Boxed PB 2400c/240 - 56K Warning

[Charadis]

Quite possibly the last vintage Mac I plan to collect. I've been looking for a boxed 2400c/240 for a little while; it has only become my Holy Grail after I acquired my 550c. So, for me, a significant conquest. 

Final Bid price: 30,500 yen (272.99 USD current)

Shipping/Fees charge: 14,192 yen (127.03 USD current)

Auction Linky

I found this set on Yahoo! Auctions Japan late February. I also bought an extra set of restore software about the same time, and had them consolidate shipping, so you'll see the software actually shrinkwrapped with the computer box in the pic. Finally received today, since I postponed the shipment with FromJapan until after I returned from my trip to Europe. 







The main unit has an English keyboard installed, but the previous owner included the original Japanese keyboard. 



Something weird with the screen, like many examples of PowerBooks I've observed seem to develop these strange aberrations over time.

There is also a faux-leather skin installed on the palm rest, mouse key...and that's it. 



Very clean unit, almost museum quality (in my personal, non-expert opinion. With exception to the LCD, of course). 



I haven't tried powering on the computer, yet. I'd like to remove the PRAM battery before I do, and that will take an afternoon. 







Warranty papers included. Serial matching box and paperwork. 



The 64MB RAM isn't inside the box, it is empty. 



Apple stickers! Where should I stick these? 

 

[jessenator]

That is beautiful!

Very nice score there.

 

[Charadis]

That is beautiful!

Very nice score there.

Thank you! I'm pretty excited to start taking it apart  

 

[Huxley]

Wow, this is fantastic! The 2400/240 is in my very short list of remaining "Holy Grail" machines too, so I'm both happy for you and a little jealous too

Please keep us updated as you get that PRAM battery extracted and boot her up!

 

[Franklinstein]

There's a section in the PowerBook 2400c Perfect Guide dedicated to case mods and one is basically to do a vinyl wrap. Another is the faux leather. I think it's supposed to add an "upscale" look and feel to it, same as putting a US keyboard on it. 

Supposedly for a while the people in Japan with too much money would buy a USDM Acura NSX and re-import it to Japan. Apparently being left-hand drive and with the Acura badge instead of Honda got you major points in... whatever scene was into that. I dunno. I guess my point is: there's no accounting for taste. 

 

[Charadis]

Wow, this is fantastic! The 2400/240 is in my very short list of remaining "Holy Grail" machines too, so I'm both happy for you and a little jealous too

Please keep us updated as you get that PRAM battery extracted and boot her up!

Hehe, thank ya! They pop up every now and then. There were a couple of complete in box 2400c/240 sets that showed up earlier on Yahoo! that I passed up. Keep the good hunt!    

There's a section in the PowerBook 2400c Perfect Guide dedicated to case mods and one is basically to do a vinyl wrap. Another is the faux leather. I think it's supposed to add an "upscale" look and feel to it, same as putting a US keyboard on it. 

Supposedly for a while the people in Japan with too much money would buy a USDM Acura NSX and re-import it to Japan. Apparently being left-hand drive and with the Acura badge instead of Honda got you major points in... whatever scene was into that. I dunno. I guess my point is: there's no accounting for taste. 

I'm actually very curious about this book now. I originally wanted to remove the skins as I don't like using electronics with skins that have absorbed someone else's oil, dirt, etc. I'm contemplating on keeping it on now as it does look kinda cool on the system. 

I came back to my place around 7pm last night, and almost immediately, started working on getting my new toy up and running. Again, my first order of business was removing the PRAM battery before I even attempt to plug the system in and powering it on. 

I've taken apart 2400c computers before, so I tried to go by as much memory on taking this one apart, and it was a fairly straight-forward process. If there weren't so many fuses stuck on the logic board of this sucker, I would feel a whole lot more comfortable tearing it down to the bare. 



It's nice to know that the 64MB stick that came from the empty box in the set is already installed. Making a total 80MB of RAM



I took extreme taking each piece apart. It was actually a very fun experience remembering what part comes next, etc. 



I finally got to see the extent of the damage that the PRAM battery caused. There was a lot of leakage, even on to the casing



I was afraid the battery would affect vital parts of the computer, but Apple was smart in the placement of the battery underneath casing



The most frustrating part of the cleaning/removal was at the connector. It cased a bit of corrosion there, so it was stuck



Some gentle force caused the leads to make a clean break from the solder pads, so that was not damaged. But connector is still stuck 



I just cleaned the connect area the best I could, and will likely donor a part from a spare logic board from another 2400c. Here, a shot of the 240



When I finally put the computer together to start it up and see what damage I've done, I was surprised that it "bonged" and booted. But the screen backlight does not work. I was afraid a fuse on the board that was in the path of powering the backlight might have been damaged



But after swapping a donor LCD screen from a 2400c parts machine, it was clear that the LCD was the issue, and the logic board was fine



Finally, I verified the specifications on the system before calling it a night. I will continue next with swapping the LCD into the 240 housing since it is in better shape. And I gotta have that 2400c/240 badge.  



