It's (almost) that time again for #MARCHintosh!

People have already begun publishing some projects and I want to use this thread to capture and share them! If you see something or are working on something just reply below as well. If your project is bigger please feel free to make your own thread and tag it with MARCHintosh & MARCHintosh2025

Projects

• @Ron's Computer Videos hosts a kickoff with some community members talking about their projects and plans
• Image Writer LocalTalk Option card by @polpo - A reverse engineered LocalTalk card for your ImageWriter. Will be available on jcm-1.com soon(tm)
• GlobalTalk
  • jrouter - a modern Apple Internet Router implemented in Go. Started last year and receiving updates this MARCHintosh.
  • globaltalk-updater - update your globaltalk host list automatically
  • Updated Guides:
    • https://tinkerdifferent.com/threads...intosh-2024-and-beyond.3392/page-4#post-35819
    • https://blog.europlus.zone/resource...p-files-v1-0-4-released-for-marchintosh-2025/
    • https://www.insentricity.com/a.cl/288/easy-globaltalk-routing
• Set of modern wallpapers with a vintage mac theme https://motorcycl3.com/copeland/
• Listen to some RealAudio streams http://68kradio.ddns.net/
• Hermies BBS running by @Byte Knight https://tinkerdifferent.com/threads/marchintosh-project-mac-iici-6-node-hermes-ii-bbs.3380/
• 3D Printed iMac Speaker adapter ring https://www.printables.com/model/1208396-imac-g3-speakers-adapter-ring
• iMac G4(K) - https://jcs.org/2025/02/26/imacg4k
• https://github.com/Mu0n/1bitdreammachine - A game programming API for B&W 68k Macs by @Mu0n
• AfterDark fixed for MacOS 9.2.2! https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/after-dark-494-collection
• Vespernet by @fogWraith https://tinkerdifferent.com/threads/marchintosh-2025-projects.4174/page-2#post-36250
• Recap an ImageWriter II by @Ron's Computer Videos https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UL7NC8RIDXljJCqmJgI4Tdwu4-ljJ1PUCwknfrogQHQ/edit?gid=0#gid=0
• (more? let me know!)

Social Feeds

• https://mastodon.social/tags/Marchintosh
• https://bsky.app/hashtag/MARCHintosh
• https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/marchintosh
• https://tinkerdifferent.com/tags/marchintosh/

I was not able to be on the kickoff stream, but I did watch parts of it!
For Marchintosh 2025, I will hopefully be getting my Radius Rocket up and running. I bought it years ago with a cracked SIMM socket and will be replacing the socket and then getting it running in my IIsi or IIcx.

If all goes to plan:

globaltalk project

• finish building the Rackintosh LC(a Mac LC logic board in an old Sonicwall case, being used as my globaltalk router)
• finish setting up the retro network which includes
  • Quantum SNAPServer for file sharing(native Appletalk support for globaltalk)
  • Cobalt RAQ3 web server(behind some sort of reverse proxy so im not exposing it directly to the internet)
  • Shiva LANRover dial-in server
  • Imagewriter II with localtalk card, possibly 2 of them, 1 B&W and 1 color

Other project is G4 CPU upgrade for the Molar Mac.

Sending TwinSlot/TriSlot specs out to @Trekintosh who's jumped into the fray with KiCAD/PCB experience. Exciting stuff for March!
AI converted 55/3.5 MicroNikkor arriving in a few days for down to 1:2 macro magnification on the Nikon D750 Documentation setup in progress.

Long term project that will be highlighted across March:

the start of a game programming API that targets 68k macs, but in particular, the Mac Plus.

NAME: 1Bit Dream Machine

https://github.com/Mu0n/1bitdreammachine

Features:

• gfx assets loading and displaying
• sprites with frames of animation and background preservation
• timing features with interrupts
• immediate keyboard and mouse input for controls
• sound playback
• external MIDI output (assuming a MIDI interface on a serial port)

My featured project this year is a live and on-demand RealMedia server:

Head on over to >>> http://68kradio.ddns.net

There are three (3) live RealAudio feeds: a 2nd gen iPod playing a thousand songs on shuffle, and two different iPhones playing Radio Paradise and SomaFM, respectively. The lowest bitrates can be played on faster 68K Macs with an FPU, but a PowerPC is required for anything above 28.8 kbps.

The RealVideo feed is a MacBook Pro playing ~200 hours of MTV Archives on VHS from 1981-1991. Tune in some time; you never know what music video you'll see! There's also an on-demand music video for testing purposes (I'd recommend checking that first).

Note: if you want to be your own DJ/broadcaster on this system, it is absolutely possible and I'd love to try it! I certainly have the bandwidth to spare. Please send me a PM here, or go to my Mastodon profile (@[email protected]) and find my Signal contact.

