128k care and maintenance

[imactheknife]

I have my two 128k macs that work beautifully, but to my knowledge have never been cracked open. Besides recapping analog board, and the few on logic board what else to do? I have heard of some chips dying / or socket rot. Which chips should i be looking at and how to prevent damage to them.

 

[Juror22]

The grease on the floppy drive will likely need to be refreshed. You will want to check it even if the drive currently functions.

 

[fri0701]

The original batteries will eventually corrode - you'll want to take those out and clean the contacts thoroughly if you haven't already to stop the further spread of corrosion on the battery compartment / analog board edge.

Dying RAM chips can be a pain on the 128k, but until one dies, I personally would leave it be.

It can also be a good idea to check / refresh the solder joints on the analog board connectors and flyback transformer every once in a while, as they'll crack over time and cause intermittent video issues. Be careful with the temperatures as you do this though - it can be easy to melt a connector out of shape. I've had success in the past by doing this while leaving the connector plugged in.

 

[joshc]

Heat is the main problem with them which is what causes the weak/cracked solder joints on the analog board. If switched on for lengthy periods of time, the analog board is going to get pretty hot. Investing in a Kensington System Saver would be worth it if you plan on getting use out of these machines.

I wouldn't go replacing chips unless there is a reason - if they work now, leave them alone. Same for the analog boards really - there's no desparate need to replace the capacitors on these if they are still working.

 

[imactheknife]

Heat is the main problem with them which is what causes the weak/cracked solder joints on the analog board. If switched on for lengthy periods of time, the analog board is going to get pretty hot. Investing in a Kensington System Saver would be worth it if you plan on getting use out of these machines.

I wouldn't go replacing chips unless there is a reason - if they work now, leave them alone. Same for the analog boards really - there's no desparate need to replace the capacitors on these if they are still working.

Ok, good to know. The computers look like they just left factory inside. Someone mentioned to remove the rifa caps as they can go anytime. So will look into that. More just display pieces at the moment. Have had them for years

 

[joshc]

Yep, agree that the RIFA caps should be replaced if they haven't been already.

 

[cheesestraws]

Yeah, if they're currently working I wouldn't poke 'em except probably for the RIFAs. No need to pre-emptively replace chips, although it might be worth keeping some suitable memory chips around as spares if you can find them.

 

[imactheknife]

Yeah, if they're currently working I wouldn't poke 'em except probably for the RIFAs. No need to pre-emptively replace chips, although it might be worth keeping some suitable memory chips around as spares if you can find them.

what are compatible memory chips? will a plus logic board have them? or need another 128k?