PB 100 Battery

[Mac128]

I've been looking around the web and finding a lot of different approaches to replacing the PowerBook 100 battery and they all seem far too complicated. Isn't it just a matter of getting several rechargeable lead acid cells and combining them to supply approx. 7.5v volts? As long as a solid connection is made, where's the problem? I would think you could even clean out an old shell (which seems to be a messy proposition) and put the cells in that.

 

[Franklinstein]

I think with these, it's really a size issue. I personally don't know of any industry-standard consumer lead-acid batteries; most of the ones I see are custom-sized (camcorder batteries, emergency light packs, etc), automotive, or industrial. I think Li-Pol batteries are pretty much the same: totally custom-sized.

 

[shred]

You need 3 x lead acid cell. Each gives 2v, for a total of 6v. The size and physical configuration of the PowerBook 100 battery pack make repacking it quite tricky.

If you just want to get the PowerBook going and don't really care about looks, you could use three of the "Gates Cells" like the Mac Portable uses and connect them via crocodile clips in to the battery compartment. Not pretty, but it was enough to get my old PowerBook 100 to boot.

For those not familiar with the Mac Portable and PowerBook 100, both computers are not capable of booting reliably from the power adaptor alone; they need a battery to deliver that little bit of extra "kick" to start up the hard drive.

 

[Mac128]

For those not familiar with the Mac Portable and PowerBook 100, both computers are not capable of booting reliably from the power adaptor alone; they need a battery to deliver that little bit of extra "kick" to start up the hard drive.

That may be true of the Portable, but my PowerBook 100 is running quite reliably from the power adapter alone, no battery even in the bay.

The goal is really to get the thing running from portable (not luggable) battery power alone. I was under the impression that there were rechargeable lead-acid batteries like the standard Alkaline variety. However, seems like something like this would do the trick:

http://www.batterymart.com/p-6v-0_5ah-sealed-lead-acid-power-sonic-battery.html

 

[Bunsen]

Sure would, as long as shred's right about 6V Just double check the physical dimensions too.

All 6V and 12V lead acid batteries are made up of groups of cells. Might as well buy them in one package, if it'll fit.

btw 6V and 12V are nominal values. The true value for PbA is closer to 7V and 14V - each cell puts out slightly more than 2V

 

[Morrick]

By the way, I'm trying to resuscitate my good old PowerBook 100 but, alas, to no avail.

I put it away some months ago, switched off, perfectly functioning (well, the hard drive was dead, but the PowerBook worked well using floppies and RAM disks). Recently I fell in love again with it, and decided to give it a second chance, while looking for a hard drive replacement. Nothing. I even put 3 new lithium backup batteries. Nothing. It doesn't start up. It doesn't run from the power adapter alone. I have 2 batteries but evidently they're both dead.

Sadness, frustration, etc.

Cheers

Rick

 

[digitalrampage]

You need to remove the battery from the battery bay, hook up the power adaptor and simultaneously press the reset and interupt buttons

that will bring it back 9/10.

If you are located in Australia, I can repair the original 20mb drives in some cases for a fee

:beige:

 

[hank]

I've also been hoping to find a replacement for the old PB100 battery.

Still nothing except maybe the Powersonic 605, which is ".55 inches" thick.

Sounds like three of these in parallel could fit into the space, barely.

Has anyone tried?

 

[joshc]

Slightly Off-topic: Why is it PB100 are always causing trouble? Age? I see a lot of threads about people having trouble getting their PB100s running properly. Obviously batteries lose their charge quite quickly, but even with a good battery, there's a big chance there will be other problems. You'd think with how simple the hardware really is that it would stand up better against time.

 

[hank]

Simple -- people don't go to the Internet to sign up in a topic about "no problem here"

 

[shred]

Why is it PB100 are always causing trouble? Age?

I guess there are several reasons for this. The obvious one is that the PowerBook 100 was very cheap, leading to it being the volume selling PowerBook at the time. There are now quite a lot of old ones floating around. Another factor is that the construction was cheap - their manufacture was out-sourced to Sony and the build quality was definitely inferior to that of the PowerBook 140/170 released at around the same time.

 

[Mac128]

the PowerBook 100 was very cheap, leading to it being the volume selling PowerBook at the time. There are now quite a lot of old ones floating around. Another factor is that the construction was cheap - their manufacture was out-sourced to Sony and the build quality was definitely inferior to that of the PowerBook 140/170 released at around the same time.

What I love about this is the perception that the PB 100 is the FIRST PowerBook and is further "rare" thus commanding high prices on eBay. In fact, the 140 & 170 were in short supply because Apple underestimated the demand for the more expensive laptops. Meaning, they are actually the rarer of the three. Though released at the same time as the PowerBook 100, both the 140 and 170 were designed entirely by Apple, while the 100 was being miniaturized by Sony from the full-sized Macintosh Portable. As a result, the 170 & 140 represents the very first created by Apple, with the 100 actually representing the first design improvements, though its internal architecture is the oldest in the series and the only one which will officially and easily run System 6.

One anecdote I particularly like about the 100, is that Apple, having already designed the 170, sent the case design to Sony to emulate and adapt for the 100. Instead of taking the design features, which used the Snow White line spacing to match the existing desktop designs, Sony merely shrank the design without keeping the proportions. Therefore, the pattern matches nothing else in the Apple line except in general appearance.

Of course, Apple preferred the look of the 100, as do many collectors, and future improvements mirrored the Sony updates (another clue that the 140 & 170 came first).

 

[Morrick]

Amen, Mac128!

I'm really trying hard to revive my PowerBook 100 (yes, it's dead again, after a brief return to life) exactly for its small footprint. I'd love to have it back in operation, to use it as a sort of "retro-MacBook-Air" for a writing project I have in mind.

Admittedly, of all the PowerBooks -- old and new -- I've handled, the PowerBook 100 has proven to be the most unpredictable.

Cheers,

Rick

 

[Bunsen]

Man, I really want a 170 now :'(

 

[Bunsen]

Man, I really want a 170 now :'(

 

[shred]

Agreed, Bunsen. I remember lusting after the 170s when they were new - the active matrix display was so crisp and easy to read compared to just about everything else on the market at the time (not just from Apple). One day I hope to find a 170 or 180 in good nick for my collection.

I loved the case design on the early Apple designed PowerBooks. 5 screws and it was apart, with all major items easily accessible. The design made it inherently impossible to take apart with the battery installed, so no danger of damaging anything from having the power on. The PowerBook 100 wasn't quite as nice IMHO, but it certainly wasn't hard to work on. Modern notebook manufacturers could learn a lot from examining the design of these machines - Toshiba take note! (If you haven't ever worked on one, think dozens of screws - many different lengths/threads etc).

Mac128: the story about Sony being given the case for a 140/170 as a template would explain a lot!

 

[joshc]

Wikipedia has a lot of details on the PB100, written by myself a while ago (and all referenced properly): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PowerBook_100 - Even got Dana's picture of the PB100.

 

[Byrd]

Man, I really want a 170 now :'(

They're nice little 'books, thats for sure and my "pick" of the 1x0 models by far. However, nearly all of them have backlight "tunnel vision" which makes the display look pretty shoddy after a couple of hours use. If there was a way to replace the CCFL backlight (LEDS anyone?), I'd be a happy camper ... perhaps time to start a new thread!

JB

 

[Mac128]

If there was a way to replace the CCFL backlight (LEDS anyone?), I'd be a happy camper ... perhaps time to start a new thread!

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