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what to do with 386sx SBCs?

T

TNC

Experienced Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2007
Messages
209
Location
Germany
Hi there,

a friend asked me, if I want his SBCs (free), but I have no real job for them. Too pity for just laying around. They are 40 MHz, as I remember with co-processor and with 8 and 16 MiB RAM. Backplanes are available (he told me EISA? :confused3:).

Any Ideas?
 
TNC said:
Hi there,

a friend asked me, if I want his SBCs (free), but I have no real job for them. Too pity for just laying around. They are 40 MHz, as I remember with co-processor and with 8 and 16 MiB RAM. Backplanes are available (he told me EISA? :confused3:).

Any Ideas?
Click to expand...

Well one possible use to you... is to send me one of the SBCs and a backplane =) pretty please?
 
I`m located in Germany, so shipping would be expensive...:confused:

Anyway, any ideas jet?
 
I find that there seems to be two meanings for an SBC when it comes to x86 CPUs.

One is simply the CPU+memory card that goes into the slot in a passive backplane.

The other is a plain, non-expandable (at least in the traditional sense) PCB with any needed peripherals already included.

Which do you have?
 
If you like messing with data aquisition gear (old ISA cards) they would be usefull. A 386 is a bit old/slow to make a custom router I would think.

I would be interested in hearing what ISA/EISA cards were included (nobody botheres to get SBC + backplanes for anything other then industrial use.

Any idea what they were used for?
 
Hey...

no, i have no really idea, for what they have used for.

Probably I will setup one as a retro NT 3.51 PC with my ATI MACH 32 and an AHA-1542 (both EISA).

I`m sorry for the people who sent me a PM to sell them, I will most probably not sell them.

Cheers :)
 
Another use is some low-end servers. For example if you're into Commodore computers, you could equip one of those 386 boards with some IDE (unless it already has one), a memory card/hard drive and an XE1541 cable to have it run 64HDD. That is a virtual hard drive solution for Commodore computers, usually run on a low-end PC or laptop. I know a couple of people who have built themselves rather small boxes just for this use. There may be other, similar projects where a 40 MHz 386 is useful.
 
Some pictures would be nice so that we can identify what you have specifically. Are there any model numbers or anything? Manufacturer names? This information will help you as to what can be done with them.

One neat thing is to make a small computer for recording and use with webcams, like a security station. Or sensors to everything in the house, including the refrigerator. You'll be able to tell from the moisture/fan rpm/average temp/light on-off if you need to toss the eggs or if the milk is soured.
 
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