Madge 152-320-02 Blue+ 16/4 ISA Token Ring Network Adapter Card RJ-45 DB9

Madge 152-320-02 Blue+ 16/4 ISA Token Ring Network Adapter Card RJ-45 DB9

The Madge 152-320-02 is a 16/4 Mbps Token Ring network adapter card for the ISA bus. Sold under Madge Networks' "Blue+" product line, this card allows an ISA-bus PC to connect to a Token Ring LAN at either 4 Mbps or 16 Mbps. It provides both RJ-45 (UTP) and DB9 (STP/Type 1) Token Ring connectors on the bracket, giving flexibility for different cabling plant types. The board is manufactured in the UK and bears the CE mark.

Specifications & What's Included

• Manufacturer: Madge Networks
• Part Number: 152-320-02
• Product Line: Blue+ 16/4 ISA
• Bus Interface: ISA (16-bit)
• Network Technology: Token Ring (IEEE 802.5)
• Data Rates: 4 Mbps and 16 Mbps
• Bracket Connectors: RJ-45 (UTP) and DB9 9-pin D-sub (STP/Type 1)
• DIP Switches: SW1 (12-position) and SW2 (4-position) for hardware configuration
• Main controller ICs: two large Madge-marked ASICs visible on component side
• Logic ICs: Texas Instruments ALS541 buffers (visible in photos)
• Connector component: AMP 2-435802-2 (visible on board)
• Country of Manufacture: United Kingdom (label on PCB)
• CE marked
• Form Factor: Full-height ISA card
• Includes: Card only — no driver software, diskettes, or documentation included

Applications

Token Ring was IBM's primary LAN technology from the mid-1980s through the 1990s, used extensively in corporate environments built around IBM mainframes, AS/400 systems, PS/2 workstations, and IBM-compatible PCs. Operating on a deterministic token-passing ring topology at 4 or 16 Mbps, Token Ring networks were common in banking, manufacturing, government, and enterprise IT environments that standardized on IBM infrastructure. Madge Networks was one of the dominant third-party Token Ring adapter makers of that era, and their Blue-series ISA cards were widely deployed to connect DOS and early Windows workstations into IBM Token Ring LANs. Today these cards are sought by organizations still maintaining legacy Token Ring segments, by historians and collectors of vintage networking equipment, and by technicians needing spare parts to keep older IBM-era network infrastructure running. The ISA bus places this card in systems from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s, when ISA was the standard expansion interface for IBM PC compatibles before PCI took over.