SE/30 Screen Dimness/Burn

[fyndr]

I'm looking to acquire an SE/30 to round off my (small) collection of 68k machines, and I saw this entry on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Macintosh-SE-30-Vintage-Computer-w-Network-Card-READ-Description-/361522568007?hash=item542c6c9b47:g:JBQAAOSwZQxW6f~h

It appears to be in good condition, however the screen itself is very dim and has some burn which is a bit noticeable when turned off. I checked with the seller and confirmed that the screen is that dim in person, not just an effect of the photographic conditions. I was wondering what might be the cause of this sort of issue and whether it could be easily reversed?

Alternatively, if anyone is aware of a better deal on a functional SE/30 (computer with 1.44 MB floppy drive only, no keyboard/mouse/hard drive needed) please let me know. I've seen some earlier posts here that indicate people getting these for as low as $50 but all the listings I've seen are well over $100+.

 

[BadGoldEagle]

Well, I bought my SE/30 for €70. Came with a Lapis TPD video card, keyboard & mouse and its original carrying bag.

I will admit that it was a pretty good deal. 

$149 seems a bit steep for a SE/30 with no accessories BUT if you want to put it online, having an Ethernet card certainly is a plus! They are actually quite expensive. 

I wouldn't worry too much about the yellowing or the screen being really dim. My SE/30 had this problem as well and with the help of a special plastic tool I adjusted the brightness (you have to take the back off to do so). It was that simple. Now it's good. I never had any problems with the screen since!

If you can live with the screen burn in and the missing/destroyed feet, it's actually in pretty good nick. There are finer examples of these online though.

But if it won your heart, go ahead! Don't hesitate 

Oh and one more thing... All SE/30s need a recap by now. And by the look of it this machine will need one. If you're good with a soldering iron in your hand this is easy, but if you're not you should have it done professionally by someone on this forum. Bear in mind that when buying an SE/30.

The SE/30 is a beast of a machine!

 

[olePigeon]

I've encountered a few SEs, 512ks, and SE/30s with dim CRTs, even with the dimmer knob put to maximum.  However, taking off the case and adjusting the dimmer on the analog board itself using special plastic screw drivers brought it back to normal.

I'll have an SE/30 for sale this weekend, you can have dibs if you like.  I've been restoring them.  Recap, Retr0Brite, SCSI2SD, and MacCon ethernet card.  They've been selling for between $350 and $400, but I'll let it go for $300 + shipping (about $70) just to avoid eBay.  Before you gawk at the price, you should take into account roughly $100 to recap, time to Retr0Brite/clean/scrub, $80 for a SCSI2SD card, time to design and 3D print adapters, and (going eBay rate) $100 for an Asante MacCon SE/30 ethernet card.  That leaves about $100 for the machine itself.

I also hand picked the analog and CRT so that there's zero burn in.

 

[fyndr]

@olePigeon That's a very generous offer! To be honest, the machine you're describing generally exceeds my needs - I have an external hard drive which I was intending to use for the SE/30 and I don't have any plans to take the machine online. However, the recap and quality of the A/B and CRT are a definite boon, and would exceed the value of the eBay item that I linked to.

I don't know if you would go for this necessarily, but would you be willing to sell the SE/30 minus the SCSI2SD and MacCon additions? I would be willing to pay $175 + shipping for the unit as you described but with those omissions. If that's not a possibility, then I'll need some time to mull over the particulars of the offer further.

 

[olePigeon]

Let me talk to my partners (it's actually owned by 3 people.)

Oh wait, are you located in the U.S.?

 

[fyndr]

Yes I'm based out of Minnesota