Something Slightly Special - An SE/30

[Concorde1993]

I received this earlier today via courier upon completing a transaction on eBay. I have always wanted an SE/30 - not only for their durability similar to the 68000 SE - but to finally enjoy (and become further acquainted with) the various expandability options, as well as the benefits of the 68030 processor (all of my Compacts - including my Amigas - use the 68000).

The unit is in somewhat decent working condition, and comes equipped with 8MB of RAM, and a 120MB HD (I believe it is a Miniscribe drive). In addition, a mouse, keyboard, and a Mac User's Guide from 1993 were included with the sale. There are some capacitor issues, as the sound is quite faint (I can barely hear the startup chime, and the speaker output is quiet even with the volume set to maximum), and the video tends to jiggle from time-to-time (maybe an issue with the Astec PS). I'm not sure if the battery has been removed - I'll check that in the upcoming days. Hopefully there is no leakage.

Overall, the cosmetic condition of the unit is fair (the seller advertised the unit as in good working & cosmetic condition - I have already advised him this is not the case). There are some scratches on the right side of the case (near the programmer's switch), and some pry marks on the top housing, and on the bezel. In regards to scratches on Compact Macs, what would be the appropriate means of removing them without damaging the plastics? Or will I have to resort to sanding down the damaged areas, and repainting them?

Here are some pics of the unit:

 

[CompactMacLover]

Very Nice.. Ive had my SE/30 for about 13 years.. Got it in High School and used to take it into In School Suspension.. LOL kept me occupied playing Shufflepuck Good Solid machine, she gets used occasionally for Midi Playback, Arnolds Midi Player is installed on mine

 

[lastmile77]

I'd say that's pretty good cosmetic condition for an SE/30 these days. It looks like the case is a little yellowed. You might try the "retrobright" fix (google it and there may be some posts here) using hydrogen peroxide to get rid of the yellowing. If you try to sand the scratches down without doing that you'll have a lighter area that could be more noticeable than the scratches were.

 

[lastmile77]

Ive had my SE/30 for about 13 years.. Got it in High School and used to take it into In School Suspension.. mine

You got to bring you own computer into in-school suspension and play games on it?!? What a punishment.

 

[Concorde1993]

It looks like the case is a little yellowed

Yes, the top-half of the case is yellowed, but that is of no concern to me.

If you try to sand the scratches down without doing that you'll have a lighter area that could be more noticeable than the scratches were

If I go down that route, then I'll sand the entire case, and repaint it.

 

[coius]

When I was in school, I used to play on my PowerBook 170 in suspension (I practically lived in that room) so I would play a game called "Factory) and sim city 2 (hard to do on a black and white screen) and it was quite fun. either way, having a machine to use in suspension is nice.

I picked up an SE/30 from a school white elephant show and used it for a few years, but I accidentally broke the tube on it when I went to upgrade the ram. my screwdriver slipped and struck the glass around the tube. Oh well, it was given to someone on Applefritter I think, so it was turned around and made useful in some form or other.

 

[lastmile77]

If I go down that route, then I'll sand the entire case, and repaint it.

Oh, different story then if you're willing to repaint the whole thing. I've got an SE/30 that's REALLY yellow. I was going to try to whiten it but I doubted I could really fix it so I'm going to paint it silver and gloss black to match my iMac. I painted a DVD drive to match the iMac using Krylon brushed nickel spray paint. It's darker than the iMac but the closest thing I could find. The cap on the can looks a bit gold-colored but the paint isn't.

But the SE/30 doesn't work. When I switch it on the fan hesitates a bit then starts spinning but nothing else happens.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

On an unrelated note, get a plastic screwdriver and adjust that screen! It *SHOULD* have a black border. You're not doing yourself any favors by having the picture fill the entire visible tube.

 

[Concorde1993]

On an unrelated note, get a plastic screwdriver and adjust that screen!

I plan on opening it up sometime tomorrow or Wednesday to check for leakage on the logic board (I don't think the battery was removed on this unit). The analogue board is going to be inspected by a TV tech I know, since I'm not getting any sound output from the speaker. And yes, I will readjust the screen (not sure why it was placed like that; then again such is the experience of purchasing used equipment on eBay).

You're not doing yourself any favors by having the picture fill the entire visible tube.

Well, the screen is already shot to hell with the visible burn-in. I installed Disney After Dark (since there wasn't any screensaver software installed on the unit - and I wanted to see if the floppy drive functions - which it does) as a means to alleviate some stress from the screen when in hibernation.

On another note, in regards to removing those scratches on the case, it was recommended by someone where I work to use a heat-gun. Has anyone tried this before on a Compact Mac case?

