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[TorZidan]

It's always cool to find something that has been lost in history.
Ther ebay auction at https://www.ebay.com/itm/235749071615?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=tzQ-GXMtStC&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=hdLtUILgS0C&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY has a picture (attached below) of an apple profile contro board with a "341-0236" ROM.
Googling it does not fetch any meaningful results. Enjoy.

Note: the auction has ended, I did not bid on it.

[sigma7]

apple profile control board with a "341-0236" ROM.

Maybe "0236" is "0286"?

I have a note received circa 2011 (handwritten but not signed, so author unknown) that 341-0286 is the 10MB ProFile operating ROM.

The 4K Z8 is also an indicator of a ProFile controller set up for 10MB.

[TorZidan]

Maybe "0236" is "0286"?
The 4K Z8 is also an indicator of a ProFile controller set up for 10MB.

This is it.  Mistery solved. I was able to find "341-0286-A" at https://wiki.reactivemicro.com/Apple_Chip_Designations .
Also, this is a 4kx8 eprom, unlike the 2kx8 used on the 5MB profile.

 

[ried]

Completely anecdotal, but I have 10 5MB ProFiles and only 1 10MB ProFile. They seem rather difficult to find.

I wonder if that 10:1 ratio corresponds to actual production numbers?

[AlexTheCat123]

I wonder if that 10:1 ratio corresponds to actual production numbers?

Similar situation here. I've got 7 5MB ProFiles, and only 1 10MB drive, although it's a prototype drive designed to fit inside the Lisa so I'm not sure if that even really counts as a "true" 10MB ProFile. So your 10:1 figure might not be too far off!

They definitely don't pop up very often on eBay!

[TorZidan]

I have 10 5MB ProFiles.

Don't want to pick on you, but how do you justify this, given that more-reliable, cheap modern replacements are available? How many are enough?
I, personally, have 5 5MB ProFiles out of which only one works; my justification is: "one day I will find the time to sit down and repair them; it will be fun; then I will sell them".

[sigma7]

... how do you justify this, given that more-reliable, cheap modern replacements are available? How many are enough?

I expect some portion of the reason is that it is a "collection", maybe not an intentional collection, but rather picked up in a lot along with Lisa parts etc. as time goes on. ie. not purchased for actual use (which is a purpose better served by a modern replacement as you point out), nor purchased because more are needed to have enough.

In that case, the justification amounts to not needing the space for something else, but maybe there is a nefarious long range plan to corner the market!

In my case, I have more Lisa memory boards than I need... more than enough -- none purchased as an individual item. My justification amounts to not being troubled to have them, and to some extent they may have some utility.

[ried]

... how do you justify this, given that more-reliable, cheap modern replacements are available? How many are enough?

In that case, the justification amounts to not needing the space for something else, but maybe there is a nefarious long range plan to corner the market!

Busted! 

I justify having those ProFiles because I have five Lisas (spanning generations) and I wanted two ProFiles attached and stacked on top of each. These are not practical machines in 2024, so there's no point in trying to justify any of it other than as a hobby. The sheer curiosity about a pivotal time in computing history, and trying to piece together systems and make them all work properly 40 years on. I have learned a great deal about computers by repairing and trying to push these old things to their limits - like dragging them onto the Internet, kicking and screaming. That also means I've swapped a couple of the ol' Seagate ST-506s out for X/ProFiles, among other enhancements - thanks to the talent of people here, generous with their time and knowledge.

It's the exact same way with cars, like building (and rebuilding) a hotrod. You don't build them for practical purposes. It's just fun.

[AlexTheCat123]

Don't want to pick on you, but how do you justify this, given that more-reliable, cheap modern replacements are available? How many are enough?

For me, it's just because I have a fascination with hard drives and using a real drive is just so much more satisfying than using an emulator. And this is coming from someone who has designed a ProFile emulator! Emulators are definitely the better choice for ease of use and reliability, but it's just really fun to collect ProFiles and Widgets, figure out what's wrong with them, and get them up and running again. They aren't reliable at all, but fixing them and slowly expanding your knowledge of all the things that could possibly go wrong with a ProFile/Widget is half the fun!

[ried]

Don't want to pick on you, but how do you justify this, given that more-reliable, cheap modern replacements are available? How many are enough?

...it's just really fun to collect ProFiles and Widgets, figure out what's wrong with them, and get them up and running again.

I have had 4 or 5 Widgets and none of them worked. I did my darnedest, too (thank you for your help, Tom!). Took them apart, played with the little trim pots, and so on. One would need an oscilloscope and serious skill to make them work in my case, which I still lack. Maybe someday! As an aside, someone brought their Lisa over to my workbench for some tinkering last week and I did get to see one working for the first time. Pretty neat little contraption.

[AlexTheCat123]

I have had 4 or 5 Widgets and none of them worked.

I only have 3 Widgets, but I've been incredibly lucky and I've been able to get all three of them to work, with varying degrees of difficulty. They're definitely a lot harder to work on than ProFiles, but the Widget's much broader diagnostic command set also helps with troubleshooting to a certain extent.

[pintoguy]

I was the buyer. I'm in the process of fixing them. One of the two units is in fact the 10MB model (see my other post), but the ROMs had been swapped, and it took me a while to figure it out. The two HDDs work, and after a few fixes (3 ICs replaced, one pin of the ROM was broken), I've got the two controllers to work. I'm now fixing the two Astec PS which hopefully won't be too much hassle. So all in all, I'm fairly satisfied with my purchase. As some of you stated, these 10MB has quite rare and hard to find