[geeks] aak! Tadpole 3GX parts/manual?

[Michael Parson]

On Jan 25, 2010, at Jan 25, 2010 12:29 PM, der Mouse wrote:

> I have a Tadpole SPARCbook 3GX.  Just today, I went to close the lid
> and, with an unpleasant cracking sound, the right hinge broke.

<snip>

> So, I'm looking for two things: (1) a replacement for that metal part
> and (2) a manual that documents the thing mechanically enough for me  
> to
> take it apart and perform the replacement.  Or, I suppose, another  
> 3GX,
> but it seems unlikely there are any just sitting around looking for
> homes. :-/

I have a couple 3gx systems as well as a couple of the systems they  
build that had intel innards in basically the same case that I keep  
around for parts.  I can scavenge the bits off there and send them to  
you for cost of shipping (from Austin, TX, shouldn't be too bad).

I have also completely disassembled and re-assembled them a few times  
for various other reasons, no real need for docs on the subject, not  
even sure such a thing exists.  The only difficult bit I recall is  
that the heat-sink has a lot of grease on it, which acts as a glue,  
sticking to the bottom of the case.  A bit of gentle, even pressure is  
required to separate them.

In any case, I have the 216 page, 3.2M "SPARCbook 3 Series Technical  
Reference Manual" (980327-02) available if you would like it for  
completeness sake.

> I found various things saying that Tadpole had the manuals up on
> ftp.tadpole.com (including someone from Tadpole back in 1999), but the
> directory given is no longer correct, and their current FTP area
> doesn't hvae anything that says "I'm the 3GX document!" to me.
>
> Any pointers?

Ping me off-list and I'll see what I can do about making what I've got  
available to you.

-- 
Michael Parson
mparson at bl.org