New member buys a macintosh se/30

[Robinater4223]

Hello. I recently purchased a Macintosh  se/30 on ebay. I bought it from the original owner. She said it was in storage for 20 years. The original battery had not leaked or exploded. I dont see any capacitor leakage either. But the sound is not as loud as it should be. I even plugged headphones in the back and it didnt seem loud. Also the monitor is slightly distorted from left to right. The top is slightly tilted to the right. The width adjustment on thr analog board does not seem to have a set screw to adjust it. Do you think its related? Also, I bought a cheep usb floppy drive on amazon i can read the macs floppies. I thought i might try to get a floppy emu and the rom card they sell on the same website. That way i can emulate floppies and whole hard drives and load whatever i want on to the computer.  Has anyone had success with this? Sorry if these are rookie questions. I dont have much experience witb vintage macs as  me and this computer are about the same age. 

 

[Mighty Jabba]

The width one isn't supposed to have a screw in it. You have to use a tool of some kind to adjust these, but it needs to be non-conductive since you have to do it while the machine is on. Most of them can be turned with a slotted screwdriver-like tool, but if the SE/30 is like the earlier ones, it is more of a hexagonal shape. I've had success just shaving down a disposable chopstick to adjust that one.

But I do think that it's likely that these problems like the volume and screen issues are related to capacitors.

Floppy Emu is a good option although it has a few challenges of its own.

 

[jessenator]

 Hi and welcome! Nice SE/30 you got, doesn't look too yellowed which is nice.

As far as the adjustment trimmers on the analog board itself, I'll defer to the more experienced, but it might be something as simple as needing some plastic safe contact cleaner, but it could be something else as well. As Mighty Jabba already noted, be sure to use non-conductive trimmer adjustment tools (think plastic flat blade screwdriver). I also agree it's most likely not related to the board caps. Shimmers/shivers and other strange CRT-drawing artifacts however, are probably analog board cap-related (if you have any)

As far as the tilt, that might be the actual adjustments on the CRT itself (kinda look like a spike bracelet on the tube neck) which are trick to the point where I haven't messed with mine, even after the tube is discharged. It seemed like too much hassle for me personally. Mine actually is tilted about the same amount. I have a spare CRT I might swap in, but for now it doesn't offend my eyes ...much. Probably doesn't need to be said, but don't touch anything around the tube or analog board inside before it gets discharged!

Regardless of care, storage and use frequency, every Macintosh board of this era (with the electrolytic capacitors) will need a recap of both logic and analog boards. There's really no getting around that, I'm afraid. I had a relatively immaculate board in mine, despite its mustard seed case appearance, and I still had small issues, chiefly the audio. Mine produced none at all until a good clean and a recap. Recaps are not terribly expensive, especially if you know your way around a soldering iron. Again, not trying to beat a dead horse, but there is no substitution for recapping. 

 

[LaPorta]

From the look of your screen, a slight loosening of the yoke collar and rotation of it should help correct that.

 

[Robinater4223]

As far as capacitors go. I dont currently see any corrosion or leakage. Can they fail without leaking? Is there any danger in waiting to have them recapped?

 

[Jinnai]

They can and will fail without leaking, but if you can't see damage, then they're not destructive.

 

[MOS8_030]

They can and will fail without leaking, but if you can't see damage, then they're not destructive.

Until those old RIFA X2 caps explode...

Weak/failing caps may start to bulge before they leak and they could cause voltages to go out of tolerance which could ultimately cause damage to other components.

 

[maceffects]

As far as capacitors go. I dont currently see any corrosion or leakage. Can they fail without leaking? Is there any danger in waiting to have them recapped?

They have leaked without a doubt, but without dust it is very hard to observe the leaks.  Please, don't wait to recap this SE/30! 

 

[Robinater4223]

Has anyone heard anything about the ebay seller allmacs? He advertises a recapping service on ebay and he has a pretty good feedback rating.

 

[Bolle]

https://68kmla.org/forums/index.php?/search/&q=allmacs

 

[bibilit]

 a slight loosening of the yoke collar and rotation of it should help correct that.

Yes, pretty easy to do, not a big deal, just use a non conductive tool (i use Chinese Chopsticks to do so)

 

[jimjimx]

The width one isn't supposed to have a screw in it. You have to use a tool of some kind to adjust these, but it needs to be non-conductive since you have to do it while the machine is on. Most of them can be turned with a slotted screwdriver-like tool, but if the SE/30 is like the earlier ones, it is more of a hexagonal shape. I've had success just shaving down a disposable chopstick to adjust that one.

Welcome!
From the Classic Mac Repair Notes (http://www.ccadams.org/se/classicmac2.pdf)

“The reason for the nonconductivity requirement is that the control is actually a ferrite core inside an inductor carrying large alternating currents. The AC field would induce large currents in a conductive tool, and make it get incredibly hot very quickly, to say nothing of invalidating the adjustment. At the same time, the increased strain that this places on the circuits could cause damage. So, wood or plastic it should be. “

So, by using a metal screwdriver, you’d be changing the inductance just by putting it in there, without even turning it. 
 

...And, the Classic Mac Notes is a good reference that I think everyone here has read or referenced, along with Larry Pina’s books, and others. 
 

 

[LaPorta]

Or, if you may do this more than once, buy a plastic tool set for this purpose. I gor one on amazon for about $10, and it comes with about ten different sized tools made exactly for the purpose of adjusting circuitry in these analog boards.

 

[Robinater4223]

Thanks for your help guys.

 

[Crutch]

Nice looking SE/30!  You should be able to fix those video issues no problem with a tune-up as others have suggested.  Also, that’s a nice fat half-gig HD you have in there, nice!

 

[Dog Cow]

But the sound is not as loud as it should be. I even plugged headphones in the back and it didnt seem loud.

Leave the Mac on for about 4 or 5 hours and the sound should be louder. It's a failing capacitor problem, as many others here have said.