Franken5x0c build - input?

[Anonymous Freak]

Alright, I have three PowerBook 500-series systems. All of them have *SOMETHING* "off" with them.

They are:

540c with some case damage, but perfect screen, no hard drive, only 4 MB RAM.

520c with PPC upgrade, but with screen that is WAY off on contrast (must turn contrast all the way down to see ANYTHING,) 12 MB RAM.

520c with 68k, 20 MB RAM. The only fully-functional one. But, of course, it's "meh", having the passive matrix screen and no PPC.

So, I figure I need to do some transplanting - obviously I want the better screen. I need to put a hard drive in it (I have a PCMCIA cage, and a 32MB PCMCIA flash card (yes, an honest-to-goodness full-size PCMCIA flash card, not an adapted CF card,) and I could swear I had a 500-series booting off it at one point, but now I can't get the 540c to boot from it.) And then I'll need to bump the RAM. But then the question is: Do I put the PPC in it? I have two rebuilt batteries, but haven't done any battery life testing - anyone know if the PPC 603e @ 133 MHz will absolutely kill battery life compared to the stock 68k? Then the final one will be to replace the case-damaged parts. (The top panel of the main section - aka the "wrist rest" area.)

Once I'm done, I'll have a pair of 520cs up for sale, in various states of usability.

 

[Byrd]

Sounds like you can make a real nice 540c ... with a load of rubbish left over Case plastics do vary in quality with these machines, some I've come across had quite brittle plastic that scratched easily while others had a much nicer, satin-like feel. Could be overuse too, or UV damage on the plastics.

Where did you get your batteries rebuilt, are you sure they still work? 5x0 machines are the pickest out of all portable Macs in getting batteries to work, so I'd just put in the PPC upgrade as chances are the batteries won't be that useful anyway in a couple of years.

When disassembling, if you need to remove it, be careful with the removable bezel just below the LCD - the clips crack easily if you aren't super careful with them. Have fun lining up the &%$#@ floppy drive and the heatsink - I always put these in incorrectly when taking apart a 5x0.

Good luck restoring, post pics!

JB

 

[Anonymous Freak]

The batteries were rebuilt in 2010, tested and they still work fine.

On one of the 520c's, that little bezel bit is already broken. Thanks for the warnings on the floppy and heatsink!

I'll fully photo (maybe also video) document it.

 

[gobabushka]

Ok, screen and motherboard from 540, and then PPC upgrade and memory from the 520's...win!

 

[Bunsen]

Aren't the 520 and 540 logics identical?

 

[Byrd]

Exactly the same, so go for the board that has no corrosion on the battery terminals Keep one board as spare.