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Sounds like you've been making some good progress! I think this machine in its current state would be a good candidate for the serial terminal self test mode:

What features of the Sega are being used here? If the CPU, ROM, and RAM are all contained in the cartridge, and the video signal is output via VGA, (presumably through another port on the cartridge) then what makes this different from a Macintosh-compatible clone that happens to fit inside a...

Something to keep in mind is that there are a few variations of iBook Clamshell batteries --this means they don't all look exactly the same when you crack them open. I have seen some battery packs that come with orange 18650 cells and others that come with green cells. I seem to remember the...

Update: I temporarily tied /RESET to GND using a wire soldered to the CPU pin on one end, and tapping the other end of the wire against GND (through a 10k resistor in series). This produced no changes. I might try again with the sound chip completely removed (after using this same setup to first...

This is far from a silly question! I just checked, and when I short the reset button's pads together, nothing seems to happen at all! Before I go about swapping the sound chip, is there any way to bypass the sound chip and traditional reset circuit entirely? I wonder if I can tap directly into...

Hi all, I am troubleshooting a Macintosh Classic that has severe battery damage (probably a lost cause, but I like a good challenge). The AB, PSU, and CRT are all tested and known good. This machine displays horizontal stripes at power up, which I understand means the VRAM is not getting...

@Pilgrim33 Nice job! Do you have a part number or source for the connectors you used? If I do this mod again, I'd also prefer it to be nondestructive.

Hello all, I have a tricky Macintosh II that I am trying to repair. This machine has been recapped, and the PSU's voltage rails are good. The issue is that there appear to be no signs of life on the address or data busses when I probe them with my oscilloscope… In an attempt to troubleshoot...

Count me as interested! I just logged in to ask about a solution to this exact problem, and I'm happy about this coincidence. If you need anyone to help test this out, let me know! (I have a Mac II with its original video card.)

These days, I have been considering possible advantages of sticking a new old stock CCFL bulb back into the LCD panel. The required work is about the same, but the CCFLs might be easier to install neatly if you can manage to source the exact part. If the LEDs are not shimmed in place really...

Very interesting idea! I'll be following this 🙂

From my understanding of vinegar syndrome, you should still be seeing a picture on screen if the motherboard is working. The picture will just look really bad. If you don't see any picture with the old LCD panel, then I think there are several issues with this iBook. Even without a hard drive...

This is a great hack for building all kinds of DIY rack mounted projects on the cheap! Thanks for sharing!

This makes things a little trickier, but isn't entirely unexpected. Now that we know what the FireWire controller chip is, we can look for a datasheet, and that way we can start deciding which components would be most sensible where. I guess the process is sort of like designing the FireWire...

Exciting news: my new FireWire iBook G3 Clamshell arrived in the mail today! I extracted the motherboard and made some 1600DPI scans. A few things to note: My scanner has a limited depth of field, so the scan of the top side of the logic board is a little fuzzy. It's still clear enough to be...

I just bought a parts firewire iBook G3 on eBay! Once it arrives, I will make some high-res scans of its logic board to aid in reverse engineering its firewire.

Has anyone seen this link yet? https://ibook-clamshell.com/index.php/en/hardware/610-my-powerberry-466mhz-firewire-mod This blogger tried to put a firewire logic board into a non-firewire iBook chassis. They drilled a hole through the plastic housing to get the port to fit. It looks like they...

I am also very interested in this project. I have some photos of an iBook Clamshell's logic board (without firewire), but I didn't get very far because I don't have an iBook logic board with firewire to compare against. I couldn't find any schematics either. If anyone has a Firewire iBook...

Thank you all for confirming what I suspected. At least this means the video circuits on the three compact macs I tested yesterday didn't spontaneously break! I wonder why I only noticed this flickering effect now, despite having used compact macs for many years? I had assumed that 60hz was way...

It's been a few months since I last used one of my classic Mac's CRTs, but I fired up several today and noticed that the screens all flicker slightly. I can only see this flickering in my peripheral vision, not when I look at the screens dead on. As I found the same effect on three different...