LIST OF SPARC CLONERS AND USED SUN RESELLERS
by Robert Plamondon
June, 1993

Here's my first cut at a list of SPARC cloners and resellers of used
Sun equipment.  My goal here is to make it easier for people to find
cost-effective SPARC equipment.  My special interest is in upgrading
SPARCstation 1 and 1+ machines, which can be done by replacing the
motherboard with a SPARCstation 2 (or clone) motherboard.  I recently
was involved in upgrading three SPARCstation 1s this way, and posted
my experiences to the net (send me e-mail if you missed it, and want
a copy).

Like most people with SPARCstation 1 equipment, I knew of no
cost-effective upgrade path.  I also didn't have any easy way to
acquire the money to do a more expensive upgrade: If I had, I
wouldn't be stuck with SPARCstation 1s, would I?  But the
applications I ran (for example, Interleaf 5 under OpenWindows) were
too CPU-intensive for SPARC 1 machines: I had a real need for more
horsepower.

At the same time, my systems were old enough that I could easily get
away with unusual upgrade practices.  While normally we buy new Sun
equipment and keep it under Sun hardware maintenence, NOBODY cares
what I do with a SPARCstation 1.  If I want to put a clone board in
it, fine.  If I want to take it out to the parking lot and back my
truck over it, that's fine, too -- it's been fully depreciated, and
has no value on our books. (I'd have to sweep up the pieces, though.)
So I was free to explore alternatives.

Personally, I like clone boards.  A lot of people like to buy used
Sun SPARCstation 2 boards for their upgrades, rather than clone
boards, but used Sun boards cost a lot more.  In fact, the clone
boards were enough cheaper than the Sun boards that I could afford to
upgrade all my systems AND buy a spare motherboard, just in case!

I've listed both cloners and resellers of used Sun equipment, so if
you prefer Sun boards, you can find them.

The sources for this list are:

1. The "SPARCward, Ho!" article in the April, 1993 issue of SunExpert.
2. A list kindly sent to me by Ajay Shah.
3. Ads in recent Sun and UNIX magazines.

I'm not listing a lot of detail here, because I don't know much about
most of the vendors.  I've spoken with several vendors on the phone,
and have been universally impressed by the courtesy and depth of
knowledge of their technical contacts and marketers (but I can't
vouch for their telemarketers:  I never talked to them, as chance
would have it.)

Feel free to send me additions or corrections to my list.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR
After talking to a few of these companies on the phone, it seems that
they all offer products in a wide range of variations, and that the
biggest barrier to your success is figuring out exactly what you'd
like.  For instance, you can do SPARCstation 1 upgrades that involve
a trade-in of your old SPARCstation 1 motherboard, and all your old
DRAM.  The nice thing about this kind of deal is that you just buy a
new motherboard with all the DRAM pre-installed, and you trade in
your old DRAM (which is likely too slow for a SPARC 2) along with
your old motherboard.  This avoids SIMM compatibility headaches. (I
don't know what kind of a deal you get for old 100ns SIMMs, because
I didn't know that people offered trade-ins when I placed my first
order.  Now our system administrator has some SPARCstation 1
motherboards and SIMMs he'll never find a use for.)

I recommend that your order be very specific, and in writing, to
avoid confusion.  We ordered some products from one company, and there
was a miscommunication of some kind, and we got the wrong stuff.  I
wasn't the one making the phone calls, but it seems that the people
booking the orders and the people who knew something about the product
weren't talking.  Under these circumstances, it's best to cough up a
self-explanatory piece of paper.

For example, if I were filling out a purchase order for another
SPARCstation 1 upgrade kit, I'd word it as, "SPARCstation 1 upgrade
kit, including a new SPARCstation 2 compatible motherboard with
socketed IU, mounting screws, extended floppy disk power cable,
installation instructions, motherboard reference manual, one-year
overnight replacement warrantee, 48 MB DRAM installed. Price: $WWWW.
$XXX trade-in will be given on SPARCstation 1 motherboard with YY MB
DRAM, if delivered to you within 14 days after arrival of upgrade
kit.  Upgrade kit to be delivered by ZZZ. Terms: net 30 days."  Every
single item I listed there is important, and should be spelled out.

SPECIAL MENTION

I'm too new to the clone game to have seen much of a cross-section of
the products out there, or to have talked to all the cloners.
Marathon, though, deserves special mention:  My first upgrade gave me
a great deal of trouble (a combination of a disk drive problem and my
own ignorance).  Jim Hall of Marathon was extremely helpful, and came
out and helped me bang on the system until it worked.  The board I
got from him, an Aries Parrot, also deserves mention for its
easy-to-use SIMM sockets and overall spiffiness.  While virtually all
the clone manufacturers make "100% Sun-compatible" SPARCstation II
boards, some have convenience features, such as good sockets (or any
socket at all on the processor), that others lack.