 

[Anonymous Freak]

The problem with trying to remove scratches is that you are nearly guaranteed to lose the case texture, too. It will look *REALLY* odd. (I tried to clean 'sticker goo' off a printer that had similar texture to a compact Mac using some pretty nasty chemicals, ended up with a 'smooth spot' that was just strange in comparison to the rest.)

 

[Concorde1993]

I purchased a heat-gun earlier today from Lowe`s (Homebright Heat Pro Plus in case anyone is interested). I`ll test it out first on one of my Compact Mac cases tomorrow (the 128k upgraded to a Plus with the BNC adapter installed - that one is in pretty rough condition internally - and somewhat cosmetically. But I couldn`t careless about that one at the moment), and see if the heat-gun route works out (this particular heat-gun model comes with a deflector nozzle, which should make focusing the heat on the scratched areas a bit easier).

Naturally I`ll remove the rear-bucket case from the rest of the unit before experimenting with the heat-gun.

 

[Concorde1993]

Just an update on the SE/30:

I tried using the heat-gun on the Plus case; it does not remove scratches (I will try a body filler; I hear 3M's Bondo filler is pretty good with plastic).

Also, I removed the programmer's switch on the SE/30, and installed it on my SE SuperDrive to see the four images of the Macintosh Development Team (a programmer's switch was never installed on that computer). The debugger switch works, but I can't seem to get the computer to restart when pushing down on the restart button (it worked perfectly on the SE/30). Thoughts as to why this is happening?

Lastly, I removed the logic board from the SE/30 (all of the aluminum capacitors are in the process of being replaced since I'm getting no sound from the speaker).

 

[T-MacGuy]

I had an issue with the Screen jumping on a Color classic. Turned out to be a bad solder joint on the flyback transformer. You might have the same problem in your SE/30.

 

[Concorde1993]

You might have the same problem in your SE/30

As I recall from the last time I started it up (which was over a month ago), there was some jiggle in the video. I'll probably have the analogue board inspected from the same TV tech who replaced the aluminum caps on the motherboard when time, and money permits.

More importantly, when time permits, I have to reinstall the motherboard, and see if the sound is working again.

 

[T-MacGuy]

Its pretty easy to spot the bad connection. On my Color Classic, the joint was a very dull gray, and most of the solder had been turned into ash. Yours may not be so bad, if it is the same problem at all. My Color Classic came from a public school system, and had seen many hours running in that condition. Luckily, I was able to catch it in time before it burnt up the remaining copper on the trace.

 

[Bunsen]

It would seem pretty picky (to me, just my $0.02) based on those photos to quibble over the condition. Those look like very minor defects.

/edit/ oh, re-reading your OP, it sounds like there are more marks than just the ones in the photos?

 

[Concorde1993]

/edit/ oh, re-reading your OP, it sounds like there are more marks than just the ones in the photos?

Yes, Bunsen. There are various scratches (and not just your typical chips in the plastic; these are fairly deep) located on the right, bottom, and rear of the case. I found it difficult to photograph those scratches with my sister's Cybershot, hence why I didn't include them in the original post.

I can always borrow a DSLR camera from the University library, and attempt taking some pics of the damage, since I have the SE/30 on hand with me.

Those look like very minor defects.

I realize that the plastics on these older compacts are deteriorating, and I know that many of these surviving units have suffered from some form of neglect from their previous owner(s). I have a couple of minor chips on my SE SuperDrive (mostly on the bottom) from many years of use, and moving around, but I tend to ignore it. If the cosmetic condition of my SE/30 were similar to my SE, then I would not have considered this an issue.

I'm not expecting perfection, but I would like to improve the overall condition of this SE/30 the best way I can. All of my other vintage computers are in decent shape, so there is no reason why this SE/30 shouldn't be as well.

 

[Concorde1993]

Pics of the scratches on the right side of the case (w/without flash):





I was planning on re-installing the motherboard (now that it has been recapped) this upcoming weekend. However, upon close inspection of the board, I noticed that the cap on C4 is loose (not pictured), and as a result, it will have to be re-soldered.

 

[GnatGoSplat]

Maybe fill the scratches with a filler (like Bondo for auto-body repair or JB Weld which comes in much smaller quantities), then go over it gently with a lint-free cloth moistened with isopropyl alcohol to wipe off any excess filler material and smooth it down. I would mask the entire machine except for making a hole around the scratched area. Make a similar sized hole on a piece of cardboard about an inch or so bigger than the scratch on all sides and hold it about 1" above the area to be painted. Then using matching color spray paint, spray from a good sized distance about 20" or so. This should give the paint a fine orange-peely textured finish that will hopefully blend in. The cardboard with the hole in it is so the paint will lay with a feather-edge so there's no sharply defined edge between plastic and painted area.

If you have any scrap plastic, you may want to experiment.