Mac lovers don't look...but I was desperate!

[genie_mac]

Or what to do when you really, really want a Compact...

When I got into vintage Macs I quickly realised that I really wanted a Compact Mac. For me the Plus is the ultimate in retro: looks nearly like a 128 but has SCSI and can have enough RAM to run pretty much anything vintage.

So I went looking for a compact...after a couple of weeks without any luck I started to get desperate...there was only one thing to do: build my own.

But now I finally got a real Plus (thanks to Mcdermd!) and few other compacts so I guess it's time to retire my Macindos.

Original

Macindos (not the software for Pc's!) was made from stuff I had lying around. MicroATX mobo, 7" Liliput VGA LCD, 1.44Mb floppy drive, compact flash to IDE as harddrive etc. And a sheet of Perspex (plexiglass).The back cover is unpainted so you can see what kind of mess the inside is .

I tried to keep the proportions of a real Compact which wasn't easy as the LCD is widescreen and totally messes up the look of the original. Another problem was that the last time I had actually used a Compact was 20 years ago and all I had were pictures.

Original

One cool thing about this is the amount of OS's I can run on this thing: obviously the main purpose is to run Mac emulation in the form of mini vMac from Dos but as I love old OS's I've run Win1.0/2.0/3.0/3.11, OS/2, NextStep, GEM, GEOS and others natively.

Original

Also pretty handy for running classic Dos games.

Original

Although I have to say that when I finally got my first Compact, I was pretty disappointed with my effort; the real deal looks just so right and so much better!

I guess I could always try to sell as a rare Mac prototype...well not to someone from this forum though

 

[mcdermd]

It looks pretty good but it should look more like a Porsche.

 

[Macdrone]

That is an awesome Mac hand down. I wish I had that kind of innovation.

 

[James1095]

LOL that's kinda cute in its own way.

I've also been dismayed at the lack of selection of small, reasonably high quality 4:3 LCDs. All the decent stuff is widescreen while all the retro stuff I'm into is 4:3.

 

[genie_mac]

Interesting story Mcdermd, and you're right. Mine looks more like a Volvo!

It is indeed a shame that 4:3 LCDs are so rare. Most old software doesn't support widescreen resolutions which usually results in poor quality when the image is scaled to the LCD'S native resolution.

 

[Gorgonops]

more like a Porsche.

Somehow, being a little bit of a car nerd, I'm amused by the fact that Jobs was driving a 928 when he said that. (The 928 being possibly the least Porsche-ish Porsche the company has ever produced.

Interesting story Mcdermd, and you're right. Mine looks more like a Volvo!

Considering what you were working with I honestly think you did a pretty good job, although you know what the PC-style floppy drive makes me think of? The first ever Macintosh knockoff!

There are small 4:3 LCDs still floating around out there (and it's still possible to piece one together from parts, if all else fails), but you're right that the selection is lacking and if you do find one you'll probably pay through the nose for it. The thought of stuffing a PC into an empty Commodore PET case I have lying around has crossed my mind several times but I've been put off every time I investigate my options for a monitor that'll fit in place of the original 9" tube.

 

[Paralel]

I give you credit, very innovative. Really not a bad little system, given the limitations you were working with.

What did you paint it with to get it that color? House paint?

 

[Bunsen]

small, reasonably high quality 4:3 LCDs

They're out there if you know where to look.

(BTW, any additions to that thread are most welcome)

 

[genie_mac]

This was painted using ordinary acrylic spray paint. Plastic primer first, then the inside was sprayed matt black. The outside then received 5-6 coats of a satin finish beige colour. Paint was what I spend most (all) money on

 

[cb88]

Just saw this on hackaday someone had 1/3rd of your idea ;-) : http://hackaday.com/2013/08/28/a-one-third-scale-macintosh/

I like yours better though since it can run DOS etc... natively and has a bigger screen. Also... personally I'd boot directly into minivmac.. I imagine this can be done through quite easily with .xinitrc

It might be nice if you could have a GPIO button.. maped to switch between 2 X11 sessions on separate VTs one with a normal desktop the other just running mini vMac. Or maybe a special setup with wayland..... since that seems more likely that good VT switching support (no idea I don't have a Pi but I ran Gentoo on a Pandaboard for awhile)

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

I had the same awesome/awful reaction mix to your hack as did our resident Snarkasaur, fab hack nonetheless. I'm leaning more to the awesome side as well now that it's grown on me a bit.

That 1/3 scale hack is very cool, if a bit too small to have the SD card plug into the FDD slot. In my estimation, that feature would have been well worth upping the hack to 1/2 scale, given availability of a suitable LCD.

 

[genie_mac]

Yeah I really like that 1/3 scale hack too. Pity the screen is so low res, just check out the pix full size. Doesn't really look great but nice hack all the same.

 

[Bunsen]

I was surprised by how readable the screen was, tbh.

BTW, I kind of adore your faux-Mac, genie_mac. It looks like there is already a cut-out for a 4:3 LCD, which has been filled for the widescreen. Is that right?

 

[genie_mac]

Unforunately not, Bunsen. The cut-out was made to fit the Liliput 619GL 7" widescreen LCD. I think what you see is the homemade bezel as the Liliput has a strange, non rectangular shape. Foresight didn't come in to it