wallstreet laptop last laptop with serial port? cpu upgrades?

[supernova777]

hey there guys
so i was thinking..
if i wanted to run mac os 8.6 midi apps like vision / logic / cubase
it might be ez to find an old wallstreet
this is the last mac laptop to come stock with a serial port to allow
oms midi connectivity without the need for a serial port addon adapter
and i could plug it into my opcode + motu midi interfaces
and probably find one really cheap

does anyone here on the forums have a wallstreet they use with midi interfaces?
was there ever a cpu upgrade made for the wallstreet?

[supernova777]

i think this pic is a pismo..
this is a geoport serial port on the side right?
ok wait no thats svideo

[supernova777]

here we go.. serial MIDI PORT!!! 



is that a normal VGA port? or does that need an adapter too?

[supernova777]

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powerbook_g3/specs/powerbook_g3_292.html

looks like its got built in scsi.. trying to figure out what audio interfaces work with a wallstreet.. is PC CARD the only option?

cant win.. i need to go back in time and convince steve jobs to keep serial ports on G4 macs!!!!!!!!!

its pretty stupid u cant get a mac that has a 3.5" floppy, with firewire, + a serial port!! i think they must have got kicks from making everyone frustrated as hell LOL

but wait.. u can add firewire via PC CARD .. or an audio interface such as:
http://www.rme-audio.de/en/products/hdsp_cardbus_interface.php

and u can also add SATA!!!
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Firmtek/SATA1SM2/

i think this laptop has 2 x pc card slots.. which would be mental..
to have a wallstreet running SATA SSD + RME audio i/o + midi serial connectivity

[Protools5LEGuy]

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powerbook_g3/specs/powerbook_g3_292.html

looks like its got built in scsi.. trying to figure out what audio interfaces work with a wallstreet.. is PC CARD the only option?

Maybe PC Card to USB is cheaper than any other option for those pre-pismo machines.



There was a SCSI white yamaha soundcard too. http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=2114.0

YAMAHA CBXD5 (1991)

[supernova777]

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powerbook_g3/faq/powerbook-g3-how-to-upgrade-processor-options.html

all PowerBook G3 models is soldered to a daughtercard. As this daughtercard is removable, accessing and swapping out processor daughtercards is fairly straightforward for those who have experience upgrading notebooks and enjoy tinkering. However, as the ROM also is soldered to the daughtercard, this still posed a challenge to upgrade the processor.

The feasible way to upgrade the processor in these models essentially is to replace the existing daughtercard with a new one with a faster processor and another ROM.

Several companies did just this, either by requiring a user to remove the existing processor daughtercard and mail it to the company to have the existing processor de-soldered and a new one soldered in its place, or later, after obtaining a stash of replacement ROMs, selling "hacked" daughtercards with new processors.

here we go >>> http://www.everymac.com/upgrade_cards/by_system/powerbook_g3.html

but are these "pismo" upgrades compatible with a wallstreet?

[supernova777]

ok i found it!
http://www.sonnettech.com/publicfiles/pdfs/pdf_datasheets/wallstreet_datasheet.pdf
http://www.everymac.com/upgrade_cards/sonnettech/crescendo_g3_pb/crescendo_g4_ws_500.html

is there a way to add serial midi connectivity to any other mac laptop?
or would this be the fastest u could get.. in a mac laptop that can still connect to
opcode / motu serial midi boxes?

i guess most people would rather use the keyspan usb - serial adapter

[supernova777]

heres a tidbit of relevant info:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec00/articles/newmacs.asp

Non-USB Solutions For Non-PCI Macs

G3 PowerBooks, although not capable of taking a PCI card directly, do offer various other ways of expanding their audio capabilities without turning to USB. The most obvious of these is the PCMCIA slot, which shares many of the same characteristics as PCI. Sadly, the only game in town in the PCMCIA card stakes so far is made by French manufacturer Digigram. Their stereo VXPocket is the only shipping PCMCIA card which works on all the G3 PowerBooks (Wall Street, Lombard and Pismo series). It does give you up to 24-bit I/O with ASIO drivers in both balanced analogue and S/PDIF formats. The sound quality of the card is also excellent — if you're recording in the field or collecting sounds for later use, there is no better solution. But sadly, as a means of multitracking and overdubbing audio, it is less than ideal. Even using an ASIO driver, the VXPocket has a latency of 46 milliseconds, making it impossible to use for overdubbing unless you monitor your overdub instrument independently of your Mac.

