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Andy’s PowerBook Problem

AndyO

Well-known member
Apart from the melted rubber feet, it really shows no sign of age at all. For 25 years or so, I was expecting creaky hinges, loose keyboard, rickety casing, and some signs of corrosion, but I have HP laptops around the office bought in 2020 that look and feel worse. It is a remarkable system, and I can see why users tended to be enthusiastic about them.

It got a lot of attention on my workbench today!
 

AndyO

Well-known member
I think I discovered the reason my 180c screen was flickering. Unfortunately.

Having taken the front panel off the screen in order to repair the hinges - the plastics of which were in dire condition - the orange ribbon cable for the display fell apart at a crease across it where it had rested on the left-hand hinge. I can't tell for sure, but it looks like the cable must have part-fractured some time ago and have been held together by the hinge and panel pressing down on it. Looks like it was making contact, but not in one piece - and it's really brittle.

I think I read that these cables can't be repaired (and I can't see how it could be), but I need to look and see whether there are any replacements available. I suspect it's a bit late for an Apple Authorized Service repair.
 

AndyO

Well-known member
Oh, yes I'll dig it back out of my put-it-there-to-forget-about-it space, but the the cable just looks snapped straight across.

I'd look for a parts machine, but I'm getting wearing of the junk!
 

AndyO

Well-known member
This is the offending cable....

IMG_2749.jpg
It was of course tucked under that hinge part and through - just above the hinge pivot. Pretty sure it was cracked at least partly across from the right, and though my eyesight isn't so good these days, it looks like there was a tear at the right edge. It was very tightly tensioned though, and the right-hand standoff on this side was the only thing holding the screen on, so there was a fair bit of abnormal movement.

I guess I just ended up with a parts machine since I don't see a source of this cable anywhere. I will keep looking though.
 

AndyO

Well-known member
Hard to argue with the notion that some very poor mechanical design solutions went into these systems, but on, they are still such great examples of classic Apple products.

I didn't realize though that the hinges themselves are so stiff. Logic says they have to be to support the display, but it goes some way to explain why the plastics fail. Just have to take much greater care with them than I had thought. Foolishly, I had thought the 500-series and 190/5300 were the only ones to really worry about. Obviously not!

It does somewhat discourage me from investigating the hinge issues with my 1400c however.
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
The hinge mounts fail for a combination of three reasons:
1. Poor design from the beginning. All the stress from the hinges are put on the screw mounts, which will cause them to fracture more easily. Better designs use metal supports that go up the sides of the housing to take stress off of those areas. The standoffs themselves are also really weak design, the hinge fix parts show that Apple could have just put a solid block of plastic there which would have been more durable.

2. Hinges stiffening over time. Pretty simple, as the hinges get stiff, more stress is put on the mounts. Not all of them will get stiff, my 180c for example must have been stored well because they move freely. They can also be greased up to relieve the stiffness. My 145 was pretty stiff before I added lithium grease to the hinges. Now they're much better.

3. Brittle plastics. The plastic they used is super duper brittle now. Add the two above issues to the mix and you've got a recipe for disaster.

And as for which models have the problem, it's easier to write which ones don't:
- PowerBook 100
- PowerBook G3 Wallstreet and newer
- PowerBook 1400 series

And those last two have other problems unrelated to the standoffs. (1400 rear housing stress cracks, G3 Wallstreet/PDQ metal hinges themselves are weak and wear out very easily).

All other models are susceptible to broken hinge mounts, the 100, 500, and 190/5300 series being the worst offenders. Best course for fixing it is:

100 series: replace with 3D printed parts.
500 series: replace with 3D printed parts.
190/5300 series: reinforce with lots of epoxy
Duos (yep, them too): reinforce with lots of epoxy (TDNC showed a 3D printed part he made in his Duo video but didn't post the STL...)
1400: you're doomed
3400/G3 kanga: reinforce with lots of epoxy
 

AndyO

Well-known member
I will get some lithium grease and see if I can at least prevent the hinges on frequently used 100-series PBs from stiffening too much. That might help, though actually the ones I have seem reasonably OK, except for the 180c. The 170 is most used of them at present, and it feels reasonably good, but any preventative maintenance is better than none!

I've already broken hinges on my 190 and the less well cared for PDQ, and the 1400c is left permanently open - as is my 190cs - to avoid worsening hinges that are clearly going to fail soon if used, but I don't have much space to put open laptops to store them, so options are limited.

I never did like the 500-series, so those don't get used at all, but I do like the 3400 (I got one after reading about yours) though the screen is slightly floppy when open, so that needs looking at when I get to opening it up to snip the PRAM battery. The 2400 hinges seem fine though.

The Wallstreet and Lombards seem to have pretty solid hinges, as do all the newer models - even the TiBook's hinges are good, though the TiBook itself is basically deceased now.

All in all, maybe I've not done too badly for hinge issues, but maybe I should switch to desktop systems.... except for the plastics issues they all seem to have too!
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
but I do like the 3400 (I got one after reading about yours) though the screen is slightly floppy when open, so that needs looking at when I get to opening it up to snip the PRAM battery.
Getting it out only takes two minutes! Here's a quick tutorial I just put together.
Uncut, it's that quick!
 

CC_333

Well-known member
Reading these last few posts is getting me worried that when I unpack my old PowerBooks, their hinges will all have crumbled to dust!

They were all mostly okay when I put them away....

c
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
yeah they aren't doing too well anymore... My only 100 series PowerBook (besides the immune 100) that didn't have busted standoffs is my 180c, and it had the loosest hinges of them all go figure. You can mitigate the issue usually though, just takes a lot of sanding....
 

AndyO

Well-known member
Way off in the long grass of PowerBook addiction, I believe I have strayed. Indeed, badly.

My latest is at least still a Mac, but at 22 pounds, not one for the lap. It is in fact a G3/266, not in working condition, but which I am rather hopefull I can clean up and get into working condition. Not sure yet what it needs, and even whether it will get it, but it will make a rather good, if very delicate, foot stool if not.

I am not sure why I bought it, except that it seemed inexpensive. I don't need a replacement for my 630, but if I did, and this one simply needs a hard drive, then it'll be a good backup!
 
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