Some time in 1988, a small company created a video output adapter for early compact macs with the model number 2702. There are other models, but the focus of my post is on this adapter. I can only assume they were a small company with a handful of employees because later the following year they incorporated in Washington state as Power R, Inc.
Just a few months prior to this post I had never heard of the company. It wasn't until Alex (a.k.a. Zone66x) shared an intriguing eBay link. A few days after seeing the eBay listing and over a hundred dollars later, I had the adapter in my hands. The electric goodies were potted in epoxy but I wasn't going to be discouraged; I started with boiling.
In spite of a random guide I found on the internet, this approach yielded practically no results. Next was the oven but again, very little progress. My last result was a combination of soldering iron and hot air from a solder rework gun. The gun yielded the best results and in fact made short work of the epoxy.
The secrets of the video adapter were beginning to show themselves. This was a Power R, Inc. model 2702. It's a video adapter for the 128k, 512k, and Plus. There's also a version for the SE and SE/30. However, whatever secrets there may be they we becoming reasonably straight forward. So much, that Larry Pina had written about a similar adapter strategy in his 1990 book, "Macintosh Repair & Upgrade Secrets books" (link, see pages 168, 172).
Almost exactly 13 years after formally establishing Power R, Inc., the business operated by James Baker dissolved in 2002. I could not find additional information about James or any other business ventures. Power R, Inc. offered video adapters for several popular Apple computer lineups. I would be very interested if James would consider open sourcing these early creations (lest some other schmuck has to boil their hundred dollar PCB).
Just a few months prior to this post I had never heard of the company. It wasn't until Alex (a.k.a. Zone66x) shared an intriguing eBay link. A few days after seeing the eBay listing and over a hundred dollars later, I had the adapter in my hands. The electric goodies were potted in epoxy but I wasn't going to be discouraged; I started with boiling.
In spite of a random guide I found on the internet, this approach yielded practically no results. Next was the oven but again, very little progress. My last result was a combination of soldering iron and hot air from a solder rework gun. The gun yielded the best results and in fact made short work of the epoxy.
The secrets of the video adapter were beginning to show themselves. This was a Power R, Inc. model 2702. It's a video adapter for the 128k, 512k, and Plus. There's also a version for the SE and SE/30. However, whatever secrets there may be they we becoming reasonably straight forward. So much, that Larry Pina had written about a similar adapter strategy in his 1990 book, "Macintosh Repair & Upgrade Secrets books" (link, see pages 168, 172).
GitHub
If you're interested in the technical specs or making your own, you can find the PCBs and schematics on my GitHub repo — and if you enjoy this project please feel free to leave a star on the repo!Almost exactly 13 years after formally establishing Power R, Inc., the business operated by James Baker dissolved in 2002. I could not find additional information about James or any other business ventures. Power R, Inc. offered video adapters for several popular Apple computer lineups. I would be very interested if James would consider open sourcing these early creations (lest some other schmuck has to boil their hundred dollar PCB).
) From my limited testing, the interface was a bit laggy.