http://www.digigram.com/products/product_infos.php?prod_key=9000

Although a much bulkier (and more expensive) option, you will get much better performance on a G3 PowerBook from a PCI expansion chassis. The only range I am aware of which work on PowerBooks at all is from Magma. Unfortunately, the compatibility issues are much more complex; of the three series of G3 PowerBooks, Magma have only been able to get their chasses working on two. The first series, known as Wall Street (the heavier, chunkier version that still has a serial port and SCSI) work with Magma's Expansion Bay connector, which can in turn be used with their two-, seven- or 13-slot systems. I have been using the two-slot chassis with various PCI cards for the last 18 months, including Korg's 1212 and OASYS cards, the Sonorus STUDI/O, and RME Hammerfall, and I have seen it working fine with the MOTU 2408. Sadly, if you have the Lombard (the middle series G3 PowerBook, lighter but still with SCSI) then you are out of luck, as Magma have been unable to successfully link either via the Expansion Bay or PCMCIA. As a result, you will have to choose between the Digigram VXPocket or the USB devices covered below. The most recent Magma two-slot chassis, the CB2, has a much nicer moulded case with the same footprint as the PowerBook, and uses a PCMCIA card to connect to the latest Pismo G3 PowerBooks. Although the CB2 has only been shipping a short while, compatibility signs are good. So far, the Korg cards and Digi 001 have been proven to work, although Magma are still working with Digidesign on getting larger Pro Tools systems up and running. As always, until more documentation is available on compatibility, insist on the option of swapping your card if it will not work in the chassis.

LOL ... magma chassis.. with pro tools system? on a wallstreet?

[Protools5LEGuy]

http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=2092

Pro Tools Free 5.0.1 is the only version that has been tested with powerbooks and approved officially. However, Magma has done quite a bit of testing with Pro Tools and their powerbook expansion chassis. A lot of the ADR on the last Star Wars movie was done with a Wallstreet powerbook using a Magma chassis with an AMIII card and Pro Tools 4.3.1.

Many users have used Pro Tools LE and the AMIII or Digi 001 with powerbooks. The best success has been reported with the Wallstreet and Pismo units, recording to either a firewire drive or a scsi drive in the Magma expansion chassis. At NAMM last week, Magma showed a MIX system running on a Powerbook 500 with Pro Tools LE 5.0.1 and Mac OS 9.1. I believe 9.1 is required for this configuration (MIX cards) to work.

On same post

I was hoping to get a portable ProTools system when I bought my Lombard PowerBook. What a surprise did I get when Magma explained to me that the Lombards do not work with their expansion chassis system because it doesn't have a PCI bus in the motherboard! It turns out that the Wallstreets and the Pismos work fine with Magma's setup, but NOT the Lombards!

Also

The configurations Magma compatibilities engineer came up with for the Pismo and 2
slot are as follows:

Machine: PowerBook G3 500 (aka Pismo)
Operating System: MacOS 9.1 (Beta)
Memory: 256MB
Magma Product: 2 Slot with SCSI

Chassis Slot 1 (top slot): Pro Tools Mix Core
Chassis Slot 2 (middle slot): Pro Tools Mix Farm
Chassis Slot 3 (fake bottom slot): Magma ATTO UL2S with standard fw 1.62, but Magma fw 1.51 will also work.

Software Used: -Pro Tools 5.0.1 -ATTO Express Pro Tools [burst rate = 32 bytes] [sync rate = 20(10)]

Peripherals: IBM UltraStar 36.7GB, 10K rpm

Results: A maximum of 46 tracks can be achieved running Pro Tools 24 Mix in a 2 slot chassis attached to a Pismo:

46 tracks of 16 bit at 44.1 Khz 44 tracks of 16 bit at 48 Khz 24 tracks of 24 bit at 44.1 Khz 21 tracks of 24 bit at 48 Khz

NOTES: The above track counts are stated where 2 tracks are recorded in a 10 second loop while the rest of the tracks are playing back without any errors (6042) for at least an hour.

Preliminary testing has shown similar performance with ATTO UL2S fw 1.51 (Magma flash).

[Protools5LEGuy]

FireWire for portables macs

http://www.belkin.com/pyramid/documents/external/F5U512-MAC.pdf

It also mentions Strata VideoShop 4.5.1 for OS9.

