a Mac board from a machine compatible with Rhapsody 5.6(OSX Server 1.2), and put in the pizza box. then run Rhapsody.
when i had it running on a Mac a ways back, there was a way to bring back the NeXT UI and run it instead of the Rhapsody UI. i was also thinking about that. it was a little buggy, but maybe i can get it to work.
anyway, i need to know the size of the Mono motherboard, exact measure ments, so that i can pick a board that will work. i had also considered Rhapsody DR2 for Intel(I have PPC too) on an Intel board, but i could run either on a PPC mac board, so i'd rather do that.
don't think of it as a mod, just an upgrade and a refresh. or, what NeXT would have put out in 1996 if they still made machines :D
thanks for any help you can offer.
i have a logic board from a Beige G3 Desktop model. i got a 4mb vram upgrade that snaps into the board giving it a total of 6mb vram.
i have a 256mb ram chip for it, and a 300mhz G3 cpu.
i also have a min-atx psu that is external in nature and will work with the G3 board. it's black too :-)
i don't think Rhapsody 5.6 has floppy support, so i will probably just use an external cd of some sort for a drive. i may get an old NeXT cdrom and put a new drive in it.
keyboard & mouse are still undecided.
well, almost everything listed above is here, except that station itself and the logic board.
got a 3.5 - 2.5 ide adapter on the way so that i can use a laptop hd.
i think there are adb - ps/2 adapters. i need 2 of those so i can use a kvm, and my usb keyboard & mouse with it.
then i just need the drives. bidding on a 60gb 2.5". hopefully i'll get it. then i just need to find the optical drive.
sweet.
:D well, i put together the logic board, ram, cpu, 4mb vram upgrade, and psu. everything fits together and looks like it will fit in the computer when i get it.
nothing is higher than the low profile 256 ram dimm, so if i can get a heat sink that falls below that, i should be ok fitting everything in the Mono case.
still need to procure: 2.5" hd, external scsi optical drive, adb - ps2 adapter(in order to use KVM).
on the way: 3.5" - 2.5" ide adapter, Monostation itself.
:lol: i will be selling the Monostation insides cheap when i am done, so anyone interested in any of those parts, let me know.
got the machine, and took everything out. looks like i'll have plenty of room with very little modification to the inside.
i'll be picking up a dremel this afternoon to shear off the screw holes and protrubences from the inside/bottom of the case so that the G3 logic board will fit. only two of the ports must be dremeled into one, so that the G3's ports will fit out the back.
i have room for a full size hd if i want one too at the top of the case. and if i increase the size of the floppy port, and put in a 3.5" hd, i can sit an iMac cdrom on top of the hd and line it up with the floppy hole and have an internal cdrom.
we'll see.
Cool, I want to see some pics of this project finished! :)
after dremeling away on the knobs and screw hole and such on the Mono case, it became apparent that i would have to grind away more of the case than was available to me, if i wanted to fit the new logic board where the old one was.
so i've had to back up a little. i am going to order a ColorStation Turbo case from Black Hole for 25.00 and go a different way. i put the Mono board in the case and put the mac board on top, and it fit very well. lined up nicely and would require less cutting.
don't worry, not going to use NeXT hardware that way. the internals have been sold on eBay for shipping to another NeXT guy. they shipped today.
i'll just get a piece of hardboard cut to size, screw that to the motherboard holes, and mount everything on that.
question, are there significant differences in the layouts between the Mono and the Turbo Colorstation?
if so, i'll just order a new Mono case instead.
don't mourn for the old Mono case, it was in pretty crappy shape, and i was considering getting a new case anyway.
on another note, have you seen these?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811295002that gives me an idea for my NeXT project.
two things:
1. good luck dealing with Blackholeinc
2. Have you given any thought to how you're going to power that G3 logic board?
i used a part internal/part external micro-atx psu to power it.
the Turbo Colorstation case from Black Hole is here and in much better shape than the Mono case i was using. the Mono case was a nice practice case though.
just a couple more shaves with the Dremel and the mobo will fit. took a different approach this time. cut away very little on the inside. just trimmed down the screw holes and side tabs a little bit. enough to push the board back to where the holes are and line the ports up. i may throw some paint on the back only to cover some dremel marks.
then of course, some cutting of the ports had to be done. about half will not even be used, but the others are completely different now. as soon as i smooth them out a little, it will be good to go.
i have decided not to cut a larger hole and use the slot load imac cdrom. i will be going with an exernal scsi instead. i may put a mac floppy in the floppy hole, but most likey it will be nothing. i'm takinf the NeXT logo from the Mono case and gluing it to whatever black cdrom case i find.
very close now. should be done this weekend putting it together. then it's just a matter of getting the ext scsi cdrom drive and installing Rhapsody.
NeXT Turbostation Color Case/"Brand New"(no kidding) Gossamer motherboard/300 G3 cpu/heatsink/case fan/New mini-itx psu/IBM 40gb ide hd/24x iMac slot-load cdrom/256mb ram/6mb vram.
still need to install the iMac cdrom, or install a floppy and use an external scsi cdrom
kb & mouse not included
OS not yet installed, but Rhapsody 5.6 was included on a cdrom
http://gallery.me.com/timmy#100009 good luck and please post the pics of it running. Enjoy!
Can't wait to get it :)
how's it coming dude?
Yes do.
That would really make it. Maybe that was already your plan.
Dr. Bott makes an ADB KVM or at least they used to. I bought a 4-way one from them not that long ago.
looks like only a 2-way is available now:
http://www.drbott.com/prod/db.lasso?code=0127-RMTBThat's a real kick-add mod BTW!!!
I haven't had the money/time to do anything with it yet. Hopefully in a few weeks...
i'd love to see this working. let em know how it's going.
well, like most projects I seem to take on, I've not had the time/money to do much yet. I'll get to it at some point :)
I'd love to see a screen shot of this up & running. I'd hate to see it fall into obscurity. It's such a cool mod.
If you don't think you'll finish, why not sell it here like I did, and let someone take over?
Either way, can't wait to see it run. I may want to start another NeXT project and actually finish it this time.
...the Apple 600 cdrom external to install the os onto it. should be compatible.
after that, it's done really. give it a shot.
I'm getting to it ;)
I just got back from a 3 week trip and my room is too much of a wreck to be able to do anything at the moment, lol. I haven't forgotten about it though :P
can't wait :lol:
any update on this mod? love to know how it's going. :?:
:D
Anyone know if the guy got this done? It was me selling it. Never heard back.