Found a 128K Macintosh!

[joethezombie]

So I was at an unmanned transfer station dropping off some work related trash, and there it was laying in the dumpster upside down.  I thought the screen would be shot out (because... Idaho), but instead it looks brand new.  It started right up to a MacPaint folder.  There was no mouse, so I tried to use keyboard shortcuts to bring down the file menus, but accidentally ejected the disk.  I couldn't get the disk to go back inside.  If I look in the slot, it appears as a felt and rubber foot is in the way. I am guessing this puts pressure on the head?  Anyway, I used a spatula to wiggle the drive mechanism, and noticed when i lift the top metal bracket applying lift at the back of the drive, that little foot snaps up, too.  So, I placed the disk back in until it hit that foot, then used the spatula to lift the back of the drive and was able to get the disk back in.  It was able to boot up again, too.  

I'm now searching all the good articles on this site on how to get the floppy working reliably.

 

[ScutBoy]

Wow - it looks great!

 

[unity]

Hell of a find!! What is the serial? I have extra mice, but they are for the Plus. So they appear the same style except for the plug end which is rounded, no square.

 

[joethezombie]

Hi!  The serial number... I had to look it up where to find it.  :beige:

 

[XBHS1997]

Wow! Great find! :O

 

[rsolberg]

Cool. Your Mac was made in Fremont, CA in October 1984.

See here for details: http://macfaq.org/serial.html

 

[joethezombie]

Hey, that's pretty darn neat lookup tool. Thanks for that!

I will be opening the case up soon and cleaning the drive to see if I can get the plunger thing to work like it should.  I'll let everyone know how it goes.  Then, figure a way to get software for the thing!

 

[unity]

Dont forget to resolder the analog board. They often suffer from cracked joint at the connectors. Same for the motherboard. Takes just minutes to hit em all up and reflow them.

 

[MJ313]

That's just ridiculous. I can't believe you found that in a trash bin lol. Very nice, sir!

 

[Juror22]

That is terrific, I'm glad that you were there to rescue it!

 

[XBHS1997]

See here for details: http://macfaq.org/serial.html 

Thanks a lot for this! Just checked the SE/30

 

[3583Bytes]

Wow now that's a find of the year!  My 128k also had floppy issues, but for me it was just that the grease dried out.

 

[Mac128]

Very surprising. On a related note I just checked eBay prices on Mac 128ks and they seem to be selling for record low prices. Entire systems with original box and packaging selling for less than $1,000. Working units selling for $200. And now 128ks in the trash. What's going on here? Are people not interested in collecting the 128k anymore?

 

[EvilCapitalist]

Very surprising. On a related note I just checked eBay prices on Mac 128ks and they seem to be selling for record low prices. Entire systems with original box and packaging selling for less than $1,000. Working units selling for $200. And now 128ks in the trash. What's going on here? Are people not interested in collecting the 128k anymore?

I think (as has been mentioned in other parts of the forum) that there was a bubble after Jobs passed and that prices are slowly returning back to what was seen last decade.  The 128K has value as the first Mac but apart from that, it's not really a useful machine in stock form.  Some of the newer vintage compact Macs (SE/30, CC) seem to be leveling off as far as price is concerned because they're still usable to some extent.

 

[TheWhiteFalcon]

Meanwhile the Apple II continues to go up.

 

[joethezombie]

Just a quick update...

Using sadmanonatrain's wonderful guide on cleaning and lubricating the 400k drive, I was able to remove the "amber" that had seized the mechanism! I was astonished how hard the grease had become. I few hours with the wd40 and a stiff brush finally did the trick.

A healthy application of white lithium on the moving bits, and I have a smartly ejecting drive. A quick clean of the head with 99% isopropyl, and this thing is just like new!

Now to figure out how to get some software... MacPaint is great, but a bit limiting!

 

[HoJoPo]

You might be able to write single sided (400k) disks on your IIgs, though I'm not sure which software you'd use.  Copy II Plus does support single sided disks (in fact, I have an original Copy II Plus 3.5 disk that is single sided), but would only support images in its own format.

Hmm.... I have an SE/30, and it will write single sided.  I need to make some disks for my Mac 128k anyway, I could try to image them on the IIgs with Copy II Plus....

 

[james_w]

This site has a lot of useful guides as to how to handle disks and get software onto a 128k. Found it very useful when I recently got a 128k (upgraded to 512) http://www.mac128.com/

 

[joethezombie]

Very nice, james_w.  I appreciate the link.  Some very interesting information there.  I'll peruse around a bit whilst awaiting the delivery of DS,DD disks!