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My New Mac SE/30 - and I will call him "Rusty"

ben68

6502
Is this salvageable?

Any tricks to getting the rust off the board without damaging traces?

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The battery and its holder were rattling around inside when I picked it up.

On the up side, it had a perfect condition "Mac Con for IISi SE30" Ethernet card!

 
Is this salvageable?

Any tricks to getting the rust off the board without damaging traces?

attachicon.gif
IMG_1170.jpg

attachicon.gif
IMG_1171.jpg

attachicon.gif
IMG_1173.jpg

The battery and its holder were rattling around inside when I picked it up.

On the up side, it had a perfect condition "Mac Con for IISi SE30" Ethernet card!
dont give up... i had one like that... i got mostly working, with the exception i cant get the SCSI to write.

wash the board and use a nylon then a BRASS brush to get the crap off.

if you have access to an ultrasonic tank, it'll do you good. let it run in the take for an hour or so.

once you have the board reasonably clean, power it up and make sure it isnt shorted.

full schematics are available, you'll have a tediously fun time getting things sorted... start with the address bus first, then data, then peripheral. with enough time/effort/money you'll save it.

 
I have one looks very similar although a lot of the ICs near the PRAM battery are mineral encrusted blobs now :(

 
I would consider ultrasonic cleaning as a first step because this should help clean not just the surface but also under parts that you may otherwise have to desolder to cleanup.

You may have to fix traces afterward but I encourage you to seek out a professional ultrasonic clean first. I wouldn't know what to recommend other than cleaning the board with a fine brush while it is submerged in Isopropyl Alcohol but the battery acid should be neutralized before it causes more damage.

I hope this helps, any thoughts?

 
oh man, thats bad.

Infact its one of the worst Ive seen in a long time.

I would say there is a million to 1 chance of it ever working again

But sure, put it under a tap of water, wash of all the crud, and have another look

only when you get the board clean will you see the damage to the outer traces. There are components missing, and many reduced to rust. The traces are long gone underneath.

 
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I have a SE/30 board in a similar scenerio.... It' has a few dead VIA's and pads missing from one of the TI SOIC-16's, which I've gotten a replacement for.

However, yours looks a bit rustier than mine did.... I washed the board with a tiny bit of dish soap and lukewarm water and just let it soak for a few hours / day.

Eventually, I then took a very soft toothbrush and got most of the dried on battery acid and corrision on the board, then followed it up with some IPA and Q-tips.

I've since recapped the entire board, and confirmed that the solder joints are working that I re-did.

Buuuut I'm now in the process of re-doing some pads, and fixing traces that were eaten... which is a time consuming process to say the least.

https://imgur.com/gallery/vpnMv

Depending on how many traces you have missing and how many chips are toast, it might not be worth the hassle... which is what I'm in the process of figuring out too!

Damn you Maxell and your leaky batteries!!!

 
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