Re: Dedicated console

Hi Patrik

In my case it wasn't the US, it was Australia... just in the interests of
geographical accuracy. :)

The 5294 was (obviously) simpler and was more rugged in my experience. If
you took off the cover the manual was tucked on some plastic tags inside
the controller.
I opened them if they had a problem and reseated the cards which I think
worked about 25% of the time - enough to be worth a shot anyway.
I think I replaced them (I had about 50 5294s) because there was some PC
Support functionality in the 5394 that the 5294 didn't have, I don't
remember exactly what now (I might Google it later...)
and the 5394 also supported 19.2 (kb ? Mb ?) lines rather than the 9600
officially supported by the 5294 (although I knew at least one guy that ran
them on a 19.2 lines with no issues, or claimed to)

The diskette drive was some weird format, certainly not something I could
read with any Windows or DOS tools I had, so maybe it was a PS2 format.
I seem to remember I had to order replacements from IBM rather than using
any old 3.5: floppy.

My favourite memory of the 5294's is having a back wall full of them and
getting a call from a broker - "I hear you might have a 5294".. Me, looking
at about 20 of them - "I'm not sure, I'll call you back"
I loved haggling with those guys.


On Thu, May 27, 2021 at 8:31 PM Patrik Schindler <poc@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hello Evan,

Am 27.05.2021 um 05:12 schrieb Evan Harris <auctionitis@xxxxxxxxx>:

That's how I remember it as well. I could just about configure a 5294 in

my

sleep back in those days.
[…]

Thanks for that insight. Interesting! These twinax controller boxes seem
to have been more common (in the US) than I thought. And maybe not the
quality I'd expect from IBM gear.

The 5394 was a better device but its 3 1/2" floppy drive was a nuisance.
Maybe we didn't look after them (Steel warehouses), but I feel like I had
more calls for diskette drives than controller issues,

I had two 5394 in my hands via eBay from around Europe, "tested, LEDs
light up", both apparently non-functional. One made a sort click with the
floppy drive and instantly lit the error led (no matter if the boot floppy
was inserted or not). The other, I can't remember. I opted for refund.

Trying to provide other sellers with the floppy image provided mixed
results. Some simply never answered, some said, no, we don't test for the
small revenue (despite them selling an apparently untested device for
around $200..300!). Others said, they'll search for floppies and an old PC
to actually write it. One came around, telling he tested and then all LEDs
started to flicker. This behavior was constant afterwards. Sounds like a
sudden PSU failure to me.

Anyway, I easily can see your pain with the floppy drives. Seem to be
"standard PS/2" ones, but since these haven't a mechanically compatible
connector compared to stock PC (Shugart edge connector), they're evenly
rare to PS/2 PCs nowadays. Maybe both connectors are electrically
compatible, and tinkering just an adapter would suffice. I didn't check
this, yet.

In general, 5394 are much more common in the US, but shipping costs are
prohibitive. Especially considering the high probability of getting a
defective unit. Pity, since I really wanted to tinker with one.

:wq! PoC

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