Recent content by Garrett

  1. Garrett

    IIfx Parts Machine Repair - RAM, ROM, Power on/off Fixes

    Another great writeup, David! This seller had two of these listed - I picked up the other one he had. Like yours, it also appears to have been a user-upgraded machine, but didn't have the fun "custom" sticker on the front face. Mine was listed as "bad power supply," but spoiler alert the power...
  2. Garrett

    PowerBook 100 RAM Expansion Pinout - New RAM Card Build Issue

    I decided to revisit my issues with this RAM card once again. I thought I could be clever and connect the PowerBook to my newer Mac and use Serial Diagnostics, but I can't get it to talk with my new Mac at all. The Sad Mac error I get is 0000000F 00000002, which doesn't seem RAM related based on...
  3. Garrett

    Delve into Reconnaissance - and fixing my Mac IIcx

    I've had a few troubled boards I've been putting off working on. This past March, my motivation to do something with these boards increased! This was due to the wonderful new Reconnaissance application, developed by @jack 68k. First up was an SE/30 with some boot issues. Reconnaissance informed...
  4. Garrett

    PowerBook 180c TRACKBALL Repair Help Needed

    I’ve had this issue before, and found that it’s made worse by cleaning the blue rollers with IPA. They’re slipping on your metal shafts. Now any PowerBook I work on automatically gets new silicone rollers. If I recall, you’ve done this job to your Macintosh Portable. Good news- the PowerBook...
  5. Garrett

    Dynamic Engineering Portable PDS RAM Card

    Wow, this is so cool! Thanks for posting. I suppose a card like this could be recreated, if it weren't for the missing PLD code.
  6. Garrett

    Dynamic Engineering Portable PDS RAM Card

    Great work! I saw this card on eBay as well - glad someone here snatched it up. Looks like the same RAM ICs that the PowerBook 1xx series uses. Did you have to tinker with the jumpers to get it working? I wonder why Dynamic Engineering didn't use the dedicated RAM expansion connector, but rather...
  7. Garrett

    Macintosh LCII failure

    That's interesting that when swapping DFACs, the issue stays with the board, not the sound chip. I had an LCII with bad audio once, and replacing the DFAC did solve my issue.
  8. Garrett

    LC575 computer killed LC520 motherboard! 😭

    Hi James, here's another idea. I once had a Color Classic board which would power up, but never "bonged" or displayed an image. The fix in that case was removal of both ROMs, scuffing the legs of each, and reinstalling them into their sockets. I've had to do this trick with a couple of LCIII...
  9. Garrett

    Mac IIci cache card

    See my post in this thread. I included a few benchmarks from the Apple Diagnostics application. https://tinkerdifferent.com/threads/iici-cache-card-three-tone-chime.2798/#post-27601
  10. Garrett

    Identifying mystery macintosh SE Accelerator/upgrade card

    That's the first time I've ever seen a 68EC030 in use on a Mac. Was the lack of MMU acceptable on a machine that shipped with a 68000 CPU? Unsure if that's the cause of any issues but interesting to see nonetheless.
  11. Garrett

    Color Classic Flyback Replacement from LC5xx

    Are you using the High Res or VGA modded analog board? That may factor into the types of adjustments available. I've only ever done the 68V VGA mod myself and haven't run into this issue. Generally, people seem to have trouble setting the horizontal width as it should, so I'm surprised it's the...
  12. Garrett

    Color Classic Flyback Replacement from LC5xx

    Yup, that sort of behavior is almost certainly a failing flyback. Replacing capacitors and/or the CRT isn't going to help.
  13. Garrett

    Color Classic Flyback Replacement from LC5xx

    I couldn’t live with the improper size and removed the 575 flyback right after I tested it. Based on what you’ve said, it does sound like your flyback is going out. Unfortunately a replacement would have to come from another Color Classic analog board.
  14. Garrett

    Macintosh II Advanced Diagnostic Techniques

    I share the same feelings regarding the TechStep. I was so excited to get my hands on an original one when an opportunity presented. The sad thing is - I hardly ever use it. I have a stack of 4 or 5 defective IIsi boards. Just for giggles, I connected the TechStep to a few. Boards one and two...
  15. Garrett

    Opening an oscillator can to determine cause of failure

    This is so fascinating. I’ve never thought to open one of these up for inspection. I don’t think my ultrasonic cleaner has killed any oscillators, but I do recall dealing with one damaged due to battery corrosion. My mistake for trying to reuse it on an SE/30 reloaded board. On a related note...