Wanted: Macintosh IIci System, NuBus Ethernat Card, and AppleTalk Adapters

[NF6X]

I'd like to put together a Macintosh IIci system with both Ethernet and AppleTalk support, to bridge the gap between a 512k Macintosh that I'm getting and my modern systems. So, I think I am looking for:

• Macintosh IIci w/ keyboard and mouse
• Original monitor for the IIci, or a suitable VGA adapter.
• NuBus Ethernet card for the IIci
• AppleTalk adapter for the IIci (mini-DIN)
• AppleTalk adapter for a 512k Mac (DE9)
• AppleTalk cable(s)

Am I missing anything?

I'm in Riverside, CA. No eBay, please.

 

[HoJoPo]

Any particular reason for the IIci? An LC series (LC III is my favorite) might be good, if you don't mind the pizza-box Macs, and they were fairly common since they were used so much in education.

 

[d5aa96]

Before you do anything read this:

http://www.applefool.com/se30/

My personal opinion is that it's way overkill to build a IIci system just to act as an localtalk bridge. Almost any other mac (and the Lisa) made before 1998 can also support localtalk, there are localtalk cards for PC (I used to connect my 512K mac to a Novell Server), and stand alone ethernet to localtalk bridges. Also don't bother with apple's localtalk connectors, use Farallon PhoneNet connectors and phone cords. The DB-9 version was very common and should not be hard to find.

Rick

 

[NF6X]

Any particular reason for the IIci? An LC series (LC III is my favorite) might be good, if you don't mind the pizza-box Macs, and they were fairly common since they were used so much in education.

The look of the IIci and its close relatives appeals to me. The pizza boxes, not so much.

Before you do anything read this:

http://www.applefool.com/se30/

Thanks. I'll read that later this evening.

My personal opinion is that it's way overkill to build a IIci system just to act as an localtalk bridge.

Oh, I don't dispute that at all! I kind of have a hankering to play with a System 7 era 68k Macintosh, so I'm not looking for a IIci just to act as a LocalTalk bridge.

Almost any other mac (and the Lisa) made before 1998 can also support localtalk

The 512k Macintosh that's due to arrive on my doorstep later this week will be my very first pre-x86, pre-OSX Macintosh, so I don't have any other pre-1998 Mac yet to fill the role. I've been looking at "any other Macs" this morning, trying to pick out just which particular one will bridge between the 512k Mac and my modern computers (in particular, my lovely Macintosh Pro trashcan), give me a SuperDrive floppy for maximum flexibility, visually appeal to me all on its own, and let me play around with later classic MacOS. System 7 particularly piques my curiosity. I'm not really motivated to get into the Power Macs just yet, but maybe sometime I will; the "Outrigger" case design kind of appeals to me. In any case, the IIci looks like a sweet spot of features, appearance, capability, and age to scratch this particular itch. It may not be the last classic Macintosh to join my collection... just the second.

there are localtalk cards for PC (I used to connect my 512K mac to a Novell Server)

I'm not very enthusiastic about PCs, so I don't want to go that route.

and stand alone ethernet to localtalk bridges.

If I trip over one of those, that might be worth playing with. It wouldn't be as fun as another medium-old Macintosh, but could be useful.

Also don't bother with apple's localtalk connectors, use Farallon PhoneNet connectors and phone cords. The DB-9 version was very common and should not be hard to find.

Rick

I'd prefer to use the Apple ones, just for the full Apple aesthetic experience. Not for any practical reasons, for sure, or else I'd look for the PhoneNet ones. I probably would have used PhoneNet if I was a Mac user back in the day. Heck, if I find just the right computer and it happens to come with PhoneNet adapters then I'll use them. But as long as I'm looking for them, the silly Apple ones with their &!^@$# Mini-DIN connectors are my first preference.

 

[roberttx]

I don't think I have a IICI, but I could very well be wrong. I'll have a look when I get a minute.

System 7 particularly piques my curiosity.

I remember doing actual paid work on System 7.

I probably would have used PhoneNet if I was a Mac user back in the day.

As I recall, most everybody did. That said, I have vague memories of some what might be some NOS localtalk gubbins, picked up at a hamfest in Lubbock, iirc. I'll check when I look into the IIci possibility.

 

[NF6X]

I think I came very close to doing actual paid work on System 7. Fresh out of college, I became an applications engineer. And in the company I was in, apps engineering was part of the marketing department. And marketing used Macs. So, I started out with a shiny new Macintosh on my desk, and the timing would probably have had it running System 7. It quickly got replaced with a PC (yuck!) that I needed for engineering tools, microcontroller emulators and the like. But it did leave me with a lingering curiosity about Macintoshes of that era, all these decades later. I wish I could remember what model it would have been. None of the pictures I looked up seem familiar, but I only had it on my desk for a week or two anyway. From the timing, it might have been a IIcx/ci/etc series machine, and I like the looks of the IIci and its brothers, so here we are!

I took a quick skim of the networking page helpfully linked to above, and I can see that a IIci may not seamlessly support drag-and-drop file transfers with my modern machine running Yosemite (heck, even Yosemite is behind the times). So maybe I'll end up also looking for something else to really bridge the gap, but I'm still interested in a IIci anyway. I'll study the networking page more carefully later tonight.

Thanks for looking for gubbins and whatnot.

 

[Druid6900]

I have a number of IIxx computers (and a bunch of pizza box Macs as well), along with, I believe a Quadra and some other big box Macs. I remember buying some keyboards, cables and mouses and even have a midibox for one of them. I remember buying a box of Tadiran (?) batteries for them and testing them

Come to think of it, with the ][+, ///, Lisa and the box Macs, I have quite a collection of them, even some cards. Thing is, I don't even collect computers LOL.

