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Just got my first 68k laptop. What do I need to know?

Good day.

I just got my first 68k laptop, a PowerBook 540c. Besides the horrible hinges, what other things should I look out for to fix? It's currently in working condition but should I be worrying about bad capacitors? Where do you source batteries for laptops this old?

Thanks!
 

Paralel

Well-known member
The central clutch cover loves to break off its clips, so do your best to remove it as carefully and as infrequently as you can. Same with the cover for the ports in the back, if yours still has one. The plastics in general suck, due to age, and like to shatter or break. So, generally, be as careful as is reasonable.

Caps aren't generally a problem with the blackbirds (the codename for the Powerbook 500 series). The rev A logic boards have a few, but to my knowledge, they don't tend to be problematic (yet...) The rev B logic boards replaced two of the three electrolytic capacitors with polymer caps, so that solved the majority of the potential risk. You might need to replace that one cap on the rev B. boards some day, but unlikely it is necessary now.

Regarding the hinges, it is possible to fix them, but it does require some unusual tools. You're better off just replacing them if you can.

NOS batteries for the blackbirds are unlikely to be in any better shape than used batteries at this point. However, they can be re-celled to function like new. You can likely find someone that can provide that service here or elsewhere if you ask around, unless you want to do it yourself. The major issue with these batteries is that they are "intelligent" batteries, which means they have a built-in BMS (Battery Management System) that communicates with the main system. It sounds like a good thing, and these days in modern implementation it is, but for these batteries the primitive BMS can be a potential source of serious issues when the batteries were new, let alone when they are re-celled. However, there are various ways to deal with this. If you want to try and do it yourself, the information is out there, and you can likely find someone here that can help. Although, honestly, this is a task better handled by someone with expertise in the matter. Generally you don't want to store any old batteries in the system that haven't been re-celled since they can and do leak, which can cause a significant amount of damage to the system.

The hard drives, given their age, might still work, but its only a matter of time until they fail. Laptop SCSI drives are somewhat difficult to find and not inexpensive if you do. Plus, they will eventually have the same problems as any mechanical drive and will fail. Some people love them for the authentic experience, personally I fail to see the allure for a blackbird as they are literally the one source of noise for the entire system. There are plenty of options for replacements these days. One is based off of SCSI to IDE drive adapters for mechanical drives which are much larger and newer but, as with all mechanical drives, they will eventually fail (as you might be able to tell, I have something of a bias against mechanical drives, even in vintage systems). These SCSI to IDE adapters can sometimes be used with compact flash memory, but it is hit and miss. There are some modern SSD SCSI drives out there that are compatible with these machines, but they are rare and typically expensive (unless you get lucky). There are a number of SCSI-SD projects in the community over the years that will allow for the use of an SD card of any number of flavors to be used as an internal drive replacement for the blackbirds. At this point they are generally very reasonably in price, stable, and easy to use. They are generally highly recommended as a replacement for a mechanical drive (and it makes the blackbird completely silent.)

You got rather lucky to get a completely intact system, as well as a working power supply together. Given the age of the power supplies, they do tend to fail. When this happens you generally have two options, chop off the end (since it is rather unique) and interface it to a new modern power supply as a substitute, which tends to work well, although some people have run into unexpected issues. The other alternative is to crack open the period-appropriate power supply (in a literal sense, they are ultrasonically welded shut, so there is no way to open them that doesn't involve literally cracking the plastic to open them. Apple apparently intended for people to replace them rather than repair them.) and replace the capacitors in them (and any other components that were damaged when the caps decided to drop dead). It generally isn't too difficult, and if you are handy with a soldering iron you can do it yourself, or it wouldn't be difficult to find someone in the community that can do it for a reasonable cost.

If you want to use Wi-Fi (limited to 802.11b and WEP or no encryption). you need what's known as a Rev. C card cage, which goes in the left hand (if you are facing the system) battery bay. The Rev C. card cage is the only one that can handle Wi-Fi. The Rev A & B card cages can't. The Rev. C card cages tend to be expensive and somewhat difficult to find. The card cages in general give you access to most Type I, II, & III PCMCIA cards made for Macs (don't confuse with Cardbus, this is strictly PCMCIA. Cardbus cards are not compatible with the blackbird PCMCIA card cage), with the Rev. C card cage giving the largest range of compatible cards.

The CPU exists on a daughtercard, which allows you to upgrade the CPU from a 68LC040 to a full 68040 (although this type of daughtercard is rare and typically expensive), or a PowerPC 603e CPU ranging in speed from 100 to 183 MHz. If you want to stick to Apple parts only, the only PowerPC upgrade available is the 100 MHz upgrade. The rest of the higher speed upgrades are from third party hardware companies. The most common upgrade is a third party PowerPC 603e 167 Mhz daughtercard.

If you really want to get deep into "optimizing" your system there are two different types of LCD's for the 540c, the Toshiba LCDs tend to have a lower dot pitch so the screen is seen as "sharper", which the Sharp LCD is generally seen as having better color reproduction. Swapping the LCD would allow you to choose which one meets your needs.

Generally they are fairly robust systems and are a joy to use. The blackbirds, especially the 540c, are arguably (since everyone has an opinion on this) the most versatile and useful of the 68k system ever released by Apple.

That's all that comes to mind at the moment.
 
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3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
Few extra notes:

Displays: the Toshiba display does not have any capacitors, but the Sharp panel has several. Mine has the Toshiba screen and it looks really good, Sharp will need to be recapped very soon I’d say. In general, these are 1994 capacitors, and 1993 caps leak bad. They should be replaced at this point, better safe then sorry.

