is there any way to fit some other drive into the wallstreet? macdan has his page on the MCE Xcarét drive, but that is so rare that i'd never get my hands on it. im thinking there has to be some way like creating a pc board with the standard micro-50 connector and wallstreet ebm connector both on it like in the MCE pc board, but i'm having a difficult time finding good pinouts for either of those. the other option would be to put a lombard/pismo connector on the wallstreet motherboard, but i have a feeling that the drive sled wouldn't physically fit properly. so what options are there?
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Idea that is. I never thought of modding the WS MLB with a Pismo-style connector. Dang it, I don't have a bare Lombard/Pismo MLB on hand with which to compare. I suspect however, the connector layouts differ enough that adding the later-style connector to the WS MLB would be non-trivial.
I thought about making a batch of WS/Kanga/3400-style interface boards, but the issue is that the PB-side connector is NLA.
The only source would be from existing PB EBMs, any floppy for example could provide the part, just needs to be desoldered. I wasn't happy with that solution, but it might be the only one possible. I just have no idea of the demand . . .
As for the pinouts, download the devdocs for each model, that'll give you all the info you need.
dan k
i have the connector for a wallstreet drive. the floppy drive failed when i first got the computer, and now half a disk remains in it from when it jammed. i should probably just use the connector off it. maybe even the interface card itself but i have no idea what the connection is like and i dont think there'd be a slim drive (imac?) that would get the power it needs from the machine. i'll check those pinouts. i was thinking of designing a printed circuit board since i have instructions in a magazine on how to make one, and then i'd solder the two connectors to it. prototyping might be messy though because i'd have to rip open the machine to test it. im not willing to shove a card with easily 50 wires haning from it into the computer.
ok well i have the pinouts for all three powerbook g3 models so i can compare and see whether or not the lombard/pismo drives would work with a different connector. now i'm having a hard time finding the pinouts for the micro 50 atapi connector. anyone know where they might be online?
well i researched the connections on each model's drive. turns out the lombard and wallstreet setups match exactly except for MB1_SND_IN_R, MB1_SND_IN_COM, and MB1_SND_IN_L, on pins 1, 2, and 3 which are reserved in the wallstreet connector. i can only say these connections are audio connections but i don't know what audio. i'm assuming they wouldn't affect anything. looks like maybe a lombard drive sled could be modified with a wallstreet connector. i still don't know if the sled would physically fit or lock in properly, but i do know the locating pin would have to be messed with since it's on the opposite side of the connector in the lombard as in the wallstreet. i'll also crack open the floppy drive when i get a t8 driver to open the screen and modify the logo and i can see what the interface in there is like.
Yep, sounds like those 3 lines are for stereo sound-in support to or from the EBM.
As for using a complete Lombard/Pismo EBM, forget it, the WS's bay is too narrow for the wider bronze EBMs. Stick a bare optical into the WS bay, you'll see right away there's no room for anything on the sides, not even a skin of plastic.
dan k
I have a ZIP drive for PB G3 Wallstreet/Mainstreet. Ordered it by mistake for my Lombard (which it won't fit). Also won't fit my 5300ce or 5300cs. So basically I have a drive I can't use.
If this is something you could use for your extra storage needs, or for parts for your mod project, private message me and we'll work something out.
Can be used with 5300, though it might need a little case mod. The interface connector pinout and location are the same between 5300/3400/WS. This would be an interesting hack IMO, were one so inclined to use a faithless Zip disk drive with one's 5300.
Just FYI, the Zip EBM is useless for optical hacking, been there done that. NOT done that actually, since the Zip mechanism uses a completely different connector.
dan k
so zip is useless for the mod but i need a replacement drive for teh floppy anyway. what about the interface within the floppy? i have the sinking feeling the board is soldered to the drive itself, but who knows. i'm picturing it as some basic 50-pin connector, but if it were then i could see an imac drive which i don't think will get the votage it needs from the computer. i'll have to crack open the drive before i can tell though so i'll get back when i have the driver to do it.
and i just read over the posts. there isnt any kind of other optical drive except for the wallstreet and 5300/etc. drive that will fit? another thing im curious about was the lazer itself but i have the feeling more than that would need to be switched out to give the drive more capabilities.
of a typical interface board on my EBMs page. The PB side is the same for all from 190/5300 up to WS (et all.) The other side varies depending on the device in the module. The problem lies in the fact that no Apple EBM for these serie used a standard micro50 ATAPI optical drive connector. FYI, here's what an MCE optical drive IF board for WS looks like. That little goodie is the 'Holy Grail' of 3400/3500/WS optical upgrades.
I've considered replacing the guts of an Apple drive with another similar mechanism, but I've yet to find anything that shares that drive-side interface and/or the same physical form-factor.
dan k
you said you were considering designing an interface board. do you think that you could just create a design for the board on the computer for someone to create a circuit board from? i have the techniques on how to do this somewhere so i could do it and solder on the connectors if i wanted. i'm assuming you weren't able to do it due to lack of access to a dead wallstreet drive for the connector. looks tricky to solder, but it might be done if a board can be made. that's the only other thing i can think of to do and it makes sense since your mce drive is IMPOSSIBLE to find (i want it!).
Yeah, but I came up against that lil' issue of the PB-side connector being NLA. I've got some useless 5300 floppy drives from which I could salvage a few of those parts, but to make fabbing the PCB worthwhile I'd want more than just those.
The only way I figgered it'd work would be to sell the IF board as an exchange item. That is, require the buyer to send in a usable old EBM from which I could swipe one more connector. It's easy enough to pull the connector from the old EBM PCB, hot air gun applied with a little care takes it off quite cleanly.
dan k
i could send you my floppy for all i care. thing is, how exactly was the drive attached on the MCE unit? it couldn't have just been the drive and the board. considering the fact that the lombard drive sled won't fit, your interface boards seem to be the only other option.
well with a set of mini flathead screwdrivers and some creativity, i managed to get the floppy drive open. the connector inside looks just like the connector in the wallstreet cd drive as shown on macdan's page. i'd like to find pinouts for the stupid bard drive to see what kind of adapter could be made to fit the board for possibly an expansion bay hard drive (since the mce ebm drives for wallstreets are rare on ebay and rather expensive) but i'm having a difficult time with it. right now, the best use for the empty floppy case is as a weight saver module. better than a battery and the cd drive (heavy) or both batteries (REALLY heavy).