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SE/30 with a curious serial number

ironborn65

Well-known member
I found a Mac SE/30, it looked just a normal SE/30 but when I decoded the serial number in http://macfaq.org/serial.html
I got this:
Your German Macintosh SE 1/40 (03R), with serial number CK0403A203R

Trying with http://myoldmac.net/FAQ/Mac-Serialnumber-decoder-e.php I got:
Manufactured in: CK => Cork, Ireland
Year of production: 1990
Week of production: 40
Production number: 3A2 => 3810
Model ID: 03R => unknown Mac


SE 1/40?? what is this?
German? The case itself and the MB to me are simply international. Is it?
My other SE/30 decoded just righta as
Model ID: KH1 => Macintosh SE/30


Any idea?
 

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Franklinstein

Well-known member
That is an odd serial number. I can only speculate: maybe it's the first of the International SE/30 models sold? Maybe the first of that model built in Cork? Maybe a unique configuration or customer?

Otherwise, SE 1/40 just means an SE with 1MB RAM and a 40MB HD. Pretty typical configuration for an SE.

Maybe that site thinks "international" means "German."
 

cheesestraws

Well-known member
At least the model marked "SE 1/20" on the front was only sold in some places. Mine certainly came from Germany. I don't know if there was a model marked 1/40 on the front or where it was sold. But it's not as simple, even at that point, as "US" vs "everywhere else".

I'm guessing this machine might have been upgraded with a new LB, front panel and back sticker. I wonder if the old SE sticker is still underneath it.
 

LaPorta

Well-known member
Someone not long ago was talking about a /40 SE/30 of some sort on here. It didn't have to do with an 040 or anything, but was some sort of specific model number for a package deal or something. I cannot remember the specifics.
 

joshc

Well-known member
If it was an upgraded model you'd still have the original SE front bezel I think?

The 1/40 was an SE with 1MB RAM and a 40MB hard drive, sold in some markets and the silkscreen on the front would indeed say 1/40.

Here's one of mine

Manufactured in: CK => Cork, Ireland
Year of production: 1999
Week of production: 41
Production number: 0FC => 522
Model ID: KAT => Macintosh SE/30

Your Macintosh SE/30 was the 522th Mac manufactured during the 41th week of 1999 in Cork, Ireland.

The year is read incorrectly, they clearly weren't building SE/30s in 1999.

I don't know if there are different formats of serial numbers for these machines.

One of mine says Serial Number Y instead of Serial Number Q above the serial barcode, again not sure what significance this has.
 

Andrew

Well-known member
Yes I think the serial number decoders are not complete. The first site shows my model also as unknown, the second site reports it as being built in year 2000.
Manufactured in: CK => Cork, Ireland
Year of production: 2000
Week of production: 47
Production number: 07C => 250
Model ID: KH1 => Macintosh SE/30

Your Macintosh SE/30 was the 250th Mac manufactured during the 47th week of 2000 in Cork, Ireland.
 

volvo242gt

Well-known member
I have noticed that, beginning in 1989, Apple started changing the serial number format from what it had been beforehand. Before then, the last five digits would be M, then the model number. That seems to trip up the serial number decoding sites.

As an example, my Centris 650's serial is F1309E6YCA8. Should have M1250 in place of the CA8 part.
 

ironborn65

Well-known member
Collecting all the questions:
I do not have other parts, I got it simply it with the case, mouse and keyboard (ITA).
The large label on the back is not on top of another one. This is quite different respect the one of the "normal" one
The internal code of the case is the same of my other SE/30 "815-0960", the factory is the same "Tohoku Munekata co Ltd.", Fukusima. Fukusima??? Ah .. ok.
The board is 820-0260 rev A 1989, the other "normal" SE/30 is rev 10
The ROM in the SIMM of the weird one are rectangular and not squared, apologies I can not name them properly..
See the pics below. do not consider the caps and absence of the battery, the "weird" one suffered a battery bombing but it survived.
The blue bodge wire is a fix for a broken trace.

It's funny that the non German version (assuming that it has something to do with Germany) has a german statement in the label :D


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1645227170502.png
 

ironborn65

Well-known member
I have noticed that, beginning in 1989, Apple started changing the serial number format from what it had been beforehand. Before then, the last five digits would be M, then the model number. That seems to trip up the serial number decoding sites.

As an example, my Centris 650's serial is F1309E6YCA8. Should have M1250 in place of the CA8 part.
I beleive you are referring to the FCC ID and not to the serial number.
I've never seen the model number as part of the serial number.

In my case the FCC are different so do the (c) years.
I dunno what to say.
 

volvo242gt

Well-known member
I beleive you are referring to the FCC ID and not to the serial number.
I've never seen the model number as part of the serial number.

In my case the FCC are different so do the (c) years.
I dunno what to say.
I'm not actually. Am referring to the serial number under the barcode. I have seen it as part of the serial number. In fact, my Mac Plus has the model number as the last few digits of its serial number. See below...

IMG_6973.JPGIMG_6974.JPG
 
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joshc

Well-known member
I think they used different formats of serial numbers for different models or different periods maybe. I have five SE/30s and the 'M' model number is not a part of their serial numbers. The last portion of the serial number on SE/30s is a model number but its different to the 'primary' model number.
 

volvo242gt

Well-known member
Here's one off the 'bay. It was originally the M5390 configuration. So, 1/40. The M5392 was a 1/0 machine, and the M5361 was a 4/80 machine. Early SE machines typically had M5010 and M5011 at the end of their serials, whereas the FDHD and SuperDrive models had the shortened serial. Even the IIci had M5780 at the end of the serial on earlier units.
 

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ironborn65

Well-known member
correct folks, apparently early Mac (e.g. Mac II and Plus) have the model number in the serial, I did not notice it
probably they soon discovered the digits were not enough :)

in any case, my SE/30 id CK0403A203R model ID "03R" remains a mystery
 

BadGoldEagle

Well-known member
I never paid that much attention to SE Serials, but now that you mention it, here's what I've got

SE FDHD that was officially upgraded to an SE/30 - CK0020SPB02. The label at the back is, as you showed in your post, special to this upgrade.
SE FDHD (non upgraded) - CK017341B01
SE 1/20 (bought from Bolle, so it should be a German machine) - CK0190HRC70
SE 1/40 (bought in Lyon, France. Could have been a German machine originally, but I doubt it as I've seen SE 1/40s in Brittany) -
CK0401LZ03R -> Same 03R as yours
My Dual Floppy SE is unfortunately missing its tag and I'm missing both the original M5011 and the Superdrive (FDHD with a fancy badge).

The original SEs (the ones that mention the dual FDD or the HDD capacity) have serials that end with M5011 or M5010 like the Plus and its predecessors. SEs that don't mention anything on the back or front are FDHDs if I'm not mistaken and have a B0x serial. So do the later SEs (FDHD and Superdrives). Could the difference between 01 and 02 be the hard drive capacity? It doesn't seem to line up with the production year at least as my SE/30 was "made" on January 3rd, 1990 and the FDHD is from the 30th March of the same year.

The 1/40 and 1/20 SEs were sold to Germany and France (and possibly other EU countries), but still predominantly in Germany.
 

ironborn65

Well-known member
I found one

the last three digits of the serial number is 03R, as in my case, but my label says SE/30, it was probably an upgrade, the case was kept and the label replaced. The entire front part was replaced as well. Was this an Apple official upgrade?
 
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