Until next time..

 

[Byrd]

Another one saved, Charidis   Nice work.  I've been trying to restore a 2400c with NewerTech G3 for some time, there appears to be an issue with either the G3 or motherboard.   The cache goes missing on boot but it appears positioning the G3 CPU in a certain way makes it better.  Like you I've become an expert at taking a 2400c apart quickly, I notice yours has thermal pads on most big ICs and mine lacks all of them apart from the G3 CPU.

Noting your love of Japanese notebooks (and subnotebooks) ... have you cast your eye to the evil world of x86 and seen an IBM PC110 PalmTop?  It's a ridiculous machine, but such a great collectable.  I bought one a while back locally and it's one of my favourite machines alongside my Apple portables.

JB

 

[Franklinstein]

IBM Japan designed and built the 2400c so thank (or curse) them for most design choices. However Apple negated some of their better choices: IBM designed and built it to use CardBus but Apple said to disable it. They designed it to use up to 2MB VRAM but again Apple didn't want competition for the 3400 (and/or to expend the effort to reprogram the ROM for it) so they said no on that, too; you get 1MB. 

You actually have the black version of the Yu-plan aftermarket keyboard on yours, too. You'll notice the Caps Lock key is in the bottom left corner instead of left of home row like the OE US keyboard, in addition to the extra Cmd key. Also the Caps Lock LED should be a bright blue instead of the typical green. Key feel is very different compared to the OE keyboard, a little stiffer. Im not sure which one I prefer. 

 

[Franklinstein]

[...] I notice yours has thermal pads on most big ICs and mine lacks all of them apart from the G3 CPU.

The additional thermal pads were factory fit on the 240MHz version; the 180 didn't get them. Adding them is another subject in the aforementioned Perfect Guide. 

 

[Byrd]

The additional thermal pads were factory fit on the 240MHz version; the 180 didn't get them. Adding them is another subject in the aforementioned Perfect Guide. 

I see; that'd be a worthwhile addition.  Nice pickup on the Yu-plan keyboard; I've a green translucent one with what appears to be the wrong font used.  Could be an early revision, certainly the slightly bigger keys are useful.

 

[Charadis]

Another one saved, Charidis   Nice work.  I've been trying to restore a 2400c with NewerTech G3 for some time, there appears to be an issue with either the G3 or motherboard.   The cache goes missing on boot but it appears positioning the G3 CPU in a certain way makes it better.  Like you I've become an expert at taking a 2400c apart quickly, I notice yours has thermal pads on most big ICs and mine lacks all of them apart from the G3 CPU.

Noting your love of Japanese notebooks (and subnotebooks) ... have you cast your eye to the evil world of x86 and seen an IBM PC110 PalmTop?  It's a ridiculous machine, but such a great collectable.  I bought one a while back locally and it's one of my favourite machines alongside my Apple portables.

JB

Thank you, @Byrd ! I think the work put into the repair kind of personalizes the unit, kinda like a mark of pride. As long as I can fix it (I’ve run into Macs I could not repair, and I lose a lot of motivation from it. Like I rethink if i should even collect this model at all. It’s very discouraging). 

Strange, could your issue have anything to do with any of the fuses on the logic board? Have you tried swapping the daughtercard to rule out any issue with the G3 board? 

I really havent been keeping up with the x86 scene, but since you mentioned it, I started researching this pc110. It’s a pudgy little bugger  But now, you’ve piqued my interest! 

The one PC that I’ve always had a special place in my heart was Sony’s Vaio PictureBook series, specifically the C1Mxx generation. If I ever find a complete in box, mint, unaltered C1MZX, I would snap it up for the right price. Too slow for any kind of practical use today, but beautifully designed.  

IBM Japan designed and built the 2400c so thank (or curse) them for most design choices. However Apple negated some of their better choices: IBM designed and built it to use CardBus but Apple said to disable it. They designed it to use up to 2MB VRAM but again Apple didn't want competition for the 3400 (and/or to expend the effort to reprogram the ROM for it) so they said no on that, too; you get 1MB. 

You actually have the black version of the Yu-plan aftermarket keyboard on yours, too. You'll notice the Caps Lock key is in the bottom left corner instead of left of home row like the OE US keyboard, in addition to the extra Cmd key. Also the Caps Lock LED should be a bright blue instead of the typical green. Key feel is very different compared to the OE keyboard, a little stiffer. Im not sure which one I prefer. 

Sounds like the 2400c had so much more potential. 

