3 ms·
Off-topic but looking at that old network card picture reminded me of a very vague memory of more than one card with a component that looked like a capacitor,
by afandian 7y ago
Off-topic but looking at that old network card picture reminded me of a very vague memory of more than one card with a component that looked like a capacitor, except it looked cracked.
Is my mind playing tricks? Were they faulty units or was there meant to be a crack?
This picture could be the same thing:
https://www.vogonswiki.com/images/3/37/Viglen_Ethergen_PnP_2000A.jpg https://www.vogonswiki.com/images/3/37/Viglen_Ethergen_PnP_2...
- gerdesj 7y agoOld network card eh? Its a 3Com 3C509: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/drivers/net/ethernet/3com?h=v5.6-rc2 https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/lin... I still have a load of them gathering dust somewhere. However a system with ISA on it is a bit rare now and I'm not sure I can be bothered to compile a modern kernel small enough to boot on one. Besides, it will probably need cross compiling on something with some grunt that has heard of the G unit prefix.
- rasz 7y agoFor Old network card try 3C500, or something made by Excelan ;-) http://www.os2museum.com/wp/emulating-etherlink/ http://www.os2museum.com/wp/emulating-etherlink/
- kens 7y agoThat looks like a capacitor with a built-in spark gap. I've seen them in CRT circuitry. They're probably using it in the network card so if there's a huge over-voltage (e.g. lightning somewhere), it will jump across the spark gap, limiting damage.
- afandian 7y agoPerfect! Thank you for solving something that has been lurking unresolved at the back of my mind for 20 years! More info: https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/381682/what-kind-component-is-this https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/381682/what-...