I've done an extensive amount of regression testing with different server platforms and client versions to find a combination of backend and frontend that will result in the best possible experience. For your convenience, there is a page on my site with installers for versions 3.0, 5.0, and 8.0 on both Mac and Windows. Do take a moment to read the "About" section, where you'll find a complete description of the hardware and software involved in this configuration, as well as a complete history of streaming media and the revolution that was bringing radio to the Internet.

For Marchintosh 2024, I had only just barely begun to collect vintage Macs and managed to get connected to the AppleTalk Internet Router network by the middle of the month. Late last year, I successfully recapped an LC and an LC III. My LC III is my router, and I've kept it online mostly 24/7 for the last few months. I'm looking forward to connecting to even more nodes this year!

My MARCHintosh 2025 projects have two phases - Lead Up, and March Out xD

My Lead Up project was mentioned by @eric above (thanks, Eric!), and involved the release (before the start of MARCHintosh) of:

• a scan of the original manual for Apple Internet Router, massively tidied up, spot-coloured like the original, and OCRed;
• an addendum for that manual, being a new chapter dedicated to GlobalTalk, basic tech considerations, and instructions for setting up a basic AIR node; and
• updates to my GlobalTalk Setup Files packages

The link in @eric's post above goes to my announcement post, which has some more details and a link to a shared Google Drive folder with the manual and QEMU and UTM setup files in various folders.

This year the setup files packages includes QEMU invocation command files for macOS, Windows 11 and Linux, and the UTM config is my first time offering such a file.

I haven't really said anything much about my March Out project/s anywhere yet as they're a bit more loosely defined (as in I'm about to define them), and need to be fitted in around finding and moving to new digs:

• finish scanning other print material in the AIR boxed package bought with contributed funds during last year's MARCHintosh;
• flux the disks in that package;
• finalise a donation certificate to the Australian Computer Museum Society, with details of the donors;
• maybe help the ACMS create a GlobalTalk node like I was hoping to last year;
• maybe play with some rip-off fonts from back in the day which I bought an original package of on eBay.co.uk and had sent to @billgoats, who has scanned the font list with name matching to "legit" fonts, snail-mailed the manual to me, and uploaded the font files on their GlobalTalk share;
• review feasibility of recreating the whole of the original AIR manual as a "proper" (i.e. not scanned) PDF - the banner on my profile is a part of the AIR manual cover artwork I recreated in Affinity Designer for the addendum and scan project above. I had so much fun creating the addendum and now have much of the layout stuff figured out, it's time consuming, but not difficult;
• accept and include errata in the addendum; and
• I don't know what else, yet - but definitely a tinkering month after the massive effort of my Lead Up project.

If you use my resources, please let me know - especially if there's something i can add or change to make them better.

I hope everyone has a fantastic MARCHintosh, and I look forward to everyone's updates on their projects.

europlus

>> theirongiant said:

My featured project this year is a live and on-demand RealMedia server: Click to expand...

I'm hoping to get to check this one out - unfortunately, I have no physical Macs, and sound in emulation systems is...not great.

But what's MARCHintosh for but doing the unrealistic, eh?!

europlus

Oh, and if you're setting up a GlobalTalk node (or already have with a network range spanning 2+ numbers) - you'll almost certainly need only one network number for your EtherTalk port (so enter the range as, for example, 12345-12345).

See my docs for rationale - but basically that will support 253 AppleTalk devices on that EtherTalk port.

You may need more numbers if you have multiple networks/segments, and LocalTalk networks need their own number/s (outside of that range and unique across GlobalTalk).

Feel free to ask questions about this part of GlobalTalk setup...or any part, actually!

europlus

The Crow's Nest BBS, running Hermes II v3.1.1 on my 40 MHz 68040 Carrera-accelerated Mac IIci with six wifi modems hooked up to a CSI Hurdler II 4-port serial NuBUS card, is back again for #MARCHintosh! The same IIci hosts my GlobalTalk zone. The original project is detailed here.

What's new this year?

• Downloads have been updated with the latest vintage Mac software releases, which I don't think you can find anywhere else in one place. I also finally figured out how to add file descriptions.
• Added the Macworld Game Hall of Fame winners from '86 to '01 to the GFiles section.
• There are now a total of 23 original Hermes door games to play in the Externals section.
• Thanks to Will Price (original programmer who recently reacquired Hernes) and Sidd Hartha, we now have a clean crack of Hermes v3.1.1 so everything works as it should!
• Got rid of the dial-up modem as nobody ever called it. :cry:

Node one is up and running now so telnet over to crowsnestbbs.ddns.net:6801 today! Nodes 6802-6806 will be up starting March 1st. As usual, use ZTerm with a wifi modem-equipped Mac, or Black Night with a networked Mac to connect. PM me here if you forgot your password from last year. Hope to see you there!

