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I've had a long break from my Mac IIci because I acquired a horde of Commodore goodies. While I don't have as strong a personal nostalgia for Commodores, I couldn't pass up this collection. It has taken me quite a while to sort through it, clean things enough to not feel dirty handling them...

I'm taking my time working on Alpha's board--learning as I go. I could talk myself into thinking the board would fire up as is, but I'm enjoying honing my repair process. It's funny how this hobby adds difficulty as you level up. It starts with SMD cap removal and replacement, then running...

I have a IIsi doing something similar. I need to get back to it, but I’m thinking there is a bad via somewhere… perhaps under an IC —most likely around the soft power area of the board. I bought an ATX PSU extension cable so I could power the unit and still get to board so I could check signals...

Curious. The first thought that popped in my head was wondering if it’s a customized scanner card of some sort (perhaps one with a document feeder). I’ll interested in seeing a photo of the card when you get the IIci (and congratulations for scoring a IIci!).

Good to know. Thank you.

I have made modest progress since my last post. First, I assembled an external BlueSCSI, though I'm having trouble with it. I'm getting five red blinks, so it's not seeing the SD card. I've verified the card and image work in my internal BlueSCSI, and I've checked the solder connections and...

The Macintosh IIci is a special computer for many Apple fans. It was a powerhouse in its day, and some of us have happy memories of exploring System 7 on these lovely boxy computers. A few may have seen my recent Twitter posts talking about my efforts to restore five Macintosh IIci. I acquired...

Perhaps related, earlier today I watched this video explaining that Myst was made on a Mac SE with a clip attached to a board that allowed the SE to connect to a color display. (Timestamp 7:31). The video identifies it as ScuzzyGraph II.

It’s the retro BBS I check out regularly because it’s targeted for early Mac and IIGS users, with a great community of smart folks.

The IIsi also has RAM soldered directly to the board. You might want to check it and the associated LS chips. I’ve seen cap leakage do bad things to those logic chips.

Thanks to @Byte Knight and his wonderful Captain's Quarter II BBS, I learned about OS9.ca. It's a fantastic website that beautifully recreates the '90s underground Mac scene. I haven't transferred the files I've downloaded to a vintage Mac to confirm they deliver the goods, but the site...

Not to divert attention from your question, but I'm curious about the DB-25 mod where I'd expect to see the battery holder. Is it to connect external SCSI devices? If so, does it has a Mac Plus board inside? Back to your original question: finding an original mouse and keyboard is a...

Yep. Been there, done that. 🙁

It could be corrupted RAM or ROMs, but I got a checkboard pattern when my Mac SE had a bad solder connection on the analog board that resulted in the 12V rail only providing ~3V.

For instance, earlier today, I went hunting to find the post from @The House of Moth providing a number of Macintosh service manuals (https://tinkerdifferent.com/threads/power-mac-imac-ibook-and-powerbook-g3-service-manuals.471/). I knew it was somewhere, but it took me a little while to find...

As for grail items, I've got three: Osborne 4 (Vixen) -- A friend of mine had one after passing me his Osborne One. It may have been peak CP/M. Commodore PET -- They look just so darn cool! Quadra 840AV -- The best Quadra, and I used one at work back in the day. Aside from those, I'd also...

With compact Macs, the solder joints for the analog board's connectors are often cracked and need to be reflowed. It's a remarkably easy fix once you know what to look for. I suppose any joint subjected to high heat at significant voltage could be at risk.

So @JDW's video on recapping the Mystic Color Classic piqued my interest in solder tweezers. I have a tremor (primarily in my non-dominant hand), so I'm always looking for ways to make my tinkering more effective. My iron is the Hakko FX-888D, and they make a tweezer attachment. Any tips or...

Once upon a time, I got the bright idea of fixing a PowerBook Duo with a bad display. The computer had been stored in a hot and humid space, and the screen contracted "vinegar syndrome" (so named due to the vinegar-like odor coming from the screen. I decided the thing to do was to peel off...

I did test the caps in mine after removal, and they were still in spec, but on the low end of acceptable. if you’re interested, you can read about my experience at https://retroviator.com/2021/05/29/apple-imac-dv/.