A journal of two SE/30s

[jonathanjo]

Friends,

I found on my storage shelf two SE/30s! Not switched on for at least ten years, will have to hunt more to see if they have keyboards, mice. I've had the cases open and didn't look terrible, but I'll start taking a proper look soon. I have a set of new capacitors, will check if I've got the right ones. (Am looking at archive of recapamac.com.au.)

My basic plan is: open, photograph, inspect, remove logic board, recap, power up with VGA converter and modern PSU, then review. Times two.

I'm good with logic boards, static precautions, hand soldering, inexperienced with CRT voltages but knowledgeable enough to keep myself safe. I have microscopes, voltmeters, oscilloscopes, temperature controlled iron etc., but no hot air tools or cleaning baths.

It would be great to run some variety of BSD, but first steps first.

Any tips, tricks, suggestions gratefully received. Is there a well-known list of What To Look For on this model?

Jonathan.

 

[finkmac]

crack them open and check for leaked batteries, then you can work out where to go from there.

watch out for the crt neck board when working in the case... it's a tight squeeze in there.
make sure you're not removing the rear bucket at an angle. if you're not careful, you can bump the neck board and your crt will be toast.

 

[jonathanjo]

As ever, when you actually look for trouble, you find it.

• Mac SE/30 Number One has slightly more faded case, more dust, but better logic board.
• Mac SE/30 Number Two has cleaner case, generally cleaner inside, but bad corrosion/rust.

One on R, Two on L.


One on Top, Two on Bottom:

One's rusty drive

At first, Two looks much better

Until we get to the back! Oh no it's the battery and fluffball C12, before and after toothbrush debris removal.

There's a some white and green corrosion on the bottom, a little green on top.


The batteries:
One on R. (with 0.125 V, would you believe!), Two on L.


I'm just ignoring the disks, CRTs and PSU boards for the time being.

What does everybody think? Repairable or doomed?

 

[finkmac]

number one probably just needs a deep clean and recap. scrub or blow all the dust off, remove the old surface mount capacitors... clean up the leaked electrolyte.

number two will need more work. clean the dust off the board, remove the battery crust... neutralize the corrosion with white vinegar.
several components will need replacing by the looks of it.

worst case scenario, number two would make a good donor for an se/30 reloaded board