Just got a Macintosh 512k and I have some questions

[DistantStar001]

As the title says, I recently got an 'original' Macintosh 512k in pretty good condition, including a mouse and keyboard. The floppy drive has been updated to an 800k and after replacing that infamous gear, it both reads and ejects disks properly. Beyond that, I've replaced the RIFA and reflowed the connector on the analog board. I still have to find some replacement feet (deteriorated to goo) but beyond that, everything seems to work.

My questions are as follows:

1) What options do I have for a "hard drive"? Yes, the floppy drive works, but I don't want to rely on it.

2) I understand a Gotek adaptor now works for the Apple II. Will it work for a Mac as well? Again, 800k floppies are hard to find, and I would like to minimize wear and tear on the drive.

2) This is a bit of an odd one, but it came with a case. It's clean enough on the inside, but the out is another story. Any cleaning suggestions?

 

[dochilli]

1) The best option would be the floppyemu which can emulate a HD20 and a floppy drive. It uses a micro sd card. The 512 has no scsi, so you can not use a bluescsi or something else. Or you buy or build a tashtwenty which emulates a HD20.

 

[cheesestraws]

1) What options do I have for a "hard drive"? Yes, the floppy drive works, but I don't want to rely on it.

Is it a 512k or a 512ke? Either way, you have to use something HD20-like, there is no SCSI on the 512k hardware. If you have a 512k*e*, the driver for the HD20 is in ROM. If you have a 512k, it isn't, and you'll have to boot initially from the HD20 boot disc.

The Floppy Emu can emulate both an HD20 and a floppy drive, but not both at once. Tash20-based devices are both cheaper and simpler, and emulate hard discs only. Based on your point (2), I would probably recommend you get a tash20-based thingy for use as a hard disc emulator and a floppy emu for floppy emulation. Because:

2) I understand a Gotek adaptor now works for the Apple II. Will it work for a Mac as well? Again, 800k floppies are hard to find, and I would like to minimize wear and tear on the drive.

Goteks don't support Macs, because of the slightly odd way that Mac floppy drives work. At present the only option as far as I know is the Floppy Emu from @bigmessowires. IMO, the Floppy Emu is an excellent piece of engineering (I have no interest in it besides being a very happy customer). I love mine.

The problem is that you would have to get two floppy emus to both emulate an HD and a FDD at the same time - and it'll probably be cheaper and easier to get a tash20 thingy for HD emulation.

2) This is a bit of an odd one, but it came with a case. It's clean enough on the inside, but the out is another story. Any cleaning suggestions?

For all my compacts, I removed all the bits from the case and threw the plastic case parts in the bath with a load of washing up liquid, and cleaned with a sponge. If you don't want to take the whole thing to bits, I'd suggest washing the back case separately, then cleaning the front with a damp sponge and some washing up liquid, being careful not to get it too wet. But you don't need to be too careful with them, the compact cases are pretty robust and easy to clean.

 

[jmacz]

If your intent is to stay as original as possible, working HD20s can still be found surprisingly. Mine still works well and is connected to my 512K. Had a second but sold it to a forum member.

Otherwise, what the other folks already said: floppyemu or tash20 or both.

 

[Joopmac]

if read only is sufficient I would recommend a rominator II =)

 

[cheesestraws]

If your intent is to stay as original as possible, working HD20s can still be found surprisingly. Mine still works well and is connected to my 512K.

This is also true; HD20s seem to be pretty robust.

 

[Snipey]

2) This is a bit of an odd one, but it came with a case. It's clean enough on the inside, but the out is another story. Any cleaning suggestions?

In addition to Cheesestraws reply; cleaner with active Oxigen works like a charm! I disassembled my compact Macs to the bare plastic parts. Then I immersed the parts fully in a plastic container filled with warm water with Active-oxigen-cleaner (different brand names depending on where you live), I let the cleaner do its work for an hour or so, then cleaned some remaining spots with a brush or cloth. Rinse with clear water and voila: as clean as it can get.

Although this is NOT a retro-bright treatment; in my case it removed a lot of 'yellowing' nevertheless.

If you don't want to disassemble, I guess it could still work but you may need some more scrubbing to do.

Be cautious with the small apple-logo though; do not brush it too hard else you may scratch the paint...

 

[robin-fo]

Although this is NOT a retro-bright treatment; in my case it removed a lot of 'yellowing' nevertheless.

Isn‘t active oxygen what actually does the retrobrighting?

 

[volvo242gt]

I think they're referring to a carrying bag, not the machine itself.

 

[LaPorta]

Another point: if this was really a straight 512k, and you stated that you "upgraded" it to an 800k drive, then you need a 512ke ROM to make it function as an 800k drive. Just swapping in the drive is insufficient.

...or, since it was unclear, did someone else previously upgrade it to 800k?

 

[DistantStar001]

Another point: if this was really a straight 512k, and you stated that you "upgraded" it to an 800k drive, then you need a 512ke ROM to make it function as an 800k drive. Just swapping in the drive is insufficient.

...or, since it was unclear, did someone else previously upgrade it to 800k?

