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LC PDS card seems insecure

doshea

doshea

Experienced Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2009
Messages
90
Location
Australia
I recently installed a 10BASE2 LC PDS card. I've never had an expansion card in a Mac before, and I was surprised that there doesn't seem to be anything other than connector friction to hold it in place. Am I correct in thinking that I'd better be careful when shifting this machine around because I could dislodge the card if I push on the BNC connector the wrong way, or do they tend to stay put well enough?

I wouldn't have asked questions like this in the past, but I'm starting to get paranoid about my old hardware, because if I break it I don't think I'll like the price tag to replace it!

Given my experience with this machine, maybe what I should be worried about the most is that I bump the BNC connector and all the plastic parts of the case shatter into a million pieces :LOL:
 
No that's normal. Sometimes there is a little metal tab on the bulkhead that secures it against the back of the machine but otherwise the only thing that keeps the card in place is the large PDS connector. I don't think I've ever had a card dislodge from plugging/unpugging something from it. NuBus on the other hand...
 
doshea said:
Am I correct in thinking that I'd better be careful when shifting this machine around because I could dislodge the card if I push on the BNC connector the wrong way, or do they tend to stay put well enough?
Click to expand...
The rear panel connector plate should be fastened directly to the computer's frame and connected to the PDS board with a ribbon cable. Hard to see how jostling the network jack could pop the board out.
 
Thanks @NeXT! Unfortunately no sign of a metal tab in my case.

shirsch said:
The rear panel connector plate should be fastened directly to the computer's frame and connected to the PDS board with a ribbon cable. Hard to see how jostling the network jack could pop the board out.
Click to expand...
What I have is more like the photo in the PDS Wikipedia article where the port is on the card and just lines up with a small cutout in the back of the case. From looking online I saw a photo with a ribbon cable like you describe, I gather that's some earlier incarnation of PDS though.
 
shirsch said:
The rear panel connector plate should be fastened directly to the computer's frame and connected to the PDS board with a ribbon cable. Hard to see how jostling the network jack could pop the board out.
Click to expand...

I think you're confusing a different mac. The LC PDS cards almost always extend to the rear of the machine and use the punchout port for any connectors they may provide.

Maybe you're thinking of an SE or other compact mac with the punchout on the back of the case being far away from the PDS slot on the board.
 
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