FREE, just pay shipping! Wyse 9650XE Winterm ThinClients, hackable or "prop"able

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I will be bringing 4 Wyse 9650XE Thin Clients to the Parallax Summer Hangout tomorrow. They can easily modified with a laptop drive for XP/Linux or the VIA board could be removed and a propeller board could be dropped in to make a really nice looking project enclosure for a 15" LCD based Propeller project. OR, the VIA can be left and a propeller board could be added in as well to make a full propeller learning setup. The 9650XE is basically a VIA 500Mhz Single Board Computer piggybacked to the back of a 15" LCD inside an all-in-one housing. Each has a PS/2 keyboard, PS/2 mouse, and power supply. I have 2 other units in pieces as well that may end up on a freebie table tomorrow.

I sold a few a while back for $80, but I am hoping to unload these tomorrow to free up space in my garage, so ALL offers are on the table including trades. (I am currently working on projects that involve robotics and displays) Here is a link to Vecmar that sells remanufactured versions for $349.


p.s. I also still have these Barcode Scan Engines if anyone is interested.

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Update: I got to the hangout a bit late so I didn't bring one of these in to show. I will be bringing these to the last hangout on September 26th.

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Update: These are still taking up space and I need to clear them out. I am willing to let them go to anyone willing to pay for shipping. The units packed up will weigh about 20 pounds and will be coming from Sacramento, CA, so UPS will probably be the best rates. I did a quick check and the pricing was anywhere from $22 to $45 depending on the destination location.

I also just put up a few other Parallax items on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/uxorious/m.html


EDIT: Added PDF datasheet for Wyse 9650XE

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Some additional info/docs to address questions from PMs:

BIOS password: "Fireport"
Administrator password: "Administrator"

The OS is XPe (Microsoft XPE, Service Pack 1, the E stands for Embedded). This means it is a stripped down version of XP so that it fits in the 256MB Flash drive that is plugged into one of the 44 pin laptop style HDD connectors on the motherboard.
The OS has an application built in for write protection, so you cannot write to the flash drive without logging in as a special admin. The admin evaluation guide has the info about logging in as admin and disabling the write protect software. This is how I was able to load a tiny version of a PDF viewer on one. However, I found it easier just to load regular XP (or small linux distro) on a laptop drive and replace the flash drive.
3 of these 4 have not been through any modifications. One has a toggle switch on the front connected to a PCB from a PS/2 keyboard. So, flicking the toggle switch left or right, sends a left arrow/right arrow to the computer (to go forward ad back in the PDF viewer)

ps. 1 is taken so far.

NWCCTV

how much to send one to 98003?

Publison

Andrew,

Do you think there is enough room on the Flash Drive to install the Prop Tool and BS2 Editor? I like the legacy Serial and Parallel ports.

I imagine the optional CD ROM drive is IDE interface?

Jim

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NWCCTV wrote: »

how much to send one to 98003?

Andy, I am using a friend's account to get a small discount, so about $23 for UPS Ground.

NWCCTV

OK. Send me a bill to ebay@nwupgradesplus.com and I will take one off your hands. Thank you

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Publison wrote: »

Do you think there is enough room on the Flash Drive to install the Prop Tool and BS2 Editor? I like the legacy Serial and Parallel ports. I imagine the optional CD ROM drive is IDE interface?

I am not sure how much space is free on the default load, but I will doublecheck the space. I know that the Propeller Tool and Stamp Editor can run as a standalone executable from a USB stick, so there is always that option as well.
Yes, the optional CD-ROM was IDE. The motherboard has 44 pin IDE connectors (laptop style IDE connections) Attached are pictures of the guts of one of the extra 2 I have that are not complete so you can see the internal layout. The Flash Drive module has a 2 pin connector for power coming from the power supply board.

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I just checked and it looks like there is about 30-40MB on the units, so Prop Tool and Stamp Editor would only work if you either removed some system files or removed the help content after installing (if you have enough space to install at least).

2 are taken, so here is what I have left:

1 complete unit that is beeping during boot. My guess a loose DIMM, so I need to open that one up.
1 complete unit modified with a toggle switch in the front connected to a PS/2 Keyboard PCB. It works fine, but has some PDFs from my work on it that need to be removed, so I need to run through the admin instructions in my post above to disable the write protect on the flash to delete them.
1 complete unit that does not power up. I need to check it again as I believe the LCD and driver board work fine, but the MB is dead. (the one pictured in the above post)
1 unit with just the LCD and driver board. The power supply board and MB are removed. So, in essence, it is a 15" LCD with room for a project.....

David B

Hi Andrew,

I think I'd like to get one of the units, if you have a working unit left. It seems like the unit with the switch is the only one that currently works, is that right?

I'm fairly close by, zip 94598.

David

sidecar-racer

Hangout starts at 6 on Friday, right?

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David B, the one with the switch was already spoken for and was fixed/shipped today along with the first 2. I did fix the "no power" unit however by swapping the power supply board from the beeping unit. That one is available if you want it and shipping is $21.38.

sidecar-racer: Sorry, the original post is from last year, LOL. Parallax hasn't done the hangoust since Kevin Cook left.

David B

Sure, if you have a unit working, I'd like to get one. $21.38. Are you on paypal?

Edit - I bought some thermistors from you back in 2010, and paid through Paypal using an email like --ious4-- @hotmail.com.

Is that paypal account still active? Would that be a good way to pay for this?

