Hello, I'm Tesseract! I've been interested in vintage technology and its historic legacy for the past decade, whether that tech be old computers or video game consoles, and have been lurking the forums recently. I have a couple of vintage computers, including an Atari 130XE, a Commodore 64, a legacy Asus K8VSEDX gaming computer (multi-boot setup with Windows XP, Windows ME, DOS, and WfWG 3.11), and most recently acquired a NeXTCube. I have both a coding and a hardware background, and code for a living.
I finally decided to join the community after acquiring a NeXTCube out in the wild earlier this year. I stumbled across the NeXTCube lot by luck at a random Pittsburgh yard sale, of what appeared to be from the family's tech collection from either a senior network admin or possibly a retired Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) employee last summer. The lot came with the following in good condition, all for
$10:
- NeXTCube itself
- NeXT-branded DB19 cable
- 15" Monochrome MegaPixel monitor (non-adb)
- MO drive and a 68k NeXT mo'bo installed
- A Few generic 3-prong power cables
With the cheap price, I decided to take the plunge into the NeXT world. The Cube didn't come with a SCSI hard drive or non-adb NeXT keyboard or mouse, but it did come with some barcoded asset tags on the Cube and monitor, a label with a retro Y2K warning, and a label with a fitting nickname "Tesseract" for this NeXTCube (hence my username). I'm assuming that the machine was decommissioned from a company. The family was selling this lot and other items due to it being "old junk"; fortunately, I'm a nerd with an electronics hardware background and a deep respect and interest for vintage technology, so the NextCube fell into the right hands ;).
I've been researching about NeXT computers from this wonderful community the past few months, and have been working on restoring this interesting machine back into usage. The only thing that appears to be wrong with the NeXTCube at the time of this writing was that the MegaPixel CRT tube died and no longer displays graphics properly. It can still power on (using a non-adb Drakware NeXTUSB adapter, and USB keyboard and mouse on the DB19 I/O chain), can run the ROM Monitor for booting, and can still display monochrome graphics (by feeding the MegaPixel's soundbox video signals into a VGA breakout board, and then into a Chinese mini VGA LCD with loose video specs, using Asterontech's VGA notes (
http://www.asterontech.com/Asterontech/next_adb_conversion.html)).
After getting a SCSI HDD and writing a NeXTSTEP image onto it via my legacy Asus computer's SCSI PCI add-on card, I'm planning to use this machine to explore the history of NeXTSTEP, to look into app development for fun, and to upgrade the hardware for usage as a physical, high-end 68k Hackintosh via Darkmatter. Upgrades such as maxed out RAM, installing an internal SCSI CD and Floppy Drive (compatible with Darkmatter); retrofitting a compatible 15" VGA LCD into the old MegaPixel shell (since the CRT tube is dead), and hooking the NeXTCube to the internet with a 10BaseT to Thin-Net (BNC) media converter I have. Maybe in the more distant future, I'll upgrade the machine with a NextDimension board for color support.
I can post some pictures in an album link of some pictures I have of the NeXTCube hardware if asked/allowed; I do not want to overstep my boundaries with my intro post. Looking forward to being a part of the NeXT community, and learning more about getting the most out of NeXT hardware and software! These machines are very cool, powerful, and were way ahead of their time.
Welcome aboard, and congratulations for your luck: finding a $ 10 nextcube doesn't happen every day :-)
Before you throw away the old MegaPixel monitor, remember to remove the Sound card on the back, which you can reuse as an external Soundbox.
I think we all like pictures. Post away! And welcome!
