| Author |
Topic |
|
muzhok
New Member
Germany
91 Posts |
 Posted - 25 Aug 2003 : 09:47:11
Just got a call from a friend and she is giving me an old PowerBook 190 that belonged to an acquaintance of hers. The screen hinges are broken off, so the display has to be propped up. It supposedly worked fine last night, but this morning the wires to the display got pulled and it wouldn't start up. I am hoping this is just a case of loose wires. I will report again on Friday morning once the machine is on my workbench.IIsi 17/1Gb/500Mb
Performa 475 20/200Mb
Quadra 950 80/4.3Gb |
maclover5
LC Doctor/Hot Rodder
Australia
5830 Posts |
Posted - 25 Aug 2003 : 15:36:32
Nice...good luck!  "**** em" - Jobs in regards to customers
Warrior maclover5
68kMLA
Official 68kMLA Detective
Number of 68ks Liberated: 7
Number of Contraband (PPC) Liberated from the Dumpster: 1 |
Bugsi
Starting Member
USA
38 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2003 : 20:20:11
Be really careful with the ribbon cable to the screen on the 190! It's easy to tear it, and you really really don't want to do that!Do you have the Apple internal card that provides video output? If so, you can hook your 190 to an external monitor. The 190 doesn't come stock with it, or InfraRed, but you can add them to it, along with third-party PCM/CIA modem and ethernet cards, which are really inexpensive these days on eBay! Enjoy!
I used my 190cs for years with two ethernet cards in it as a DSL router for my house, running IPNetRouter 68K. (Then I got a TiBook, so I bought a wireless/wired hardware router instead.) Now I'm using my 190cs to run my MIDI rig. They're pretty slick little powerbooks! SE, Classic II, SE/30, IIcx, IIci, IIx, IIfx, LCIII => Q605 (the mega-upgrade)
PB190cs, Duo2300c
PM6100, PM8100, PM8500, Beige G3, 17" G4 iMac |
muzhok
New Member
Germany
91 Posts |
Posted - 28 Aug 2003 : 23:06:54
THE RIBBON CABLE IS TORN!!!
OK, what do I do now? It was supposedly working until a few days ago, with the caveat that the display was separated from the body of the laptop - both hinges are frozen in one position.
The cable is now torn across two connecting (copper?)lines. Is there any way of getting it back together?
The book seems quite basic. The battery slot - if that is what it is - is empty. There is no network connection, only the floppy drive. It doesn't say "CS" on the underside, but my friend says it seemed to be colored, if limited to a small gamma.
Any suggestions, please?!?
|
~Coxy
Leader, Tactical Ops Unit
Australia
2822 Posts |
Posted - 29 Aug 2003 : 01:13:15
The ribbon is basically shot, so you might as well try to repair the two traces. How tiny are they? Too small that you wouldn't be able to solder a strand of wire across the break?~Coxy - Leader, Tactical Operations Unit
Mayor of NuBus City v3.0
|
muzhok
New Member
Germany
91 Posts |
Posted - 29 Aug 2003 : 01:52:33
What about scotch tape? It would seem just as secure as a dab of solder.
|
G4from128k
Full Member
USA
873 Posts |
Posted - 29 Aug 2003 : 09:30:42
Repairing these ribbons is really hard. You need to remove the outer layer of insulating plastic and lap-solder a wire across the break. You should also check continuity on all the lines -- chances are that more of the lines are broken even if there is not an visible tear. Finally, if the tear is in a part of the ribbon that bends, then any solder job will be too bulky and rigid.Good Luck! G4From128k by Day: Mild-Mannered Engineer and Trapeze(tm) Artist
by Night: Colonel of Truth, Justice, and the Macintosh Way
Reserve Officer in 68kMLA Cantankerous Coot Contingent
|
muzhok
New Member
Germany
91 Posts |
Posted - 29 Aug 2003 : 10:25:53
Just had a look at the ribbon in the light of day. Now it is 3/4 torn through - no chance of repair as there are literally more than a dozen fine wires in addition to the large ones that have been ripped through. Must have suffered some more it carrying it home last night. What a shame. I don't think such a ribbon is something one can find on the e-bay and no doubt a complete laptop would cost just as much. There are 2 on the local e-bay for under 3 EUROS with a few days to go, for example. I guess it doesn't make much sense even to try and connect 20 or so fine wire from the innards of the laptop to the connector inside the display (I haven't even taken them apart to see what it looks like. Oh well, something else to store in the basement...
|
jruschme
Junior Member
USA
196 Posts |
Posted - 29 Aug 2003 : 11:18:11
quote:
The book seems quite basic. The battery slot - if that is what it is - is empty. There is no network connection, only the floppy drive. It doesn't say "CS" on the underside, but my friend says it seemed to be colored, if limited to a small gamma.
Any suggestions, please?!?
