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Rescued what I thought was a Mac II

ClassicGuyPhilly

Well-known member
Hi all,

I've reconsidered doing the recap on the IIfx myself. I'd still like to learn to solder, and since I want an LC and IIci in my eventual collection, makes way more sense to recap those models after much practice and leave the IIfx to a professional.

After a few inquiries, I've located an area TV Repair Shop and talked with them. While the person I spoke with said a tech would need to check the board out in person, they have experience with such vintage computer work.

So, my scope of work starts with:
Logicboard
Battery Holder replacement x2
Tantalum capacitor replacement - C24 and C9

In for a penny, in for a pound, so I think makes sense to also hit any other soldering work that may be beneficial and proactive to preserve the machine.

Power Supply - I've found capacitor replacement kits (link below) for the GE and Delta Mac II power supplies, but none for a Sony model. I haven't taken apart my power supply yet, but if there are electrolytic capacitors in there, or anything else potentially suspect, IMO should replace. I also read on an Apple II thread that sometimes old capacitors may work in power supplies but may not consistently hold the proper voltage.

Video Card - I've also found a capacitor replacement kit for a Mac II video card, but not sure if that's for my Toby. But if there are components on the video card that should be replaced, fair game too.

https://console5.com/store/computer-cap-kits/mac-68k-cap-kits/mac-ii-series-cap-kits.html

Am I missing anything else?

Trying to do as much research as I can, but I'm still in way over my head with the restoration work.

I will probably wait to actually perform the work until later (need a monitor, KB, Mouse first), but I think getting a quote for the soldering SOW soon is a good move.

Thanks!
 

Forrest

Well-known member
I’ve used the capacitor replacement kit for my Atari 800XL from Console5 - the parts were high quality and correct. I would leave the capacitor replacement to a pro - it’s difficult to remove some of those parts because they are close to adjacent components and it wouldn’t be hard to permanently damage the board.
 

joshc

Well-known member
The PSU in these tends to be pretty robust, I have never bothered recapping one as they always worked for me. I am speaking from a small sample size (5 of them so far) but still, that's 100% and these are very old and not had any power supply issues. But I guess as you are paying someone to do the work for you, it may be worth getting it done anyway.

Do you need to supply capacitors if paying someone to do the work for you? Will they not supply the caps?
 

Forrest

Well-known member
If you’re paying a pro to replace the caps, battery holders then it’s not a bad idea to have the power supply checked and the system tested to insure it boots to the desktop.
 

ClassicGuyPhilly

Well-known member
Good feedback as usual guys thx!

Glad for the "let a pro do the IIfx work" agreement and prepare to test after work is done

Not sure if I need to supply capacitors but IMO probably good to at least specify exactly what is desired for replacement. I found https://recapamac.com.au/macintosh-iifx/ and the author says use below for C24 and C9

47µf 16V KEMET tantalum capacitors (T491D476K016AT)

I also found these for the battery holders


I found this YT on removing the PSU. Also mentions looking for RIFA capacitors which may explode and cause a serious odor problem?
I will take out the PSU and see what it looks like and blast it with air. Pictures to be forthcoming.

And just an editorial note. I'm chronicling all this so maybe my research and all the good info and advice from those on the thread may help future IIfx-ers.
 

ClassicGuyPhilly

Well-known member
Disgustingly gross PSU
20230520_162152~(1).jpg

After compressed air bath. Then vacuuming. Then brushing. Then more vacuuming. Then another air bath..
20230520_163208.jpg

20230520_163220.jpg

Didn't look too bad after the cleaning. To my untrained eye I did not see and capacitor leakage or RIFA capacitors, but as always appreciate a double check. Thanks all!
20230520_163238.jpg
 
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joshc

Well-known member
The SONY units in these did not use paper RIFA filters so you should be good to go. Beware that the fan in these is a bit noisy, it’s a very high airflow fan as it draws air through the entire machine to keep all the NuBus cards cool.
 

ClassicGuyPhilly

Well-known member
@joshc Thanks for the check as always. IMO the fan's noise is part of the experience of a vintage machine and adds to its character.

So for the followers of this thread, @dood has been my computing hero since college and taught me UNIX and much more!
 

ClassicGuyPhilly

Well-known member
I opened up both floppies today. The 800kb was rather disgusting, the 1.44mb actually wasn't too bad. I gave both a compressed air bath. I'm going to follow the procedure on this video to completely clean the 800kb, but need to procure some electonics grease (apparently I shouldn't use same stuff from my bicycles ;-) ) I think I'll see how the 1.44mb does without a full tear down.

