The Radius Rocket was a NuBus-based CPU accelerator card, manufactured in the early 1990s by Radius, Inc. It had a Motorola 68040 CPU on it, eight 30-pin SIMM slots for up to 128 MB RAM, and connectors for various daughtercards to add functionality. With multiple Rockets installed in a system, the RocketShare software allows for a sort of parallel processor set-up.
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1.1.2 - How many different models were there?
There were four different models of the Radius Rocket - the Rocket 25, Rocket 33, Rocket 25i, and Rocket StageTwo.
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1.1.3 - What were the Rockets' respective specifications?
| Model | Rocket 25 | Rocket 33 | Rocket 25i | Rocket StageTwo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU type | MC68RC040 | MC68RC040 | MC68LC040 | MC68RC040 |
| CPU speed | 25MHz | 33MHz | 25MHz | 40MHz |
| FPU | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Power Draw | 2.5A @ 5V (1) | 3.0A @ 5V (1) | ? @ 5V | ? @ 5V |
| Driver Software | RocketWare/ RocketShare (2) |
RocketWare/ RocketShare (2) |
RocketWare/ RocketShare (2) |
RocketShare only |
Note 1 - with 8MB RAM; power draw will be higher with more RAM installed.
Note 2 - RocketShare required for multiple-Rocket installations.
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1.1.4 - What Macs will a Rocket work in?
The various Rocket models will work in any Macintosh with a 12" NuBus slot. They will not work in a Mac IIsi with the NuBus adapter due to thermal and space limitations claimed by Radius; I think a Mac IIsi with a very small HD could probably use a StageTwo Rocket successfully but haven't had a chance to try it. The Power Macintosh 6100 is also allegedly incompatible with the Rocket, but again, I believe with a low-profile hard disk and a NuBus adapter, the StageTwo Rocket would work just fine in a "pizza-box" Mac like the 6100 series. The earlier Rockets tend to overheat much more easily and almost certainly will not work.
Use of any Rocket in a Power Mac requires RocketShare 1.3 or 1.3.1.
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1.1.5 - Where can I get one of these babies?
RadiusVintage still has some new stock of the Rocket 33 cards with a 90-day warranty at $79 each. There are new old-stock StageTwo Rockets available on JMUG.org for $40 shipped. eBay occasionally has original and StageTwo Rocket parts on auction, and Junkyard Jeff has some Rocket parts as well.
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Last Modified on 06 November 2013
by the pickle
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