SE FDHD Estate Sale

[LaPorta]

My wife tipped me off today about a Mac that she saw in the pictures for a local estate sale. I figured I'd go and take a chance and have a look, since it is...VERY...rare that this sort of thing shows up here in CT (all you CA people, realize how lucky you are). It turned out to be an SE FDHD. It had an Apple Extended Keyboard II with it as well, and they wanted $55. I offered $40, and they took it for the pair. When I got it home, and took the back case off, I realized immediately that the Maxell bomb had exploded inside. Amazingly, perhaps because of how the machine was stored, the metal frame appears to have taken the brunt of the hit, though there is definitely work to be done on the MB itself. The CRT and analog board appear to be in excellent shape. It further appears, due to the stock nature of the machine, that it was likely never opened.  I'll start a separate thread about getting this guy going again.

However, I found myself wondering something on the way home, and I'd like other's opinion on it. When you get something like this for $40 (less since that included the keyboard), what are your feelings on repair? Is it even worth the time and effort repairing the board, or is the time better spent sourcing the parts to others working on their rebuilds? Financially, I could obviously get more than I paid for the whole machine with what appears to be a good, no-burn in CRT, let alone the analog board, floppy drive, etc. Who feels that each machine should be kept together and made to work as yet another example of a type, or is it worth more to keep good examples working with parts from not-so-great ones? Always torn on this.

 

[AwkwardPotato]

Ouch, sorry to hear about the Maxell going off.  :O

Regarding feelings on repair: For me it really just depends on how much time I'm willing to put into a machine vs. how much enjoyment I think I can from it. Personally, I love the Compacts and think that any chance to work on one is a treat, so I'd definitely take advantage of any opportunity to repair one. However, if I had a Maxell'd 6200, I probably wouldn't even bother. The several hours/days invested in repairing it simply wouldn't be worth it given that I would never use the machine, and somebody who does love the 6200 could get much better use from the spare parts than I ever could.

Anyways, best of luck with fixing up the SE. 

 

[dochilli]

I would clean the mainboard, perhaps with vinegar to get rid of the corrosion. Could be that the Mainboard will work.

 

[Compgeke]

at $40 for the pair, even maxell bomb'd, I'd say you did alright. Best case, you can fix it. Worst case, you can swap the ROMs and SWIM into an 800k board and upgrade it to a Superdrive (providing those chips aren't too damaged). The keyboard alone for $40 wouldn't have been a terrible find, you got an entire Mac SE with it.

 

[Johnnya101]

Could always grab a good logic board for like $20, I think LaPorta had one for sale recently?

 

[LaPorta]

Yes, I did...and I am also the OP of this topic

 

[BadGoldEagle]

Definitely a candidate for a restoration. The frame’s not that damaged and the logicboard (as you pointed out in your post) seems to be okay. My bombed SE was much worse and I got it to boot after I patched 5 or so traces. Yours shouldn’t be that hard to repair. Plus it seems you have an extra SE board laying around so you can use it to buzz out the connections. That’s what I’d do.

 

[maceffects]

A new frame and some MB work and it will be good as new.  Also, if the AEK II is in good shape that’s at least worth $40.  So it’s like getting an SE for free 

 

[LaPorta]

I've got a spare frame from another SE that I junked, thankfully.

The other thing I am considering doing, with a bunch of spare SE parts around, is making a universal test stand for the 128k through SE/30. I know, due to differences in Classic CRTs, that can possibly be an issue, but if I can build a rig with a standard CRT, I could then test pretty much any compact mac (save Classic and Classic II) analog board/power supply/MB part. I have been thinking about this because I don't like thinking of the frequency I will have to tear open one of my own machines to test parts when recapping for others, etc.

Anyone built something like this?

 

[PotatoFi]

For $40, I think you did great! Worst-case scenario, you've got a bunch of usable parts. My policy with retro hardware like this is to try everything I can to get it working. If I can't get it working, then I keep it in circulation for parts. Someday we'll run out of these machines (especially things like CRT's).

I'll bet the case would look like dynamite after some retrobrite!

 

[jimjimx]

Have you tried to fire it up yet? Did I miss that part? I think it looks worse than it is. 

I don’t know if you have tried “evaporust”, but it’ll do wonders for the frame. It a bit expensive, but reusable...

 

[EkriirkE]

Oh man. When I got to the part where you said you saw the maxwell bomb I thought "impossible! The base SEs don't have those and the wired batteries I've never seen leak" then I saw someone has clipped the original battery out, installed a socket, and put a dirty bomb inside

It may be salvageable.  Do the acid soak as mentioned

 

[Torbar]

Oh man. When I got to the part where you said you saw the maxwell bomb I thought "impossible! The base SEs don't have those and the wired batteries I've never seen leak" then I saw someone has clipped the original battery out, installed a socket, and put a dirty bomb inside

  

It may be salvageable.  Do the acid soak as mentioned

I don't know if it was someone did all that work, as I got an SE FDHD a couple of years a go with the same thing, and it didn't look like the socket was added after the fact.  Maybe some revision SEs have the wired in batteries, and some have the socket?

 

[PotatoFi]

Maybe some revision SEs have the wired in batteries, and some have the socket?

Yes, some have sockets from the factory.

 

[LaPorta]

Sorry, fellas! I didn't tell you that I redirected this to a new thread. Please post there with any suggestions. I am having multiple issues with it, and now am trying to find correct connectors to make a longer logic board cable so I can test it outside of the machine.

 

[LaPorta]

Acid soak?

 

[EkriirkE]

Acid soak?

Someone mentioned vinegar, I like to use oxalic acid.  It removes and sometimes reversed oxidation.  Breaks up caustic battery electrolyte wonderfully

 

[LaPorta]

Do you recommend just submerging the board? How long?

 

[EkriirkE]

@LaPorta No, just put droplets on the affected areas and let is sit until it evaporates, then add more to wet it and gently scrub with a toothbrush.  Final rinse with IPA