I had only only learned about the Yu-plan keyboard recently, are not very common? I noticed it was an aftermarket as the design is definitely different from the US 2400c keyboard. And you’re right, the Caps lock led glows blue, which is kinda cool. I didn’t realize about the key placement until I searched for it. I like the firmness of the keys, it’s fun to type on! Although, I do find myself missing letters and keys due to the small size. 

The additional thermal pads were factory fit on the 240MHz version; the 180 didn't get them. Adding them is another subject in the aforementioned Perfect Guide. 

Interesting, my spare parts imported 2400c has thermal pads on the chips. I’m guessing the previous owner must have swapped the logic board out due to bad fuse as that was the issue when I received it, and it currently has a 180MHz daughtercard residing in it. Suffice to say, I never fully repaired it, and most of the SMD fuses have been removed from the board now. Also, I kinda ripped the PRAM battery connector from it recently, and ripped the pads up in the process    

 

[EvieSigma]

I'd like to have a 2400c but it seems like even getting a loose 2400c/180 is an expensive prospect...

 

[Charadis]

I'd like to have a 2400c but it seems like even getting a loose 2400c/180 is an expensive prospect...

They have been expensive for a while, but recently, some of the prices on eBay have ended under 100 USD. This one ended at 48.90 plus 14.35 USD shipping

Back to the 2400c/240 restoration progress.  I took apart the parts unit LCD housing first to practice disassembly of the screen portion. It seemed relatively easy once I found out the two screws hidden behind the "Macintosh" and "PowerBook 2400c" product badges. The badges can pop off easily by using an Xacto knife to pry from the right or left side edge, and pulling up from the middle as it bows outward. Just put more emphasis on the side that is being pried up with the knife. 



There are tabs all over the back housing (top case) that hold the front bezel piece together. I used a plastic pry tool and started at the top edge, in the latch area, and pried around clockwise (I guess it doesn't really matter which way ya go. Just take it slow). 



To remove the screen from the back housing (top case), there are 6 screws holding it in place. There is one on each corner on the top, and two on each corner on the bottom. Disconnect the latch LED wire on the top of the board and the microphone on the left of the board. The whole assembly should lift out. 



Repeated the steps for the 2400c/240 bezel with malfunctioning LCD panel. This time, I was able to pry off the front bezel without popping out the copper piece and plastic brightness rocker, so I was able to observe how they are supposed to fit before reassembling the housing. 



Bezel with copper piece and brightness rocker in position 



There is no glue or adhesive holding the display in place. It all just lifts out once the 6 screws have been removed. 



Patient appears to be in stable condition so far. Let's continue... 



Nice to see you back, Mighty Cat.



Popped out two rubber plugs from a 3400c parts machine. It looks like the plugs from the 5300 series might also be the same size. 



Perfect fit. My 2400c is starting to look like a brand spanking not new unit. 



Next update, I will be replacing the hard drive with a larger capacity solid state drive. I'm thinking...64 Jiga bytes??  

Until next time..

 

[EvieSigma]

Thanks for that, I decided to create a saved search in case another one like that pops up!

 

[Charadis]

Thanks for that, I decided to create a saved search in case another one like that pops up!

Sure thing! Good luck! Great little machine 

 

[Charadis]

Japanese Quadra 700 arrived earlier this week, did not expect it to come in original box. Wish my proxy had double-boxed, but it seems to have survived the long trip. 











In the original Mercari ad, the seller showed that an error "bomb" message would display on boot. Do I spy an improperly installed memory module?? Hmm..



Successful removal of the PRAM battery! No signs of any leakage 



Even though no hard drive installed, I boot off the floppy drive after reseating the crooked memory module. No error messages. Looks to be working fine. 



20MB RAM installed. 







Surprised that the manual is in English. How could the Japanese people understand how to set up their computer?? There are plenty of pictures though! 







Overall, very happy with the whole system. Hope to get it up and working with a hard drive. I haven't entirely figured out what to do from here, though, since I didn't expect to pick up another Quadra 700 after selling the first one. 



That's it for now, until next loot haul 

 

[jessenator]

That's it for now, until next loot haul 

That is beautiful. packaging, literature, decals, etc. Looks fully loaded, too. 

 

[Charadis]

That is beautiful. packaging, literature, decals, etc. Looks fully loaded, too. 

Thank you, sir. Got it for a little more than 100 USD after proxy commission, etc. Plus shipping... forgot how much that cost (EMS, expedited). Original listing here: 

https://item.mercari.com/jp/m73297137440/

Also just ordered a Powerlogix BlueChip G4 upgrade for Mainstreet/WallStreet PowerBook G3 this morning, cost more than the whole Quadra 700 package.   Looks to be brand new though, but I won't know until a week or two. Original link here: 

https://item.mercari.com/jp/m60944812606/

 

[JRL]

Great scores! That 2400c is arguably nicer than my own boxed one.