Summary: Cheapernet Transceivers for SPARCstation-1's

[John Gilmore]

I got a lot of good responses to my query about transceivers, including a
few 'dark horses' who I had never heard of before.  I ended up ordering a
pair of Fujikura TN2400's and will let you know how they work after they
arrive.

A note on buying:  if you buy dozens, it may well be worth putting it out
for bids; USL got 37 transceivers from Allied for $122 rather than the
standard quantity discount ($159) this way.  The vendors realize that they
had better put in their best price right away.

I've arranged all the tabular info first; comments from various people
follow.  Thanks to everyone who helped.

	John Gilmore


	Fujikura America Inc.
	1400-100 Galleria Parkway, NW
	Atlanta, GA  30339
	+1 404 956 7200

Cheap and oriented properly (DB15 on narrow side).  Has two BNC connectors
on the other end, rather than one connector and a "T".  Power LED.

Fujikura FN2400		1.8 x 3.3 x 1.3	3.8oz		$140	Q100 $130
Fujikura FN2401		same, with UB-style locking screws rather than posts

	Micro Technology Inc.
	5065 East Hunter
	Anaheim, CA  92807
	+1 714 970 0300	Salesman: Ted Simon

One of the smaller transceivers, but the DB15 is on the long side, so
the transceiver blocks access to adjecent connectors.  Includes "T"
and 50 ohm terminator.  Add $25 for 1" DB15 extender that might allow
adjecent connectors to be used.  Power and SQE LED's.

MTI	MESTA		1.5 x 3.8 x 1	3oz	30 days	$250	Q25 $160

	Cabletron Systems
	805 Aldo Avenue, Suite 103
	Santa Clara, CA  95054
	+1 408 986 0566 Santa Clara; Salesman: Debbie
	+1 603 332 9400	Rochester, NH

Power and SQE LED's.  Add $7 for T-connector.

Cabletron TMS-3		3.5 x 3.3 x 1		stock	$185	Q10 $160

	Allied Telesis
	627 National Ave.
	Mt. View, CA  94043
	+1 415 964 2771
	Salesman -- Rene'

15-pin connector may not be long enough to clear.  Will send evaluation units
for you to check, if you want.  Power and SQE LED's.

Allied	107		4.3 x 2.0 x 1.2	7 oz	stock	$199	Q10 $169
Allied	104	107 without T connector			same
Allied	207	same, add TX, RX, COLL LED's		$225
Allied	204	207 without T connector			same


	*** MESTA/DESTA ***

*From: wyatt at cfa.harvard.edu (Bill Wyatt)

The MESTA from MTI (Micro Technology Inc.)...  [The DB15 is on the
long side.]  I suspect the orientation you desire [DB15 on short side]
would be quite unbalanced and lead to extra stress on the AUI
connector. From observation, the MESTA units are balanced very well,
although this obviously changes when you hook up a cable.

*From: uunet!marque!introl!tim (Tim Chase)

The tranceiver you want is the DESTA made by Micro Technology Inc.
[I never got it clear whether MTI manufactures the DESTA, which DEC
sells, or whether DEC builds it.  I've lumped the two together.]

*From: james at druco.att.com (James B. Davis)

DEC makes a "DESTA" -->> AUI to thin.  It comes in a box about
1"x3"x3.5".  Several persons here have popped the rivets and stripped
it of its clothes and put it where they want.  The "naked" version is
what we use inside 386i's.  My DECdirect catalog has a price of $180.00

*From: tarsa at decvax.dec.com (Greg Tarsa)

I have had very good luck with Digital's DESTA for thick to thinwire
conversion.  It is only a little bigger than your pack of cards.
The DECdirect catalog lists them as DESTA-AA/LG with price of 
$275.  They can be reached at 1-800-344-4825.

	*** Fujikura ***

*From: sunuk!sunnl!frans at Sun.COM (Frans Wessels - Sun Nederland)

O.K. we have found a transceiver which is as wide as the
transceiver-cable connector (15 pin), as thick and long as a card-deck,
as cheap as hell and it is working for 3 mounth's 24 hours a day 7 days
a week. It has a nice power-led telling you if there's power on.  It is
operating within specs for FCC class a, and IEEE-802.3 |-)

I have not been able to test it on a Sparcstation 1 to see if it fits
but i'm almost sure it will.

