nextse7en Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 It took several weeks to source all the parts, but I think I've done it. The hardest part was locating the 10" color crt capable of displaying 1024x768 that was short enough to fit in the case, I finally found one, so the mod is underway. Specs. Intel Atom core 2 running at 2 ghz. 2gb ram 300 gb 7200 rpm sata HDD Intel GMA integrated graphics integrated iphone dock integrated USB breakout box (this rig will be used as an effect box for guitar performances) integrated webcam/microphone. CD/DVD RW slot loading. functional auto eject floppy. Every compact mac mod I've seen (with the exception of takky CC upgrades) has been pretty sloppy. Even if the mod doesn't effect the external asthetics of the mac, the inside is rife with velcro and cut corners. I know I'll never see the inside of this box, but it will make me feel better that everything looks integrated, like it came that way from the factory. I chose the atom processor, (mini itx form factor) because I thought the beauty of these first macs was the lack of noise they made. This setup will allow me to run fanless. For your eyes only spyshot below. Further updates as I make them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MacPlusOwner Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 I hate to see a Mac turned into a PC (or are you putting OS X on it?), but I must admit, I find the idea of turning it into a guitar FX box very interesting! Good luck with the mod, I'll be watching this with interest! It'll be interesting to see how you get the flat LCD monitor to mate to the curve of the Mac Plus' case. The most elaborate mod I've seen so far involved cutting the curved glass front off the CRT so that it could be left in the case and the flat LCD placed behind it. That must be a ton of work though. I take it that you're gonna run some kinda VST host or something on it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nextse7en Posted February 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 The machine will never, ever see windows. Leopard it will be. In response to your second question, I won't be using a flat panel, but a good old fashioned 10" color CRT that I ordered from japan. I'll be running Logic 8. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MacPlusOwner Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Even nicer! oops, I see you did mention that you were putting in a 10" CRT (didn't see that!) Nice touch having an auto-eject floppy drive in there too. Are you re-using the one from the Mac plus? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
benjgvps Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Do it right this time! Use an IO shield that isn't too ulgy (Spray paint it beige?) and don't do the "Shove extenders through the old ports" trick. Can't wait to see how this turns out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mac128 Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 I won't be using a flat panel, but a good old fashioned 10" color CRT that I ordered from japan. Care to share the make and model number with us? I did not think it was possible to make the glass neck of a color CRT shorter than they are on every 10" I have seen in my own quest. How's the picture quality? I assume it is shadow mask, or is it aperture grille? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bunsen Posted February 21, 2009 Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 10" color CRTCare to share the make and model number with us? Triple pretty please? :b&w: Am I mistaken, or have you already trimmed some plastic from the screen surround in the photo above? It looks as though you're preparing it to mount something flat. Is your CRT flat in two dimensions? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nextse7en Posted February 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 (edited) Here is the link to the monitor that will be serving as the donor for the CRT http://www.vibrantepos.co.uk/products_crt_vs10s.php (link dead - see archive copy) It looks as if the monitor has a very similar curve profile to the existing crt. I have not trimmed from the front of the Plus, and hopefully won't have to. -Patrick Edited April 12, 2012 by Guest Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nextse7en Posted February 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2009 Here are some rough measurements of the CRT, based on the manufactures provided dimensions for the exterior of the housing. Depth isn't shown, but the documentations says that this monitor is only 200 cm deep. Thats only 7 7/8th inches! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nextse7en Posted February 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Further building, the power supply arrived today, so this is what I've got so far. First off, I wanted to utilize the Plus' original power switch, power outlet, and battery. I did this to allow the machine to look stock from the outside. (As I post further build steps it will become obvious how I will do this on the data ports at the bottom, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.) Here is an angle that shows you how I've begun routing the wires running from the PS to the mainboard. Here it is during test fitting; they fit exactly into the space provided, without a millimeter of wiggle room. Next up will be drilling holes in the chassis to mount the motherboard permanently to. And building cages for the drives. I'll post more as I get to it. -Patrick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bolle Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 what board is this? the D945GCLF2 I guess? If so it will run OSX like a charm got one of those babies running as a server with Leo Server. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Morrick Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Hats off to you, Patrick. This is amazing. Do keep us posted. Cheers! Rick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nextse7en Posted February 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Beginning of 10.5.5 install. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bunsen Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Re: CRT. Are you in the UK? Or was that the only one you could find anywhere? Care to share the price? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nextse7en Posted February 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Here is a link to a us ebay auction. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160316885018&ih=006&sspagename=STORE%3APROMOBOX%3ANEWLIST&category=116347&viewitem=&salenotsupported#LIST Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mac128 Posted February 23, 2009 Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 (edited) Here are some rough measurements of the CRT, based on the manufactures provided dimensions for the exterior of the housing.Depth isn't shown, but the documentations says that this monitor is only 200 cm deep. Thats only 7 7/8th inches! I hope that it's not a typo. Vibrant appears to be a badged re-seller. Here's a link to the manufacturer's literature (archive copy), which TVS doesn't seem to make anymore. It sure looks like standard color CRT specs, though, with a 300mm depth. Let us know when you get the monitor. If so, the 24th Anniversary Macintosh grayscale monitor is not a bad way to go and it will definitely fit. Edited April 12, 2012 by Guest Quote Link to post Share on other sites
