SE/30 Restoration Fun

[chu-oh]

I just soldered the header back on and tested one more time and it's working again. No idea what changed but hopefully it stays working  :smiley: .

 

[LaPorta]

I've had a similar issue with other components: sometimes, leaked electrolyte gets into these connections and causes such issues. Desoldering kind of bakes it out and cleans it out, especially when you use flux.

 

[chu-oh]

I was putting the scsi2sd mount that I 3d printed in today and when I turning it on I had no sound again. However I got it to work once by making sure the metal on the logic board near the ports was touching the chassis - but I wasn't able to replicate it again. 

So I'm thinking it's a grounding issue. 

 

[chu-oh]

ERGHHH I just broke the CRT :disapprove:

I was troubleshooting the audio settings - managed to figure out when the PSU was not screwed in the internal speaker would work. However I was trying to be lazy and squeeze it in without removing the analog board or the yoke. Unfortunately I knocked the yoke and gas escaped. Tried turning it on and lots of very scary looking sparks came out of the yoke. 

The CRT had awful burn in and I was looking for a replacement anyway but I'm still really annoyed at myself. 

 

[JDW]

That’s really unfortunate. I by no means wish to belittle your plight, but man, it’s too bad you didn’t have a video of that! I don’t think anybody has a video of a vintage Mac CRT doing that on YouTube!

 

[BadGoldEagle]

I wonder how much it would cost to have brand new CRTs made... @maceffects ?

https://www.thomaselectronics.com/faq/

 

[cheesestraws]

I wonder how much it would cost to have brand new CRTs made... 

https://www.thomaselectronics.com/faq/ 

On that website, "we are your obsolescence solution" sounds perhaps a little creepier than they intended? ;-)

Unfortunately I knocked the yoke and gas escaped

Done this myself, though not the dramatic sparks bit!  The crunch and the hiss, just long enough to consider your error.  Really bloody annoying, isn't it.  It's a vacuum in there so what you're hearing at the crucial embarrassing moment is the air rushing in rather than gas rushing out (not that this makes any functional difference at this point, but if one can't be mildly pedantic on the Internet where can one?).

 

[JDW]

The most interesting thing I learned at the link is they seem to refurbish/replace the phosphor an existing CRTs!  And, you have a choice of 50 different phosphors too!

 

[chu-oh]

That’s really unfortunate. I by no means wish to belittle your plight, but man, it’s too bad you didn’t have a video of that! I don’t think anybody has a video of a vintage Mac CRT doing that on YouTube!

Haha, I don't think i could handle all the name calling/critism/abuse I'd get in the comments. Youtube is not a kind place.

 

[JDW]

Well, I tend to hide my blunders and only show the proper way to go about something on my YouTube channel.  However, there are other repair guys who post a shocking amount of screw-ups; and although they get a nutcase in the comments every now and then, they have vastly more subscribers and views and comments than my channel does.  For some reason, people seem attracted to screw-ups!  In my case, I simply would like to observe what happened for scientific reasons (i.e., to satisfy my curiosity).  

 

[chu-oh]

OK I'm back. Got a "for parts" Classic for a reasonableish price. 

I'm taking out the CRT now and it's caked in dust:



Should I attempt to clean the coil or just leave it?

 

[chu-oh]

And I've just realised the classic has a revision B CRT - so it's useless for my needs.

Back to square one I guess. 

:disapprove:

 

[JDW]

Should I attempt to clean the coil or just leave it?

I highly recommend getting yourself a large sized, rubber rocket blaster, sold on Amazon, so you can safely clean dusk off the neck of that CRT.  A rocket blaster is safer than compressed air but really works just as well.

Now you just need to restore that "for parts" Classic.  It's most assuredly restorable.  Most sellers who don't know how resort to the "for parts" labeling.

 

[rplacd]

Done this myself, though not the dramatic sparks bit!  The crunch and the hiss, just long enough to consider your error.  Really bloody annoying, isn't it.  It's a vacuum in there so what you're hearing at the crucial embarrassing moment is the air rushing in rather than gas rushing out (not that this makes any functional difference at this point, but if one can't be mildly pedantic on the Internet where can one?).

Been there, done that Every collector's bound to do it at some point, sadly.

I'm still keeping my busted CRT around, though – one day I'll find someone with an angle grinder to cut off the neck, so I can stick an LCD screen behind it.

 

[Garrett]

Breaking the CRT in one of my machines is one of my worst nightmares... in fact, I've had bad/sad dreams about it happening. It's one thing if the CRT was old, worn-out and/or has lots of burn-in, but (fortunately) the CRT in both of my machines is in near-pristine condition. I feel these CRTs are becoming harder and harder to find, especially in good condition.

I'm still keeping my busted CRT around, though – one day I'll find someone with an angle grinder to cut off the neck, so I can stick an LCD screen behind it.

Dumb question incoming: but what would that do? I can understand cutting off the rest of the CRT and leaving the face and placing and LCD behind that, but would placing a small LCD at the neck "magnify" it or something? Sounds pretty risky and dangerous, too, with all of that glass.

My understanding of how CRTs work is very rudimentary. I also know that CRTs are prone to implosion - but I'm guessing a de-gassed CRT isn't as much of an implosion risk?

Either way, good luck on the SE/30 project.

 

[Mighty Jabba]

I think putting the LCD behind the glass of a CRT just makes it look more legit than having a flatscreen installed in a compact Mac case.

 

[Crutch]

I keep hoping someone will come to market with a 3D-printed or otherwise fab’ed piece of glass (or ultra-transparent plastic) sculpted to have the shape of the front of a 9” Mac CRT but with a flat back and the requisite screw holes to facilitate installing an LCD beautifully inside a compact Mac case.  I’ve seen a few amazing bespoke solutions but think a true commodity offering would be very popular with the community.

 

[aeberbach]

Like this?





Yes it's ugly in red, but I've been iterating on the shape to make it a great fit so I've been using up the plastic I don't mind wasting. I'm working on a solution to make the LCD a direct replacement for the CRT. Fortunately/unfortunately I'm about to take a 3-week holiday but it won't be too many months before all those poor SEs and SE/30s with something broken between the analog video section and the front of the glass live again!

When it works, commissioning a curved piece of transparent material as a front plate would be a definite possibility - but there would almost certainly be a minimum number required, a one-off could cost thousands.

 

[Crutch]

This is very exciting. Please keep me posted!

 

[BadGoldEagle]

And I've just realised the classic has a revision B CRT - so it's useless for my needs.

Back to square one I guess. 

You know you can swap out the yokes right? The tube itself is identical.