Welcome aboard..... If you want to work a trade for perhaps a nice working NeXT hard drive, I can always use the Magnesium monitor stands and the sound card ,speaker and microphone from the monitor ! Best Regards Rob Blessin
A photo gallery (
https://www.mediafire.com/view/hzcnxlb5x360215,b3ctjnawl3dquqz,mdbokehbyrfwcmg,h7y103crk7ykqsw,3mffzg463afe2ug,v8ujihbvcouz48y,7h78xgavcpwjejk,7elt2v128ewy4e5,st9oh7jr3hvi0qj,9jxk924c33jspdc,1w5g6mfi4zyg0am,bs1mj5m4ztxh0wx,kiog8z5ts45qgot,5c4ndvxkl04o0r4,a1j6vjwjgzwz1l3,w680utvrv4lf9u7,zhw8fs6fq7dkdr7,zr1fpiyn6eod7v1,8hj34e4xbhg0f6i,ykz0uoztw1mbw79,mtaqkp3y6dh6v2h,lnempfyuy3xz5um,63no50hpwnjm0ab,p5n10my36jwva37,s2rk5sn1uon5tql,tljlg74n7kiydj6,1k7tmqbfomkf3tz,8eimsus86nymilu,e01jaq7dinde7hc,ppsd8ui6h3wnroz,gnyjq0lgte080tq,zahc8l4kgswca9w,dnmw3q95x65ki9l,nv6wa42fm8k2lb3,pfdkpmd49s9egn4,2eqkt262572klpm,4mhd6p297ep59pm,zlqlt6av76n3ny9,m4ffw0ddiuyke69,292uyukjxqi3sxp,1lzwv1jjglj3ro6,eyyuhhjfqworyt9/gallery#hzcnxlb5x360215) of the "Tesseract" NeXTCube lot and some accessories, and getting video out of the machine with a DIY VGA adapter tapped into the monitor's sound board for the first time. Also for fun, another small gallery (
https://www.mediafire.com/view/ei8uxe6cz2tna1k,psa6vqvwcbxzdsw,3o4ro0qfam8lvry,a213j1ja86b8vgs,q7xrv5b2d0pmnl9,w8fkze8jk0arn77,2hguti16cv3pr6b,umfijkw42nj04pn,r8w8v0rqvi0dipc,rvi7pk7eggay4n6,fzeaxyfa025h3ep,bk1syh771xn6mhv,1t3xso1ixflc9rv,iuvl5rxx3lmfjj1,06dl7y5zt1m1nz1,gj2m0jmsru4curo,upec86cal65dwy9,54ubcdemrrmxpk3,8xpgp1xe4uegx4d,batxuvw9rvrkfj0,rv70lj8bwfdlv2n,x7nflw4jp28dr6z,gn5a581y7qrxwsd,4ducqv9mymjg8y7,9powm3twknydlcz,8ltijgxepd3r8sx,7qxo2lmgiqqz1e1,6cu0rzl1vq48hmo,tcmhhgibwx1z1bw,rbhevt417wzc8t5,4tm8eg3fxypalyn,6u8ctii94jzjbrq,e9uwl1cs242wpka,gwi8waugqwqvxps/gallery#ei8uxe6cz2tna1k) of a lot of select items acquired at that same yard sale (including tech documentation, two Farallon "Project Emily" networking prototypes, server/workstation-based software, and other interesting vintage items).
@Rob Blessin Black Hole If I can't find a compatible 15" Multisync LCD VGA monitor or appropriate video converters/scalers (the MegaPixel monochrome video non-standard 68Hz frequency problem) to retrofit a new display into the original MegaPixel case, I'll consider trading the MegaPixel stand/case at a minimum. I'm currently using the non-adb soundbox from inside the old MegaPixel to power the machine and for display.
For the interim, going to try using RaSCSI on my Raspberry Pi as a virtual SCSI HDD with parts coming in from eBay for that circuit.
As a followup to my early post I have some more information about your NeXTCube! One of my colleagues worked at Transarc and remembered it not entirely fondly. Here's one of his memories for you about your box.
"Yep, Tesseract used to be one of our build and test machines for AFS! We had two of them, I think. I still remember the time when a Transarc HW repair tech replaced a drive but forgot to plug the fan back in. I ejected the MO drive after the machine crapped out and literally got a blister because it was so hot. :-) "
Hope you enjoy the anecdote.
Hello : I just realised that Tesseract was"Greg" Anderson Financial Systems , wondering if an optical disk or hard drive in that box may have the old source code for Write Up or Paste UP to of there customs apps. I know the did some cool NeXT mission critical custom software Trade Kit.
A classic quote from Greg AFS at NeXT / Apple developer conference in 1996, the first one after the merger sums up trying to explain Openstep verse Copeland to the Mac devs, "We are in the land of the blind selling working eyeballs and they are worried about what color they are" looks like a nice cube.
I tried finding the Mod on here where someone retrofitted a flat panel into a 4000A shell. If you looked closely at the NeXT Dimension system used in the TV Show Halt and Catch Fire , they had a Color LCD in a NeXT Sony 17" 4000A Shell
https://youtu.be/QmlFXBztSW8 39 minutes in