metzen01 Posted February 23, 2009 Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 Very exciting project you have there. Seems to be going smoothly! Do keep us posted and let us know of any roadbumps you have along the way. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bunsen Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 documentations says that this monitor is only 200 cm deep.I hope that it's not a typo. / link to the manufacturer's literature, which TVS / It sure looks like standard color CRT specs, though, with a 300mm depth. First up, 200mm, not 200cm. 200cm is over six feet! TVS's SVGA 9" greyscale caught my eye, so I checked out the specs on that one. Even that is 246mm deep. Can't get to a Compact right now - does anyone want to measure one/several and post the depth? I did measure a CC, and at 320mm it should hold the above colour CRT comfortably Here is a link to a us ebay auction. Thanks, but I guess you didn't notice my location - it's under my avatar. At AU$300 (US$200) after shipping, I might as well pick up a local or Hong Kong LCD. Still curious about what you're paying for yours. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mac128 Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 documentations says that this monitor is only 200 cm deep.I hope that it's not a typo. / link to the manufacturer's literature, which TVS / It sure looks like standard color CRT specs, though, with a 300mm depth. First up, 200mm, not 200cm. 200cm is over six feet! TVS's SVGA 9" greyscale caught my eye, so I checked out the specs on that one. Even that is 246mm deep. Can't get to a Compact right now - does anyone want to measure one/several and post the depth? I did measure a CC, and at 320mm it should hold the above colour CRT comfortably You see how easy it is to make a typo! The Macintosh 128K through the SE/30 are all 9.6" wide by 10.9" (276.8mm) deep. The Classic & Classic 2 are 11.2" (284.5mm) deep, due solely to the radius curve in front. The Color Classic grows to 12.6" (320mm) deep. Of course the sole reason the CC is the longest compact is because it was designed to handle the additional depth required by color monitors. Complicating matters, is the fact that the B&W compacts don't actually have the full depth in which to fit the monitor thanks to their perpendicular back (the CC's back is parallel to the front angle giving it a uniform depth), resulting in a maximum depth of about 9.2" (235mm) where the top of the CRT neck connector would hit the rear case. Now granted, the manufacturer specs on those monitors are giving details of the case exterior, the grayscale of which probably has at least 1" (25mm) of padding, so the actual CRT would easily fit within the Mac space allotted. Apply the same ratio to the colour display, even if the padding is doubled, the CRT won't fit in the Mac Plus case by at least 25mm. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nextse7en Posted February 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 Well hell.... Everyone was right, I received the monitor yesterday, and it can't fit. I suppose I'll have to go with the 8.4 Camos LCD screen. Perhaps I'll cut the front glass off of the plus' original monitor to make for a more accurate exterior. I don't really know that it is worth the trouble though. -Bummed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dennis Nedry Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 I don't think it would be too bad if you had a bump-out on the back. I think a curved CRT that you can see from the front and an extra box on the back look better than an LCD and and intact back. The front is much more important than the back in my opinion. It's possible the video board on the back of the CRT isn't very large too, so it may be a small box. I want to see a color CRT in a Mac Plus!! You may be able to cut exactly around the big Mac Plus label on the back and bump out that whole area. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mac128 Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 (edited) I don't think it would be too bad if you had a bump-out on the back. I think a curved CRT that you can see from the front and an extra box on the back look better than an LCD and and intact back. The front is much more important than the back in my opinion. Sorry to hear it. I was afraid of that since even a small 4" color CRT has a neck about as long as a 10" CRT for some technical reason. Normally, I would be against mutilating a Plus in such a way, but even Apple agrees with Dennis Nedry. One of the little things that drives me crazy about the HD20 case is that it has a little bump out the back for a fan which totally ruins the profile of the unit from the side and back, but the front of the design looks great. Also, the Plus is available in ample supply, unlike the 128K & 512K. I'd prefer to see this done to a Platinum model for this reason. I disagree about the LCD. There have ben some successful implementations of them. If one could use a smaller resolution within a frame of the native resolution, a larger LCD should fit flat against the bezel with the gaps filled in by some black masking and look pretty nice. I do think the Plus looks better aesthetically with the curved screen so using the front of a CRT in theory should look great. According to one report, using a diamond Dremel saw made the process a snap, especially since it doesn't have to look too pretty. So it is definitely worth the consideration. Here is a previous discussion with some links. My goal would be to leave the unit as intact as possible – one of the reasons I love the 24th Anniversary model complete with its original, yet re-mapped functional ports. Cutting a hole in the back ruins that. Using an LCD alters the look, but if behind curved glass, then it should look OEM. He still has to work out how to connect the original keyboard and mouse as well. Edited February 27, 2009 by Guest Quote Link to post Share on other sites
superpantoufle Posted February 26, 2009 Report Share Posted February 26, 2009 nextse7en, this is a great project! I especially like the clean look of your custom-made innards. I thought I had to jump in that thread just to show off once more with my own Macintosh SE/X (which I recently re-branded from its original "Macminitosh"): flickr gallery. I went the easy way with a complete Core Duo Mac mini, which I didn't bother to open, since it fits right in. But yours looks much cleaner inside! As for the screen, I chose the 8.4'' LCD way, with a soft black mask around the edges which practically fills the gaps. Now I heard some people around here cutting the original CRT's front, and I may well give that a try sooner or later. Anyway, good luck and have a lot of fun in your project! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bunsen Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 Nice work there superpantoufle. I should let you know though, there is already a Mac SE/X out there on the webtertubes somewhere. Besides, I like the name Macminitosh! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mac128 Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 I should let you know though, there is already a Mac SE/X out there on the webtertubes somewhere. Yes, here: http://apptree.net/macsex.htm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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