If you’ve got a SCSI drive, the IBM brand ones are the most reliable, followed by Conner, followed by Quantum. The quantum drives are best avoided because they have rubber bumpers that go sticky and seize the drive heads. This can be repaired, but it’s easier to find a different brand drive.

The hinges can be fixed with 3D printed parts. You can print a new hinge mount piece, and new clutch cover clips. This should keep the hinges operational for a very long time. They’re now past the point where you just have to “be careful”. If you use them, they’ll break. Best to fix the existing plastics with reinforcement and 3D printed parts then to keep trying to source intact originals.

The power supply is the biggest electrical failure point on these. They’re awfully unreliable, most of the time due to bad caps. I’ve got two of them. One has leaky caps (they stink and the supply doesn’t work) and the other shuts off after a few minutes. You’ll need to recap it which unfortunately means busting the supply right open which damages the case.
They’re great systems to use though when properly maintained. Enjoy it!
 
Thanks @Paralel and @3lectr1cPPC. This is really helpful.

For the hinges I'm going with this method.

For the hard drive, I have a ZuluSCSI on order. http://zuluscsi.com/ That's pretty interesting in that you can present multiple image files on the SD card as a hard disk or CD-ROM drive all at the same time.

I have an original battery on order. I might try my luck with http://batteryrefill.com/ to have them rebuilt. Their site seem pretty dated, though, and it asks for address over an unencypted HTTP connection so IDK. I'd be open to other suggestions for companies.

Looks like I got luck on the power supply. It's not in the best shape but it hasn't been cracked open yet and does work reliably. For now, I'll be sure not to keep it plugged in when unattended.

The CPU I'll keep original. I got this to explore the 68k world. I'm full up on PowerPC stuff and that would just be more of the same. Still, it's a bummer not to have a FPU.

Very exciting to know about the PCMCIA and WiFi possibilities. I'll definitely give that a try. I'm also eager to find a good Ethernet transceiver for it..

I guess I only have two question left. What is a clutch cover? Do you know any solutions for restoring browned keyboard keys? Would that need something similar to retro-brighting?
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
1. Do not attempt to send anything to batteryrefil. From what I've heard, they shut down several years ago, yet their website remains up and it seems they will still take your money! When they were in operation, they apparently were horribly managed and would frequently lose batteries, along with apparently using an UNSHIELDED X-ray machine to check where components in the battery were located before they opened them, according to a claimed former employee. Stay away. I'd ask chansbattery.ca about rebuilding the pack. They're located in Canada, and seem to be a good place to go. However, they say on their website that they can't source cells for NiMH laptop batteries, which is odd because these just use AA rechargeable NiMH cells. I'd email them about it. Batteries+bulbs may be able to do it as well?

2. PSU will be fine until it isn't. Unplug it if it's not in active use powering the computer, leaving it plugged in will wear out the old caps faster. It probably won't explode though.

3. PCMCIA card cage is extremely rare. Only a couple show up a year on eBay and they go for hundreds, it just isn't realistic really.

Clutch cover is the cover at the bottom of the screen assembly that you have to remove to take it apart (as shown in Action Retro's great video on fixing the hinges on one of these). They have tiny fragile clips that love to break.

As for the keys, you can remove them easily and retrobrite them. There are plenty of tutorials on how to do the retrobrite process, just search for it. They keys can be removed using a spudger, they come off easy and the mechanism that holds the keys in place thankfully doesn't break easy.
 

Crutch

Well-known member
I'd ask chansbattery.ca about rebuilding the pack. They're located in Canada, and seem to be a good place to go. However, they say on their website that they can't source cells for NiMH laptop batteries, which is odd because these just use AA rechargeable NiMH cells. I'd email them about it. Batteries+bulbs may be able to do it as well?
I asked chansbattery.ca to rebuild a PB500 series battery back in 2020. They replied promptly to tell me no, they can’t do it.

I have yet to find anyone who can rebuild a PB500 battery. If anyone finds such an outfit, please share.
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
Did they give a reason? It's very possible, in fact, I'm going to be attempting to rebuild two packs myself. Getting the case open is a nightmare. I managed to get mine both open mostly intact after multiple hours of work and cursing. Inside you'll find an EMM board (the complex BMS), which attaches to a wide long ribbon cable that connects the terminals of the cells. There are 8 AA-sized NiMH rechargeable cells inside. Both my packs did charge up a bit, not enough to power the laptop, but enough to make the notoriously finicky EMM modules happy. I now just need to buy the new cells and solder them up (make sure you get tabbed ones if you don't have a spot welder) and I should have one working pack. One of my EMM ribbons and fuses got damaged by leakage, so I need to repair the ribbon and replace the fuse before I can build two packs. Most difficult part will likely be sourcing battery packs that haven't been absolutely wrecked and totaled by leakage. I got lucky with mine all things considered.

Anyways, if they don't source NiMH laptop cells (the reason they give on their site) then you could always ask if they could do it if you also sent in the cells you want used. I can't imagine any good reason why they wouldn't be able to rebuild them, seeing as most won't even need the BMS reprogrammed like lithium packs do.
 

3lectr1cPPC

Well-known member
Ah, well I can assure you that they use AA NiMH rechargeable flat-top cells. I'll bet they'd do the rebuild if you sent the new cells along with the pack.
 
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