mattsoft's IIfx

[mattsoft]

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled onto a big haul of Macs. Most of them were rusted through, but many were quite nice. In amongst them was a IIfx masquerading as a IIx. The case was horrible, but the motherboard looked nice. So I started searching for a replacement case and stumbled on a non-working (advertised as bad PSU) IIfx on eBay for $120 so I snagged it.

It arrive the other day and it did indeed not work. The case, however, was quite nice -- just a little yellowing. Replacing the batteries did not start it. So I replaced the 2 leaky SMD caps and still nothing. On further inspection, on the back of the board was a rotten trace. So I jumped it (on the front of the board) and she fired right up. The case is now chillin' in a some peroxide outside to take knock the yellow down just a notch. The motherboard, PSU, and floppy have been cleaned. Just waiting on that case!

The IIfx has 32MB of RAM and an Apple 8*24 graphics card. It also has a SuperMac video card that displays nothing; will figure out which model that is. It appears to have a regular old Mac video port but also an s-video (?) port.

Anyway, here are some lame pics of current status. With any luck, I'll get it put back together on Father's Day.

As for the other IIfx, the one from the haul, it was booting for awhile and now it is not. When it booted, it could only be booted using the rear power button. I was troubleshooting it earlier today and found a dead trace on the back and jumped it. Now it powers on from an ADB keyboard but there is still no "bong". I need to double-check the ROM SIMM and make sure it's clean, maybe something intermittent there? But I plan to keep searching... So weird because I can get it to boot every now and then. ERGH!

 

[trag]

Nice.  No real comments, but want to encourage you to keep posting progress reports.  I am enjoying reading about it.

 

[MrFahrenheit]

That board looks so clean!  I notice there are tantalum caps on there where electrolytic cans would normally be. Does it look like it was manufactured that way or do you think it was recapped?

 

[mattsoft]

Many IIfx's have tantalums instead of SMD electrolytic caps except for 2 near the power switch. This is one of those. I only had 2 replace the those 2 leaky caps and used yellow tantalums. The radial caps will get replaced too, but they don't appear to be leaky.

 

[ScutBoy]

Many IIfx's have tantalums instead of SMD electrolytic caps except for 2 near the power switch. This is one of those. I only had 2 replace the those 2 leaky caps and used yellow tantalums. The radial caps will get replaced too, but they don't appear to be leaky.

This was the same as my IIFX. Mine would power up OK, but not power off. Once I replaced those two electrolytics, the soft power off would work.

I haven't replaced the radials yet, either, but that's on the list.

Funny story - I replaced those two caps, and then put the batteries back in and hit the power. Nothing... I pulled the board again and double/triple checked all the traces, solder joints, etc. Nothing... Went to pull out the batteries and found that I had put one of them in backwards. Put it in the right way, and all was well

 

[Solvalou]

I only wish my IIfx I got several years ago was this good. Sadly as expected, it got double Maxell bombed. Only thing I ever salvaged was the CPU, FPU, PSU and the case. Board was totally written off. The latter 2 I still have somewhere in my Dad's loft. Probably end up selling them off since I don't ever see myself getting a working IIfx board.

Anyway, always nice to see one of these beasts up and running,.or atleast in good shape. Definitely worth the effort not restoring if feasible.

 

[olePigeon]

I have a working IIfx, but the case is in really bad shape. I'm on the lookout for a nice case.

 

[Solvalou]

I have a working IIfx, but the case is in really bad shape. I'm on the lookout for a nice case.

If you can hold on a while, you can have mine, aslong as you don't mind it being a bit yellow.

 

[mattsoft]

Retrobrite is almost done!

In the meantime, I cleaned the ROM SIMM on my non-functioning IIfx board and it now boots great consistently. Booyah! Additionally, I found a non-working Mac II with a nice case and have put 1 of the IIfx boards into the case. It's all cleaned up and working well. 

Going to go take the IIfx case out of the peroxide, rinse and dry it, and get this other IIfx put back together. 

 

[mattsoft]

The IIfx is out of the retrobrite and looks great.Here is a picture of the II case (with a stealthy IIfx mainboard) and the retrobrited IIfx case next to the slightly yellowed II. so the question, if I'm going to sell one and keep the other, which one to keep? decisions!

 

[jessenator]

Looks great!

 

[olePigeon]

If you can hold on a while, you can have mine, aslong as you don't mind it being a bit yellow.

Very generous of you, but I'm in the U.S.A.  That'd be really expensive to ship.

 

[olePigeon]

@mattsoft  Turned out great.

I bought a 2nd floppy drive kit for mine.  There's a guy on eBay called Mac Memories that sells them for not much.  Includes the metal tray + floppy cable + mounting screws.

 

[Solvalou]

Very generous of you, but I'm in the U.S.A.  That'd be really expensive to ship.

Probably, though USA -> UK seems to be steeper than vice-versa.

If you change your mind later down the line, just give me a shout. Though frankly, getting hold of anything old and computery, you're almost always better off over there, especially Mac stuff.

Best if luck regardless. 

 

[ArmorAlley]

View attachment 35009

The opposite of a tanning salon.