However, shipping any of that stuff from SW Ontario to California would be expensive on its own.

 

[NF6X]

You know, now I'm thinking that a beige Power Macintosh G3 desktop, booting either Mac OS 9 or OSX 10.1 depending on my whim, would round out the collection very nicely. In addition to a IIci running System 7, of course.


Edit: Changed 10.0 to 10.1. Doh!

 

[NF6X]

Thing is, I don't even collect computers LOL.

Intervention time: You clearly do collect computers!

However, shipping any of that stuff from SW Ontario to California would be expensive on its own.

Yeah, I think that shipping that kind of stuff across the border would be impractical. I don't need any of it that badly.

I sure wish my dad hadn't sent his old Lisa to the recyclers many years ago. I can understand how it would seem inconceivable at the time that anybody would ever want the old beast, but I'd love to have it now. I probably wouldn't have wanted it myself when he got rid of it; that was a number of years before the retrocomputing bug bit me.

 

[Druid6900]

Intervention time: You clearly do collect computers!

Not really. A company I own buys legacy and vintage computers, repairs and refurbishes them and then we sell them to people like you LOL.

Yeah, I think that shipping that kind of stuff across the border would be impractical. I don't need any of it that badly.

Almost all of our sales are outside of Canada with the majority going to the US. Since we mark them as refurbished, no one has ever said they had to pay customs charges and because we ship via postal services, you don't get that $50 charge from couriers telling you there are mo duties due. Except for a little extra paperwork (for us), it's no different from having it shipped from inside the US.

 

[NF6X]

Oh, I had the impression that shipping things to/from/within Canada was kind of expensive. Well, it can't hurt to see if you might have something that likes Southern California weather...

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Shipping a IIci with an era-appropriate monitor will be EXPENSIVE.

Also, do you want Apple-official LocalTalk adapters and cables, or is PhoneNet sufficient for you? I have all the bits your asking for, but while I have plenty of "extra" PhoneNet adapters (including DE-9,) I have very few actual Apple LocalTalk ones (and only one DE-9, which I would prefer to keep, so you'd have to offer quite a bit to get me to part with it.)

And if you'd prefer a smaller system, I have an LC II with Ethernet I could do instead of the IIci. (And the display I would consider 'optional', since shipping CRTs is really expensive. If you don't want a CRT included, I'd throw in a Mac-VGA adapter.)

 

[NF6X]

Well, I would prefer the Apple-offical LocalTalk adapters, but I might just relent and go with the PhoneNet ones instead if I don't trip over any cheap Apple ones.

The industrial design of the LC II pizza box doesn't excite me too much. It's not hideous like the all-in-one G3, but I think I'd rather hold out for a IIci and a G3 desktop.

Edited to add: I'm on the fence about shipping an era-appropriate monitor vs. going with a more practical VGA adapter.

 

[Druid6900]

Oh, I had the impression that shipping things to/from/within Canada was kind of expensive. Well, it can't hurt to see if you might have something that likes Southern California weather...

After the summer we've had (and are still having), it might find southern California a bit cool....

I could do the box and keyboard, probably a mouse, MAYBE a monitor or VGA adapter, but, the Apple-Talk bits, if we have them, I have no idea where they are. I know a couple of the big box Macs had Ethernet cards and other stuff, but, it's been so long since we got that pallet full of Macs that I don't know, for sure, what is in what and what can be transferred to what.

Not the smartest buy I ever made, but, I was new at this vintage Apple stuff and didn't realize that most Apple users have very little interest in their computer brand's legacy.

 

[Druid6900]

Edited to add: I'm on the fence about shipping an era-appropriate monitor vs. going with a more practical VGA adapter.

I'd suggest investigating getting the monitor locally. We successfully ship monitors and AIOs around the world, but, as Anonymous says, it is expensive to do it because of the multiple layers of packing required.

 

[NF6X]

I'd suggest investigating getting the monitor locally. We successfully ship monitors and AIOs around the world, but, as Anonymous says, it is expensive to do it because of the multiple layers of packing required.

I agree. I'll troll Craigslist some more, and I'll wait a bit to see if something closer to me wanders into this thread. But I'm pleased that some potential options are already turning up, and I can see buying small things like AppleTalk adapters on speculation that I'll eventually have something to plug them into.

 

[Druid6900]

I agree. I'll troll Craigslist some more, and I'll wait a bit to see if something closer to me wanders into this thread. But I'm pleased that some potential options are already turning up, and I can see buying small things like AppleTalk adapters on speculation that I'll eventually have something to plug them into.

That sounds like a plan. In the meantime, next time I'm down at the shop, I'll get a list of what we have in the way of big box Macs and send them to you in a PM, just so you have it on hand.

 

[NF6X]

Thanks! This thread has been chock full of helpful edutainment for me.

 

[ClassicHasClass]

FWIW, my several workhorse IIci systems all use VGA adapters. I never thought all that much of pre-flat panel Apple displays. I just have a Multiple Scan 15" after the AppleVision died.

 

[roberttx]

Well, I didn't find a IICi, but I did find a IIsi, with an Ethernet card installed.

I only had time for a quick look at it today - it boots to 7.01 and has 5MB RAM. It likes to restart when you shut down, though and there's an empty socket on the Nubus card - I don't know whether that's just a space for the optional FPU or something significant.

We're out of town for a few days, then next week is nothing but work, but I'll try to have another look at it the week after. The gubbins have not yet surfaced.