Recent content by zeem

I use hfsutils on my Ubuntu Linux machines to format and copy things onto 1.44MB HFS disks. It even decodes .bin and .hqx files as it copies them. You can network your machines together very easily with a Localtalk network - this links the machines by their serial ports. With the right...

My IIci's internal video works perfectly with the Philips 170B4 LCD screen in my kitchen, even though the screen won't work with the Nubus video card installed in the machine.

I use a rubberised plastic pen barrel, something like a Paper Mate, with the bit pushed very hard into the open end. This works well because the plastic's not the kind that can shatter. I had to shave it down slightly because the Torx bit made the end of the pen flare out so it wouldn't fit the...

This may well be the class X2 filter capacitors on the analogue board. These explode and produce smoke quite easily when they're old, but 1) they're not an essential part of the power supply, so the unit will continue to function perfectly in that condition, and 2) it's perfectly safe to do so...

I found this one for parts: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200255266574 Look at the price! 8-o I bought the one that I broke for £5 off eBay - that works out as $7.12! I might have found a couple of places to get one from - just waiting for a price on one of them...

Not on the 190 or the 5300, the socket is soldered directly to the logic board. A very common failure is loose solder joints causing a lack of power. I've had to resolder my 190 and all three of my 5300s. The 5300's got a separate DC power module that connects the battery to the logic board, in...

You might be thinking of 19 volts. Watts (power) is a function of voltage (fixed by the adapter) and current - of which any attached device will draw only the amount it needs. The wattage rating of an adapter is the maximum it's rated for without overheating or failing, not any kind of amount...

Today I picked up a faulty Powerbook 180c that I won on eBay. I got it running fairly quickly, then shortly after broke the screen cable :'( I was fixing some cracked plastics and was trying to investigate the loose screen hinges. Does anyone have a PB 180c screen cable that they are...

This might be a bit of a long shot, but does anyone have a spare SE/30 logic board that's not going to be too expensive to post to the UK? I bought one cheap off eBay, collected it in person from 120 miles away, got it home - and it had the nipple broken off the back of the CRT, and the PRAM...

It's a trivial matter to swap over the CRT yoke assembly between the two tubes. I've just done this with a Classic II tube put into an SE/30, it works fine. The yoke's held on with a single screw clamp, and can be gently slid off once this is loosened. That picture looks a little bit like the...

Just an update with something interesting I've found. After finding some old system files in a folder on a 40MB hard drive attached to another Plus, I made up a floppy to try out this old software (I've never run anything earlier than 6 before). Randomly, I decided to try this disk in the faulty...

It's not the analogue board, because this faulty logic board started off in another Plus. I swapped the boards over and the fault moved with it. The Plus that this board came out of is now working perfectly. The analogue board in this one needs some work anyway, because of the pulsing video...

I once saved a program from an IBM PC 5150's ROM BASIC onto cassette, loaded it back in, then listened to the recording. This was just so I could say that I've loaded an IBM PC program from a tape. I once had a mint, boxed four-colour pen plotter for the Aquarius! I never used it though...

The mains RFI filter capacitor has exploded, caused by a period of disuse. The component is completely non-essential to the unit's operation, and you can safely continue to use it in its present condition. The only thing is that the capacitor ejects a load of gunk over the circuit board when it...

I'm trying to work out what might be wrong with my third Plus, which is now made out of the 'worst' bits now I've swapped everything round to make two other 'nice' ones. It starts to boot from the floppy, but it never gets past the "Welcome to Macintosh" banner, it just stops. The disk and...