20230525_171637~(1).jpg
20230525_172638~(1).jpg
 

olePigeon

Well-known member
I use EM-30L for the metal chassis & head worm gear, 3-1 oil for the head shaft, and silicon grease for the ejection motor gears. Plus a spritz of contact cleaner for all the connectors and switches. I don't know if those are the correct greases and oils, but they work well for me.
 

ClassicGuyPhilly

Well-known member
Thanks @olePigeon ! Have you (or anyone else) had to replace the first gear in the ejection motor? Was mentioned in the video from my prior post as a common failure point. If so, anyone 3D print them? Just covering all bases... grease arrived today so 800kb tear down is on the to-do list now.
 

Juror22

Well-known member
Have you (or anyone else) had to replace the first gear in the ejection motor?
Yes, people 3D print them, but I have had really good experience with the ones that are molded - they seem to be both a stronger and also a more accurate copy (the teeth of those gears are really small and they need to be accurately shaped to work right). When I refresh my floppy drives, I take out this gear and perform a mild bend test with it (if its not already broken) by putting just a little strain on the center of the gear. If it was going to fail, it usually fails at that time. I've had more than a few survive the test that I have not replaced and I have not had to go in and replace those at a later time. The ones that fail, generally snap easily and are pretty brittle (I keep a few replacements handy, just in case).
 

ClassicGuyPhilly

Well-known member
Hello IIfx fans! We're going to interrupt your normally scheduled update to tell the tale of a couple new acquisitions.

I went to the VCF East Swap Meet over the weekend and came home with a Toby-compatible RGB monitor for the IIfx...oh and and a IIx 😅 Here's the full story. So let me fill you in on the new IIx:

20230610_145053.jpg

20230610_145353.jpg

Here are the main items of interest:
The notations on the lid of the case read 15 | 5-17-89 | 3
I think 8 x 1MB SIMMs (see below picture)
240MB Quantum Hard Drive
800KB and a 1.44MB floppies
SuperMac Spectrum/24 IV card
Digidesign Sound Accelerator II card
Later revision of the Sony PSU vs the one in the IIfx, but same Apple Part Number
She was much cleaner than the IIfx, including the PSU

With my own research and great info from @ppuskari it was determined this machine was used as a Digidesign (later Avid) Pro Tools Audio Workstation. I saw a missing blank and a somewhat pushed-down axial and figured someone removed a card prior to my acquisition, but I thought might have been a NIC. ppuskari explained the remaining Digidesign Sound Accelerator was paired with a missing Grey Matter Response (SCSI) to complete the NuBus hardware of the Pro Tools system. I'll be selling the Digidesign Sound Accelerator, PM me if interested.

I cut the Varta batteries out (one actually still had a charge around 3.5v, the other was nearly flat). My awesome neighbor soldered AA batteries holders to the leftover posts for a quick way to see if she'd fire up.

20230611_183801.jpg

I then tried several variations to bring her up, including swapping in the IIfx's PSU, but alas no dice (you were right Josh but I had to try!). No power on whatsoever, which means next step is cap replacement, and this guy needs 15 done according to Recap-a-Mac. Selah. I'll include a bunch more pictures below for full chronicling.

So, here's the break-down of where we are at.
I still need to clean up the 800KB floppy for the IIfx
I now have an ADB KB and mouse
I now have a Toby-compatible, working RGB monitor and cable
I also now have a sweet accelerated SuperMac video card which just begs to go into the IIfx
And I have the IIx which can be used as a donor in case the PSU, floppies, and/or hard drive in the IIfx isn't working

All the above means I'm well-positioned to have the IIfx's soldering work done and be able to test the machine right after. Will see when I'm able to pull that off, but I'm very pleased with my progress so far, especially because I'm just over a month into the IIfx's resto. Again, much, much appreciation to all who have helped along the way with everything from technical advice to encouragement. More updates to follow, have a good one all!

lid.jpg
plate.jpg

ramrom.jpg
psunum.jpg
Before cleaning
psu1.jpg
After cleaning
psu2.jpg

batts.jpg
 

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joshc

Well-known member
Nice score on the IIx, they are actually hard to find - most IIx have a IIfx board in them, so its good that you got an actual IIx.

I think as I mentioned in a DM, that board needs new caps for sure - even from those photos I can see the solder joints are dull looking which is from the cap leakage.

Thankfully they are fairly easy to repair so you should be able to get it going again.
 

Phipli

Well-known member
I then tried several variations to bring her up, including swapping in the IIfx's PSU, but alas no dice (you were right Josh but I had to try!).
I can see corrosion in the traces near the power button. This area is very frequently cap damaged, especially the long diagonal trace and in around some of the chips. Damage here stops the machine powering on.

And here is a mandatory link to a description of the circuit. Note the circuit is the same between the II and IIx... but frustratingly the component labels are different.

 
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