I can't help you with the cable, but if it turns out to be the greyscale model (190 as opposed to 190cs), I have a set of display plastics I could let go of really cheaply. I've also got one of the internal video cards (pulled from my 5300c after I upgraded).<<<john>>> |
muzhok
New Member
Germany
91 Posts |
Posted - 29 Aug 2003 : 13:35:00
Thanks jruschme!
I am first going to try and take the book apart and see if the extra effort and expense is worth it. First, there is a battery in the laptop after all. But both hinges are broken and it looks like the plastic fittings where they were screwed on to are also broken. Besides that, the hinges don't move at all now.
By the end of next week I should be finished with a big job and will then have the time to look at the 190 in all patience. Thanks for the offer and I will get back to you all in about a week's time with the results of the examination (or exhumation, as the case may be).Liberated: MacIIsi, Performa 475, and (bought) Quadra 950. The stack of lcs is waiting by the door for someone to pick them up.
|
Bugsi
Starting Member
USA
38 Posts |
Posted - 30 Aug 2003 : 13:03:08
Man, I didn't mean to jinx you by warning you about that ribbon cable, but when you said the hinge covers were gone, I knew the ribbon would be exposed, and like I said, it tears much too easily. One used to be able to buy the cable as a repair part from any Apple authorized repair center. I have no idea if you still can, but even if you can, it would, as you suggested, probably cost as much as a working 190 on eBay.I just checked my 190cs, and it only says "PowerBook 190 series" on the bottom, the identity sticker to the right of the rainbow-apple on the screen is where it says "PowerBook 190cs." Yes, the gamut of the 190cs screen is limited, and color depth is limited to 8 bit (256 colors). Back when it was released, I always viewed the lack of built-in networking ports on the 190 & 5300 to be a bonus. -At that time those components cost a lot, and if you didn't need them, you didn't have to pay for them. The proprietary modems in the previous 100-series PowerBooks was a serious limitation. As modem speeds got faster, nobody made new proprietary modems for them, or if they did they cost much more than "standardized" pc-card modems. I liked that the standardization on PCMCIA card slots fostered competition and lowered prices, so you could buy pretty much any brand modem or network card. As modem speeds maxed out though, Apple went back to including proprietary modems and ethernet and never looked back. Oh well, so much for innovation. Now you've got an opportunity to try something I always wanted to try: You can try to use your 190 as an ultra-compact, headless Quadra! Remove the screen entirely from your 190! Get rid of it! But add one or two upgrades that you should be able to pick up cheap on eBay! (1) Install a video-out card. The PowerBook 5300 came with it standard, but it was an optional add-on for the 190. The Apple model came with a puny 512K of VRAM which allowed it to do no better than the built-in screen on the 190: 640x480 at 8-bit (256) colors. This card should be really cheap on eBay, mostly because it offered no real advantage over the built-in video. There are a couple alternatives to look for too: The FocusEnhancements MV16 was a 1-meg VRAM video out card for the 190. And the MV16EN provided both 1 meg VRAM video out AND 10-base-T ethernet on one internal upgrade card. (All of the cards just mentioned go *internal* and add their ports right in the middle of the back of the 190. (2) Get an ethernet card for it. PCMCIA ethernet cards are really cheap on eBay, get one with Mac drivers. (Mine is the Dayna Communicard.) -But if you find a FocusEnhancements MV16EN, you won't need a PCMCIA ethernet card.) Once you remove the screen and add an internal video-out card, you should be able to run your 190 with any standard external monitor. I've never tried to run a 190 without its screen, but I'm told it should work. You can try it! Then you'll have the most compact Quadra ever made! If you network it with ethernet, you should even be able to run your 190 completely headless, as an ultra-compact server! WooWoo! SE, Classic II, SE/30, IIcx, IIci, IIx, IIfx, LCIII => Q605 (the mega-upgrade)
PB190cs, Duo2300c
PM6100, PM8100, PM8500, Beige G3, 17" G4 iMac |
jw
Starting Member
United Kingdom
1 Posts |
Posted - 22 Sep 2003 : 16:16:52
Hey there - I've just found this site and it looks good. Was browsing around and saw your post.I've just merged my two 190's into one 190cs after the 190cs died. Because of this, I have the hinges and plastic covers you want, plus a complete PB190 Mono top half with non-torn screen cable. I was trying to make a bit of money back on these two as one died.
If you are interested, postage may be fairly expensive (I'm in the UK), but I'll sell you a new top half (with cable too), external video card (without the external lead :( , though they are easy to get on eBay ) and hinges (and most other case bits you want) for £15 (UKP) + the price of postage. Let me know at josh<underscore>watson<at>alexandria<dot>cc if you are interested. Sorry if i'm not meant to post if I'm selling stuff. Josh
|
|
powerbook 190 - my first laptop
68k of the Week: kastegir's PowerBook 180.