Macintosh LCII Restoration

[PotatoFi]

I just want to chime in here and say that is some very detailed and excellent documentation of your restoration project.  Well done!

Thanks @MrFahrenheit! It was a fun project. Thanks for checking it out!

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One thing I'd like to get for this is 512kb of VRAM. Anything that is meant for the LC-series seems to fetch about $40 on eBay. Are there any cheaper places I could look? Anything generic that would work?

 

[MrFahrenheit]

Thanks @MrFahrenheit! It was a fun project. Thanks for checking it out!

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One thing I'd like to get for this is 512kb of VRAM. Anything that is meant for the LC-series seems to fetch about $40 on eBay. Are there any cheaper places I could look? Anything generic that would work?

Not sure if this is an option for you but you may want to consider buying a LC class machine on eBay that is listed as untested or doesn’t fully power up, because they can be cheap and sometimes you end up with spare parts including the piece you need. Example, I’ve bought LC machines for $45. That included a $30 stick of VRAM and a working power supply. As far as the rest, it was a bunch of bonus spare parts. Eventually you could build that into another working machine. 

 

[PB145B]

Very nice work! The LC II is a nice little unit. May not be the fastest pizza box out there, but they are really useable machines in my opinion. I like my original LC too, although I need to tend to the hard drive in that one.

I actually use 3-in-1 oil on my drive mechanisms. The ones I lubed over 4-years-ago are still working very smoothly. I did one with lithium grease, but it seemed “gummy” and not as smooth as it should be, so I recently pulled it back out, cleaned it, and put 3-in-1 oil in it, which made it smoother.

I say use whatever works for you!

 

[Crutch]

 Now to find a 12" RGB CRT for it... it just looks wrong with the LCD display. And the display scales 640x480 very badly. I've seen absolutely nothing locally, and getting one off eBay is a scary proposition.

As I’m sure you know - the Apple 12” CRT only does 512x384, so I’m not sure that’s your answer. This is why I have never gotten around to restoring my LC III — the natural-choice CRT for it, which looks perfect sitting on top of it, can’t run the majority of games from the era. 

 

[PotatoFi]

As I’m sure you know - the Apple 12” CRT only does 512x384, so I’m not sure that’s your answer. This is why I have never gotten around to restoring my LC III — the natural-choice CRT for it, which looks perfect sitting on top of it, can’t run the majority of games from the era. 

Yeah, that's a good point. My issue right now is that I can't get 256 colors, because my monitor (and adapter) only support 640x480. So if I can get a 12" CRT, 512x384, and 256 colors, I'll be a totally happy camper.

 

[PotatoFi]

Great news!



As you can see, the kids have already commandeered the LCII to play SimCity 2000 on it. Which runs absolutely horrible, by the way... but they don't know that.

As for the 12" RGB monitor, I found it on eBay. Condition was "as-is, not working". Green LED came on but no picture. $30 offer accepted, plus $40 shipping. I asked the seller to package is extra-well, and they totally delivered. I was shocked at the amount of effort they put in. So... I gotta take it apart to retrobrite at some point but I'll probably wait awhile. I'm a bit burned out on retrobriting everything at the moment.

 

[dzog]

Yay, congrats on the LC topper! Sellers who care truly make the world a better place. 

 

[bibilit]

Green LED came on but no picture

So was fixed in the end ? what was the issue ??

 

[PotatoFi]

So was fixed in the end ? what was the issue ??

It was advertised in "as-is, not working" condition, with the symptom being "green LED, no picture". As I suspected, all it needed was to be plugged into a Mac!

 

[bibilit]

Great !!

i love my own LC topper, probably the only CRT I have kept. 

One cap on those is known to go bad often. 

 

[CC_333]

I have an LC topper (12" 512x384), with an LC (or LC II) to match, and it doesn't work (the CRT is dead, and so is the LC to which it belongs).  I hope it's a simple fix, because it's in fairly nice condition.

c

 

[CC_333]

I have an LC topper (12" 512x384), with an LC (or LC II) to match, and it doesn't work (the CRT is dead, and so is the LC to which it belongs).  I hope it's a simple fix, because it's in fairly nice condition.

c

 

[PotatoFi]

I have an LC topper (12" 512x384), with an LC (or LC II) to match, and it doesn't work (the CRT is dead, and so is the LC to which it belongs).  I hope it's a simple fix, because it's in fairly nice condition.

c

Worst-case scenario, you find one with a cracked/broken case, and swap everything over!

 

[zackl]

@PotatoFi - the quality of this post is ridiculous! I wish there was a big enough 68k audience to get you an ad supported full time YouTube position or similar! Fantastic writing and documentation, please keep it up. Pushing in my request for an 840av restoration next on your list

 

[PotatoFi]

@PotatoFi - the quality of this post is ridiculous! I wish there was a big enough 68k audience to get you an ad supported full time YouTube position or similar! Fantastic writing and documentation, please keep it up. Pushing in my request for an 840av restoration next on your list

Thanks! I have dabbled with recording some of my restoration work... so I have footage of a few of my projects, but I've had a hard time finding the time/energy to get them edited into actual videos. I am thinking about live-streaming some of my restoration projects, we'll see.

As for the 840av, bring it on! The most challenging part, of course, is tracking one down.