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The 4 complete units are taken, so here is what I have left:

1 mostly complete unit that was beeping during boot, but now bluescreens at the login page. Seems to be an issue with the MB. The beeping was from a corrupt BIOS, so I wiped that out. Now it will boot without beeping, but goes to blue screen or locks up just before the taskbar shows up.
1 unit with just the LCD and driver board. The power supply board and MB are removed. So, in essence, it is a 15" LCD with room for a project.....

I will be snapping some pictures of the plastic bezel showing the locks, etc, because it can be a little tricky popping it open.

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Here are some pics and tips for opening up the Wyse 9650xe units:

Remove the four corner screws ad the two base bracket cover screws. You do not need to remove the bottom two screws on the sides of the speakers.

Remove the 4 upper base bracket screws

You can now remove the front half of the unit that houses the LCD bezel, LCD, MB, LCD Driver, etc.

There are three locking tabs across the top and one on each side. To unlatch the locking tabs, use two small flat tip screwdrivers to either push down on the black locking tabs:

Or use the two to push up on the bezel on the sides of the tabs.

This part takes a bit of patience and massaging because the tabs can be a pain to break free. I usually start with a top corner and work around. Once apart, disconnect the speaker cable carefully and you have two halves!

NWCCTV

Received mine today. I will probably fire it up tomorrow or Monday. Not a bad unit for the price!!!! Thanks. I am thinking of coming up with a way to "hide" all but the LCD area in the kitchen and getting a mini keyboard and mouse and letting the wife use it for recipes from the internet or that are stored on my Server. She likes using my Netbook but makes a mess of it with flour, etc.!!!!!!

David B

Mine arrived yesterday. I set it up and started XP, and it looks and works great.

Thanks also for those disassembly instructions, because you never know...

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NWCCTV wrote: »

..... I am thinking of coming up with a way to "hide" all but the LCD area in the kitchen and getting a mini keyboard and mouse and letting the wife use it for recipes from the internet or that are stored on my Server.

I had a similar idea way back when I bought an old Audrey Internet Appliance many moons ago. I even went as far as buying some ethernet adapters that used a compatible chipset and hacking them to identify them as a 3COM adapter so I could get it onto my network easier. Alas, over time I realized I needed something more powerful and ended up selling it for more than I bought it for since I installed all the hacks people were looking to do to them.
I would definitely recommend changing the unit to a laptop drive and run a standard XP load. Somewhere I have a bunch of 44 pin adapters to make this easier and will keep looking for them. I might even have some Compact Flash cards in 44 pin adapters that have Puppy Linux loaded on them for these units. I don't remember if I ever got networking to work with PuppyLinux, but newer Linux distros should be a slam dunk (like Xubuntu or Lubuntu, I have used both on 500MHZ systems)

ps. You can remove the base and use the VESA mount to put it up on a wall. plug in a USB WiFi adapter and a small USB wireless keypad/mouse setup (like this one for Raspi XBMC) and you should be set.


EDIT: Funny, I just did an eBay search for WYSE 9650XE, and see that someone has a few HDD kits up there. Way too expensive, but it at least shows you all it take to convert one to HDD: a 44 pin cable, a 2.5" HDD, and some way to mount it. When I installed Windows 2000 on one, I mounted the drive with a large piece of double stick foam tape (it lasted 2 years with daily use in a church office)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/WYSE-TECHNOLOGY-20G-HDD-ASSEM-KIT-model-WT9650XE-NO-INTERFACE-/190830865056?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c6e67eaa0

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Happened to find this when I did a search the other day and just remembered the link. Has more info on the unit and more pics for the teardown: http://www.parkytowers.me.uk/thin/wyse/9650xe/index.shtml

NWCCTV

To be honest, I did not even realize they have USB Ports. Makes life even easier. I have a wireless 802.11 adapter that I am downloading drivers for. I am thinking a wireless Kybd/Mouse setup and then the only thing I need to worry about is the bulky power supply. I can maybe hide that in one of the cupboards. I don't think I need to do any other mods but is there a way to remove programs that are on there?

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If you run through the admin login instructions in the Admin guide in post #4, you can disable the write protection (that little red dot in the corner of the taskbar). With that disabled and logged in as an admin, you should be able to uninstall the internet clock, terminal program, etc that is installed. There isn't much installed on it, so I think the most you will gain is maybe 30MB.

NWCCTV

Not too concerned about the space. I just want to get the unneeded programs off and also install my wireless drivers, etc. Seems to be going OK.

NWCCTV

Are these touchscreens? I see the ELO Touchscreen Program and although they do not seem like it I thought I would ask.

NWCCTV

It appears as though I am going to have to go a different route. Will this unit accept a separate Laptop HDD? I am unable to get my wireless software installed due to the HDD not having enough temp space for the program to run. I have 2 of them. The ASUS one has no .inf files and is a setup file and the other one came with no drivers. It will not find them on the Internet which I find odd because it works on my Raspberry Pi.

EDIT: After a bit of messing around I was able to get my Edimax wireless USB dongle to work. It too had an install program but it at least also had a folder with the .inf files in it. Set that up, changed the Workgroup to match my own and now it is up and running. The wife is out of town right now so hopefully I can have it all set up for her when she returns. Thanks again.

TC

I just got mine yesterday. Thanks... now to prepare it for new parts.

rwgast_logicdesign

Are these still available, how much to ship to 92284?

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The four functional units are gone. All that is left is the two units that have various issues. I don't think the two have enough together to make a single functional unit, but I would be happy to ship them as they are with the same deal. (cost of shipping). Would be about $25.