>> Byte Knight said:

The Crow's Nest BBS, running Hermes II v3.1.1 on my 40 MHz 68040 Carrera-accelerated Mac IIci with six wifi modems hooked up to a CSI Hurdler II 4-port serial NuBUS card, is back again for #MARCHintosh! The same IIci hosts my GlobalTalk zone. The original project is detailed here . What's new this year? Downloads have been updated with the latest vintage Mac software releases, which I don't think you can find anywhere else in one place. I also finally figured out how to add file descriptions. Added the Macworld Game Hall of Fame winners from '86 to '01 to the GFiles section. There are now a total of 23 original Hermes door games to play in the Externals section. Thanks to Will Price (original programmer who recently reacquired Hernes) and Sidd Hartha, we now have a clean crack of Hermes v3.1.1 so everything works as it should! Got rid of the dial-up modem as nobody ever called it. View attachment 20460 View attachment 20462 Node one is up and running now so telnet over to crowsnestbbs.ddns.net:6801 today! Nodes 6802-6806 will be up starting March 1st. As usual, use ZTerm with a wifi modem-equipped Mac, or Black Night with a networked Mac to connect. PM me here if you forgot your password from last year. Hope to see you there! Click to expand...

I connected to your stuff on appletalk and I was glad to find stuff like ZTerm and BlackKnight.
I have no idea how to make either connect to your BBS, though. I didn't own a mac back in those days and on first impressions, it seems both software expect a phone line, which is not gonna happen from within QEMU running on windows 11, I'm hoping for a solution that only involves the ethernet connection it is enjoying.

>> eric said:

Andrea Campanella (@emuboy.bsky.social) It's not #MARChintosh yet and I have already a gift for you, is your iMac G3 in need of a new speaker but the ones on eBay are too small? I got you fam : https://www.printables.com/model/1208396-imac-g3-speakers-adapter-ring bsky.app iMac G3 Speakers adapter ring by emuboy | Download free STL model | Printables.com Click to expand...

gonna have to print out a set of these in preparation of the @MacEffects bezel!

>> Mu0n said:

I connected to your stuff on appletalk and I was glad to find stuff like ZTerm and BlackKnight. I have no idea how to make either connect to your BBS, though. I didn't own a mac back in those days and on first impressions, it seems both software expect a phone line, which is not gonna happen from within QEMU running on windows 11, I'm hoping for a solution that only involves the ethernet connection it is enjoying. Click to expand...

You should be able to connect via Telnet with Black Night, since I can do it in Basilisk II. Assuming you've downloaded the version for CQ II and followed the instructions in the README FIRST file to get it set up, it should be fairly easy to get on my other BBS. Double-click on the CQ II icon to launch Black Night, then goto Edit -> Session Settings -> Setup and change the port to from 6800 to 6801. Hit OK until you're back at the main screen and then goto Session -> Connect and you should be BBS'ing! Lemme know if you have any issues.

iMac G4(K) by @jcs https://jcs.org/2025/02/26/imacg4k

I have a PowerTower 225 I want to do a fresh install of 7.6 and 8.6 on, install an OrangePC car and get it working (The software for them is hard to find), swap the 225 604 with a 320 G3, swap the Twin Turbo out with a Rage 128, and maybe beat a game or two. Maybe Mechwarrior Mercs on the PC Card, and Future Cop or Tomb Raider 2 on the Mac Side. With a system change comes a Palm Pilot change, probably from my 4-grey Clie to a color Clie, maybe the high resolution B/W

I might try to get a home dialup server working, to simulate a dialup internet connection, but every time I look into it my head spins.

>> Byte Knight said:

six wifi modems hooked up to a CSI Hurdler II 4-port serial NuBUS card, Click to expand...

If you need more ports, let me know. I have tons of AE QuadraLink serial port card PCBs in production at this moment.

>> robin-fo said:

If you need more ports, let me know. I have tons of AE QuadraLink serial port card PCBs in production at this moment. Click to expand...

A 10-node Hermes II BBS! Technically you could do a total of 14 nodes with three NuBus serial cards in a Iici. I wonder if anyone did that BITD?

And actually, myCSI Hurdler II is somewhat flaky and only works part of the time despite reflowing all the solder joints and recapping it, so I would definitely be interested in this!

>> Trash80toG4 said:

Sending TwinSlot/TriSlot specs out to @Trekintosh who's jumped into the fray with KiCAD/PCB experience. Exciting stuff for March! AI converted 55/3.5 MicroNikkor arriving in a few days for down to 1:2 macro magnification on the Nikon D750 Documentation setup in progress. Click to expand...

Hi am Trek. I can make PCBs sometimes, so my Marchintosh goal is to get a layout at least most of the way done. I don't have enough free time to guarantee I'll have boards in fab yet.

Also I just picked up two 5400s and a Molar Mac at the end of last month, and I'd like to get them up and running.

That's exciting enough from where I sit! Thanks for any efforts you can put forth, we're only running +5 years on the project to date. ;)