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powerbook_g3/faq/powerbook-g3-how-to-upgrade-processor-options.html

here we go >>> http://www.everymac.com/upgrade_cards/by_system/powerbook_g3.html

but are these "pismo" upgrades compatible with a wallstreet?

When Wegener sold service G3 upgrades for powerbooks. (I remember it like if it were yesterday...)

Mac Powerbook G3 Wallstreet
http://web.archive.org/web/20041214235100/http://www.wegenermedia.com/wllst.htm


G3 Powerbook Pismo Firewire Powerbook
http://web.archive.org/web/20041211084048/http://www.wegenermedia.com/pismo4.htm

There you can see up to what you can expand those PowerBooks G3s

[supernova777]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NUENDO-AUDIOLINK96-RME-MULTIFACE-INTERFACE-with-CARDBUS-PCMCIA-/371168143404?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item566b58682c

this would be perfect for a wallstreet!

[Protools5LEGuy]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NUENDO-AUDIOLINK96-RME-MULTIFACE-INTERFACE-with-CARDBUS-PCMCIA-/371168143404?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item566b58682c

this would be perfect for a wallstreet!

It matches more with Ti Books... 

[supernova777]

anyone running a DAW off a walstreet?
using serial midi?

anyone know if its possible to find the cable that plugs into this scsi connector?
it looks straenge ive never seen that before
i think its called HDI-30 ?

apparently the wallstreet was the last mac laptop to have built in serial port
233/292 mhz

oh and theres a 300mhz one http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powerbook_g3/specs/powerbook_g3_300.html#macspecs2
not sure what pdq means
"commonly referred to by its codename of "PDQ" (Pretty Damn Quick) "
LOL!!!

http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powerbook_g3/index-powerbook-g3.html

so last versions to have serial ports were these PDQ series wallstreets from late 98
and then the first vresions to have USB were the Lombard codename powerbook g3s..
followed by pismo

[GaryN]

I've got this one. 300 Mhz;  two USB-1; SCSI (It IS HDI-30 - as in Hard Drive Interface) - 30 pins; Dual displays or mirroring; Ethernet; Cardbus; Two media bays - one can hold either a drive or a second battery; and it happily dual boots 10.4 all day long although with only 512kb of RAM the Tiger doesn't exactly roar like Katy Perry…

This is the "Bronze" - the second last one just before the Pismo.

[supernova777]

hey there garry.. so yea.. yours is a Lombard (aka bronze keyboard)
the first series that dropped the old mac serial for the USB 1.1 ports (its not usb 2.0 im guessing)
but according to http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powerbook_g3/index-powerbook-g3.html they only came in 333mhz versions http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powerbook_g3/specs/powerbook_g3_333.html
u sure it isnt 333? if it was a 300 it would be a PDQ which would have no USB ports http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powerbook_g3/specs/powerbook_g3_300.html

im trying to find an old ancient mac to use just for midi no audio
so i want a powerpc mac that has a serial port.. it seems the PDQ powerbook g3 is the strongest of those.. but im wondering about other earlier ones too. maybe they would be too old to even take a IDE SSD..  i think we had a post about someone upgading a wallstreet here before right?

search ebay

does anyone have any old mac laptops with serial ports they are selling?

[supernova777]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohvcN1LE8BA[/youtube]

[DieHard]

Just went into the cave...  where no person should go... Chris, I have 16 Lombards, no Wallstreets, please send a shipping Label...

[supernova777]

the lombards are the ones that Gary just posted a pic of ..
ie: they have no serial ports for midi interfaces... only USB 1.1
so its useless to me..

are u sure they are all lombards???
out of 16.. not one of them has mac serial port??

i need the one that has this port

[GaryN]

u sure it isnt 333? if it was a 300 it would be a PDQ which would have no USB ports http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/powerbook_g3/specs/powerbook_g3_300.html

'scusemee - typo - it's 400Mhz

[nanopico]

I am running cubase vst5/Os 8.6 on a pismo with a serial midi interface. I switch between a mini macman (1 in, 1 out) and an old Motu 6x8 serial interface.   I have no issues with this setup.  I don't use it as regularly as other systems but it works.   The built in sound can only do up to 44.1k/16 Bit, but it works well enough if you do need to do any basic audio with it as well.


This place has the serial cables to connect to these machines.
http://stn2.headgap.com/resale/FMPro?-token=13946428&-db=ProductsC.fp3&-lay=WEB&-format=items.htm&-sortfield=SortID&-Max=40&category=scsi&-find