Also deserving of mention is Pinnacle, which has me thinking there is
no stone they have left unturned.  They do both clone manufacturing
and Sun equipment servicing, and have several unusual upgrade
products, such as a speed upgrade for the ELC to boost it to 40 MHz,
and (if I understand this correctly), an IPX clone motherboard for
use in IPC-to-IPX upgrades.

---

Apogee Systems, Inc., 800-367-1488, 1815 S. Gadsden St. Tallahassee FL 32301

Aries Research, Inc., 46791 Fremont Blvd, Fremont CA 94538
  Comments: I like their Parrot II board, which has the lever-action
  SIMM sockets.

Axil Workstations (Hundai), 166 Baypointe Pkwy, San Jose CA 95134

CAD National (Axil vendor), 408-554-0636

CompuAdd Computer Corp, 12303 Technology Blvd, Austin TX 78758

Computer Connection of CNY Inc., 315-724-2209

Concorde Group (Reseller) 800-370-0099 (East), 800-225-7213 (West).
   Comments: Sells clone and refurbished Sun equipment.

ELI Systems, 139 Hampshire St, Cambridge MA 02139, 800-447-1156,
617-547-1113
  Comments: sells refurbished Sun equipment.

Integrix, Inc., 1200 Lawrence Dr. #150, Newbury Park CA 91320, 805-375-1055
   Comments: Advertises SPARCstation 1/1+ upgrades.  Makes a 50 MHz
   SPARC II+.

Marathon, 16795 Lark Ave., Ste 107, Los Gatos CA 95030. 800-783-7354
408-395-7354
  Comments: Sell clones and remanufactured (used) Sun equipment.

Marner International, Inc., 1617 93rd Ln NE, Blaine MN 55449, 612-780-1133

Minicomputer Exchange. 408-733-4400.
  Comments: Sells used systems and parts, including motherboards.

Mobius Computer Corp, 5627 Stoneridge Dr, Bldg 312, Pleasanton CA 94588

Open Concepts International, Inc., #107 2841-109 St, Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada TGJ-GB7

Opus Systems, 3000 Coronado Drive, Santa Clara, CA 95054, 408-562-9340
email: johnc@opus.com  --or-- uunet!opusys!johnc

Pinnacle Data Systems, 1350 W. Fifth Ave. Columbus OH 43212, 614-487-1150
  Comments: Already has a line of upgades for "non-upgradeable"
  systems such as the ELC.  Clone manufacturer.  Also does depot
  service on all Sun products.

Rave Computer Association, 36960 Metro Ct., Sterling Heights MI 48312
313-939-8230.
  Comments: Sells remanufactured (used) Sun equipment w/Sun warrantee.

Sidus Systems, Inc. 25 Minthorn Ct., Thornhill Ontario, Canada L3T-7N5

Solid Computer Corp., 1450 Oakbrook Dr. #300, Norcross GA 30093

Stealth Computer Systems, 1980 Cumulus Ct, Thousand Oaks, CA 91362

Sunar Systems, 3350 Scott Blvd, Ste 1901, Santa Clara CA 95054, 408-892-0288
800-22-SUNAR, email: sunar@netcom.com
  Comments: advertises SPARCstation 1/1+ upgrades. Makes a 50 MHz
  SPARC II+.

Super Workstation, 2190 Paragon Dr., San Jose CA 95131, 800-841-0036
  Comments: advertises SPARCstation 1/1+ upgrades. Makes a 50 MHz
  SPARC II+.

System Computing Corp, 430 10th St, S-109, Atlanta GA 30318, 404-872-6475
  Comments: advertises SPARCstation 1/1+ upgrades (DTK).

Tatung, 2060 Ringwood Ave., San Jose CA 95134

Uni Solution, Inc. 5005 Riverway, Houston TX 77056, 800-552-4UNI
  Comments: advertises SPARCstation 1/1+ upgrades.

Workstation Technologies. 8A Industrial Way, Salem NH 03079.
603-890-6700
  Comments: Sells remanufactured (used) Sun equipment with Sun
  warrantee.

Xpert Image, Inc., 10631 Harwin Rd. #606, Houston TX 77036, 713-272-7038

-- 
Robert Plamondon * WEITEK Corporation * Home of SPARC Power uP (TM)
80 MHz clock-doubled SPARC processor upgrade for the SPARCstation 2 or IPX
FAX-back info line: (800) 827-8708  or (408) 522-7525
Email info request: cpu-upgrade@weitek.COM * To order: (408) 738-8400