New (to me) 180c, Advice on Rehab

[LCARS]

My much loved 180 has succumb to tunnel vision and is now used with an external display. Still wanting to take a 1xx around with me, I was given a very nice 180c with a few goodies: system disks, VST ThinPack, and a snazzy case.

The 180c is in nice condition save for an annoying trackball but at least it has a port door. After a few disappointments with some 68k portables, I really want this 'Book to be a reliable travel machine. The SCSI drive is tiny and noisy, so I think a CF adaptor is in its future. Any recommendation on the best CF speed rating?

I cleaned the trackball innards but it feels like there is a physical problem. Is the solution only a new mouse/keyboard unit? No cracks that I can see in the housing or gunk in the springs.

VST ThinPack- salvageable cells? I haven't plugged it in yet but I also know very little about them. I'm assuming its NiMH. I don't have the manual to know for how long to leave it plugged in, but I'm assuming the little LED will tell me.

Recapping- No apparent problems so far save for a small speaker pop before an alert sound. Would it be prudent to recap anyway due to age?

I have no confidence (or time) to recap myself. Are there any members here who run a save-the-mobo service? Same for replacing the backlight?

Lastly, the LCD housing is still quite snug but the left side is starting to pull away. Is there a better solution than glue? I can see the LCD pull away from the front bezel just slightly when gently closing the lid.

I haven't done a tear down just yet. I am still basking in the newness and starting to take stock of what needs to be done.

 

 

[techknight]

steal the trackball assembly from your bad 180. all the parts are interchangeable. 

And as for the HDD, I recommend SCSI2SD. Or the Artimix one. 

 

[LCARS]

Robbing my 180 had come to mind but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It does make sense, since I can't use it without the external monitor.

As for the Artimix: I didn't know about those. I checked out their specs on eBay- an interesting card. You would recommend that over the CF AztecMonster? The appeal of the Aztec set up for me is that I can format the CF card in my 3400c whereas my only SD card reader is in a ThinkPad running Linux.

On this note, how well does VM work with any of these solid state setups? I'd like to use Ram Doubler and I really only run Claris, Word, and some games without replacing the card every few years. Perhaps the rewrites are that numerous with my usual workload.

 

[rsolberg]

The Aztec Monster is a product made/sold by Artmix. The relevant item from him for your 180c is the "Power Monster II"- it's a 2.5" SCSI hard drive form factor intended to fit your PowerBook. If you go with this option, get an "industrial" rated CF card or one that lists a wear-levelling feature. You shouldn't need to worry about longevity in that case. With the SCSI2SD, look for the same things in a Micro SD card-- it may require a bit more hunting. You can get an extension cord that adapts to a full size SD card- there tends to be more selection of suitable cards in full size.

 

[LCARS]

Thanks, rsolberg. That's right, I almost forgot. A SLC card would fit the need perfectly. Handy that they tend to come in sizes workable with System 7.

As for board recapping and replacing backlights, do you know of anyone around here who offers that service?

 

[rsolberg]

I don't know what's involved in backlight replacement on these things, but Uniserver is a good guy to talk to about recapping.

 

[techknight]

I don't know what's involved in backlight replacement on these things, but Uniserver is a good guy to talk to about recapping.

I do, and its a pain in the ***..... 

The older ones arnt too bad, but the newer LCDs (macbook), run for the hills!

 

[LCARS]

Thanks again, rsolber. I'll get in touch with Uniserver.

techknight, I believe it. Silly thin seems to have moved from fashion models to consumer computers. Having seen how thin the new Mac laptops are, I'm not surprised they are all glued together. Bleck, I'll take a serviceable ThinkPad from Big Blue anyday. If only they could run 7.6.1 .

I am so looking forward to getting this little 180c ready for daily use.