[SPARCbook] Sparcbook experiences from new list member

[guikueppers at t-online.de]

Michael,

>>Sparcbook 3GX/3TX:
>>The 3GX can be promoted to 3TX by exchanging the cpu-board and
firmware,
>>mainboards are otherwise the same. 
>That's good to know. I think I've seen a 3TX CPU board on ebay
recently.( the 3TX was the TurboSPARC one, wasn't it? )
That's right, however beware that some mainboards have their firmware
flash-prom soldered in. I had to desolder the chip and put in a socket.
There's a flash routine inside the firmware which reloads software from
a pcmcia-card but I didn't dig into this. The 3TX board you saw, is that
from Blackmore IT?  If so,  it comes off an S3000, it looks the same
like mine though.

>I recently got an Ultrabook I, the whole case seems to be metal - not
quite the same level of solidity as the 3GX but still >quite nice.
There's one problem which you might be able to help with - the battery
charges just fine, both the battery's >built-in indicator and the
Ultrabook's LCD report it, and the machine certainly survives for quite
some time on battery. The >problem is that the firmware thinks battery
status is invalid, sets CPU clock to 100MHz and refuses to boot.Any
hints or >workarounds?
Maybe the firmware is right after all? I wouldn't trust the gas gauge
circuitry too much. Have you measured the battery voltage and connected
one or two 12V light bulbs in series to it? 

>>Sparcbook 2 scsi connector: 
>>it's not pretty and a bit fragile, as I have put it together myself,
but
>>it does work and will connect to a 25-pin female D-type connector.
This
>>one is for free, because I came across the original pigtail.
>Isn't that the same funky connector as Apple used in older PowerBooks
like the 3400c? Rectangular with 6 x 5 holes?
No, it's not. What you describe is the S3 (plain) scsi connector. The S2
has a sort of very high density 36-pin male D-connector, marked "HONDA
PCS-E36LMD" and made of what they call unobtainium.

Regards
Guido