Unearthed my Mac 128k (maybe Fat Mac, not sure) and discovered some fascinating docs from the early Mac era

[Huxley]

As I'm deep into preparations for the upcoming Retro Roadshow events I've mentioned over in the Lounge, I thought it might be fun to see if this old Mac 128k actually works. I bought it sight-unseen 12-13 years ago when I was living in Albuquerque, and I either never used it or only powered it up to confirm that it was functional at the time. Either way, I never spent much time using it, and it's been sitting in its padded Apple Carrying Case ever since. Until an hour or so ago, I had no idea what accessories or software were in the bag, but happily it turns out to be some cool stuff! I've broken most of it out in this Imgur album - take a look here: https://imgur.com/gallery/SjYELF8

What a cool machine!

Huxley

 

[M235i]

Really cool rediscovery! I always like buying something with the original documentation, especially one that documents the process of the purchase. It was like that for me when I got my iBook G3 Clamshell. It had all of the original documents, from the purchase receipt, the memory expansion done at one of the first Apple stores on the East Coast, to the brochure advertising the first Apple store. It feels like unearthing the human story to a computer, revealing everything that was done to lead to that decision. 

 

[Byrd]

Nice setup!  If you're taking that away for show, give it a good few hours on the bench to ensure it keeps running.  I just dragged out my Macintosh 128K for RAM resoldering (it hasn't been used for about 18 months), I knew the RAM was bad but it developed a dry solder joint on the analogue board and wouldn't display anything unless I flexed (not knocked) the analogue board.  It was fixed quickly enough though by resoldering the solder joints where the four CRT yoke wires plug into.

That pic of the breakaway Macintosh in the brochure - any chance you could so a high-res scan of it and post it up?  I'd love to Photoshop it a tad and print it off in a large poster for my workshop.

Thanks

JB

 

[ikylek]

it is really impressive and very nice eye candy

 

[Huxley]

That pic of the breakaway Macintosh in the brochure - any chance you could so a high-res scan of it and post it up?  I'd love to Photoshop it a tad and print it off in a large poster for my workshop.

I'm happy to do that when things settle down for me in a week or so (post-Maker Faire), on the condition that you share whatever you create - I want a copy hanging on my wall too!  

H.

 

[Cameront9]

Is that brochure the same one that was in Time Magazine? (Or was it Newsweek?)  One of those mags, Apple bought a full 24 pages and put a brochure in it.

 

[ScutBoy]

I'm happy to do that when things settle down for me in a week or so (post-Maker Faire), on the condition that you share whatever you create - I want a copy hanging on my wall too!  

H.

I got really lucky on a CL old Mac pickup when I saw the seller had the framed dealer copy of the cutaway poster leaning against the wall in in his storage unit. He tossed it in for an additional $20! Hangs now in my office.

 

[Dog Cow]

Is that brochure the same one that was in Time Magazine? (Or was it Newsweek?)  One of those mags, Apple bought a full 24 pages and put a brochure in it.

There were two versions of this brochure. One was larger and printed on heavier paper, and it's the one that the OP has. A slightly smaller one with a slightly different layout was inserted in several leading news magazines, including Business Week and Newsweek. Both have the same content.

I have a copy of both these versions.

 

[North Hedge Ned]

Very cool indeed Hux!  I was wondering... could you please post more pix of the unit itself?  Interested in seeing the bottom and rear. Have you dated this by serial number yet?

how old is the OS disks?

thanks

 

[Huxley]

Very cool indeed Hux!  I was wondering... could you please post more pix of the unit itself?  Interested in seeing the bottom and rear. Have you dated this by serial number yet?

how old is the OS disks?

Hey! Happy to do this, probably later next week. I'm frantically prepping for our appearance at the East Bay Mini Maker Faire this weekend (followed by our usual local meetup in my hometown), so I'm mostly hoping that the 128k's PSU board doesn't completely give up having being heavily used for a couple days. Given the historical significance of this machine, I'm expecting a LOT of people to want to try it out