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Rare Qubbesoft Hardware Setup at Our Vintage Computer Museum! 🎉
We’ve brought together three Qubbesoft components: the Aurora motherboard, Qplane backplane, and QubIDE hard disk interface! This interesting setup features some of the more uncommon hardware expansions designed for the Sinclair QL ecosystem.
🌟 Highlights:
The Aurora was designed as a replacement for the Sinclair QL motherboard, offering VGA/SVGA support and multiple connectivity options. While installing it in a standard QL case is impractical, it works well in a PC case with the Qplane backplane, which provides 3 expansion slots and connects to a AT PC power supply.
The QubIDE hard disk interface adds modern storage capabilities and can also be used directly with a standard QL without the Aurora or Qplane.
Our setup uses a Super Gold Card for CPU and memory, with Minerva 1.98a1 as the operating system.
🔧 Challenges & Next Steps:
A key challenge was powering the Super Gold Card and QubIDE. Both have onboard 7805 voltage regulators, which expect a minimum input of 7V to regulate down to 5V. Since our AT power supply provides only 5V, we had to supply power independently to each card to ensure proper operation.
To complete the project of installing all this into an AT case, we need a QL keyboard interface (Di-Ren, SuperHermes, or Keyboard-90). If anyone has one to sell or donate, please let us know! Otherwise, we’re considering designing a custom keyboard adapter that could support PS/2 or USB keyboards.
đź’¬ Have any memories or stories about using these QL expansions? Share them in the comments! And check out the photos of this interesting setup running Minerva in full VGA mode!
#VintageComputing #Qubbesoft #SinclairQL #RetroHardware
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I can not give you any keyboard interface, and I do not have the knowedged to made the firmware for one, but I reverse-enginered the direm interface PCB and schematic, if you want to go to the path of design your own keyboard interface, perharps this will be of help: github.com/alvaroalea/QL_diren_keyboard_adapter
Also, the instructions of the backplane, include information on how to modify the goldcard to use only 5V, and the qubide include pins to make a jumper and also bypass the regulator, in this way both card work directly with the 5V of the backplane, you also need to take care of the jumper near the AT connector of the backplane, that are in charge of redirect the 5V of the AT power supply to the cards. For the Aurora I do not know what mods are need to operate only in 5V.
🎄✨ Happy Holidays from the Vintage Computer Museum! ✨🎄
As we celebrate this festive season, we're reminded of the joy and nostalgia that technology from the past continues to bring. Thank you for being part of our journey this year. Here's to more discoveries, connections, and vintage vibes in 2025!
Stay warm, stay curious, and may your holidays be as magical as an 8-bit Christmas morning. 🎅💾
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Felicidades!
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A huge thank you to Nicola from Toronto for their incredible donation to the Vintage Computer Museum! Nicola generously gifted us an Atari 1040 STf with a matching Atari SC1224 Color Monitor, an Atari SF354 External Floppy Drive, an Atari STM1 Mouse, a high-density replacement floppy drive for the 1040 ST (sold by Best Electronics), a box of blank 3.5" floppy disks, a handy plastic disk storage box, and a beautifully crafted custom wooden stand for the monitor. This remarkable system was inherited from Nicola’s father, preserving a piece of computing history for us all to enjoy.
After a quick power-up, everything looks to be in working order! The monitor has a common issue with seized control knobs, so we’ll be fixing that and inspecting the capacitors, as they’re known for failure in these models.
Here's a photo of the system running, along with all the included goodies. Thank you again, Nicola, for helping us keep these memories alive!
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Ach, miss my 1040st. Gifted it to a guy still running a Atari BBS whose CPU had died.
Hello Vintage Computer Museum community!
It’s been about six months since my last major update in March, though I’ve shared a few smaller tech-related posts since last fall. These past months have kept me mostly behind the scenes, focusing on my health recovery. Despite not being as active, I’ve continued to work on smaller projects for the museum and kept up with messages from our wonderful community.
I’m thrilled to say I’m nearing full recovery, with deep gratitude to an amazing doctor who has supported me through this journey. Over the next two weeks, I’ll be sharing updates on recent donations and other exciting museum happenings from the last several months.
Thank you for sticking around and for your continued support! As I wrap up my medical paperwork and get back to a regular routine, I look forward to being more active here. I also hope to carve out some time to produce new videos.
P.S. Here’s a recent shot of our freshly reorganized and cleaned workshop—where all the retro refurbishing magic happens!
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🚀 New Arrivals at the Vintage Computer Museum 🌟
Last week was exciting for us as we welcomed two significant pieces to our collection, each with its own unique journey and story.
HP HP82901M Flexible Disk Drive: This classic piece of technology made its way to us all the way from California, complete with an HP HP-IB cable model 10833A (1 meter long), a power cable, and a 5.25" blank disk. It's a splendid addition to our TLC (Tender Loving Care) lineup, ready to be restored and preserved for future generations to admire and learn from.
"Računari u vašoj kući" Magazine Reprint: Our second package traveled even further, arriving from Serbia. As teased in a previous post, we've acquired the reprint of the special edition Galaksija magazine, "Računari u vašoj kući" (Computers in Your Home), a cornerstone in the history of personal computing in the region. This high-quality reprint also came with a small printed user manual for the Galaksija computer, providing a fascinating glimpse into the DIY computing movement of the era.
These pieces are more than just technology; they're stories, innovations, and memories encapsulated in hardware and paper. They remind us of the global journey of computing, from the sunny coasts of California to the historical depths of Serbia, and now, to their new home here at the Vintage Computer Museum.
We're thrilled to share these stories with you and continue to preserve and celebrate the rich tapestry of computing history. Stay tuned for more updates as we explore these items and many more.
#VintageComputing #ComputerHistory #TechPreservation #HP82901M #Galaksija #MuseumArrivals
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