Outbound 125...

[james_w]

So I admit it, I was who bought the Outbound 125 that was on eBay. 

At $900 I probably paid far too much, but it's such a special machine after much deliberation with myself I couldn't resist... hopefully I've not made a huge mistake!  :O

 

[snuci]

If it makes you happy, good for you!  That's a special machine and one on my watch list.

Let's see some pics!

 

[aplmak]

I think it's great you got it!!!!! I recapped mine.... I did the small power supply in the bottom which was a pain in the ass to do.. Hard to remove and replace.. and of course the caps on the main board.. battery is easy to find.. it's an old camcorder type..

 

[james_w]

Ha thanks. The first thing I'll do when I get hold of it will be a proper clean up and recapping.

It'll probably arrive whilst I'm away so no pictures until at least November, sorry chaps.

 

[EvilCapitalist]

Look at it this way, when was the last time you saw one come up for auction (let alone in excellent working condition)? 

 

[unity]

They are neat machines. Dont forget that is needs a good keyboard battery to boot (I think PRAM too?). So if it ever fails too boot, thats why. And no, having the keyboard connected via cable is not a way to get around a bad battery. It needs them, period. I think two half AAs or something like that.

 

[aplmak]

Yes that is right.. The keyboard takes a little odd looking battery.. You can still buy them on fleebay... I forgot the exact model and voltage but I would place an order now for that battery and probably the main battery.. I forgot the model.. I'll look it up and if I can find it let you know.. When I got my Outbound Notebook I ordered the battery and they came in at the same time! Nothing like getting a new toy and no working batteries to power it up....

 

[unity]

Or if you have a Batteries Plus (and Bulbs) in your area, they have both at very, very reasonable prices. In fact I stopped buying on eBay and just buying batteries from them.

 

[james_w]

Oh nice, thanks for the tips guys.

I'm in the UK, and batteries like that aren't quite as easy to get hold of, but I'll order some in.

 

[james_w]

Oh and apparently the guy I bought it off is sending it Fedex and it could arrive next week!

 

[trag]

Keyboard works with a pair of easily found affordable 'n' size batteries in place of the original. Perfect fit and voltage.

 

[olePigeon]

I think you'll like the mouse bar.  I really liked it, when I was fiddling with an Outbound.  It's a pretty nifty design, I would never had thought to do something like that.

Also, I think the laptop uses standard camcorder batteries that you can still find online.  RadioShack used to sell new ones, maybe you can get a good deal on old RadioShack surplus.

 

[james_w]

Great thanks for the tips! I've gotten a new camcorder style battery but was having trouble with the keyboard battery

 

[james_w]

Oh I forgot to ask - does anyone have access to a manual? Ideally a PDF that they can send, but physical would be awesome too, that I could buy/borrow/scan.

Thanks!

 

[james_w]

Whilst researching this machine, I've found some fascinating articles, including these two reviews of it when it came out:

http://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/14/science/personal-computers-a-9-pound-mac-clone.html

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-08-05/business/9003050639_1_macintosh-clone-outbound-systems-portable

I need to find out what happens when I hook it up to another Mac!

Oh and I've got it all up and running. Seems to have lots of Outbound-specific software installed, version 1.2.1

 

[aplmak]

I could never get 7.0 or 7.1 installed on mine... It would freeze on boot up... I had to use the Silicon disk.. (RAM drive memory) since I had no external way of booting.. So I would install 7.0 or 7.1 on the silicon disk and after it failed to boot I would to flip back to the hard drive by taking out the pram battery to wipe out the silicon disk.. James what OS version are you running??

 

[aplmak]

James this is my thread of my fooling around with mine...

https://68kmla.org/forums/index.php?/topic/23704-outbound-125/?hl=outbound

 

[4seasonphoto]

I have not seen an Outbound in person since they were current models. Ironically I could walk to their old location from my current apartment. But businesses come and go so frequently in Boulder that I doubt there would be any traces of Outbound left to see today.

 

[olePigeon]

You have to use a special enabler provided by Outbound for the laptop to boot correctly.