The SE/30 currently boots to a blinking floppy, so it's not a dead machine. Obviously I will need to recap the logic board and remove the CMOS battery. Do I need to recap the analog board? If so, is there any special procedures I need to follow, like discharging the capacitors, etc? Anything else I need to do?
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Just ordered an SE/30, what should I expect/prepare for?
- Thread starter tattar8
- Start date
I would highly recommend getting all three boards recapped. Analog, PSU, and logic. Then you'll be set for decades.
Let it sit turned off and unplugged for an hour, and then discharge it. It should have a bleeder installed. You might see a spark but probably not.
After that, remove the cap and you can continue on taking it apart. Make sure to lube the floppy drive while it's out, and you should probably replace the eject gear.
Let it sit turned off and unplugged for an hour, and then discharge it. It should have a bleeder installed. You might see a spark but probably not.
After that, remove the cap and you can continue on taking it apart. Make sure to lube the floppy drive while it's out, and you should probably replace the eject gear.
For the CRT, most Macs built after the original run of the Plus use bleeder-type flyback transformers that automatically discharge after power is removed. However, 3rd party repairs may have replaced an original bleeder-type with a non-bleeder, or the bleeder circuit in the original transformer died, so hazardous voltage could still be present. Thus, you still have to follow proper discharge procedure. It's best to use a discharge tool with a built-in 10M-ohm resistor to both reduce the chance of arcing and also to prevent damage to circuits elsewhere on the computer from a sudden influx of high voltage.
In computers and TVs, all the caps generally discharge in-circuit if you let them sit for an hour or so. Regardless, there's really no shock hazard so long as you don't accidentally bridge the terminals. If you are concerned about the potential of very large caps, you can safely discharge them in the same manner as the CRT: use a discharge tool with a 10M-ohm resistor and bridge the terminals for a few seconds.
In computers and TVs, all the caps generally discharge in-circuit if you let them sit for an hour or so. Regardless, there's really no shock hazard so long as you don't accidentally bridge the terminals. If you are concerned about the potential of very large caps, you can safely discharge them in the same manner as the CRT: use a discharge tool with a 10M-ohm resistor and bridge the terminals for a few seconds.
Excellent advice. Thank you for reminding folks of what a safety procedure looks like.
It depends how hands on you are and if you have other older computers to act as a bridge machine. I brought an se/30 a few years back without really thinking about it, nostalgic purchase as i used macs at college and it was cheap.
firstly without some basic technical or computer experience you wont get far trying to get software of these machines can be a real pig, disc formats, no networking or compatibility with modern machines so a bridge machine was the way i went with a few zip drives.
as above mentioned re-capping; these electronics from this era had issues, if you’re like me and not an electrician it’s daunting to do yourself and can be costly but it needs to be done if you want to keep if for many years to come.
yes discharge and be careful of the crt neck. Quantum Hard drives are small capacity and stick if (big if)?they work! I found a 1gb drive from a mid 1990’s machine (i love the sound) but scsi2sd probably best choice.
other than that have a think about what you want it for, what you want to do on it! They obviously have limitations by todays standards and they’re not really gaming machines but i love doing graphics on mine even though its tiny b&w screen are far from ideal somehow it’s lovely to do. vintage games obviously and generally using old software is a pleasure on the crisp b&w screen. Going online is fun too if you can. Oh and get extra ram i found the 4mb seriously lacking. I have 3 macs now of vary ages and the se/30 is the oldest and most compromised yet its the one I enjoy using most, I suppose its like a classic car; a bit rubbish but full off character. I have excel on mine and do my home finances on it because i can. It’s cost me a lot more than i had planned on but what hobby doesn’t cost but above all enjoy, i get great pleasure tinkering with it, typing on it and using old hardware and software.
firstly without some basic technical or computer experience you wont get far trying to get software of these machines can be a real pig, disc formats, no networking or compatibility with modern machines so a bridge machine was the way i went with a few zip drives.
as above mentioned re-capping; these electronics from this era had issues, if you’re like me and not an electrician it’s daunting to do yourself and can be costly but it needs to be done if you want to keep if for many years to come.
yes discharge and be careful of the crt neck. Quantum Hard drives are small capacity and stick if (big if)?they work! I found a 1gb drive from a mid 1990’s machine (i love the sound) but scsi2sd probably best choice.
other than that have a think about what you want it for, what you want to do on it! They obviously have limitations by todays standards and they’re not really gaming machines but i love doing graphics on mine even though its tiny b&w screen are far from ideal somehow it’s lovely to do. vintage games obviously and generally using old software is a pleasure on the crisp b&w screen. Going online is fun too if you can. Oh and get extra ram i found the 4mb seriously lacking. I have 3 macs now of vary ages and the se/30 is the oldest and most compromised yet its the one I enjoy using most, I suppose its like a classic car; a bit rubbish but full off character. I have excel on mine and do my home finances on it because i can. It’s cost me a lot more than i had planned on but what hobby doesn’t cost but above all enjoy, i get great pleasure tinkering with it, typing on it and using old hardware and software.
@s_pupp right here (below). I’ve bought several, they’re pricey but this person took the trouble to fabricate them so happy to compensate accordingly. They are much sturdier than the originals and work great.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F263868280592
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F263868280592
As others have said, re-capping the components, removing and replacing the battery, and looking at other moving parts such as the floppy gear are all excellent steps to take. (The only exception is if someone already re-capped those boards, re-furbished the floppy drive, or the battery was already pulled).
All of the above safety advice is great as well. I've usually let my pre-SE boards sit for a week, which has always discharged everything, but the proper discharge procedure is still highly recommended. (Keep in mind my experience falls under the law of small sample sizes; even though I've worked on about a dozen pre-SE computers, that's still 12 out of thousands).
Be sure to wash the boards before re-capping. I also advise removing any dust from the case, fan, etc. You can also give the case a bath in Endust for Electronics.
There is one other thing to prepare for: the fun you'll have with this machine. The SE/30 is a blast--it's got a ton of power in a tiny package. Go ahead and test its limits--I once got an SE/30 to play an MP3 file on its internal speaker, which was a lot of fun just to do as proof of concept!
All of the above safety advice is great as well. I've usually let my pre-SE boards sit for a week, which has always discharged everything, but the proper discharge procedure is still highly recommended. (Keep in mind my experience falls under the law of small sample sizes; even though I've worked on about a dozen pre-SE computers, that's still 12 out of thousands).
Be sure to wash the boards before re-capping. I also advise removing any dust from the case, fan, etc. You can also give the case a bath in Endust for Electronics.
There is one other thing to prepare for: the fun you'll have with this machine. The SE/30 is a blast--it's got a ton of power in a tiny package. Go ahead and test its limits--I once got an SE/30 to play an MP3 file on its internal speaker, which was a lot of fun just to do as proof of concept!
I intend to
. But the SE/30 (which arrived today) is currently number 3 in line for my attention, which is currently on a Mac IIx and why I can't get any video out of it.
I have forever been using 35V tantalums instead of the 50V Apple used and never had any problems.
I don’t see why they would have 50V there anyways other than availability just like trag already mentioned.
Even if you take the rule of thumb for tantalums into account to always double the actual voltage there’s still plenty of headroom with 35V.
I don’t see why they would have 50V there anyways other than availability just like trag already mentioned.
Even if you take the rule of thumb for tantalums into account to always double the actual voltage there’s still plenty of headroom with 35V.
