PowerView
Any BlueSCSI v2 or Ultra can emulate a PowerView SCSI Video card for Macintosh.
The PowerView SCSI Video card allowed many Macintosh computers to have a second monitor over SCSI.
Note
This feature is in private beta till we get a few more testers.
Connect your BlueSCSI via USB to the modern computer you'd like to use as a screen. BlueSCSI does not (yet) have a direct to VGA solution so you will use a modern laptop, desktop, phone, or tablet as your second screen.
eg:
Vintage Mac <SCSI Cable> BlueSCSI <USB> Modern device with screen
Create a file on the root of your SD card named VD3.hda for a PowerView on SCSI ID 3.
Install the PowerView Control Panel. For links see below.
Note
If you want wider support you must use the BlueSCSI Patched PowerView extension (Download link coming soon)
Reboot
On your modern device goto https://bluescsi.com/powerview/ and hit connect. If all went right you'll see your second monitor!
If you'd like to run a native (Mac/Win/Linux) app instead of using WebUSB you can use the BlueSCSI PowerView app here (Coming soon).
We've patched the PowerView extension to allow it to be used on any 68020-or-later Mac, PowerPC is untested, so please test!
Important
The patch removes Radius' machine allow-list, but it cannot make PowerView run on a 68000 Mac. The driver and control panel were compiled with 68020 code generation (they use 68020-only memory-indirect addressing throughout), so plain-68000 machines — Mac Plus, SE, Classic, and Portable — cannot run PowerView, patched or not. The floor is a 68020 (Mac II or newer).
When in doubt use the Patched driver.
Patched: (url coming soon)
Unpatched version 2.1 - https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/radius-powerview-driver-101 - A more limited set of computers.
Radius' PowerView software gates itself to a hand-maintained list of tested Macs (the sMch resource, read by both the INIT boot check and the control panel). Any machine not on the list shows "Machine ✗" and the panel refuses to run — this is what the Patched driver bypasses.
The list grew over the software's lifetime as Apple shipped new models. It is a support/testing whitelist, not a hardware limit — capable machines that shipped later (notably the Quadra 700/900/950, all 68040s) are simply absent, which is why they need the patch even though the hardware is perfectly able.
Version 2.1 (21 machines):
| Mac II family | Compact / LC | PowerBooks |
|---|---|---|
| Mac II | Mac SE/30 | PowerBook 140 |
| Mac IIx | Classic II | PowerBook 145 |
| Mac IIcx | Mac LC | PowerBook 160 |
| Mac IIci | Mac LC II | PowerBook 165c |
| Mac IIfx | Mac LC III | PowerBook 170 |
| Mac IIsi | PowerBook 180 | |
| Mac IIvi | PowerBook Duo 210 | |
| Mac IIvm (Performa 600) | PowerBook Duo 230 | |
| Mac IIvx |
Version 1.01 (the original release) covered a shorter list of 11 — the models that existed in 1990–91: Mac II, IIx, IIcx, IIci, IIfx, IIsi, SE/30, LC, Classic II, PowerBook 140, PowerBook 170.
As you test please fill in compatibility below
- Quadra 700
- SE/30
- 7/1/2026 - Initial release - https://www.patreon.com/nulleric/posts/bluescsi-does-162551623