Someone else did. The ROMs are socketed on the motherboard and the computer reported a little over 700k free on the boot disk that came with it, so likely a 512ke ROM.

I think they're referring to a carrying bag, not the machine itself.

Yes! Sorry for the confusion. I'm not sure what the original color should be, but it has an Apple logo embroidered on the front. I'll post a picture when I get a chance.

Or you buy or build a tashtwenty which emulates a HD20.

Tash20-based devices are both cheaper and simpler, and emulate hard discs only. Based on your point (2), I would probably recommend you get a tash20-based thingy for use as a hard disc emulator and a floppy emu for floppy emulation.

Never heard of this before. But I'm very interested. I tried Googling, but the only place that had them was a site called ko-fi. Never heard of them so are they reliable? Or are there other venders I should be looking at?

 

[Mk.558]

The easiest way of finding out if it's a 512K or 512Ke is chose About the Finder from the Apple menu. In the lower left it should say either:

512K
512K.

If it's got the period at the end, it's a 512Ke.

800K disks are the same thing as 720K PC double-sided, double-density disks. They're still found on the ebay and other places. 400K is the same disk again, just uses one side. High Density 1.44MB disks are different.

If you have some kind of emulated HD20, you won't need more than one floppy drive to be honest. Even on later Macs like the SE/30, the need for a second FDD is rare, but handy (i.e. IIfx). If you don't have a HD20, you will want a second FDD otherwise life is not pleasant because the 512K doesn't really have enough memory for a generous RAM disk like the Mac Plus does.

 

[mdeverhart]

Never heard of this before. But I'm very interested. I tried Googling, but the only place that had them was a site called ko-fi. Never heard of them so are they reliable? Or are there other venders I should be looking at?

The TashTwenty was created by @Tashtari, as documented in this thread:

TashTwenty: Single-Chip DCD (Hard Disk 20) Interface

Somebody stop me. Introducing... TashTwenty! Elevator Pitch It's a DCD (the interface used by the Hard Disk 20 to plug in through the disk port) interface, contained entirely within a PIC16F1825 (14 pins, ~$1.70) microcontroller. It bit-bangs the low-level IWM protocol using the read/write...

68kmla.org

Ko-Fi is the platform Tash uses to sell his projects, here’s his shop link: https://ko-fi.com/tashtari/shop

 

[Tashtari]

All known TashTwenty-based products and where to get them are listed on the project's github: https://github.com/lampmerchant/tashtwenty#pcbs-and-products

Not to dissuade you from buying from me, but to do so is a bit DIY at the moment. =) I only have naked PCBs and programmed chips for sale at the moment, everything else is out of stock. If you want a ready-built product, check out CayMac Vintage, they have two versions of it available.

 

[Snipey]

Isn‘t active oxygen what actually does the retrobrighting?

No, it is not.

Retrobright is a hydrogen peroxide-based process, accelarated by exposure to UV light.
It is a next-step on top of cleaning (with or without active oxigen).

Check You-Tube; lots of information available on retro-brighting. But I recommend to start with a good clean first.

 

[cheesestraws]

Active oxygen is the oxygen in a peroxide, isn't it?

Though yes, washing in a peroxide solution and soaking in it for a long period are two different things.

 

[DistantStar001]

Sorry I've been away from this, but… well… life.

In any case, I finally got my TashTwenty! Had to disable almost all of the extensions on it, but it works with my 512k (which I'm guessing was upgraded to a 512ke) so I'm happy. However it does keep asking me to reformat a disk. I think there's a second partition. Also, the main boot partition is reporting roughly 200MB as opposed to the 20MB I was expecting. Again, it works, so I'm not complaining. Just not sure what I'm going to do with 200MB on a 512k machine?

As for the case, here are the pictures I had been meaning to post:



As you can see, it's pretty dirty. So any advice on how to clean this thing would be appreciated. Who knows, if I can get the bag presentable, maybe I'll take this thing to the Apple Store and complain about the WiFi!

Okay, probably not. But a coffee shop or my campus library isn't out of the question. Wonder if I can hitch a ride in a DeLorean just to sell the look?

 

[Tashtari]

works with my 512k (which I'm guessing was upgraded to a 512ke)

Glad to hear it's working! If it's booting off your TashTwenty, it's been upgraded to a 512ke, the 512k-without-the-e requires a floppy.

it does keep asking me to reformat a disk

boot partition is reporting roughly 200MB

Not sure what CayMac is providing on their SD cards (assuming you're using the one that it came with) but it certainly could have two partitions, with the second being unformatted.

 

[olePigeon]

@DistantStar001 If you still want to add SCSI to your 512K (or 128K or additional SCSI for Plus), you need one of the SCSI cards that sandwiched onto the ROMs. You already have the Plus ROMs installed, which is 1/2 way there.



A LOT of different companies made one or cloned it. It was a relatively common upgrade. I think someone on here cloned it already. I just can't remember who. If we can't track down the cloned card, at least you know what to look for.

Many of them had a cable that snaked out the battery compartment and screwed in there, replacing the port cover for the battery and providing an external SCSI connector.