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I'm contemplating a small project that would allow me to send/receive serial communication between my SE/30 and an external microcontroller unit (via the serial/modem port). I've written a dozen or so embedded C++ apps in the past that include custom MCU to MCU serial communication protocols...

Excellent info, thanks Craig. I will give Snooper a shot at testing the serial ports.

Cool, thank you. I'm intimately familiar with AST and ASD, as I managed an authorized Apple repair shop starting around 2005. However I'm completely in the dark on whatever software existed for service techs on the 68k platforms.

Yeah, that's exactly what I was imagining. Would have been silly for them not to have a procedure for that considering how easy it likely was to implement. Is that Apple service test software for the SE/30 hardware something that is easy to find? I don't see anything like that on...

Yeah, don’t have another working Mac or printer here at the moment to test with, which is why I was hoping there might be a clever way to test one port with the other. Perhaps with a custom made serial cable and a diagnostic utility of some sort.

After several rounds of troubleshooting I have my external floppy and SCSI ports fully functional again. Now it’s time to focus on the serial ports. What are the preferred ways of thoroughly testing these on an SE/30? Is it possible to cable them together and test them in a loopback...

Success! I recapped the power supply, reflowed the yoke connector, and double checked all my grounds. Video ripple is now 100% gone. Thanks all.

After recapping the logic board on my SE/30 my video output is working again, but I’m noticing an intermittent ripple effect on the right side of the screen (video link below). It seems more prevelant during boot up (especially a cold boot), but I have noticed it occasionally later on as well...

I got mine from Amscope with the articulating arm mount for around $600, but they have cheaper options. They had one unit on sale with a simple table top stand for under $400. It’s a decent amount of money, but now that I’ve experienced the difference I wish I’d gotten one years ago.

Thanks! Glad to get it back up and running. Yeah it’s truly an incredible difference from the 4x magnifying lens I was using. Amazing how much better your soldering looks when you can actually see what you’re doing!

I pulled one out of another chassis (pictured right), definitely not the same thread as a standard computer case screw (left). It's a machine screw that is smaller than M3, and larger than M2. It's smaller than any thread gauges or spare nuts I have laying around. M2.5 maybe? Unless it's...

Does anyone happen to know the official screw size for the three sheet metal screws that attach the rear expansion bracket to the frame? The unit I’m working on came with the bracket unattached and no screws. I’ve tried several sizes I have laying around, but nothing I have fits perfectly. Thanks!

Back with an update. Was waiting to take delivery of a new stereo microscope before resuming work on this one. Happy to say I'm booting nicely once again, and have working audio for the first time since acquiring this machine! Huzzah! Once I got my new scope installed, I spent a lot of time...

Regarding the above sound chips, how common is it for these to go bad due to corrosion or age? Can they still be sourced?

Thanks for weighing in. I'm currently focusing on a really thorough cleaning of the board, and replacing at least 2-3 of the most corroded chips adjacent to C2/C7. If no forward progress still, I'll likely remove and resolder some/all of the new caps.

Point very well taken. I’m holding off on any further recapping til I get a handle on the logic board issues. Glad you were finally able to ferret out your issues!

Yeah it does look pretty bad there, but i buzzed out all of the traces in that area and they seem okay.

Solid advice and I felt the same must be true, unfortunately since my original post i’ve already reflowed all the capacitors and some of the corroded chips nearby, cleaned the board with alcohol again, and again checked the capacitor connections by verifying continuity through their respective...

Thanks for the guidance, much appreciated. In preparation to preemptively order some replacement chips while my board dries out this week, I've made a spreadsheet of all the components that have visible corrosion (or were simply adjacent to the leaky caps). I seem to have located Mouser part...

Thanks Craig (and others) for the advice. I have reflowed all my new cap joints with lots of flux and they are looking much smoother. I’ve also tried reflowing some of the chips with the most corrosion evident. I’ll give the board a really good cleaning next and see what happens after a long...