It is a Fujikura FN2400.

	*** Cabletron ***

*From: Michelle Midkiff <midkiff at Thalatta.COM>

The nicest transceiver I've seen is the Cabletron TMS-3.  There is a 15
pin connector on one end and a BNC connector on the other.  The unit
itself is a little bit wider than the 15 pin connector but, not by much.  
It has user selectable SQE (Heartbeat) and eliminates all that awful thick 
ethernet cable.

*From: Tim Morgan <morgan at ICS.UCI.EDU>

The closest thing I know of to what you want is the TMS-3 from
Cabletron.  Unfortunately, it still requires a transceiver cable.

*From: mark at central.cis.upenn.edu (Mark Foster)

Sun's "NETCAB-TMS3" looks suspiciously like a Cabletron part nr.

My solution to an analogous problem (e.g., using twisted pair
ether xcvrs that only present AUI) has been to place the xcvr
at the right rear of the display (just above the CPU connection),
and use a very short piece of ribbon cable, with 15-pin IDC 
connectors -- it cuts way down on the bulk an hassles of xcvr
cable, and keeping it short (<3 feet) presents no electrical
problems (although, you might generate some EMI for a nearby
radio).

*From: greg at IRAD_SUN1.IMSD.CONTEL.COM (Greg Christy)

The best price I've seen for an enet xcvr is from Cabletron Systems.
The have a xcvr box with replaceable modules for thick-vampire, thin, or
thick-connector (Part # ST-500-01, ST-500-02, ST-500-03, respectively)
for $140.00 (xcvr w/ one module).  We have been using them
with no problems for the past few months.  They also have a set of
status LED's (if you find that useful) and are supposed to be
extremely reliable.


*From: chetw at Sun.COM (Chet Wong)

Try Cabletron.  They have a little "BLACK BOX" about 2.5" x 2.5" and it's 
exactly what you are looking for.  I use it myself.  

*From: gnu at toad.com

Chet used their transceiver plugged directly into 3/50's and 3/160's.
There may not be enough clearance on SS-1's.  Sun tech support had a
1-foot transceiver cable made up as an interim fix to the slide-lock problems,
this could be used; its Sun part number is 530-1519.

*From: brian at ucsd.edu (Brian Kantor)

We use Cabletron ST-500 transceivers ($170) and a one-foot ribbon cable
(about $10).  I like having the lights on the transceiver to see what's
going on, and I mount the transceiver on the back of the computer with 
some Velcro stick-pads.  Since the ribbon cable DB-15 connectors have
all 15 pins in them, and the cable is real short and lightweight, the
connectors never seem to fall out, either.
	- Brian

	*** TCL ***

*From: ehrlich at shire.cs.psu.edu (Dan Ehrlich)

Have you talked to the folks at TCL?  They make a tranciever that
takes a standard DB-15 in and has a BNC to connect to CheaperNet.  I
think they also make one that has both a BNC and a vampire on the same
box!  Not sure why one would buy one of these.  Unfortunately the box
is about 3x3x5 so it doesn't really meet your size requirements.  You
could just hack up a very short (1 foot) tranciever cable instead of
using one of the standard lengths so as to clear the other connectors
but not have it dragging on the floor.  Here are the particulars on
TCL:

	TCL Incorporated
	47621 Westinghouse Drive
	Fremont, CA   94539
	+1 415 657 3800
	+1 415 490 5814 (FAX)

	*** Others ***

*From: Patrick Landry <pml%usl%usl.usl.edu at RELAY.CS.NET>

I just went through this on a bunch of PS/2 model 70s
with Ungermann Bass ether cards which had only thick ports.
The solution I came up with was custom-made 2 foot transceiver
cables for $19 each and cheap transceivers for $122 a pop.
Most cable shops familiar with ethernet stuff will make
custom cables. I happen to get mine from
	Illinois Computer Cable
	5207 Walnut Ave.
	Downer's Grove, IL  60515
	800 323 2612
and the transceivers were the cheapest I could find from Allied Telesis.